Chapter 28 Chapter 28 "Take Zhao Manyi as your... humble concubine! ...
"Shut up! Shut up!"
Luo was so anxious that she was about to rush over to cover these people's mouths, but those young masters from wealthy families were just watching the fun and making trouble. The more anxious Luo became, the more they made trouble. Soon they were running around and shouting all over the fourth floor.
Upon hearing this, the guests on the lower floors all ran into the hall and looked towards the fourth floor. The shopkeeper and the servant saw that the situation was not right and hurried out to appease the guests. However, whether intentionally or not, they actually encouraged the guests downstairs to run upstairs, wanting to find out what was going on.
In the blink of an eye, many people had gathered in front of the door of Room No. 2 to watch. Aunt Fang wanted to go and save her daughter, but she couldn't squeeze in at all. She could only stand outside and worry like Mrs. Luo.
In the private room, Li Che and Zhao Manyi quickly put on their clothes. Zhao Manyi felt even more embarrassed and kept burrowing into Li Che's arms, not daring to let anyone see her face.
It is said that husband and wife are birds of the same forest, but they fly away separately when disaster strikes. What's more, they are just a pair of wild mandarin ducks. Li Che wanted to cut off all ties with her and pushed her away.
Zhao Manyi was very disappointed and looked at him with tears in her eyes.
After Li Che put on his clothes, he sternly scolded the people who were blocking the door and watching. However, the ones leading the crowd were some playboys who were not afraid of Li Che, a minor official from a humble family. They kept making a fuss and refused to leave.
Several secret guards disguised as civilians were lurking in the distance, and they almost dropped their jaws when they saw this scene.
"Do we still need this?"
One person responded hesitantly, "No, no need for that, right?"
After Li Che and Zhao Manyi showed up in the teahouse, Chu Yuanhe arranged them not far away, waiting for Fugui's order to kick the door. However, the appearance of a few playboys made the situation even more chaotic, and it was not their turn to take action at all.
In the private room No. 1, Zhao Qingyi has returned to her original calmness. Unlike the earth-shaking scene next door, her place is as quiet as if she were isolated from the world.
She calmly picked up the silver kettle and slowly poured boiling water into the teacup.
Li Che was still the same as in his previous life. He liked to take advantage of his identity as her husband to eat and drink for free at Qingyun Teahouse. He wanted to make Zhao Manyi his concubine, but didn't want to spend more money.
However, she didn't expect that Zhao Qingyi was cautious in her new life. The owner and servant of the teahouse had already shared her sympathy. As long as Li Che dared to come to Qingyun Teahouse, someone would pass on the message to her. She followed Zhao Manyi all the way and was almost certain that this pair of dogs and bitches wanted to do the same as in their previous life and make private transactions in her territory.
The best way to deal with such shameless people is not to give them face.
Rather than enduring the two of them going on behind her back and plotting to kill her, it would be better to keep her identity secret and keep Zhao Manyi under her own supervision.
If she doesn't marry the legitimate wife of a good family, then in this life, Zhao Manyi can only be a concubine, and her Jun Ge'er can only be a bastard forever.
And Li Che is destined to be ruined!
Everything has just begun.
Zhao Qingyi lowered her eyelashes, raised her sleeves to cover her face, and drank the tea.
After a brief moment of surprise, Chu Yuanhe guessed that these troublemakers were the work of Zhao Qingyi.
"So you were already prepared. It was I who wasted my time."
But Zhao Qingyi was grateful for his kindness. "Your Highness is so thoughtful. If you want to come to Qingyun Teahouse in the future, all expenses will be charged to me."
Zhao Qingyi stood up and walked to the door. While everyone's attention was on the next door, she blended into the crowd effortlessly, pretending that she had just appeared. Chu Yuanhe also tacitly stayed in the room and closed the door.
It is not yet time for him to appear. If people see him with Zhao Qingyi, he will definitely be criticized.
Come to think of it, it’s really unpleasant.
Chu Yuanhe rubbed the scar on his palm irritably, with a gloomy look on his face.
Not long after Zhao Qingyi went out, with Qiao Yue's shout, the onlookers made way for her. Some of the eyes they cast at her were those of watching the fun, while others were those of pity and regret.
