Chapter 203 – The Old Madam is from a Scholarly Family (part 17)

Jinlin didn’t expect Zhao Zongqing to say this. She had been married to him for three years, and Zhao Zongqing had always treated her very well and was extremely tolerant. She didn’t like Daqi’s service, Daqi’s food, and Daqi’s etiquette. She still maintained her habits from Xiluo. Zhao Zongqing was tolerant, and even sometimes wore Xiluo’s clothes with her and ate Xiluo’s cuisine. Because of Zhao Zongqing’s tolerance and love, she was living so happily in the past three years.

It wasn’t that Jinlin was not moved. She just didn’t think about changing and being a little better to Zhao Zongqing. She was used to being the dominant one in this relationship. She was used to Zhao Zongqing’s dedication and tolerance towards her.

But now, everything had changed.

Jinlin subconsciously thought that this was not her fault. It was Zhao Zongqing who had changed. Since he married her, he should be good to her all his life. He was so tolerant of her in the past few years and inflated her heart, so he should continue to be tolerant.

“Liar! Zhao Zongqing, you are a liar! You lied to me! You lied to me!” The situation was over. Jinlin knew that no matter how much she quarrelled, he would not be able to please her, and she might even put herself in crisis. What about older sis and Xiluo? Right now, she could only temporarily show weakness, and then slowly plot.

Jinlin pretended to be lost, but she saw a trace of distress and pity in Zhao Zongqing’s eyes. No matter why Jinlin was with him, Zhao Zongqing’s love for her in his two lifetimes was not fake.

Jinlin wanted to say something else, but Zhao Shuning saw that the situation was wrong, and winked at Wet Nurse Liu. Wet Nurse Liu immediately went over to support Jinlin. She was seemingly gentle but in fact, she was secretly exerting force. “Princess consort, you should rest.” Then, without further ado, she took Jinlin out.

Zhao Zongqing wanted to go with them, but he was stopped by Zhao Shuning.

“Younger bro, listen to me!” Zhao Shuning sighed inwardly. Her little brother was soft-hearted, even after learning of all of this. It was easy for such a person to fall for such a woman. Even if he was a member of the imperial family, if he had no shortcomings at all, then it would be time to worry.

“I know you like Jinlin, but don’t you think you spoil her too much? She has been married to you for three years. How many times has the palace summoned her? If she was always sensible and courteous, for her and your sake, emperor uncle would be a little more attentive towards Xiluo. You can be good to her, but you can’t just spoil her all the time. There will always be times when you can’t take care of it, right? What would she do then?” Zhao Shuning said seriously.

After hearing this, Zhao Zongqing reflected. Was it really his fault? He always wanted the best for Jinlin, and perhaps to some extent, he also harmed Jinlin.

Zhao Shuning stopped when things looked like they clicked. She believed that with her younger bro’s intelligence, he would definitely understand. At that time, Jinlin would suffer. Men, no matter how much they pampered women, would put their thoughts first. A bit of land in the backyard was a woman’s world.

“Okay, let’s not talk about this. You just need to know that eldest sister is doing this for your own good. Right now, the more important thing is to choose a side concubine for you. Emperor uncle has always been the most filial, and imperial grandmother has always been worried about you. If you can let the imperial grandmother carry a great-grandson, then imperial grandmother would be happy. When imperial grandmother is happy, the emperor uncle is also happy. That would be for the best,” said Zhao Shuning.

Zhao Zongqing gave a wry smile. He knew what eldest sister meant. She was afraid that he would go to emperor uncle to make a petition to ask Daqi to send troops to help Xiluo to quell the rebellion. She deliberately tried to delay it. Not to mention whether he could have children or not, even if he did, it would at least be 2-3 months later. At that time, he guessed that Xiluo would have already been destroyed.

In fact, Zhao Zongqing didn’t care at all whether Xiluo was destroyed. Although he loved Jinlin, he was a person of Daqi and naturally considered the state’s affairs first. He also understood that he agreed with emperor uncle’s attitude towards Xiluo.

However, it was not easy for him to have children.

“Eldest sister and empress mother can handle this matter! I have no opinion.” Anyway, there would be no children! Zhao Zongqing stood up and said, “I still have something to do, so I’ll go first.” He then left without waiting for Princess Kang and Zhao Shuning to say anything.

Prince Kang was not interested in these trivial things. He was only interested in eating, drinking and having fun. He heard that Wanxiang Tower had an ethereal and celestial beauty who could play the pipa well, so of course he wanted to go and take a look! “I have something to do. I’ll go first.”

In a blink of an eye, Princess Kang and Zhao Shuning were the only 2 left in the room. Fortunately, the mother and daughter didn’t expect them to stick around, so they got together and discussed which girl looked good.

Zhao Zongqing originally wanted to go to the martial arts training area, but he went to Fragrant Orchid Garden instead.

In Fragrant Orchid Garden, there was chaos. Jinlin was sitting on the chair with a blank expression while Wet Nurse Liu was directing someone to replace all the original Xiluo-style accessories.

Zhao Zongqing couldn’t help but frown. When Jinlin, who was originally expressionless, saw him, her eyes reddened and she looked like she was about to cry.

As a woman he had loved for two lifetimes, Zhao Zongqing still couldn’t be hard on her. “If you like them, then you can keep one or two pieces.”

Jinlin shook her head. “You know that’s not what I want, right?”

