Chapter 13 Chapter 13 The hint His Majesty gave him was obvious...
Li Che didn't dare to go see Zhao Manyi. He was now overwhelmed. He had never thought that Yuxiu and her child would return to the Li family one day, and Yuxiu's child was actually recognized by Zhao Qingyi.
He pinched his brows and said accusingly, "How can you make the decision on such a big matter as adoption?"
"My dear husband," Zhao Qingyi smiled softly. "Jiao'er is your blood, your first child. He can't be left alone forever. That's why I decided to bring him back. But the name of a child born out of wedlock is really unpleasant. I happen to have no children of my own, so adopting him to me is the best of both worlds."
"My mother-in-law also agreed to this matter."
Zhao Qingyi smiled and took out the adoption documents signed this morning. "Look, my husband, the documents are all signed. It's a good thing that the family is reunited. Shouldn't you be happy?"
"That's right!" Mrs. Luo immediately agreed. "It's rare that my daughter-in-law is so generous and doesn't care about it. Why are you so angry?"
"Mother, that's not what I meant..." Li Che was speechless.
Yuxiu suddenly covered her face with her hands and sobbed, "Could it be that Master doesn't want to see us, mother and son? Or is it because he despises me, so even Jiao'er is disliked by his biological father? If that's the case, then I might as well just run into a wall with Jiao'er and die!"
Seeing that she was really about to hit the pillar, Luo and Li Che hurriedly tried to pull her back. Yu Xiu was just pretending, and soon she fell into Li Che's arms and sobbed.
Although she is twenty-five years old, she still has some of her youthful beauty, and she is Li Che's first woman after all.
Men always treat their first woman differently.
Yuxiu's tears successfully softened Li Che's heart.
What else could he do now? He couldn't just kick his eldest son, who was also his biological son, out of the house for Jun'er, could he?
He has had a bad reputation recently. If this kind of thing gets out again, he may never be able to enter the Hanlin Academy in this life.
For the sake of his official reputation, Li Che had no choice but to compromise temporarily.
Zhao Manyi, however, was filled with grievances. Seeing Yuxiu deliberately leaning in her man's arms, with her seven-year-old son beside her, affectionately calling her father, her eyes hurt.
It is obvious that she and Jun Ge'er are Li Che's family!
Zhao Manyi's pretty face began to twist little by little. Jun Ge'er in her arms had never seen her look so ferocious before, and he was so scared that he burst into tears again.
Li Che woke up as if from a dream and pushed away the jade sleeves.
Zhao Manyi had already calmed down and pretended to be embarrassed, "Brother-in-law, this child must have known that no one likes him, so he keeps crying."
Li Che had no choice but to plead with Luo, "Mother, we've already brought the child back. After all, he's a member of the clan, and we have an inseparable blood relationship. We can't just abandon him."
"Why don't you send him back quickly?" Mrs. Luo refused to listen. "We already have a legitimate son in our family. There's no need to adopt a child from a side branch. It's not too late to send him back now."
"How can that be possible?"
Zhao Manyi couldn't help but interrupt, "Aunt, although I don't know the inside story yet, this child was brought back by my brother-in-law from afar. If I just say I don't want her now, I'm afraid the relatives in the family will gossip about it, and it would be bad if it affected my brother-in-law's reputation."
Zhao Manyi had heard that the cabinet intended to replace Li Che from his position as Hanlin editor, so he decided to strike at the snake's weakest point.
When Luo heard this, he began to hesitate, "That's true..."
"What a troublemaker," Li Susu complained, curling her lips. "Brother too, knowing you already have your own son, why did you take someone else's son home to raise?"
Zhao Manyi's forced smile was a little stiff, and her hands in front of her were unconsciously twisted together.
But no matter how angry he was, there was nothing he could do. His son's identity could not be revealed in front of Zhao Qingyi.
"Alright." Li Che didn't want to listen to any more nonsense and handed the child to the servant Qingshi. "Raise the child in the mansion first. We'll talk about the future later."
Qingshi held the child and carefully glanced at Zhao Qingyi and Luo's expressions. "Master, I don't know how to take care of a child. How about sending him to Grandma's room or to the old lady?"
"I don't want it."
Without a second thought, Mrs. Luo waved her hand and refused, "I'm old and sleep poorly. If this child cries at night, it will cost me half my life."
