The old lady wore a profound smile on her lips. "I know Lady Wei is from Xunzhou. I happen to have some local specialties from there. Lady Wei, please take them back." Her arrogant tone left no room for negotiation; it was a direct order.
"Sure, that would be great," Lady Wei replied, forcing a stiff smile onto her face. Then she followed Nanny Xie out.
As soon as Lady Wei left, the old lady waved at Liu Yushu, her kind smile tinged with a hint of playfulness. "She still dreams of having you marry into her family. Her son dared to break into your boudoir in broad daylight. He's a complete scoundrel. You must never associate with the Zhao family again."
"Yes, granddaughter will do as Grandmother says," Liu Yushu replied, tilting her head and resting it on the old lady's shoulder.
The scene of the grandmother and granddaughter was heartwarming. Liu Yumei watched with a hint of loss in her cool eyes. After asking for the old lady's permission, she left in a hurry. On her way back, she couldn't stop crying. She missed her mother.
On the other hand, Lady Wei followed Nanny Xie nervously towards the firewood shed at the back. Frowning, she asked, "Why are you taking me to the firewood shed?" Her tone was haughty, and her eyes were full of contempt.
Nanny Xie calmly opened the door. Lady Wei's face immediately paled. Without caring about the dirt, she rushed into the shed and quickly untied Zhao Qin, who was bound hand and foot with a gag in his mouth.
Knowing she was in the wrong, Lady Wei didn't dare to raise her voice. She lovingly protected her son and then looked up at Nanny Xie. "Please convey my gratitude to the old lady on my behalf. My son was disrespectful today."
"Then this old servant will take her leave. You two should follow the maid and leave through the back door later," Nanny Xie said with a gentle smile before turning away.
The back door? Lady Wei was stunned for a moment and then sneered self - deprecatingly. She, the legitimate wife of the Minister of War, had to sneak out through the back door with her son. This was more humiliating than being slapped in the face.
"You useless boy! I told you to wait for me outside. Now, I have to suffer with you," Lady Wei said, knocking on Zhao Qin's head, disappointed in his incompetence.
"Mother, I didn't mean to. I was worried about you. They say the old lady here is very strict. I was afraid she would make things difficult for you," Zhao Qin said aggrievedly.
Lady Wei's heart softened. After untying him, she whispered in his ear, "Did you succeed? Did you see and get what you wanted?" Her words clearly indicated that she wanted her son to take advantage of Liu Yushu. After all, Liu Yushu would marry into their family sooner or later, and she didn't mind getting the matter settled earlier.
Zhao Qin immediately made a shushing gesture. "Mother, let's leave first. We'll talk about these things later. It's not convenient here. Be careful of eavesdroppers." He was quite smart.
Lady Wei looked down and noticed the stain on Zhao Qin's pants. She pursed her lips and smirked. "Liu Yushu is really good at pretending. She's already yours, but she still acted as if nothing had happened. I thought she was so pure and innocent. It seems she can't resist temptation either." She completely misunderstood, thinking that Zhao Qin and Liu Yushu had already had an affair.
Lady Wei doted on Zhao Qin and naturally thought her son was extremely charming. It was only natural for a mere Liu Yushu to be infatuated with her precious son.
Zhao Qin didn't deny it. He just pulled his mother and quickly slipped out through the back door.
After returning home, he found his concubine, He Caiwei. He covered her mouth and beat her severely, breaking one of her legs. Still not satisfied, he glared at her with blood - red eyes and shouted, "It's all your fault. If it weren't for you, a bad - luck star, I wouldn't have been caught today. I'm humiliated because of you. You shameless slut!"
He Caiwei's eyes were filled with hatred. She cursed Zhao Qin in her heart and swore that if she became a ghost, she would come after Zhao Qin first.
"Zhao Qin, you bastard! You're abusing your power," Zhao Zhui kicked open the door. He told the maid to rescue He Caiwei and carry her out. He couldn't stand his younger brother's tyranny at home.
Zhao Qin didn't care. He threw the bloody stick on the ground and sat leisurely in the chair, sipping tea. "You're so protective of this bitch. Do you have feelings for her? If you like her, take her to your room. I don't care how you play with her."
"You!" Zhao Zhui was so angry that he knocked over the teacup in Zhao Qin's hand and punched him hard in the face. He shouted angrily, "With your behavior, you still dream of marrying the eldest daughter of Minister Liu. Don't daydream." Zhao Zhui was an upright man. He only felt sorry for He Caiwei and couldn't bear to see a good person being tortured.
"Zhao Zhui, how dare you curse me! You'll die a bad death, and I'll make you childless," Zhao Qin roared in a fit of rage. Zhao Zhui's words were like a knife stabbing into his heart.
Taking advantage of Zhao Zhui's inattention, he kicked hard at Zhao Zhui's groin. Zhao Zhui let out a muffled groan and fell to the ground in pain, his features contorted. Seeing this, Zhao Qin showed a smug smile. While Zhao Zhui was unable to resist, he walked over and stepped on him several times. Finally, Zhao Zhui fainted from the pain.
"What's going on? What are you two brothers arguing about?" Lady Wei rushed over when she heard the noise. Seeing her eldest son lying on the ground, she told the servants to carry him back. She glared at Zhao Zhui in disgust. "As the elder brother, you don't act like one. You're always picking on your younger brother. You're a coward."
Zhao Qin put on an aggrieved look. "Mother, big brother always takes his anger out on me. He says I'm useless and not worthy of Liu Yushu. Is he really my brother? I'm so wronged." As he spoke, he even started to cry.
"Good son, don't listen to your big brother's nonsense. What's so great about the daughter of the minister? Mother will definitely make you marry her. Just rest assured," Lady Wei said, gently stroking Zhao Qin's back to comfort him.
Her eyes turned cold. She thought Liu Yushu was really good at pretending. Since she already had a relationship with her son, she still pretended to be innocent. But this was easy to handle. Even if the old lady in the Liu family was reluctant, Liu Yushu would have to marry Zhao Qin.
After returning to her room, Lady Wei called the maid. "Make a set of clothes with the fabric I bought a few days ago." She planned to take the clothes and a set of gold and silver jewelry to the Liu family to propose marriage in a few days. Since the deed was done, there was no need to give Liu Yushu anything too precious. After all, she had already lost her virginity to her son. Who else could she marry?
At the Liu Mansion.
At night, Liu Yushu was about to go to bed when her eyelid suddenly started to twitch. She felt a sense of uneasiness. She always felt that something bad was about to happen. Zhao Qin's sneaking in today really bothered her. But she couldn't figure out how Zhao Qin had managed to get in.