Favoring a concubine and destroying the wife? I'll abandon my husband and children and wipe out

Madam Zhao said, "Don't worry."

Ye Ruyue secretly gave Zhao Ye a flirty wink.

Zhao Ye felt half-melted and suggested that he wanted to talk to Ye Ruyue alone.

Madam Zhao gave a permissive reminder: "Don't linger too long and let people see that something is wrong."

Zhao Ye nodded.

The two then dismissed the servants and went to the back hall.

Ye Ruyue was still unwilling and said coquettishly, "Ye Lang, are you really willing to let me live a life of vegetarianism and chanting Buddhist scriptures?"

"Yue'er has been wronged for several days." Zhao Ye was also afraid that the Bodhisattva might really think Ye Ruyue was not sincere and affect him.

"Moon, I know you care about me the most. Once I'm promoted, I'll find an excuse to bring you out of Shou'an Hall and let you live in a better place."

The best of these is Cheng Nanzhi's Guantang Courtyard.

The top of the mansion is the most magnificent.

Ye Ruyue was dissatisfied, but she wisely kept quiet to avoid damaging her image in Zhao Ye's eyes.

Presumably, Cheng Nanzhi wouldn't really let her live in a place that's too shabby or miserable.

Then she'll use the excuse of praying in her room and not wanting anyone to disturb her to close the door. Who knows what she's doing?

With that in mind, Ye Ruyue finally accepted it and went with Zhao Ye to Shou'an Hall to see where they would stay.

Ye Ruyue had long been tired of the simple courtyard in the suburbs of Beijing; the Zhao family mansion was far superior!

Over the years, Ye Ruyue had really had enough of not knowing when she could get rid of Zhao Ye's status as his mistress. Zhao Ye never gave her a definite answer, so it was more hopeful for her to take the initiative to plan and scheme!

Therefore, after much deliberation, she took the initiative to persuade Zhao Ye to let her live in the Zhao residence. Not only would she be able to live a better life than before, but she could also get one step closer to her goal.

Upon arriving at Shou'an Hall, they saw Granny Zhang rushing out.

Ye Ruyue and Granny Zhang were old acquaintances, and she greeted them politely.

Granny Zhang's expression was subtle.

Zhao Ye noticed: "Granny, what's wrong? Do you have something important to discuss with Mother?"

"No... sir, it's Miss Ye's residence..." Granny Zhang looked constipated.

Zhao Ye and Ye Ruyue were both taken aback.

Suddenly, Qingdai called out from behind.

"Hey! Be careful and move them to the warehouse, take them all with you!"

"You all need to be on your guard! Don't let anyone slip by! If you happen to hinder Miss Biao, you'll be held responsible!"

A moment later, Qingdai came out, followed by more than a dozen servants, each carrying something in their hands—display items, brocade curtains, and all sorts of familiar things…

This left the two of them completely bewildered.

"Qingdai, what are you doing?!"

Zhao Ye hesitated, wondering if Qingdai was going to set up another room instead of what he thought...

"Reporting to the young master, I just cleaned up some of the things that weren't suitable in Miss Biao's room. These are all from the old lady's storeroom. Since Zhang Mama is here, please lead the way to register them in the storeroom," Qingdai said.

Ye Ruyue reacted in disbelief: "Pack up? I think you emptied the whole room!"

It's like they only left her a bed!

“How could you think like that, Miss?” Qingdai said righteously. “Didn’t you want to burn incense and pray for blessings? I don’t know how to decorate. Fortunately, five years ago, when my young lady went to Lingtai Temple with the old lady to burn incense, I remembered what the guest rooms looked like and modified them accordingly. Do you think the decorations at Lingtai Temple are not good enough?”

Lingtai Temple was extremely popular, attracting many high-ranking officials and nobles, and even the imperial family respected it.

How could Ye Ruyue dare to say no?!

"What does the young master think?" Qingdai turned to Zhao Ye, seemingly intending to listen to his instructions.

Zhao Ye also dared not say anything about Lingtai Temple, and it took him a long time to finally manage to utter a word.