“Do you want me to go to emperor uncle to intercede and send troops to help Xiluo quell the rebellion?” Zhao Zongqing asked.

Jinlin didn’t speak, but her eyes clearly showed that was what she wanted.

Zhao Zongqing explained patiently, “Jinlin, don’t worry. Xiluo is a vassal country of Daqi. Daqi will definitely send troops to suppress the rebellion, but this matter needs to be discussed at length…”

“What do you mean, discussed at length? It’s obvious that you want to delay things. You want Xiluo to lose its national strength or perish due to this civil unrest!” Jinlin originally planned on acting spoiled and soft, but for some reason, as soon as she saw Zhao Zongqing, she wanted to take the initiative.

“Jinlin!” Zhao Zongqing snapped.

“What? I reveal to you the reason and you become angry?” Jinlin felt a little satisfied. “Do you know why I left my hometown to marry you and why I came to Daqi with you? It’s because Xiluo is a small country. If we wanted to survive and grow, we could not do it without the support of Daqi. Originally, if I hadn’t married you, my older sis would have let me marry Daqi’s crown prince or even His Majesty! But you said that you like me. You pursued me so enthusiastically. You made me fall in love with you. I did not hesitate to go against my older sis’ wishes and so I insisted on marrying you. But what did you do to me? If I had known this earlier, then I…”

Zhao Zongqing’s expression changed greatly. “Jinlin, you have disappointed me!” After speaking, he turned around and left!

Jinlin yelled angrily. “Coward! Zhao Zongqing, you are a coward! You are a liar!”

Zhao Zongqing ignored Jinlin’s hysteria. He just thought that maybe he was wrong in the beginning. Maybe he had made a big mistake! He shouldn’t have met Jinlin in advance. Just now, he discovered that he didn’t love the current Jinlin, but the Jinlin who had been burdened with the fate of her motherland and the one who had endured humiliation.

He could be unconditionally kind to Jinlin, which was based on what he was willing to give. Once Jinlin reached out to him for it, everything would change.

Zhao Zongqing was a little dazed when he walked out of Fragrant Orchid Garden. The world was so big. For a while, he didn’t know where to go. He thought about his unforgettable love, which had been mixed up with so many things. What was the point of his rebirth?

Zhao Zongqing suddenly thought of a person, Ru’er! He desperately wanted to meet her to prove the meaning of his rebirth.

Thinking of this, Zhao Zongqing was a little excited. He immediately returned to the study and took out the letter sent by Wet Nurse Yan. Yes, Li Yu would go to Beijing to participate in the metropolitan exam next year. If he successfully passed the metropolitan exam, then he would stay at Hanlin Academy. Then, the entire Li family was bound to move to the capital. If that was the case…

Zhao Zongqing felt excited when he thought of this possibility. Ru’er’s family background was a bit humbler compared to the girls his eldest sister had in mind. But, if she was the only one who could give birth to his own children safely, then in the hearts of his mother and eldest sister, she would naturally be different.

When Zhao Zongqing thought of this, he sighed in relief. When she entered the capital, he only hoped that Ru’er would be the same as in his previous life and would not change.

When Li Yu arrived in the capital, His Majesty had already decided to send troops to help Xiluo quell the rebellion. Of course, if he didn’t send troops, it would be too late. Queen Xiluo was dead. If he didn’t send troops, then Xiluo would cease to exist.

Li Yu took Yang Anshu to find an inn to stay in. Yang Anshu was a little nervous. It was the first time he had come to the capital. Li Yu was sitting in front of the window, looking down at the imperial bulletin. When he saw it, he smiled and said, “If you want to go out for a walk, just go. There’s nothing to do now.”

Yang Anshu shook his head like a rattle and smiled. Before he came, there had been so many people who had told him not to leave Master Scholar’s side, just in case he was assassinated. In those dramas, things like the food being drugged, being deliberately pushed so that the person suffered a broken leg, getting injured, and so on were things that happened. If Master Scholar was delayed in taking the test because of this, then he would be useless.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll stay in the inn. I won’t go anywhere, and I won’t eat things indiscriminately. When you go out for a walk, you can also inquire about what’s new in the capital. It will be beneficial for me,” Li Yu said with a smile.

“Really?” Yang Anshu hesitated.

Li Yu nodded solemnly.

“Okay, then I’ll go right away. Master, please don’t eat just anything. There’s some snacks here. If you’re hungry, you can eat this first. I’ll bring you something delicious when I come back.” Yang Anshu nodded and looked at the items again. The teapot was on the table and the tea inside was cold. He picked up the teapot and went out. After a while, he came in with a pot of hot tea.

“I personally watched the young waiter boil water just now. The tea leaves in it were brought from home. If you are thirsty, please drink this tea.” Yang Anshu was not at ease. He looked around to confirm that there was nothing wrong and then went out.

After Yang Anshu left, Li Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Anshu was fine, but he was easily nervous. Li Yu was cautious and always vigilant along the way. He was a little nervous at first, but being surrounded by Yang Anshu made him even more nervous.

However, it was good to be careful. Li Yu did not forget how he missed the provincial exam a few years ago. He studied hard for many years and finally became a scholar. If he could not pass the metropolitan examination in one go, he would miss another three years. He didn’t want to let his family down again.

Li Yu took a sip of hot tea and looked down at the imperial bulletin in his hand.