Chapter 282: Zhao Houjing's Dealing with His Bad Dad
Zhao Lingmeng watched Zhao Houyang staring at his elder brother's back as he left, not knowing what he was thinking. She could only remind him, "Keep eating! If it's not enough, have someone bring you some more dishes."
After Zhao Houyang realized what his mother said, he quickly stopped her and said, "That's enough, I had some snacks on the way, so I'm not that hungry."
While eating, Zhao Houyang looked at Zhao Lingmeng with an expression that seemed to want to say something but hesitated. Zhao Lingmeng found it very funny. "Just ask whatever you want to ask. Why are you being so shy?"
"What is that uncle doing here?" Zhao Houyang looked at his mother curiously.
It wasn't a big deal, so Zhao Houyang wanted to know. Zhao Lingmeng didn't hide it from him. "Oh, your uncle wants to vaccinate your brother Mo with cowpox. He wants mother to help find a doctor. Mother asked him to send your brother Mo directly here."
"Oh, I thought mother wouldn't care!"
"Alas, this is a different time now. Yuanjing is in such a mess right now. I'm really worried that something might happen to you while you're treating Brother Mo. As for the others, it's none of my business." Zhao Lingmeng agreed to this matter and had no intention of regretting it. She just did what she wanted! After all, she had raised this child for several years.
Zhao Houyang nodded and said, "As long as Mom is happy." No matter what decision his mother made, he would support her.
However, Zhao Houyang thought about it and added, "Brother Zhimo is coming. If the eldest and second brothers are at home, they will definitely be very happy."
"Yeah! Then they should both be very happy."
Zhao Houyang looked at Zhao Lingmeng curiously when they started talking about his brothers. "Mom, do you miss your two brothers? I wonder if they are having a good time outside during the New Year."
"I miss them quite a bit, after all, they've both been away for so long. As for how they're doing, your second brother is doing well. When he comes back, you can ask him to buy you a gift, even something expensive is fine. As for your eldest brother, he's currently living in that person's house. Ask him if he's doing well when he comes back!"
Zhao Lingmeng didn't want to say that Zhao Houjing's worldview was being shattered and reorganized at this time. That man had many wives, concubines, and children in his house, plus an old lady who was a worry-inducing person. He performed operas every day, which was even more exciting than what was written in the script.
The man wanted to cultivate a good relationship with Zhao Houjing to pave the way for the future, but after Zhao Houjing asked for money several times, he now has a headache when he sees his son.
A penny can bring down a hero, and that's exactly what Sun Tu is experiencing right now. He's only the second-in-command in a county that's already poor, and Zhao Lingmeng has someone monitoring him. If he were to reach out, he'd be worried he'd lose his position.
Could it be that their whole family really had to return to the clan to farm by then? That was why he had his eyes on Zhao Houjing. But he had no idea that Zhao Lingmeng, that cruel woman, had kicked her son out to study abroad without even giving him much money.
Sun Tu felt that Zhao Lingmeng must have known about his son's filial piety and was dissatisfied, so he used this as an excuse to kick him over. Otherwise, why would this kid, who had been here for almost a month and still not leaving, constantly asking for money, be so angry that he couldn't let go of his previous image as a good father?
Zhao Houjing had recently noticed his father's growing impatience with him. Even his grandmother, who had previously raised him, had become increasingly perfunctory towards him. But he didn't take it personally, figuring it might just be a matter of family matters.
But this day, Zhao Houjing thought that he had been out for more than half a year and the New Year was coming soon, so he wanted to bring some things back for his mother and brother. The problem was that Zhao Houjing had no money! Dongmian advised Zhao Houjing to borrow money from Sun Tu, not to give it to him, but to lend it to him!
Dongmian did this to let the young master see clearly that there are no good people in this family.
Zhao Houjing had no choice in the end. He really didn't want to copy books anymore. He felt like his hands were about to break from copying books. He had no choice but to agree to Dongmian's suggestion and go borrow some from his father.
But he was still unhappy in his heart. He had given his father a lot of money in the past few years. Now he was penniless and had to borrow money if he wanted to spend a little money.
When Sun Tu heard that his son wanted to borrow one hundred taels from him, he was so shocked that water almost gushed out of his mouth.
"Jing'er, this is not your mother's princess's mansion. Where can I find a hundred taels of money to lend you?" Sun Tu actually had a hundred taels of money, but he didn't know how expensive food and daily necessities were until he became the head of the household. He would not touch the money in his hand easily.
"Then fifty taels!" Zhao Houjing did not argue with his father. He had calculated the expenses of the mansion, and he also felt that his father was rich, so he took a step back.
Finally, Sun Tu reluctantly took out ten taels of silver. He actually wanted to give only one tael. But seeing his son's unhappy face, he was worried that if he gave only one tael, his son would directly smash his study.
"Jing'er, this is all Daddy has. You can use it first. We won't talk about not paying it back between father and son."
Zhao Houjing wanted to turn around and leave without hesitation, but he thought about Dong Mian and his servant Huai Qing, who had been living on the road with him, going from one meal to the next. They had hunted, worked, and done everything else, steadily protecting him as he made it this far. In the end, he turned back and took the ten taels of silver.
When Sun Tu saw Zhao Houjing taking the silver and leaving with an unhappy look on his face, he felt even more unhappy.
"Jing'er, since you are here to study, it's not a good idea for you to stay with me all the time. When are you going to set off again?" Sun Tu acted as if he was doing this for your own good.
Zhao Houjing was no longer the person who still had the same childhood filter for them. During this period of time in this mansion, looking at the children running around in the yard, he felt so clearly that he was an outsider and his father only wanted to coax him and give him benefits.
Now there is nothing good to be gained from him, and if he stays for a few more days he will be kicked out. This is the saying that "far away is fragrant, near is stinky"!
"Dad, I want to leave too! But how can I leave without money? If you can give me some money, I can leave after the New Year."
As for why Zhao Houjing didn't leave now! Of course, it was to annoy these people during the New Year. He felt sick when he thought about how the money he had been reluctant to spend in the past two years had been used to support these people.
Moreover, his dying father, who needed money to keep alive and maintain his health, was in better health than him and acted like a rich and noble lord. This made him even more unwilling to accept it.
"Can't you send a letter to your mother and ask her to bring some money to save my life?" Sun Tu narrowed his eyes. Anyone could tell what he was planning. He was truly fearless.
Zhao Houjing was silent for a while, then pretended to be embarrassed and said aggrievedly: "Oh, because I have been giving money to my father for the past two years, my mother doesn't like me anymore, and she doesn't lack sons. My two younger brothers are sweet, well-behaved and obedient."
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