Free Web NovelChapter 422: Chapter 163: Egging On (Part 3)
Seeing this, Mr. Li’s heart ached even more. Her eyes reddened, and she nearly burst into tears.
"My son, Mom has done something foolish. I’ve wronged you. But I know I was wrong now, and I’ll never interfere in your affairs again. If you really must have that Chen Wanqing, then study hard. Strive to one day become a high-ranking official, and make that Zhao Jing bend to your will. When that time comes, if you say you want Chen Wanqing, who knows? Zhao Jing might just hand her over with both hands..."
Li Cun’s figure disappeared through the doorway. Mr. Li stood dejectedly in the courtyard for a while before picking up her vegetable basket and heading toward the kitchen.
Before she even reached the kitchen door, a hand shot out from inside and yanked her in.
"You wretched girl, what have you been eating to get so strong! You have the strength of a tiger! You’re going to pull your mother’s arm off!"
Qiaoxin guiltily pulled her hand back and began to massage her mother’s arm to curry favor. "I was just so shocked. Mother, oh, Mother, did you hear what you just said to my big brother! You’re actually encouraging him to steal a married woman! How could you say such a thing!"
"What’s proper or not? I was just saying it casually. Why are you taking it so seriously?"
"It’s not just me who took it seriously; Big Brother definitely did too. Look at you! Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing are a sweet, loving couple, yet you insist on pushing my brother to be the villain. It’s not like Chen Wanqing is the only great beauty in the world. There are plenty of good girls out there! Why not encourage my brother to become a top official and marry a princess? Why must you encourage him to steal another man’s wife? Is that right?"
"You little brat, what do you know! No matter how wonderful a princess might be, would your brother even look at her? His mind is completely filled with Chen Wanqing. He’s single-mindedly set on marrying Chen Wanqing. If I told him to marry some other girl, do you think he’d actually listen?"
"But you can’t just give him terrible advice! If Big Brother really pursues the goal you set out for him, he’ll end up fighting Zhao Jing to the death. When word of that gets out, my brother will be the one in the wrong! He’s a scholar, he has his dignity to think about. Aren’t you just pushing him to his doom?"
"Doom or not, that’s something for decades from now. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. All that matters is that my son is okay right now."
Qiaoxin stood speechless, hands on her hips, unable to say a single word to her mother.
After a long while, she resentfully threw out one last line. "If my brother’s reputation is ruined in the future, it’ll be all your fault. No wonder they say to marry a virtuous woman. A good wife brings prosperity for three generations, while a bad wife ruins five. You... you... do you have some kind of grudge against the Li family? You’re really pushing the Li family’s descendants to their doom!"
Qiaoxin received a solid slap on her back. "Get lost, you stinking brat! You’re not even fully grown, and you’ve already learned to lecture your mother? Do you have any sense of propriety? Am I someone you can lecture?"
Qiaoxin ran off, pouting. ’When I get a chance,’ she thought, ’I have to have a good talk with my brother.’
’There are plenty of fish in the sea, why be hung up on one person? To be ready to live or die for a woman... it’s so unbecoming of a man.’
...
Leaves drifted down as the cold wind howled.
The season had turned to Frost’s Descent. The weather grew noticeably colder, trees and plants shed their leaves, and in the early mornings and late evenings, a layer of white frost covered everything in sight.
Perhaps it was a testament to Chen Wanqing’s saying, "the road to happiness is never smooth," but their journey was incredibly smooth after they set out.
Even the frail and sickly Mrs. Zhao and Xiang’er, who had always been sheltered, didn’t fall ill. They didn’t even get so much as a headache or a stuffy nose.
A major reason was likely that they weren’t in a hurry.
Whenever Zhao Jing noticed signs of fatigue on anyone’s face, he would adjust their pace. They would travel for little more than half the day, leaving ample time for everyone to rest. As a result, the journey was no longer an arduous affair.
A journey that might have previously taken six days, this time took them a full ten days to complete.
On this day, the group stopped to rest at the same post station where they had first met Zhang Lanshan.
They had traveled a longer distance that day because there were no other resting spots between the previous post station and this one. They had no choice but to push on to reach this stop by nightfall.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as their feet touched solid ground.
The ox carts, luggage, and other items were left for the dart masters to handle, while the main party, led by Zhao Jing and De’an, walked into the post station.
The post station was surprisingly lively. Looking around, they saw several scholars in the main hall, wearing scholars’ caps and long robes.
They had seen quite a few such scholars along their journey.
They were all Scholars who had just taken the Provincial Examination in the Prefecture city and were now returning home after failing to pass.
Whenever they encountered such scholars, Zhao Jing and De’an would make time to chat with them. This time, however, they spotted a very familiar face in the crowd.
