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

Seeing that it was about time, Cheng Nanzhi sent someone to bring Zhao Shize and Zhao Huaiyu over.

Because of the poetry gathering, Zhao Shize really stole the show.

His poems and essays are still hanging in Xiangchun Tower, and eight or nine out of ten guests who come here know him.

"This is the young master of the Zhao family who made a name for himself at the Xiangchun Pavilion poetry gathering. He is indeed handsome and exceptionally charming."

"To be honest, my son is almost twenty and he's not even a fraction as good as him. Young Master, you're truly a rare child prodigy!"

"I wish I had a son like that, so I could also experience the joy of being praised so much that I can't stop smiling."

"The Zhao family is so fortunate to have a daughter-in-law like Madam Cheng and a young master as capable as him. They are sure to rise to great heights in the future!"

Madam Zhao couldn't stop smiling as she listened to the praise, but she selectively ignored the part that also praised Cheng Nanzhi.

Zhao Shize was also very pleased with the praise, and he stood tall and proud, looking quite smug.

Beside him, Zhao Huaiyu pursed her lips and silently lowered her head to eat her pastries.

Suddenly, a voice of regret rang out: "It's a pity that this young master is not of the Zhao family bloodline. No matter how outstanding he is, he will eventually belong to someone else's family."

Madam Zhao's face immediately fell.

The guests all knew a thing or two about the Zhao family. Cheng Nanzhi had married into the family but had not yet given birth to any children. Both of her children were adopted from collateral relatives.

"That's true. Even if they're outstanding, they're outstanding from a collateral branch."

Some people who were initially quite jealous found this reassuring; even if their children were not as good as their own, they were still their offspring.

Madam Zhao's face turned green; Zege'er was her own grandson!

However, she couldn't say it openly, so Old Madam Zhao could only emphasize again: "My son Ze is the only noble young master in the mansion. There is no one else but him. With him around, I am already very satisfied."

Zhao Shize immediately shouted, "Yes, I am Father and Mother's child!"

Madam Zhao gave Cheng Nanzhi a meaningful look.

Cheng Nanzhi rarely granted her wish, and said with a smile that she treated the two children as her own.

The guests laughed and agreed, letting it go.

Just then, a servant came in and said loudly, "Madam, Madam, Miss Cousin has arrived. She says she wants to pay her respects and ask if there is anything she can do to help at the banquet."

Several pairs of eyes turned to them simultaneously: "Miss Cousin? When did the Zhao family acquire a Miss Cousin?"

Madam Zhao was taken aback. She had come all this way, so why was she speaking so loudly?

Cheng Nanzhi glanced at her coldly and immediately saw through Ye Ruyue's little scheme. The other party was deliberately trying to make a deep impression in front of others.

She glanced at Qingdai. Qingdai understood and quietly withdrew.

Cheng Nanzhi also looked at the servant and remembered his face.

If they seem unfamiliar, then they aren't the servants she arranged in the front yard, but rather someone Ye Ruyue deliberately brought to reveal her identity to the guests.

It takes courage to come to the front yard to work for Ye Ruyue at this time. But from now on, don't ever show your face in the manor again. Go to the estate and work hard.

Cheng Nanzhi's idea was correct. Ye Ruyue had deliberately bribed a servant to help her, so that even if she didn't dress up in a particularly outstanding way, she would still leave an impression.

As the guests were guessing who Miss Biao was, a beautiful and elegant woman in a light blue dress appeared gracefully in their line of sight.

Chunyu does have some talent, and the guests were truly amazed.

Ye Ruyue was overjoyed by this unexpected surprise. She forced herself to calmly go over and greet Madam Zhao, and then smiled as she greeted Cheng Nanzhi and Zhao Shize.

Someone asked who Ye Ruyue was.

Seeing that Ye Ruyue was dressed simply and indeed much more docile, Madam Zhao was happy to flatter her and immediately introduced her as an orphan girl from a distant relative's family who had come to seek refuge.