Li Che must have been kicked in the brain by a donkey, as he abandoned his angelic wife and instead went out to have an affair with a widow.
Zhao Qingyi had no obstacles. She pretended to go up the stairs and arrived at the door of the private room in three or two steps. Seeing the two people in the room with messy clothes and hair, her pupils trembled violently. She couldn't believe it and tears came to her eyes.
"you……"
She pointed at Li Che, then at Zhao Manyi, her voice trembling with grief, "How could you... do such a thing!"
The onlookers were in an uproar again. They all felt sorry for Zhao Qingyi, the legal wife, and joined in condemning the two people in the room.
Li Che never expected that the truth would be revealed so quickly. He rolled and crawled in front of Zhao Qingyi, almost kneeling down in front of her, "Qingyi, it's not what you think. My third sister and I are innocent. Someone is trying to frame us!"
"clean?"
Zhao Qingyi laughed in anger, "You two are alone in a room together, and you still dare to say you are innocent?" Then he raised his hand and slapped Li Che in the face.
She had wanted to slap him for a long time, and today she finally had the opportunity to do so. She hit him with all her heart, and her palms were burning with pain, not to mention how red the slap marks on Li Che's face were.
Qiao Yue found a ruler from somewhere and put it in Zhao Qingyi's hand. Zhao Qingyi gripped it tightly and hit Li Che's arm hard on the back.
Li Che knew that he was in the wrong, and since so many people had discovered his affair with Zhao Manyi today, if he resisted now, he didn't know how he would be scolded when the memorial was submitted to the imperial desk tomorrow.
Zhao Qingyi raised the corners of her mouth silently, then quickly put on a sad expression and hit Li Che hard several times. While beating him, she complained about the grievances she had suffered for him over the years, including the harsh treatment from Luo and Li Susu, and the fact that the Li family asked her to pay a dowry of 30,000 taels for her younger sister-in-law.
These were just rumors before, and Zhao Qingyi had never come out to admit them. Until today's crying, it was completely confirmed that the Li family was despicable and shameless.
The spoiled daughter of a noble family has been married for three years and has worked hard. Not only does she have to use the dowry to supplement the family income, but she also has to be responsible for her sister-in-law's dowry of up to 30,000 taels!
This family is so ungrateful that the husband even committed adultery with his wife's sister!
Everyone present put themselves in her shoes and were so angry that their scalps hurt. Then they saw Zhao Qingyi whipping Li Che hard with the ruler again and again. No one thought she was cruel and brutal, they just felt that the beating was good and it was satisfying!
Upon hearing this, the playboys became even more enraged and spat at Li Che several times.
Hearing the crowd defending Zhao Qingyi, Luo rushed over to protect Li Che behind her, then cried out "Ouch" and knelt down in front of Zhao Qingyi.
"Everything that's wrong is my fault as the mother-in-law!"
Luo burst into tears and slapped herself hard in the face several times. "You are the eldest daughter of the Zhao family, a daughter of a golden branch and jade leaf. When you marry into the Li family, you should be worshipped like a Buddha or Bodhisattva. It's all our fault that we, a poor family, don't know etiquette and have wronged you for so many years... It's all my fault..."
Luo prayed to the sky and kowtowed, looking like she was truly repentant, but her words and actions actually said that Zhao Qingyi was arrogant and domineering because of his status, and she did not mention the immoral things she had done at all.
Since ancient times, filial piety has been the most important virtue. Luo's kneeling alone is enough to make Zhao Qingyi unable to turn over.
This old hag is really full of evil intentions!
Qiao Yue and Tan Yue stood in front of Zhao Qingyi. The master and his servants quickly retreated, their faces turning pale with anger.
At the critical moment, Chu Yuanhe finally appeared.
Luo was still kowtowing and kneeling, wailing loudly. When she looked up again, Zhao Qingyi, who had been standing in front of her, was gone. In his place stood a handsome man with luxurious clothes and a graceful demeanor.
Luo had never seen such a person before, and her eyes widened for a moment.
"presumptuous!"
