The Second Branch
"Madam, why don't you go and pay your respects to the Old Madam under the guise of talking to the First Madam about these matters, and ask the Old Madam and the Earl to keep an eye on Master? Master's current state is not good. What if he accidentally hurts you one day... You still have two children to take care of," Nanny Sun advised.
Lady Su was stunned for a moment, then shook her head vigorously, scolding, "Granny, I've always treated you well, how could you give me such a suggestion? Master hates the eldest son's family now, he gets furious at the mere mention of them. If I go and provoke them now, he'll definitely break my legs."
She covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, tears streaming down her face. "It would be one thing if I were beaten, but those two little sluts had to watch and laugh at me. How can I save face now?"
Seeing that Lady Su was only preoccupied with trivial matters and couldn't grasp the important ones, and that her heart was still focused on the Third Master, and that she was constantly fighting like a madman over her two concubines, and that she still couldn't tell right from wrong and wouldn't listen to any advice, Nanny Sun sighed and had no choice but to give up.
"No matter what, you can't let the master beat you like this. To put it bluntly, everything in this mansion, everything we eat and use, belongs to the Su Family. The master eats and drinks your food, yet he beats you at the drop of a hat and coldly watches those two concubines act so presumptuously. This old servant simply can't stand by and watch."
Mentioning this made Lady Su even more heartbroken.
"That's right. He's so heartless. Back then, he was so good to me. But now his conscience has been eaten by dogs," Lady Su said mournfully.
Nanny Sun sighed, "Madam, scolding them is useless; they can't hear you anyway. Why don't you go back to your parents' home and ask the old master and old lady to find you two strong and capable wives who know martial arts, and a few guards?"
"If the master hits you, tell them to protect you. It's not like he can bully you for no reason. At the very least, for the sake of the two children and this family, you must protect your own body and life, and take good care of yourself. Otherwise, if anything happens to you, wouldn't this family just be given away to some other little vixen?"
Upon hearing that the little vixen shouldn't be allowed to have her, Lady Su's fighting spirit was ignited.
She wiped away her tears and grasped Nanny Sun's hand tightly. "Granny, go back to the Su Family and tell Master and Madam about my situation. Ask them to send a few people over for me."
"Okay." Nanny Sun agreed.
If someone else went back, they might not be able to persuade Mr. and Mrs. Su. She went back to analyze the pros and cons for the Su Family family, telling them that once Lady Su was tortured to death, the Su Family would be completely unreliable as their son-in-law, Zhao Yuankun. They would definitely protect Lady Su.
Unlike Zhao Yuankun, who was filled with resentment upon hearing the news, Zhao Yuanliang was overjoyed to hear that Zhao Yuanxun had been appointed to an official position.
He stepped out of the house and called to the servants standing in the corridor, "Go quickly and find the eldest young master and tell him to prepare a gift. Also, tell the second young master and the two young ladies to change their clothes; our family will go to the eldest master's house later to congratulate him."
Concubine Wang and Concubine Xue used to cause trouble at home, but Zhao Jingli sent them to the estate. Now that she's more pregnant, the manor has finally brought her back. Since returning, she's been much more well-behaved than before.
She walked to the door, supporting her pregnant belly, and said to Zhao Yuanliang, "Master, you've received an official position. Why are you so Gao Xing? Don't forget that our two households have separated. No matter how good they are, we can't benefit from their success."
Zhao Yuanliang turned around and glared at her. "What do you know? Even if we've separated the family, he's still my older brother. If he becomes successful, he'll definitely help me out. Even if he doesn't, if I ever need his help, won't he help me? My older brother is the most brotherly of all."
Zhao Jingli was standing near the main courtyard when he heard the servants' words and came over. He entered the courtyard just in time to hear Zhao Yuanliang's remarks.
He couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Zhao Yuanliang was excited for a few days when he first started his official career, but he grew tired of it in less than half a month.
We had to get up early every day and couldn't go home until noon; we had to stay in the yamen until late afternoon before we could leave. There was a lot to do every day, and sometimes we were so busy that we didn't even have time to drink a cup of tea.
For the first thirty-odd years of his life, Zhao Yuanliang slept until he naturally woke up, ate, drank, and had fun every day, living a carefree life. How could he possibly endure this hardship?
Therefore, before Zhao Yuankun was even dismissed from his post, Zhao Yuanliang was already clamoring that he wouldn't go to the government office anymore. He wanted to give the position to his son, but Zhao Jingli was not yet sixteen years old. Even if he were, it would take a lot of money to bribe his way into the position, and the second branch of the family couldn't afford that much.
Zhao Yuanliang simply went to Zhao Yuankun and demanded back the two hundred taels of silver he had given him, and threw the official position back at Zhao Yuankun, infuriating Zhao Yuankun.
When Zhao Yuankun was trying to get an official position for Zhao Yuanliang, Zhao Jingli was still immersed in the pain of not being the son of Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu, and didn't care about Zhao Yuanliang. Later, when he started managing the household, he didn't stop Zhao Yuanliang from returning the official position to Zhao Yuankun.
Although he wasn't Zhao Yuanliang's son, they had been uncle and nephew for over a decade, so he knew Zhao Yuanliang well.
He's a lazy, good-for-nothing with no ambition. Even if he were to become an official, he wouldn't amount to anything, and might even get swindled out of what little wealth his family has left.
Therefore, he strongly agreed that Zhao Yuanliang should not take the official position, but stay at home obediently, have a few drinks with his aunt, and enjoy himself, as long as he didn't cause any trouble.
Now that he heard that Zhao Yuanxun had become an official, Zhao Yuanliang was so Gao Xing, and Zhao Jingli knew why.
Anyway, he's the kind of person who wants to rely on others his whole life. The more successful Zhao Yuanxun becomes, the more Zhao Yuanliang will have to rely on. He genuinely hopes that Zhao Yuanxun will do well.
Although such a father is useless and incompetent, Zhao Jingli feels that having a father like Zhao Yuanliang is quite good compared to Zhao Yuankun.
"Father, the gifts are ready. Let's go over there," he said.
"Alright, alright." Zhao Yuanliang straightened his hat, stepped down the stairs, walked to his son's side, and asked, "Brother An didn't say he wouldn't go, did he?"
"I told you, I didn't agree," Zhao Jingli said.
Zhao Jing'an barely passed the first round of the county examination, and completely failed the second round, so he couldn't participate in the third round. Zhao Jing'an could accept this result. After all, he knew that his level was not good enough.
Even knowing that Xu Chongwen had passed all three rounds smoothly, Zhao Jing'an was not unconvinced. The teacher at the clan school had long said that Xu Chongwen was better than him.
What he couldn't accept was Zhao Ruxi.
Half a year ago, Zhao Ruxi was a girl who had never formally attended school; although she had entered the Beining Women's Academy in the past six months, he roughly knew how busy she was. Zhao Jingtai had nagged about this quite a bit. She really didn't have much time to read.
Even so, she still came in first or second place, which really hit Zhao Jing'an hard, making him start to doubt the meaning of life.