Chapter 426 What Happened Back Then
"The third one,"
Madam Qin swallowed uncomfortably, and she could hear the uncontrollable trembling in her own voice.
"You, what do you mean? Are you planning to betray the family now?"
…
Qin Zhenning did not answer, but stood up quietly and walked to his mother, kneeling down solemnly and performing the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows.
The room was silent for a long time, and the only sound was Mrs. Qin's uncomfortable breathing.
“…Qin Zhenning, Qin Zhenning!
Your parents gave birth to you and raised you, your family nurtured you! Now, for your illegitimate daughter, you are so cruel as to abandon your family and your old mother?
Qin Zhenning, where is your filial piety? "
"Mother, please be careful with your words!"
Qin Zhenning frowned in dissatisfaction, but was refuted by Madam Qin in an extremely strong manner.
"Is what I said wrong?"
She looked at her young son, whom she had been worried about for half her life, and her eyes were full of blame and heartache.
"Her surname is Jiang, and she's the eldest daughter of the Jiang family! Even after a hundred years, you still won't have a single word to say about her.
In the future, she will worship the ancestors of the Jiang family and inherit the incense of the Li family. What relationship does she have with a Qin like you? What's wrong with you now? Are you going to betray your family for her?
Now you can certainly treat your home as your own and be your own master, but what will you do after a hundred years? Who will remember to light a stick of incense and add a handful of new soil to my son's grave? You bastard, your mind is clouded by greed, you are going to piss me off to death..."
Qin Zhenning raised his head and looked at his mother, his eyes filled with guilt and determination.
"Even if she can't bear my surname in this life, she is still my flesh and blood after all, the child that Sister Jin risked her life to give birth to for me.
Back then, I didn't take good care of her mother.
Now, I can't owe her too much.
Mother, that is my only child, how can I not feel sorry for her? I should give my life to her, I owe it to them both."
"How can you be blamed for what happened back then? If anyone should be blamed, it should be the incompetent emperor, or the world, which treats people as if they were human. Why should they blame you?"
Every time Mrs. Qin thought of her outstanding son, who was unable to find a solution to the problem of love, she would be heartbroken and unable to sleep all night.
"Xu's daughter is good. Mother never said Jinniang was bad. But you two are just not meant to be together. It's not like you let her down. Why do you still hold a grudge for half your life? My son!"
"I don't know either."
Qin Zhenning smiled bitterly helplessly.
"I can't explain why, or even what's so good about Xu Ruojin. She's so hateful and has always loved bullying me, but I just don't want to forget her.
Especially after I had Jiang Wan, I dared not to sacrifice my life for her. I was afraid that Sister Jin would blame me in the future, blaming me for not protecting her well in the past and now for not protecting my daughter well.
"Are you blaming your parents? Blaming us for not letting you come back to help your eldest brother marry a second wife, which led to the misunderstanding of the Xu family girl and her leaving home?"
"no."
Qin Zhenning shook his head in response to his mother's question.
"Maybe I was a bit surprised when I was young, but when I became the head of the family, I realized how difficult it was for my father. Sister Jin didn't misunderstand anything. She's so smart, what does she know?"
Thinking of the heart-shaped pendant left by his late wife, Qin Zhenning suddenly burst into tears. The man in his forties cried like an abandoned dog.
"She kept our token of love and took away our marriage certificate, so she never misunderstood anything. She just didn't want me anymore..."
Madam Qin also cried along. A lifelong strong mistress, she had managed to keep a prominent family safe and sound even after the loss of her husband and son. No one had ever dared to underestimate this old noble. She had always considered herself indestructible, but whenever she encountered San'er, she would easily burst into tears.
He stretched out his old hands, held his two gray-haired son in his arms and patted his back gently, just like when he was a child.
"Fool, idiot!
My dear little Yelang, why is your life so miserable?"
Turbid old tears rolled down the wrinkles of his face. Love was the root of most of the suffering in this world. The love between mother and child, the love between man and woman, the love between father and daughter, everyone was trapped and swirling within it, unable to escape until they died.
"Old Three, my son.
Back then, your parents tried their best to help you achieve your wish, but ultimately, there was no other way. My Qin family couldn't compete with the previous dynasty's Gu family, so we had to reluctantly let go of Xu Ruojin. Your father had already done his utmost to allow you to use your connections to rescue the Xu sisters.
Do you know why the tyrant emperor insisted on having Xu Ruojin?
It’s not because of her stunning beauty, but because of her voice, which is somewhat similar to that of Gu Feifei who died by self-immolation!
You must have heard a little about the affair between the emperor and his sister over the years, right? Every flower in his harem resembles Gu Feifei in some way!
Mrs. Qin's words sounded somewhat bitter.
"Your father only found out about this by chance, so he didn't dare to keep Xu Ruojin anymore, because he knew he couldn't keep her. The mad and incompetent emperor always bites whoever he catches, so who would dare to take the risk?
But I swear to heaven that neither your father nor your mother has ever persecuted the Xu family! If I tell even a single lie, I will be struck by lightning and sent straight to the eighteenth level of hell!
Believing her son harbored a grudge against his parents, which was the reason for his absurd desire to rebel against the family, the Lady Dowager went so far as to swear such a venomous oath to dissuade him.
"Mother, I have some clarity in my mind. You don't need to make such a cruel oath."
Qin Zhenning wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and became the steady and self-possessed Lord Qin again.
"The past cannot be retrieved, and no matter how much I say, it is useless. Now I just want to protect myself.
I have spent the first half of my life being filial to my family, doing my utmost to repay their kindness in raising me. In the second half of my life, I must protect my daughter and repay the debt I owe her.
Mother, please don't stop me."
Such a stubborn son made Mrs. Qin so angry that she almost trembled all over.
"Do you think you can really protect her from any leaks if she leaves the Qin family? Who among the civil and military families in the court is so easy to deal with?"
She pointed in the direction of the imperial city, her voice much lowered.
"That girl herself is not someone who can keep quiet. When she was young, she was quite well behaved because Xu Ruoyu was watching over her. But after she got married, her true nature began to show, and she acted so recklessly that she was courting death!
The Snowflake Salt she created directly cut off the lifeline of the Jiangnan Dao, and the Hundred Treasures Pill disrupted the business of the several medicinal herb companies in Fanyang."
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