A hint of sympathy appeared in everyone's eyes.

Ye Ruyue greeted them gracefully and then stood obediently behind Madam Zhao.

Madam Zhao was even more pleased and praised Ye Ruyue to the skies.

But Cheng Nanzhi interrupted her: "Mother-in-law, it's getting late. My husband and Mr. Zhou should be arriving soon."

Say Cao Cao and Cao Cao will arrive.

The guests had heard rumors before they arrived that the banquet was for Zhao Shize and Zhou Xiangru.

Zhou Xiangru was a graduate of Lanshan Academy and was extremely famous. Many prestigious families wanted to hire him as a teacher to instruct their children, but none of them succeeded. Some couldn't even get to see Zhou Xiangru.

Therefore, they were all quite surprised when they heard that the Zhou and Zhao families had actually managed to invite Zhou Xiangru. But considering Zhao Shize's intelligence, it wasn't so surprising after all.

But there were still some who didn't believe it, especially those who had been rejected by Zhou Xiangru.

Upon seeing Zhao Yezhen leading Zhou Xiangru in, a commotion erupted.

Unable to suppress his smile, Zhao Ye raised his voice and pretended to calmly introduce Zhou Xiangru.

Zhou Xiangru's gaze swept over the crowd without revealing any emotion. Seeing that many of them came from prominent families, his expression became even more amiable.

The guests immediately went up to strike up a conversation.

Zhou Xiangru, confident in his status, only replied with a few words indifferently, then turned and greeted Madam Zhao, Cheng Nanzhi, and the others politely.

In this day and age, talented people always receive more leniency and respect. People don't feel that they have lost face; on the contrary, they think that Zhou Xiangru is a man of great talent and respect him even more.

Seeing Zhou Xiangru's exceptionally kind and gentle manner towards Zhao Shize, everyone truly believed that Zhou Xiangru intended to take Zhao Shize as his apprentice, and those who were unable to invite Zhou Xiangru were quite disappointed.

Zhao Ye was smug, flattered by the envious glances of the crowd. Seeing that most of the guests had arrived, he coughed a few times to attract everyone's attention.

After exchanging pleasantries, he got straight to the point: "My son is fortunate to have won the favor of Mr. Zhou, who wishes to take him on as his last disciple. That is why I am holding this banquet today to celebrate. Thank you all for coming to witness this event."

Everyone: "!! It's actually the closed-door disciple?!"

"After the young master of the Zhao family, Mr. Zhou has no plans to take on any more disciples!"

"That's understandable. With Young Master Zhao's talent, having one disciple is enough."

Zhou Xiangru said, "I am honored by Lord Zhao's high regard, and I will do my best to teach you. However, Lord Zhao's kindness today is a bit too much, and I cannot accept it."

"No, no, no, Mr. Zhou deserves it! As the saying goes, 'A teacher for a day is a father for life.' I hope Mr. Zhou will take good care of my son in the future."

Zhao Ye called Zhao Shize forward and ordered his servants to present the pre-prepared apprenticeship gifts and tea. As was customary, Zhao Shize knelt and kowtowed three times to formally become an apprentice.

Zhao Shize had been waiting for this moment, and he stepped forward, suppressing his excitement.

Zhao Huaiyu watched enviously from behind.

Madam Zhao and Ye Ruyue were overjoyed and looked at Zhao Shize, inviting Zhou Xiangru to take a seat.

Zhou Xiangru declined several times, saying that she didn't care about empty fame and could sit anywhere, but she couldn't resist Zhao Ye's enthusiasm and reluctantly sat down to receive his greetings.

To this end, Cheng Nanzhi also cooperated by subtly scanning the crowd and quickly spotting Qingdai at the back of the crowd.

Qingdai nodded to her from afar.

Cheng Nanzhi smiled.

The show is about to begin.