"That's good, it's kind of you to put in the effort."

"Young master, you flatter me. My young lady says that Miss Zhang is an honored guest, so we must think carefully." Qingdai sneered inwardly and called for Zhang Mama to leave.

Seeing this, Granny Zhang could only swallow her words and gave the two of them a complicated look before leaving.

The two only realized what was happening when they reached the room door.

Inside, there were only basic items such as wooden beds, tables and chairs, nothing else. It was so bare and boring that no one would have the slightest thought of living there!

Moreover, there were no curtains on the windows, the mattresses were only a few layers deep, there were no things to block the wind at the door, and there was no heater in sight.

It's still a cold snap in early spring; she'd freeze to death if she lived inside!

"Ye Lang!" Ye Ruyue turned her head and cried with tears streaming down her face, "This is even worse than the woodshed in my old courtyard! How can I live in a place like this?!"

Zhao Ye was also taken aback, and immediately turned around and sternly called his servants to ask what was going on.

The servant, forcing a smile, replied, "My lord, Miss Qingdai said that this is indeed decorated according to the guest rooms at Lingtai Temple. She also said that Miss Qingdai is wholeheartedly praying for your and Madam's well-being, and she will surely be pleased to see it."

Zhao Ye and Ye Ruyue felt a lump in their throats.

"Is this really how the guest rooms at Lingtai Temple are? Or is she deliberately making things difficult for me?" Ye Ruyue finally couldn't hold back anymore.

Zhao Ye also began to suspect that Cheng Nanzhi might know something, so he ordered a servant to invite Old Madam Zhao.

"Mother, you and Cheng Nanzhi went to Lingtai Temple. Was the guest room you stayed in really like this?" Zhao Ye briefly recounted what had happened.

Madam Zhao looked inside and exclaimed, "How is that possible?! Lingtai Temple is a popular place of worship, how could it be so shabby without the money for repairs? Their guest rooms are much better than this..."

Suddenly, Madam Zhao stopped, a hint of embarrassment creeping onto her face.

When pressed for details, she mumbled, "But when we went to offer incense, Cheng Nanzhi's room was indeed like that."

"What? What's going on?" The two were puzzled and didn't believe it.

"Back then, there were always some gossips saying that Ye'er, you rely on Cheng Nanzhi. When you go out, people only associate with Cheng Nanzhi and rarely pay attention to me... I was worried that Cheng Nanzhi would become too arrogant and make you feel bad, so I thought I would temper her temperament!"

Madam Zhao thought for a long time before coming up with a suitable excuse to offer incense. After arriving at Lingtai Temple, she specially spent money to find a woodshed for Cheng Nanzhi. She only ate plain porridge and pickled vegetables for three meals a day, claiming that this was the only way to be sincere.

Later, Cheng Nanzhi indeed took even better care of her son, and the situation she had worried about did not occur. Doesn't this prove that what she did was very effective?

Ye Ruyue almost choked on her breath.

It turns out that Cheng Nanzhi didn't do it on purpose; it was this old woman who harmed her!

Zhao Ye hadn't expected that now, even if they had grievances and wanted to move Ye Ruyue to another place, how could they tell Cheng Nanzhi? If they did, wouldn't that let her know that Old Madam Zhao had done it on purpose!

"Mother, why did you go through all that trouble? If you hadn't done that, Yue'er wouldn't be living in a place like this now," Zhao Ye complained.

Madam Zhao was displeased: "I was only thinking of you, who would have thought things would turn out like this!"

Madam Zhao looked at Ye Ruyue with some displeasure.

She was devoted to her son, yet he spoke to her like this for another woman! Her son had never done anything like this for Cheng Nanzhi!

Ye Ruyue's heart skipped a beat.

To gain a foothold in the Zhao family, she not only needed Zhao Ye's favor, but also the favor of Old Madam Zhao!

"Ye Lang, this is not the old lady's fault. She has always treated me well, and she even put a lot of effort into preparing my lodging. If anyone is to blame, it's... it's all Cheng Nanzhi's fault!"