"Ugh! I'm so angry!" Zhou Ying followed Liu Fangniang back to Qinyaxuan and smashed a lot of things.
Liu Fangniang frowned slightly: "Alright, what's the point of smashing so much stuff?"
"Mother!" Zhou Ying's eyes reddened. "She actually dared to hit me! You're not going to join me in cursing her, and you still expect me to calm down?"
Liu Fangniang gently stroked her daughter's delicate face, how could she not feel hatred in her heart? If she were to be seriously injured, what would become of her Ying'er for the rest of her life?
"What's the point of scolding her? If you want to get revenge on her, you have to control her lifeline. Fortunately, that sickly girl is clearly on her last legs. In the future, won't we be the ones calling the shots in the entire Zhou family?"
Upon hearing her mother's words, Zhou Ying immediately became gloating: "Let her be arrogant, let her act like a stepmother all day long. After Zhou Yuqing passes away, she will have no one to rely on and will still have to live at the mercy of her second brother."
“That makes perfect sense.” Liu Fang’s mother covered her mouth and smiled. “Maybe, once her son is gone, she will be heartbroken and follow him. Then we won’t even have anyone in our way.”
"I really hope Zhou Yuqing will go soon."
"You can't say this outside. Before anything happens to them, you have to at least pretend to be respectful."
"But I can't stand it."
"There's nothing we can do even if we're angry. After all, she's the matriarch of the Zhou family. We'll just have to swallow our anger for now."
“Mother is more virtuous, and Father and Grandmother like her more. If it weren’t for her, Mother would definitely have been made the official wife.”
Liu Fangniang smiled. She desperately wanted to be made the official wife. Song Xia was inferior to her in every way in the Zhou family, but she had a powerful family background that even Yonglang had to be wary of.
But it doesn't matter. We've endured it all these years, so what's one more time? Once Zhou Yuqing leaves, it will be natural for Song Xia to follow her in her grief.
Her years of planning and careful, cautious actions were all worthwhile.
Song Xia had been staying at Han Hui Courtyard and had already given Yu Qing the cold medicine from the system, so there was no need for her to take the medicine prescribed by Physician Zhang anymore. Even the best medicine can be harmful if taken in excess. To avoid being discovered, she always cooked and fed the medicine herself, never relying on maids.
When the news reached Liu Fangniang that Zhou Yuqing was really not doing well, Song Xia was already in a panic.
For the next two days, Zhou Yuqing remained unconscious, which only deepened her suspicions.
She couldn't help but get excited. When Zhou Yongli came to her courtyard, she pretended to be concerned: "If Doctor Zhang can't do it, perhaps a barefoot doctor in the countryside can? Anyway, Doctor Zhang hasn't made much progress in treating Yu-ge'er all these years, so why don't we look for one in the countryside?"
Zhou Yongli sighed, "You are so virtuous. Song Xia always makes things difficult for you, yet you still think of her and Yuqing."
Liu Fangniang smiled gently: "Sister is Yonglang's legal wife, so it's understandable that she has opinions about me. But Yuge'er is, after all, Yonglang's eldest son. How could I not care?"
"No matter how much you care, Song Xia will probably think you have bad intentions. She won't appreciate it. Let Yuqing deal with her illness herself, so you don't get yourself into trouble."
Liu Fangniang secretly smiled, thinking that it was good that Yonglang didn't care about that sickly boy.
That makes sense. Not only is his own son, Shu-ge, healthy, but he has also been admitted to Shangde Academy, which is Yonglang's source of pride. The Zhou family has enough with Shu-ge; they don't need a sickly and talentless Yu-ge.
Song Xia was so eager and ambitious, thinking that forcing Yu Ge'er to study would make him better than Shu Ge'er? Dream on!
That's so satisfying! So what if Song Xia is the legal wife? Her legitimate son can't compare to Shu Ge'er at all, and he even ruined his health trying to catch up with his younger brother Shu Ge'er. It's so satisfying!
"Yonglang, if Yuge'er gets better this time, you must persuade your sister not to force her to study anymore. Health is more important than anything else."
Zhou Yongli sneered: "If only she had your insight, she would be so eager to outdo Shu-ge'er. You'd have to be able to persuade her. Yu-ge'er is useless too. He is the eldest son of the legitimate wife, yet he is inferior to his half-brother in every way."
“Everyone’s talent for studying is different, Yonglang, you don’t need to be too harsh on him.”
"Does he need my help? Song Xia is watching helplessly, what business is it of mine? Let them be, no need to say anything more, let's rest."
Liu Fangniang personally turned off the light. Yonglang harbored a lot of resentment towards Song Xia. It wasn't her fault; she had tried to persuade him! But Yonglang just wouldn't listen. Who told Song Xia to be so stubborn and have such a hard temper?
No man knows how to coax her. What good is a powerful family background if he still doesn't live a happy life?
Liu Fangniang smiled and then focused on serving her Yonglang. In the past few years, except for the first and fifteenth of the month, Yonglang either stayed in the front yard or came to her place. Song Xia had completely lost favor.
But if Song Xia hadn't insisted on marrying Yonglang back then, Yonglang should have been hers alone.
She and Yonglang were childhood sweethearts, and Yonglang had promised to marry her, but in the end, she was only carried into the house in a small sedan chair, which also affected her children, who could only be illegitimate children.
So don't blame her for being ruthless; she's just taking back everything that originally belonged to her.
While Liu Fangniang harbored resentment, she never considered that if Zhou Yongli truly wanted to give her the title of his principal wife, why would he have remained silent when the Song family sent people to assess the marriage proposal?
The Song family was such a wealthy and powerful family, and Song Xia was so proud, how could they possibly take the initiative to seize another man's husband?
It was just that Zhou Yongli valued Song Xia's family background and didn't want to be labeled as unfaithful, so he deliberately said those things to her.
Song Xia, who had been waiting for her son all along, felt even more resentful when she thought about Zhou Yongli's attitude over the years.
Yes, she was attracted to Zhou Yongli's handsome appearance as a third-ranked scholar, but Zhou Yongli never mentioned that he had a cousin he admired!
Originally, she was determined not to let Liu Fangniang enter the family, but her mother-in-law cried and made a fuss every day, saying that she had not added any incense offerings to the Zhou family in the year since she entered the family, and said that she would go to the emperor to accuse her of being jealous. Seeing that Zhou Yongli was always worried and was putting her and her mother-in-law in a difficult position, she had no choice but to nod.
Looking back now, I realize that her mother-in-law's crying was intentional, and Zhou Yongli's dilemma was also an act. This mother and son took advantage of her family background and deliberately hurt her. Now they just want her Yu Ge'er to go, so that she can go with him.
Ha, she just wouldn't let these people have their way. She wanted Yu Ge'er to live a good life, to ensure that Liu Fangniang would never have the chance to become the legitimate wife, and to ensure that Zhou Shuqing would never have the chance to become the legitimate son.
Why should Zhou Shuqing, a son of a concubine, be given a place in the Zhou family's possessions?
The Zhou family was no ordinary family in the past, but unfortunately they had few descendants, and in the end, everything was inherited by Zhou Yongli, an illegitimate son.
And then there's Old Madam Liu, who was just a concubine back then, but she got to where she is today because of good luck.
Now, do you think it's so easy to make Liu Fangniang and Zhou Shuqing repeat their past mistakes?
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