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

Cheng Nanzhi then instructed Qingdai to take some people to Yu Yinju to fetch a set of clothes so that Zhao Huaiyu could tidy up her appearance.

"I also have some skin-whitening ointment for wounds, which is very effective in reducing swelling and scars. Let's get it for Yu-jie to use as well," Cheng Nanzhi said with a pained tone.

Qingdai seemed taken aback: "Madam, that medicine was prescribed by the imperial physician three years ago. You only have one bottle left, it's extremely precious..."

"Don't talk back. Yu-jie is a girl, her face is the most important thing. As long as Yu-jie is well, what does a bottle of skin-whitening cream matter?" Cheng Nanzhi pretended to glare at Qingdai, and only then did Qingdai agree and leave.

Zhao Huaiyu was moved to tears.

Thinking back to Zhao Ye and Madam Zhao's heartlessness, she felt even more aggrieved. She nestled against Cheng Nanzhi like a kitten, sobbing softly and calling out "Mother Cheng Nanzhi" repeatedly.

Cheng Nanzhi then raised her hand and patted her back to comfort her.

Seeing Zhao Huaiyu's completely dependent manner, Ye Ruyue felt very uncomfortable.

Cheng Nanzhi only knows how to bribe people with small favors! What else can she do besides that!

However, Ye Ruyue harbored more resentment and dissatisfaction towards Zhao Ye, Old Madam Zhao, and others.

Her daughter is the only daughter of the Zhao family, so precious and noble! How could they treat Yu-jie like that! Yu-jie is usually so filial and sensible to them!

Zhao Ye and Madam Zhao did not notice Ye Ruyue's resentful gaze.

"Since we have such a good product as the Snow Skin Cream, we'll give it to Ze Ge'er as soon as it arrives," said Madam Zhao directly. "Ze Ge'er is already disfigured; I don't know if it will leave a scar."

Zhao Shize then complained, feeling wronged, "Mother, you don't care about me at all, you only care about my sister!"

Cheng Nanzhi said calmly, "I treat you two equally, and I have never shown any favoritism."

Zhao Ye said in a deep voice, displeased, "No bias? But since you came in, I haven't seen you ask Ze Ge'er a single question. But if you really cared about Yu Jie'er, that would be good. Otherwise, you wouldn't have failed to notice and correct her rebellious thoughts in time, and she even disobeyed her elders several times!"

Zhao Huaiyu had calmed down a bit by now, but felt a lingering fear and shuddered.

Ye Ruyue finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Cousin, Yu'er is still your daughter, look how pitiful she is. It's one thing for you and the old lady not to care about her, but how could you punish her like that? This isn't entirely her fault!"

"Aunt Ye, are you saying I was wrong?" Zhao Shize jumped up and glared at Ye Ruyue.

Ye Ruyue choked. Both were her children, and she didn't know how to answer.

However, Madam Zhao said, "That Yu-jie shouldn't have fought with Ze-ge! Besides, given her intentions, being punished is already too lenient."

Zhao Ye looked at Zhao Huaiyu and felt a little sorry for her, but when he heard this, his feelings disappeared again.

Zhao Huaiyu's tears fell even harder, but she didn't dare to cry in front of them, so she turned her head and buried her face in Cheng Nanzhi's arms.

Cheng Nanzhi looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated, and finally sighed helplessly, patting Zhao Huaiyu gently to comfort him, without saying anything more.

With her there, Zhao Ye and Madam Zhao stopped punishing Zhao Huaiyu, but the atmosphere in the hall became extremely tense.

Until Granny Zhang arrived in a hurry with the doctor.

Even though Cheng Nanzhi had just reminded Zhao Huaiyu that his face was very important, Old Madam Zhao still called the doctor to see Zhao Shize first.

The doctor looked at Zhao Shize, then at Zhao Huaiyu, paused for a moment, and then decided to follow the old lady's advice. He prescribed some calming medicine for Zhao Shize and patiently answered the old lady's questions.

Ye Ruyue was also worried about Zhao Shize, so she went over and asked him a few questions.

After a while, the doctor finally had time to examine Zhao Huaiyu and prescribed a lot of herbal medicine.

After asking a few questions and confirming that Zhao Huaiyu was alright, Old Madam Zhao and Zhao Ye had Zhang Mama send the doctor away.

At this moment, Qingdai also returned.

Cheng Nanzhi asked Zhao Huaiyu to change her clothes in the side hall. When she returned, she asked Qingdai to bring out the ointment to apply to Zhao Huaiyu, but Old Madam Zhao snatched it away.

“Sister Yu already has the medicine prescribed by the doctor, so let’s give it to Brother Ze now.”

With red eyes, Zhao Huaiyu said, "This was given to me by my mother."

Madam Zhao said unhappily, "Why are you fighting with your brother? Yu'er, you weren't such an ignorant child before."

Seeing that Zhao Ye didn't say anything, Zhao Huaiyu bit her lip and lowered her head.

