"The clan chief has arrived?"
"Yes, I came here specifically to see you. Can we talk?"
Since they wanted to talk, Zhao Dashu considerately gave up the room and took his storybook to the inner room.
A poor scholar who lies about never having been married in order to marry a rich young lady—that's the kind of story a wife would love to read.
"Please sit down."
Xiao Lei sat in the main seat and poured himself a cup of tea.
The clan chief scrutinized him closely. In the years since he'd last seen him, he had grown even more handsome, and looked completely different from Zhao Dashu. He was very composed; he was clearly destined for high office and great success.
"Lei Zi, it's been years since we've seen you. We old folks miss you terribly. How are you doing in the prefectural city? Is life as a live-in son-in-law tough? Are you feeling stifled in the Zhao family?"
Xiao Lei put down his teacup, looked up at the clan leader, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"The clan chief is joking. I am doing very well in the Zhao family. My parents treat me like their own child, and my wife is gentle and considerate. For the first half of my life, I thought I had little affinity with my family, but after coming to the Zhao family, I realized that it was just that our time hadn't come yet."
Is the clan chief trying to sow discord between my husband and me, or does he feel that my in-laws treat me too well and he doesn't like it?
"Yes, people used to say I bring bad luck to my family, that someone like me shouldn't have a good life, and that it's understandable that you dislike me. But what can I do? Even if I dislike you, I can only endure it now. I'm living a better life than any of you so-called 'unlucky' members of the Xiao family."
The clan leader's face turned pale and then red. How could Xiao Lei have become like this? He used to be a man of few words. Even if someone said he was unlucky for his family, he would just ignore them. He would never directly confront someone like this.
His current appearance is remarkably similar to that of Zhao Dashu, who had just confronted him.
Living together for a long time, you might pick up bad habits from what you see and hear.
"Lei Zi, what are you saying!" The clan chief suppressed his anger. "How could your uncle be unhappy that you're doing well? Your uncle is worried about you! No matter how good you are, you're still living under someone else's roof. The reputation of 'living with someone else's family' is ultimately not good."
Although our Xiao family is not a wealthy family, our ancestors were a respectable family, and you are the most successful one in our clan.
If you can acknowledge your ancestors and return to the Xiao family, that would bring glory to your family and be good for yourself and your future children!
Do you want your descendants to be pointed at and said to be the descendants of "Zhao family's live-in son-in-law"?
And what if your children grow up and ask you why they have the surname 'Zhao' instead of 'Xiao'? How would you answer?
"When you go to the capital to take up an official post, and your colleagues find out you're a son-in-law who married into the family, how will you face them? What will become of your reputation?"
Xiao Lei sneered. The clan leader spoke in a grand and righteous manner, saying a lot but not mentioning the benefits he could offer them after returning. He found the man's hypocrisy disgusting.
The clan chief had helped him once in his life, when he reprimanded Xiao Ping after he was injured and feared someone might die, and also presided over the matter of severing ties with his relatives.
He was actually unwilling to sever ties with his family at first, but Xiao Ping was eager to get rid of him, a burden.
hehe!
"Anything else? Clan Chief, please continue!"
The old man froze. "There's more? What else? What else did he miss?"
"How do you plan to exploit me after I go back? How much benefit do you want to extract from me? What are you after? Clan leader, won't you explain in detail?" Xiao Lei held his teacup, not even raising his head.
He looked down on Clan Chief Xiao. That man could be quite hypocritical sometimes, pretending to be a saint when he was actually doing it for his own benefit. He wanted both the advantages and the prestige; he gave them all the good things in the world.
They might not even be satisfied after taking over all the properties.
"Xiao Lei, I'm doing this for your own good, don't be ungrateful."
"So what if I don't know what's good for me? What can you do about it? I'm happy that my child has the surname Zhao, it's none of your business."
If they ask again in the future, I'll give a very clear answer. There are too many disgusting people with the surname Xiao, and I don't want them to have any connection with him. Are you satisfied with this answer, Clan Chief?
"You! You!" The clan leader pointed at Xiao Lei's nose, too angry to speak.
"What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'what do you mean, ' what do you mean, '?' Xiao Lei put down his teacup and stood up. "Clan leader, if you had come today out of genuine concern for our past relationship and to see how I am doing, I, Xiao Lei, could have offered you a cup of tea and expressed my gratitude. Unfortunately, you are not.
I don't care what your ulterior motives are, keep them to yourself. Nobody in this world is a fool, and don't treat others like fools. I know exactly what you're planning.
He took a step forward, and the clan chief instinctively took a half step back.
"You're resentful that I passed the imperial examination, aren't you? You feel bad knowing that the Zhao family is holding a banquet, even though my surname is Xiao, you can't get a share of it, right? But what can you do? Now I'm a member of the Zhao family."
No matter how far I go in the future, no matter how I become, it has nothing to do with your Xiao family or the Xiao clan.
Back then, when my grandfather knelt down and begged you to help him get back the house and land that Xiao Ping had taken. What did you say? You said it was inappropriate for you to interfere in our family affairs.
Back then, when my grandparents were seriously ill, I knelt before you, begging Zhao Xiaoping for some money. What did you say then? You still said it was a family matter and you couldn't interfere.
I live alone in this dilapidated house. At such a young age, I can barely support myself, and I'm still bullied by Xiao Ping's family. What did you do when they were taking advantage of me?
You said as long as the person is alive and no one dies, that's all that matters; it's just a family matter.
The clan chief took another step back. Did he remember the past events so clearly? Was this man so vengeful?
“Even if you’re not happy with me, you can ignore me. But Xiao Lei, you’re a member of the Xiao clan, that’s undeniable. You shouldn’t abandon your clan.”
“The clan can abandon me, so why can’t I abandon the clan?” He looked down at the old clan chief, who was a head and a half shorter than him. “I not only abandoned the Xiao family, but also the Xiao clan. Since my grandparents left, you are nothing to me.”
Now you want me to help you, or to gain any benefits? Don't even think about it!
I'm warning you one more time: if you try to sow discord between me and my in-laws again, be careful, I'll settle all my old scores with you, and don't blame me for being ruthless then.
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