Yuan Zhao stared at his daughter, observing her expression.
After a while, he asked, "Nannan, did you hear anything?"
When Yuan Zhao asked this, Yuan Nan'an's eyes turned red.
She threw herself into her mother's arms, and could only make a "whimpering" sound, but Yuan Zhao could feel a large wet spot on her chest.
The little person in his arms was trembling slightly. Yuan Zhao held her and patted her back gently.
Yuan Nan'an cried uncontrollably, but still stood up from Yuan Zhao's arms and gestured to her:
【Mother, please don't abandon us, okay? 】
Her deer-like eyes were filled with panic and anxiety, and she was afraid that she would see a hint of cruelty on Yuan Zhao's face.
Before Yuan Zhao understood what she meant, she gestured again:
[Daddy is not well, Mom wants to leave, take me and my brother and sister with you...]
She paused, then gestured again as if begging: [Okay?]
Now Yuan Zhao understood that Nan'an probably heard her say that she wanted to return to Beijing and divorce.
Did she think that her mother would leave on her own and abandon her brothers and sisters?
How is this possible?
Yuan Zhao's eyes also turned red. She hugged her second daughter into her arms again, trying her best to suppress her emotions:
"Mother will not abandon you. Mother will definitely take you with her!"
Yuan Nan'an's face was covered with tears. He raised his head from her arms and looked into her eyes intently.
【Really? 】
Looking at his daughter's uneasy eyes, Yuan Zhao felt endless guilt in his heart.
Yuan Nan'an is only eight years old, and no matter how precocious she is, she is still a little girl.
She has been cheerful and lively since she was a child, but she was tortured into this state in the Wei Mansion.
Now Yuan Zhao knew that his second daughter had probably overheard a lot.
She probably heard it all outside the window when Gan Tang came back from Xingyu Lane that day.
She wiped Yuan Nanan's tears and pulled her to sit on the couch next to Yuan Zhizhi.
Yuan Zhizhi was wearing a thick winter coat and stretched out her little hands to reach Yuan Nanan's hand.
[Don't cry, Sister Goose. Mother will never abandon us! Mother loves us so much!]
Noticing his little sister's movements, Yuan Nanan stretched out his hand and gently pinched his little sister's soft little hand.
Yuan Zhao also held the two children's hands tightly and said to Yuan Nan'an, "Don't worry, Nannan, not only you and your sister, but also your brother and your third brother, mother will take you all away together, without leaving anyone behind!"
Yuan Nan'an held his sister's little hand, and only after hearing his mother's firm words did he feel relieved.
At this time, a notice came from outside that Yuan Nan'an's female scholar had arrived.
When Yuan Nan'an heard Lu Chengyi coming, he was a little scared and stood behind Yuan Zhao.
Lu Chengyi walked into the room and saw Yuan Nanan there, and raised his eyebrows slightly.
She then took a closer look at Yuan Zhao's expression and sat down without waiting for Yuan Zhao to speak.
"You look very bad." She poured herself a cup of tea.
Yuan Zhao didn't mind Lu Chengyi's casualness. She and Lu Chengyi were close friends.
The Lu family is a family of noble character, and together with her maternal grandfather, the Shen family, they were once the families of important civil officials in the court.
The two had been playing together since childhood, but Lu Chengyi was a little indifferent and had never been married. He went out to travel and enjoy the scenery in his early years. Later, he heard that Yuan Zhao had come to Yangzhou, so he came to visit him and became Yuan Nan'an's scholar.
"How come you have time to come?" Yuan Zhao asked.
Although Lu Chengyi became Yuan Nan'an's scholar, he also had his own house outside and did not often come to Yuan Zhao's place.
Now she smiled, took a sip of tea, and said meaningfully, "Today your husband came to see me..."
In front of Yuan Zhao, Lu Chengyi always called Wei Shaoqing "Prince Consort".
Yuan Zhao frowned. Why did Wei Shaoqing go to see Lu Chengyi for no reason?
Yuan Nan'an, who was standing behind him, felt a shudder in his heart. Could it be that his father really...
"Wei Shaoqing asked me several times before, saying that he wanted to set up a private school in the mansion to recruit some daughters of officials and let me teach."
"I said the second young lady in the mansion was enough, so I refused."
Private school? Yuan Zhao remembered that Wei Shaoqing had mentioned this to him as well.
At that time, she was thinking about Zhizhi and thought that setting up a private school would be a good idea so that Nan Nan could make some friends.
But he was worried that Nan Nan would be laughed at, so he remained silent.
I didn’t expect Wei Shaoqing to ask Lu Chengyi?
Lu Chengyi spun his teacup around as he continued, "He came to me again today and told me he wanted me to take on another female student. He even brought me a collection of her handwritten poems. I took a look and I'm sure she's quite talented."
When Lu Chengyi said this, Yuan Zhao's heart sank slightly: "Did he say whose daughter she was?"
"It seems her name is... Wei Jiaojiao."
Hearing this name, Yuan Zhao confirmed what he was thinking.
Lu Chengyi tilted his head slightly and glanced at Yuan Nan'an again, "Wei Shaoqing also said that Nan Nan's talent is too poor, and learning these things is a waste of time and energy. He told me not to teach her with all my heart, and it would be best to spend more time on Wei Jiaojiao."
Finally, she added, "People who don't know would think that Wei Jiaojiao is her biological daughter..."
She didn't know the inside story, but she could sense that something was fishy, so she mercilessly repeated Wei Shaoqing's exact words to Yuan Zhao.
Yuan Zhao's throat was dry, so he turned around and hugged Yuan Nanan in his arms.
When Yuan Nan'an heard his father's evaluation of him, he couldn't help but sob softly in Yuan Zhao's arms.
It was her fault that she was useless and let her mother hear these words.
Yuan Zhao patted Yuan Nan'an gently, feeling bitter and angry in his heart, and even breathing was painful like a needle pricking him.
She originally thought that even if Wei Shaoqing had a concubine and gave birth to illegitimate children, these children were still his own flesh and blood.
She thought he at least cared about the children.
But now, he is praising that evil creature by belittling his own daughter!
Listening to Yuan Nanan's sobbing, she felt hatred in her heart.
Seeing Yuan Zhao's forbearance, Lu Chengyi finally couldn't bear it and said in a slow tone, "I didn't agree to him."
"I'm telling you this, and you can judge for yourself." She didn't say much, nor did she make any comments or advice.
Lu Chengyi has always been a free and easy person. She has never been married. In the first few years after Yuan Zhao and Wei Shaoqing got married, she saw how affectionate they were in public.
It was just that she intuitively didn't like Wei Shaoqing, but she also didn't want to interfere in other people's affairs.
She didn't want to say it today, but she really couldn't stand the look on Wei Shaoqing's face when he came to see her.
Seeing Yuan Zhao looking so haggard and miserable, he had some vague guesses in his mind.
At the same time, he thought of the second purpose of coming here today, and then continued: "Wei Shaoqing also reminded me today that it's time to change my teaching of Nan Nan..."
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