Chapter 137 Staying or Leaving
"You scoundrel! I think you've gone mad. You dare to bring a village woman into the mansion? Do you really think the Xu family is a place where just anyone can come in?" Old Madam Xu scolded Xu Qingyan directly.
Zhao Yuzhi turned pale upon hearing her angry rebuke and followed closely behind Xu Qingyan.
The child in Xu Qingyan's arms was so frightened by Old Madam Xu that he started crying loudly. He tried to soothe the child in a flurry of activity, but seeing that it was not very effective, he had no choice but to carefully hand the child over to Zhao Yuzhi to soothe.
This scene deeply pierced Ning's heart. Looking at Zhao Yuzhi and Xu Qingyan, who were coaxing the child as if no one else was around, as if they were the family of three and she was the superfluous one, Ning clenched her hands tightly to prevent herself from showing any unusual expression.
"Xu Qingyan! Do you even have any respect for me, your mother? Do you even have any respect for your wife? How dare you pretend to be so affectionate with a village woman and some bastard child right in front of us!" Old Madam Xu was furious that he hadn't listened to her and was still affectionately coaxing the child as if nothing was wrong.
“Mother! He’s not a bastard, he’s my son!” Xu Qingyan retorted, frowning.
"Are you crazy? Didn't the doctor say that... this child is really yours?" Old Madam Xu was about to scold her son to wake him up, but then she thought about it and remembered that the doctor also said there was still hope, so she changed her mind.
Xu Qingyan seemed to have returned to his former spirited self, and said without hesitation, "He is my biological son. I, Xu Qingyan, am not someone who will die out!"
"Bang!"
Upon hearing this, Ning's teacup slipped from her hand, and everyone in the room immediately remembered that she was still there.
Madam Xu couldn't hide the joy on her face. It took her a while to stop herself from holding the child and instead tried to calm her daughter-in-law down.
“My son! Qingyan wronged you first, but he may only have this one child in the future. I know you were wronged by this. Here’s what we’ll do: we’ll register this child under your name, and we’ll get rid of that village woman. From now on, you will be this child’s biological mother!”
Even though she had given birth to her son's child, Madam Xu did not take Zhao Yuzhi, a village woman, seriously at all.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuzhi would have collapsed to the ground if she hadn't been holding her child.
The hand holding the child tightened unconsciously, causing the child to feel uncomfortable and cry again instantly.
"Oh dear! Why are you holding the baby like that! He's crying like this! Quickly bring the baby over! That's our Xu family's precious grandson! Go find a doctor and a wet nurse, and be careful!" Upon hearing her grandson's cries, Old Madam Xu immediately forgot to comfort Ning Shi and hurriedly gave orders to a group of servants.
"Look at that nose and that mouth, he's just like his father! What a lovable child! You see, you'll be his mother from now on. He's still young and doesn't remember much, so raise him well, and he'll be no different from your own son!" Old Madam Xu held the child with great affection and even went over to show Ning Shi the child.
Ning looked at the child with cold eyes, showing no intention of taking him. If it weren't for the wet nurse beside her holding her arm and reminding her not to lose her temper, she probably would have turned around and left on the spot.
She knew that what Old Madam Xu said was the best choice, both for herself and for Xu Qingyan, but she couldn't accept the child for the time being, so she took a deep breath and suppressed her anger.
“Mother, your daughter-in-law doesn’t have much experience raising children yet. She needs to learn from the wet nurse. How about we leave the child in your yard until she’s ready?”
"I was confused and forgot that you haven't given birth yet. Alright, I'll give you some time to prepare. You can stay in my courtyard to raise her first." Old Madam Xu was very satisfied with this answer and didn't care at all when Ning left with her maids and servants.
“Mother, Yuzhi gave birth to my son, and I want to make her my concubine,” Xu Qingyan said, speaking up for Zhao Yuzhi.
"Do you even have a brain?! This child isn't hers, and you've already offended her terribly. If you keep this woman around, do you think she'll let it go?"
Fearing that she might frighten the child in her arms, Madam Xu spoke in a low voice, though her tone was not pleasant.
"So what if she won't give up? She puts on airs in the mansion all day long, and my son has to fawn over her, but she never gives him a kind look. Anyway, she despises me, so we can just go our separate ways." Xu Qingyan's pride could no longer allow him to go back and fawn over Ning Shi after being humiliated by her. Now that he has a child, he will no longer force himself to drink the medicine and consummate the marriage with Ning Shi.
"No matter what, Ning is still a young lady of the Ning family. Do you really think that our Xu family will have a good life after offending the Ning family? If I had known that you were useless, I shouldn't have gone to all this trouble to arrange this marriage!"
If she hadn't been holding her grandson, Madam Xu would have loved to slap her son to wake him up.
"Madam! Please let me stay! It's a blessing for the child to be raised under your name. I only ask to stay in the Xu family and see him from afar, and I'll be content!" Zhao Yuzhi immediately knelt on the ground. She didn't understand the interests of these wealthy families and started kowtowing earnestly.
"Yuzhi!" After all, Zhao Yuzhi had given birth to his child, so she was still different in Xu Qingyan's heart.
"What use is a country woman like you if you stay in the mansion and only become a laughingstock for Qingyan? Take the silver notes and go back to buy land. Live a peaceful and prosperous life. What more could you ask for?" Old Madam Xu was convinced that Zhao Yuzhi was too greedy. If it weren't for the fact that she had given birth to a child for her son, she would have had the servants kick Zhao Yuzhi out long ago!
"Madam! I can have a child for the young master! If I can have one, I can have a second! It's too lonely for the young master to only have one son!"
Zhao Yuzhi still believes that Ning Shi is infertile. In her world, the fault of not having children is always blamed on the woman. She doesn't know much, and she doesn't know that men with kidney deficiency have difficulty conceiving. Xu Qingyan has never told her this, so she only believes that it is Ning Shi's problem.
However, these words inadvertently made Old Madam Xu waver. Despite all the previous efforts, Ning Shi had not been able to conceive, while Zhao Yuzhi, a village woman, had become pregnant, which meant that this woman must be extremely fertile.
Thinking of this, Madam Xu took a closer look at Zhao Yuzhi and found that she was plump and had a rosy complexion, making her seem more likely to have children than Ning Shi.
"Keep her here first, and arrange for her to stay far away from Ning Shi. If she can really get pregnant again, then make her a concubine!" Old Madam Xu was somewhat greedy after all. She knew that it was already difficult for her son to have one heir, but she still fantasized about having Zhao Yuzhi give birth to more children for her son.
Xu Qingyan clearly thought the same thing, and directly arranged for Zhao Yuzhi to stay in a room near his study.
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