Li Susu also refused, "Brother, I'm not married yet. What's the point of taking care of a child in the yard..."
Seeing Li Che's gloomy face, she simply shifted the blame and pointed at Zhao Qingyi, "Sister-in-law is fine. She already has a proud son, so this one won't make a difference."
Receiving Li Che's expectant look, Zhao Qingyi put her arm around Li Jiao's shoulders and said, "It's not that I don't want to, but when I adopted Jiao'er, I asked a fortune teller to look at my horoscope. He said that I was unlucky and would only have one son in my lifetime. I'm afraid that if the child came to my courtyard, I wouldn't be able to raise him."
Li Susu didn't know when Zhao Qingyi had someone calculate her fortune, so she wanted to refute her.
Li Che's patience ran out. He pressed his throbbing temples and said, "Alright, stop arguing."
He never expected that his other biological son would become a hot potato after returning to the Li family. He had no choice but to order, "Qingshi, go to the capital to invite an experienced wet nurse and let her raise him for the time being."
Zhao Manyi saw that several people in the hall were passing the buck back and forth, and no one wanted to take care of her son. Her heart was already bleeding. If she had known it would be like this, she might as well ask Li Che to buy another house outside so that she could continue to take care of her son as before, which would be better than being despised by everyone today.
But it's too late to say anything now.
Zhao Manyi watched the child go away, her beautiful eyes red.
Just be patient, just be patient. When Zhao Qingyi becomes a useless divorced wife, she can be brought into the Li family with full legal standing and be with Jun Ge'er and Li Che forever.
Yes, be patient. It’s all for her and the child’s future. The most important thing right now is to establish a good relationship with Zhao Qingyi.
Zhao Manyi calmed down, turned around, and touched Li Jiao with a forced smile, "This child is so good-looking, no wonder big sister likes him so much. Big sister, we sisters haven't seen each other for many years, and I have a lot to say to you."
She walked over to Zhao Qingyi and held her hand warmly, as if reminiscing about their past. "Big sister, tonight I want to sleep on the same couch with you, just like when we were little. Let's catch up on old times, okay?"
"I'm afraid it's not appropriate now." Zhao Qingyi smiled faintly and brushed her hand away. "Master has just returned to the capital, and there are many trivial matters at home that need to be dealt with. He also needs to help Jiao'er enter the clan school. Why not wait until I'm done with this busy period?"
Zhao Manyi bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, feeling very reluctant.
In her previous life, she used this attitude to deceive Zhao Qingyi, with the purpose of staying at the Li family so that she could continue to have an affair with Li Che.
Zhao Manyi stared at Zhao Qingyi pitifully for a moment, and seeing that the other party had no intention of changing his words, she had to give up.
Li Che was afraid that she would pester him again, and was just looking for an excuse to leave when someone came from the palace and said that His Majesty had summoned him. This was unprecedented in the capital. You know, there are only a handful of people who can actually meet the emperor. Li Che is just a small seventh-rank official. To be summoned by His Majesty is a rare achievement in Beijing.
Luo was overjoyed, "Is it really His Majesty who wants to see my son?"
The young eunuch who came to deliver the message frowned slightly. What a vulgar and ignorant woman. "Your Majesty has something to ask. Lord Li, please come to the palace with me as soon as possible. Don't keep Your Majesty waiting."
"Yes, please wait a moment, eunuch. I will change my clothes immediately." Regardless of the other party's size, they all came from the palace, so Li Che was very respectful.
The young eunuch hummed through his nose, and when Li Che walked away from him, he noticed Zhao Qingyi walking towards him. His eyes suddenly changed. It was no longer the contempt he had when he first entered the door, but was replaced by an extremely flattering smile.
"It's Grandma Zhao. How come I didn't see you before? I'm sorry. I wonder how you are doing these days?" Hearing this, I felt that the two of them were familiar with each other.
In reality, Zhao Qingyi had no impression of this eunuch, but she thought it was because her father was about to be promoted to the cabinet. And the palace servants were all shrewd people, used to flattering the weak and taking advantage of the powerful. So she returned the greeting with a half-bow, "Thank you for your concern, eunuch. I'm much better now."
"Mrs. Zhao is too polite." The young eunuch's face almost froze from smiling, and he exchanged a few more words with Zhao Qingyi.
Luo and Li Susu were left out and looked unhappy. They were the mother and sister of a third place winner, yet they were looked down upon by a eunuch.
