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

Cheng Nanzhi and Qingdai exchanged a glance, then looked at Zhao Shize with satisfaction, his teeth clenched.

They pretended not to notice Zhao Shize's resentment and took him back to the Zhao residence.

Only Madam Zhao was waiting in the front hall.

Old Madam Zhao had already met Zhao Ye and learned just how precious the Huizhou tribute ink that Cheng Nanzhi had brought was. She was speechless after being scolded by Zhao Ye, and felt deeply resentful, holding Cheng Nanzhi responsible for the whole affair.

She may not know the value of the tribute ink, but doesn't Cheng Nanzhi know? Is it really necessary to use such a fine item to appease Zhou Xiangru and appease her anger?

Madam Zhao was prepared to vent her anger on Cheng Nanzhi after she returned home, but all the words she had prepared vanished when she saw the red and swollen face on Zhao Shize's face.

She exclaimed and pulled Zhao Shize into her arms, then naturally questioned Cheng Nanzhi: "Didn't you already take that ink to appease Zhou Xiangru? Why are you still beating Ze'er at the clan school?! Even if you apologize to him, this is no way to apologize!"

“Mother-in-law, what are you saying? My husband beat him severely. He also made Ze Ge’er kneel for a long time and gave him a good scolding,” Cheng Nanzhi immediately retorted.

Zhao Shize nodded aggrievedly: "It's all because of Father. Father went too far. He was not good at all. If Mother hadn't pleaded for me, I might not have been able to come back."

Qingdai immediately said, "My young lady's feelings for Zege are as clear as day. How can you keep misunderstanding and accusing her, Madam?"

Madam Zhao was shocked to find out that Zhao Ye was behind it, but she couldn't bring herself to humble herself. "I just didn't expect Ye'er to be so angry."

She didn't want to continue the conversation, so she skipped over the topic and said to Zhao Shize with a stern face, "You too, how could you not study hard but gamble with the servants and even lay a hand on your teacher? Don't you know the harm of gambling? You should learn your lesson this time and not be willful and reckless again. Otherwise, your father will spank you until your bottom is bruised."

"Your grandmother has already replaced the servants in your courtyard, so there won't be any more unruly servants spoiling you. Go back and rest well, and go to pay your respects to your father and apologize later. Starting tomorrow, you must study diligently with Mr. Zhou; he's someone we worked very hard to keep."

Zhao Shize never expected that what Cheng Nanzhi and Qingdai said was true; the servants in his courtyard had actually been replaced!

Then it's no longer a doubt that Zhao Huaiyu exposed him, is it?

"I don't want new ones, I want the original ones! Grandmother, if you want to change, go change the ones in Zhao Huaiyu's courtyard, don't touch mine!"

Madam Zhao frowned: "What does this have to do with Guan Yu'er?"

"Of course it's her fault! She's deliberately making things difficult for me. She's still holding a grudge!" Zhao Shize shouted.

Madam Zhao frowned even more: "Don't talk nonsense. Yu'er didn't do anything. She was well-behaved all day, studying and practicing needlework in the courtyard. She even went to apologize to your father this morning."

"But she deliberately exposed me!"

Zhao Shize didn't understand why Old Madam Zhao didn't believe him.

Seeing that he not only failed to repent but also tried to frame Zhao Huaiyu, even Madam Zhao, who doted on him, became somewhat dissatisfied.

Zhao Shize's anger flared up the moment he saw her displeasure, and he immediately went to find Zhao Huaiyu to get to the bottom of things.

Madam Zhao was truly enraged. She scolded him for being unreasonable and ordered Zhang Mama to take him back to his courtyard to reflect on his actions.

If this behavior causes another disturbance and offends Zhou Xiangru, Old Madam Zhao doesn't even want to think about how much of the old things in the mansion she can use to apologize to Zhou Xiangru. She would have a headache if she had to spend even a little more!

After calmly watching the commotion, Cheng Nanzhi pretended to be worried and said, "Mother-in-law, don't be too angry. Ze'er is still young and doesn't know any better. When he gets older, he will understand your good intentions and will listen to you."

Madam Zhao sighed repeatedly.

"Let's hope so. Ze'er is the future of our Zhao family, he must work hard."

Speaking of this, Madam Zhao thought of Cheng Nanzhi and looked at her, saying, "Nanzhi, you also need to help plan Zege's future carefully."

Qingdai suddenly muttered, "Just now you were complaining that Miss wasn't paying enough attention, but now you don't think my Miss is being careless? You dared to hand over Ze-ge'er? You only remember my Miss when you need him?"

She speaks clearly and articulately, making it easy for everyone to understand her.

In an instant, the front hall fell completely silent.