Fugui went over and slapped her. Unlike Luo's fake slaps, he used all his strength. "You dare to look directly at the prince and offend him!"
County, prince?
Luo shuddered and knelt down hurriedly, not daring to cry or make a scene anymore.
Chu Yuanhe felt sickened to look at her any longer. He spread his folding fan and held it to his nose, his disgust undisguised. "There's no need to argue about what happened today. I already know the truth. Tomorrow, I will submit a memorial to His Majesty, reporting everything in detail."
As soon as these words were spoken, the people cheered in unison.
Luo Shi refused to give up, believing that the person in front of her had misunderstood, "Your Highness, you don't know, my daughter-in-law..."
She also wanted to find an opportunity to put Chu Yuanhe in a bad light so that she could throw dirty water on Zhao Qingyi.
Chu Yuanhe ignored her, and Fugui kicked Luo away. "My prince has been sitting in the next room, Tianzi No. 1, for a long time. He heard everything your son said and did. Are you still trying to confuse right and wrong, you shrew?"
Luo was kicked to the ground. After hearing these words, she was so frightened that she quickly knelt down, still trying to argue, "Prince, Prince, there must be some misunderstanding. Yes, there must be a misunderstanding!"
Luo's eyes rolled and he pointed at Zhao Manyi with his backhand, "It's her!"
Under Zhao Manyi's anxious gaze, Luo gritted her teeth and said, "To be honest, the Third Miss of the Zhao family has secretly seduced my son many times. After my son returned to Beijing, she eagerly came to me and even stayed at my house for a few days. She must have had feelings for my son since then!"
"My son already has a wife as good as Qingyi, so how could he treat a widow differently? Everything that happened today must have been planned by this widow!"
Anyway, things have happened. In the end, Zhao Manyi will either become Li Che's mistress or die. She is tied to Jun Ge'er and will probably not be willing to die. In this case, she has to rely on Li Che to survive. If Zhao Manyi is smart, she should accept the stigma.
Zhao Manyi came back to her senses from shock and panic, and her makeup was already smudged by tears. She had been protected by Aunt Fang since she was a child, and had never encountered such a situation. When she heard Luo throwing dirty water on her, her first reaction was to rush over to defend herself.
Aunt Fang rushed in and knocked her to the ground. "You shameless, filthy bastard! Why don't you explain to the prince how your brother-in-law tricked and raped you?"
If Mrs. Luo dared to throw dirty water on her daughter, she would take the blame back.
Zhao Manyi suddenly realized what was happening. She looked at Li Che with a sorrowful look, then looked at Aunt Fang, crying aggrievedly, "Mother, I won't live anymore, I won't live anymore!"
She threatened to bang her head against the wall and commit suicide. Aunt Fang hugged her tightly, heartbroken, "Hurry up and tell me! Even if we have to die, we want to die with a clear conscience! Go and explain to the prince what is going on. We, the daughter of the Zhao family, cannot bear this stigma in vain!"
If Li Che refused to acknowledge her, it would be like Zhao Manyi was shameless and wanted to be a concubine. This would not only implicate herself, but also the entire second house, the reputation of her father Zhao Huailiang, and create a rift between the first and second houses.
Now the second wife is not capable enough and has to rely on the first wife for support.
Zhao Manyi had been pushed away by Li Che before, and she had already felt resentful. Now, when she heard Luo Shi throwing dirty water on her, she no longer cared about any feelings and said, "It's my brother-in-law!"
"My brother-in-law asked me to come out today!"
To prove she wasn't talking nonsense, she even presented the letter Li Che had written to her. "I thought the teahouse was Big Sister's territory, so nothing would happen, so I went to keep the appointment. But as soon as we entered the private room, he hugged my daughter and said a lot of dirty talk, and also said... he said he had long been tired of Big Sister."
The only option left for her now was to marry Li Che, so she would have to sow discord between Li Che and Zhao Qingyi.
"Big sister, hit me!"
Zhao Manyi crawled to Zhao Qingyi on her knees, tugging at her sleeve and sobbing, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault. My brother-in-law has been telling me how bad you are. He said he wanted to divorce you a long time ago and wanted to take me in as his wife. I didn't agree at first, but my brother-in-law actually... actually..."
