Zhou Shiyuan frowned and was about to speak, but Yuan Zhao did not give him a chance to speak at all.
"My husband, now that you've returned, your memory is no longer an issue. Surely you haven't forgotten that our marriage was personally decreed by the Emperor himself?"
"Now, my husband says this woman is your wife. Does that mean that the formal betrothal and the Emperor's decree that bestowed the marriage upon you are worthless?"
Zhou Shiyuan: "..."
Even if he were furious, he would never admit to that.
The Yongning Marquis's mansion has only just been restored. If the news of disobeying the emperor's decree gets out again, the mansion will likely face the risk of having its property confiscated once more.
Zhou Shiyuan wasn't stupid; he naturally understood this principle, but he was unwilling to admit defeat to Yuan Zhao, so he stubbornly refused to speak.
Old Madam Zhou couldn't bear to watch any longer. Her eyelids twitched, and her kind face could no longer hold back, appearing somewhat harsh and cold.
"Zhao'er, Shiyuan made a mistake and said the wrong thing. Don't hold it against him. He didn't mean it that way."
“Grandmother, people are most likely to express their inner thoughts when they are angry.”
“In his heart, I’m afraid I’ve long since ceased to be his wife.”
"If that's the case, why should I suffer injustice here?"
As he spoke, Yuan Zhao straightened his back and said:
"Wenfeng, Linglong, pack your things, let's go home."
If she had said these words before, everyone would have been happy to see it happen, and they wouldn't have been afraid even if Yuan's father came to make trouble.
However, she only spoke after Zhou Shiyuan had said those words, which made things complicated.
They could not bear either the stigma of disregarding imperial favor or the reputation of favoring concubines over wives.
At this moment, they were absolutely unwilling to let Yuan Zhao leave, but Yuan Zhao was determined to go.
She looked at Old Madam Zhou with sorrow and said:
“Grandmother, he doesn’t care about me. Why should I stay here and make myself unpopular? I’d better give up my place and do him a favor.”
"I will explain this to my father and brothers truthfully."
After saying that, she ignored the Zhou family's objections and left with two maids, without even taking anything with her.
The atmosphere in the room changed abruptly after Yuan Zhao left.
Old Madam Zhou glanced coldly at Bai Mianmian, who was hiding behind Zhou Shiyuan, and said coldly:
"Men, throw this slut out of here."
"grandmother!"
Zhou Shiyuan was shocked and wanted to protect Bai Mianmian, but then he heard Old Madam Zhou say:
"You should know which is more important and which is less important."
"Think about how you got through these three years. If you still want to live that kind of life, then protect her."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Shiyuan's eyes flickered slightly, and he finally slowly withdrew his hand.
He didn't lose his memory at all; describing these three years as going from heaven to earth wouldn't be an exaggeration.
He was a scion of a prominent family who ended up working as a farmer. Although Bai Mianmian took good care of him, he still had to deal with livestock such as chickens, ducks, and pigs every day.
He can still almost smell the stench of feces on himself.
go back?
That's definitely not possible!
He never wants to go back to that kind of life again.
Thinking of this, he looked at Bai Mianmian and said:
"Mianmian, you go with them first, I'll think of something else."
Bai Mianmian's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. She hadn't expected that in just two days, her once affectionate lover would become a completely different person.
Before she could speak, servants came and took her out.
After she was led away, Old Madam Zhou finally spoke:
"Shiyuan, go to the General's Mansion and bring the person back."
"Grandmother, I won't go!"
That shrew has absolutely no virtue or gentleness; she even cheated on him. He must be crazy to go and bring her back.
"Shiyuan!"
Old Madam Zhou raised her voice:
"That's not up to you!"
“Our Yongning Marquis’s mansion has been gone for three years. Do you think things are still the same as before? Do you think you are still the same heir of the Marquis’s mansion?”
Old Madam Zhou paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and resumed her usual serene and unassuming demeanor.
"Your father will be back from court soon. Let him tell you about the current situation."
After saying this, Old Madam Zhou had someone help her leave.
After she left, Zhou's mother said:
"Don't listen to your grandmother. What good will keeping a woman like that around?"
“We’ll discuss this further when your father returns.”
Zhou Shiyuan remained silent; he trusted his grandmother's words more than his short-sighted mother.
However, he couldn't bring himself to bow down to Yuan Zhao.
"Mother, please have someone look after Mianmian."
Zhou Shiyuan still cared about Bai Mianmian after all.
"You've really been bewitched by a woman."
Zhou's mother didn't like Yuan Zhao, but she didn't seem to like Bai Mianmian much either.
“Mother, she has taken care of me for the past three years. What’s more, she gave birth to Yujie for me.”
Hearing this, Zhou's mother's expression softened somewhat.
"Leave this to me, don't worry about it."
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