Madam Zhao's face turned pale and ashen.

Cheng Nanzhi pretended to frown and scolded, "Don't talk nonsense, how could your mother-in-law be like this?"

Then she looked at Madam Zhao and said, "Qingdai is just being straightforward and didn't mean anything by it. I hope you won't hold a grudge against a maid like her."

Is being outspoken a sign of resentment towards her?

Since she's already said that, even if she wanted to hold a grudge, what could she do? Otherwise, wouldn't it just be her petty-mindedness as the mistress?

Madam Zhao forced a stiff smile: "Of course not. As for Ze'er's matter, it was because your mother-in-law was anxious and didn't think things through and said the wrong thing. It wasn't meant to be your fault, so don't take it to heart."

"Of course." Cheng Nanzhi smiled slightly and smoothly changed the subject: "Mother-in-law, where is my husband? I think he's quite upset with Ze'er. I'd better go and try to persuade him. Otherwise, when Ze'er goes to pay his respects this afternoon, the father and son will start arguing again, which will affect the relationship between the husband and son."

Madam Zhao was startled.

When Zhao Ye returned to the manor, he learned that Ye Ruyue had been punished by her. Feeling sorry for her, he went over and took Ye Ruyue back to the side courtyard of Shou'an Hall. No matter what she said, she wouldn't listen.

We can't let Cheng Nanzhi know where Zhao Ye is right now, it's too late to call him.

"Nanzhi, don't worry too much. Ye'er knows what he's doing. He's also Ze'er's father, so he won't be angry with him for long. Why don't you let Ze'er go and pay his respects?"

"Well, aren't you supposed to be preparing a gift for Master Fang? Go and get it ready. You've been busy for so long, go back and rest for a while."

Old Madam Zhao looked very considerate.

Cheng Nanzhi didn't really want to see Zhao Ye; she just wanted to find out what Zhao Ye was doing from Old Madam Zhao's thoughts.

She stood up and said, "Then I'll take my leave."

"That Cheng Nanzhi is getting more and more infuriating!" As soon as she left, Old Madam Zhao spat at Zhang Mama.

But then she thought, "Compared to Ye Ruyue, Cheng Nanzhi is much more capable. She can persuade Mr. Zhou to stay and also secure a good future for Ze Ge'er. Ye Ruyue, on the other hand, only hinders Ze Ge'er and has also made Ye'er lose his senses and do so many hateful things!"

Zhao Shize's matter reminded Old Madam Zhao of the incident many years ago when Ye Ruyue implicated Zhao Ye in the imperial examination.

First, she implicated Zhao Ye, and now she's delaying Zhao Shize. The good impression that Old Madam Zhao had of Ye Ruyue has cracked, and her faults and displeasure have sprung up.

The more I think about it, the worse I feel.

Zhang Mama stated objectively and neutrally, "Madam, it's not that I'm saying anything, but Madam is the one who's truly capable of being the mistress of the house. Why don't you advise the master to keep Madam around until the young master grows up, so she can contribute for a few more years? Once the young master is more stable, if the master wants Miss Ye, he can have her, so as not to affect your relationship with your son."

Madam Zhao nodded in agreement, then advised Ye'er to wait until later to take action against Cheng Nanzhi.

At this moment, Zhao Ye was in Ye Ruyue's side courtyard, watching Ye Ruyue cry to him with tears streaming down her face, complaining about her grievances. His heart was breaking.

Ye Ruyue repeatedly assured Zhao Shize that she hadn't intentionally kept it a secret from him while playing around; she had just been separated from her child for so long that she couldn't help herself and wanted to see how happy her child was.

When the topic turned to the hardships he faced in front of Madam Zhao and the cold treatment he received in the mansion, Zhao Ye felt sorry for her and gave up. He was coaxed by Ye Ruyue and readily agreed to take action against Cheng Nanzhi and the Cheng family as soon as possible so as to help Ye Ruyue rise to power.

Ye Ruyue generously expressed that she did not resent Old Madam Zhao's punishment, which made Zhao Ye feel even more distressed and guilty.

Ye Ruyue sneered inwardly. Once she became the matriarch of the Zhao family, she would definitely take her anger out on that old woman.

We can't let that old woman live any longer and keep acting like a mother-in-law to her every day!

Ye Ruyue's heart was filled with ruthlessness.

On the other side, when Zhao Shize returned to the courtyard and saw that the servants were indeed all new, he flew into a rage. This frightened the newly arrived Granny Wang so much that she dared not bring any servants out to show themselves and tried to stay as far away as possible to avoid being implicated.

But a short while later, he was suddenly called over by Zhao Shize.

"I can't be discharged. Go and call Zhao Huaiyu to my place!"