As if she had talked about something difficult to say, Zhao Manyi covered her face and cried again.
Anyone who heard this would only think that Li Che had raped and humiliated her.
Luo was so angry that her eyes were bloodshot, "You little bitch!" She pretended to pounce on Zhao Manyi and tear her apart.
Li Che couldn't stand it any longer, "Enough!"
He grabbed Luo, his eyes red, and said, "I will take responsibility for my own actions. I will be responsible for my sister Man'er, and I will apologize to my father-in-law and mother-in-law when I return."
What else can he do?
Now that things have gotten out of hand, someone has to take responsibility for everything. Even if the dirty water is thrown at Zhao Manyi now, can he clear himself of the charges?
He simply admitted it openly, which showed that he was a responsible man.
What's more, he is a man, and it is normal for him to marry a wife and take concubines.
But if you allow Mrs. Luo and Aunt Fang to talk to each other, who knows, one of them might say something that shouldn't be said without thinking, for example, he and Mrs. Luo had poisoned Zhao Qingyi, and that he and Zhao Manyi had a child out of wedlock.
In the end, he will end up with nothing and nothing will be left.
Between two evils, choose the lesser one. Li Che knew what to do.
He looked at Zhao Qingyi, clenching his fists in his sleeves again and again. Finally, he endured the humiliation and knelt down with a plop. "Qingyi, I did something wrong, I admit it, and I swear from now on, I will double my compensation to you, and I will be more cautious when interacting with others, and I will never make any mistakes! If you break this oath, I will be beheaded and die a miserable death!"
He raised his hand and swore, his back straight, as if he had truly suffered injustice and was the one being plotted against.
Chu Yuanhe sneered disdainfully, turned his eyes away and stared at Zhao Qingyi's expression.
In fact, he still couldn't figure out Zhao Qingyi's attitude towards Li Che, so he didn't act rashly. He endured and didn't say anything about the Li family's poisoning.
It all depends on how Zhao Qingyi wants to deal with it.
Zhao Qingyi wiped her tears with a handkerchief and raised her face, as if considering whether to accept Li Che's words.
She acted too realistically, her almond eyes were moist, her tears were crystal clear, and her tone and accent were just right. She was completely a poor woman who was truly betrayed. She never imagined that a quarter of an hour ago, she was having tea and listening to opera next door, and even specially arranged a few playboys to cause trouble.
Chu Yuanhe's originally restless heart seemed to be slowly soothed by a gentle big hand.
Zhao Qingyi is proud, and this pride means that she has to swallow her suffering and never show her vulnerable look in front of others. If she does so, it means that she is pretending.
After a while, Zhao Qingyi sniffed, turned around and stopped looking at Li Che, and said lightly, "Zhao Manyi is my cousin after all. Since you treated her like this, you should give her an explanation."
Aunt Fang and Zhao Manyi's hearts skipped a beat at the same time.
Zhao Qingyi is... not going to pursue the matter?
Then she slowly said, "My husband is a Hanlin editor, wearing the official robes, but his behavior is contrary to moral principles. The court will deal with it. As the mistress of the Li family and Zhao Manyi's eldest sister, I will be the one to make the decisions about the affairs of the harem. From today on, I accept Zhao Manyi as... my concubine!"
The words "humble concubine" were like a bolt from the blue. Zhao Manyi fell to the ground powerlessly, her slender body shaking uncontrollably.
My humble concubine...
Zhao Qingyi actually disregarded any sisterly love and wanted to make her a concubine?
Yuxiu, who was born as a foot-washing maid, could become Li Che's concubine, but she, the third daughter of the Zhao family, went to the Li family and was not even as good as a bed-warming maid!
There is only one word difference between a noble concubine and a lowly concubine, but their situations are completely different. A noble concubine can be considered a master in the mansion, surrounded by servants to serve her, while a lowly concubine, to put it bluntly, is just a maid who can climb onto the master's bed!
Zhao Qingyi actually humiliated her like this!
Zhao Manyi's breathing became increasingly rapid, and her body kept shaking. Suddenly, she couldn't catch her breath and fainted.
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