Ye Ruyue felt extremely distressed, but seeing Zhao Shize also crying out in pain, she swallowed the words she was about to say.

Cheng Nanzhi remained silent, only feigning a troubled expression when Zhao Huaiyu looked at her.

The scratches on Zhao Shize's face were actually quite small and didn't require much ointment, but Old Madam Zhao still applied most of the bottle, leaving only a little for Zhao Huaiyu.

"This is yours. Your brother left it to you. Look at Ze'er, and then look at yourself. From now on, you are not allowed to lay a hand on Ze'er again, do you hear me?" Old Madam Zhao said sternly.

Zhao Huaiyu looked at Zhao Shize, who was sitting on the old lady's lap, looking at her provocatively and smugly, and clenched her hands, replying with a "Yes."

Madam Zhao then waved her hand, telling her to leave.

Having watched the commotion to her heart's content, Cheng Nanzhi stood up and offered to take Zhao Huaiyu home with a caring tone.

This displeased Zhao Shize, and it took Old Madam Zhao a while to coax him back to a smile.

“Your matter is over, but yours isn’t. You should be studying in your study in your own courtyard at this hour. How did you end up running into your sister in the backyard?” Zhao Ye said.

Zhao Shize immediately lost his composure and weakly said that he was tired from studying and went out to relax.

Old Madam Zhao felt sorry for Zhao Shize's suffering today and told Zhao Ye to stop and let Zhao Shize go back to rest.

Zhao Shize then ran away quickly.

Only Madam Zhao, Zhao Ye, and Ye Ruyue remained.

Ye Ruyue gave Zhao Ye a wink before taking her leave.

Zhao Ye understood and, after leaving Old Madam Zhao's place, immediately went to find Ye Ruyue.

Behind the artificial rock next to the side courtyard, Ye Ruyue had Chunyu dismiss the servants in advance. As soon as she saw Zhao Ye, she immediately scolded him: "Yu Jie'er is our daughter. How could you let her suffer such grievances today!"

Thinking of Zhao Huaiyu crying so hard she couldn't breathe, Ye Ruyue's heart ached terribly.

Zhao Ye patiently explained, "It is indeed Yu Jie'er's fault. I spoke to her in the study, but she didn't take it to heart at all, and even took her anger out on Ze Ge'er when she got out. If we don't restrain her, she will become even more unruly in the future, which will not be good for her reputation as a young lady."

Ye Ruyue then asked him what exactly they had said in the study.

Zhao Ye told her everything.

In fact, his expectations for his two children were very clear.

Zege'er wanted to take the imperial examination to enter officialdom and inherit his family business, while Yujie'er wanted to choose a good family to help the Zhao family and him.

However, Yu Jie'er is his biological daughter after all, and he will do his best to make her live the best life possible. But this absolutely does not include her trying to compete with Zhao Shize and learning useless ways to disobey him.

Ye Ruyue looked at Zhao Ye with a complicated expression and couldn't help but ask, "In your eyes, is it really true that a woman has no chance of inheriting a family business?"

"Yue'er, what are you saying? Of course I have high expectations for Yu'er, but I don't want her to have a hard life. When she grows up, I will do my best to find her a good marriage so that she can live a life without worry about food and clothing." Zhao Ye hugged Ye Ruyue and made a soft promise.

Ye Ruyue remained silent.

In her view, it is perfectly normal and not wrong for a woman to try her best to get what she wants.

Why can't women fight for themselves? Why can't they have the life they want? And why should their future be decided by others?

However, it is clear that in this era, such words are not acceptable.

Ye Ruyue took a small breath and forced a smile: "I believe you."

Ye Ruyue knew very well that, given her current status, she couldn't comment on what Zhao Ye said.

She must become the matriarch of the Zhao family!

Then, she would not only be able to live the life she wanted, but she could also say a few words about Yu Jie'er's marriage. She would then be able to better consider choosing a truly suitable marriage for Yu Jie'er, one that wouldn't be as exhausting as her own!

On the other side, Cheng Nanzhi escorted Zhao Huaiyu back to Yu Yinju.

After a long and tiring ordeal, Zhao Huaiyu was exhausted both physically and mentally. After learning that Granny Yu and the others had been settled, she went to rest.

"Mother, please don't go. Stay with me a little longer. Wait until I fall asleep before you leave, okay?" Zhao Huaiyu held Cheng Nanzhi's hand.

Cheng Nanzhi sat down on the edge of the bed and patiently coaxed Zhao Huaiyu. Seeing that she seemed to have fallen asleep, she tucked the blanket around her.

"Alas, it's pitiful that you're born a girl. If you were a boy, you wouldn't be suffering like this. You shouldn't be so foolish as to try and compete with Ze-ge'er..."

Cheng Nanzhi stroked Zhao Huaiyu's cheek, murmuring tenderly, and sat for a while before leaving.