Zhao Manyi's face was also pale. She was obviously also a daughter of the Zhao family, but the eunuch acted as if he didn't see her.
Not long after, Li Che came out wearing his official robes, and the young eunuch stopped chatting and resumed his condescending attitude.
Shangjing is divided into the inner city and the outer city. The outer city is inhabited by ordinary people, while the inner city is inhabited by officials or wealthy families in the capital. There are further divisions within the inner city. The mansions of kings, princes, generals and ministers are mostly close to the imperial city, and entering the palace is just a few steps away. Although the Li family is in the inner city, their house is on the edge, and they have to take a carriage to enter the palace.
Along the way, Li Che's heart didn't slow down. He thought about it and realized that the last time he entered the palace was three years ago. Except for the palace examination and the wedding night, he had talked with the current emperor through a screen, and he never had this honor again.
Your Majesty suddenly summoned me today, and I don’t know whether it is a blessing or a curse.
Before he knew it, the carriage had stopped outside Donghua Gate. Li Che carefully tidied his clothes, making sure there was not a single wrinkle on his official robe. Only then did he follow the eunuchs' lead into the palace gate and then to Wenhua Hall.
In the afternoon, the emperor had nothing to do, so he waited here. Li Che did not dare to delay, and walked into the hall quickly with his head lowered. He then bowed three times to the people in the hall and said, "Your humble servant Li Che pays homage to Your Majesty."
Li Che lowered his eyes, and could vaguely catch a glimpse of a gold-painted screen with cloud and dragon patterns in front of him. This time, he was still not worthy of seeing the emperor.
He lay on the gold brick and waited for a long time before the young man's deep voice came from the other side of the screen, "Stand up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
For some reason, the voice sounded very young, even... perhaps younger than himself? Yet, it carried the intimidation of someone superior. In just a moment, he broke into a sweat.
Behind the screen, Chu Yuanhe rested his elbows on the table, appearing somewhat nonchalant. "I've heard a lot of rumors recently. Have you heard any of them yourself?"
Rumors? Was it because of my mother?
Li Che did not dare to lie. "I am guilty. My mother was simply speaking her mind. I had no intention of offending Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will consider my mother's humble background, her vulgarity and ignorance and forgive her."
"You're quite quick to recognize me. I don't have any other intentions, but I just had a few more questions to ask." Chu Yuanhe raised the corners of his lips in disdain. "But I am indeed curious. When I asked you to go to Lingnan, did you harbor any resentment? If not, why would your mother use this opportunity to insult your daughter-in-law so late at night?"
"I dare not!"
Li Che kowtowed hurriedly, countless thoughts flashing through his mind. "How could His Majesty know about such a trivial matter at home?" There really were no secrets in this imperial city.
A few drops of cold sweat slid down Li Che's forehead.
"That's good." Chu Yuanhe gently turned his neck, still speaking in a nonchalant tone, "After all, your wife is the daughter of Lord Zhao, and Lord Zhao is a pillar of our court. His daughter cannot be treated with disrespect by others."
"Yes..." Li Che buried his head even lower.
Besides feeling scared, I was also a little confused. This Majesty has a strange personality and never plays by the rules. Suddenly mentioning his first wife, is there any other meaning?
Could it be that His Majesty has already known about his concubines over the past three years?!
Chu Yuanhe saw his timid posture through the screen and felt even more disgusted for no reason. "During this period of time, you should reflect on yourself at home. You don't need to go to the Imperial Academy for the time being."
"His Majesty?"
Li Che froze, as if struck by lightning. He quickly knelt a few steps forward and said, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong! When I return home, I will do my best to discipline my mother and my younger sister, and I will never do it again!"
After that, he kowtowed three times, but there were only three cold words on the letter:
"Get out."
This shows the young emperor's mood swings.
When Li Che was lifted up and dragged out by the eunuchs, he had already lost all his strength and was dragged out of the hall like a puddle of mud.
No, he couldn't just let it go like this. There had to be a way. There had to be a way to get back to the Imperial Academy! He was the third place winner personally chosen by the imperial court!
He also has a wife, Zhao Qingyi.
Yes, the hint His Majesty gave him was very clear. As long as he holds on to Zhao Qingyi and the Zhao family's connections, he will be able to return to the Hanlin Academy!
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