At Fan Biao's house, Fan Xudong first paid respects to his great-grandfather. Later, upon hearing about his sister's ordeal from his father, the anger within him surged. Grasping his sword, he was ready to attack.
He shoved Fan Biao aside. Zhao Jiaqi witnessed this scene and without a word, stepped forward and slapped Fan Xudong's arm.
"Impulsiveness is the devil. Even if you kill that person, what good will it do? Will Meichen's reputation be restored? Will it make everything as if it never happened?"
Fan Xudong, his eyes bloodshot, roared at her, "Even if her reputation can't be restored, I'll kill him! I'll get justice for my sister!"
"Will killing him bring you solace? Don't you know that a life for a life? Is it worth ruining your future for such a scumbag?"
"If you kill him, Meichen will have even less chance of marrying. With such a hot-headed brother, what family would dare marry such a wife? If Meichen has a small argument with her in-laws, will you tear them apart? If someone displeases you, will you kill them?"
In his rage, Fan Xudong had lost his reason and didn't grasp her words at all. He immediately shouted, "Meichen isn't your sister, so you can say such dismissive things. But she is my sister, and I will avenge her!"
With a sharp crack, Fan Xudong's face stung from Zhao Jiaqi's solid slap.
Zhao Jiaqi was furious. She didn't even look at him and turned to pay respects to her great-grandfather.
The room fell silent. The one who had been shouting about killing and fighting now stood stunned in the front hall, head bowed, speechless. Fan Biao poked his head fiercely.
He wanted to scold him, but he was already a grown man. Yet, his words just now were too excessive. Anyone would be hurt by them.
Sitting on a chair, he slapped his thighs repeatedly and sighed, "My life has truly been frustrating. My son is like this, and my daughter is like that!"
After paying her respects, Zhao Jiaqi led little Junjun to the front hall. She greeted Fan Biao and then turned to leave.
Fan Biao chased after her, intending to stop his niece-in-law, but she dodged him. "Uncle, I still have things to do. I'll go to the village chief's house first. General Fan will stay with you tonight. Don't say anything else. I'm still angry and don't want to hear anything."
Zhao Jiaqi was having a tantrum; who didn't have their little tempers?
Back at the village chief's house, Song Mingliang had already arrived. After some pleasantries, they got to the point.
"Brother Song, Uncle Li and Aunt are going to the capital to live with their son. I'll entrust these ten acres of greenhouses to you. You only need to give me twenty thousand taels annually. All the rest of the profit is yours. What do you think?"
Song Mingliang was more than willing.
He spent over thirty thousand taels of silver on vegetables from here every year, not to mention what he sold elsewhere.
He immediately sealed the deal. "No problem. I will definitely take good care of these greenhouses for you. And your home, you can rest assured, I will look after it."
Zhao Jiaqi, whose expression was not very good, managed a weak smile. "If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have handed it over to you!"
"I left in a hurry and didn't bring any silver notes. I'll go back and get them now and send them over!" With that, Song Mingliang left.
After he left, Wang Qian finally asked about the little girl.
"Aunt, this is the daughter I've adopted, Ren Yingjun."
Wang Qian understood immediately. So that's how it was. Looking at the child, who was as sharp as a little spirit, pretty, and not annoying, she was indeed lovable.
When Song Mingliang sent the silver notes, he also brought a few dishes.
He ate a meal with the village chief's family and Zhao Jiaqi. They chatted warmly for a long time before he reluctantly left.
That night, Zhao Jiaqi and the child stayed at the village chief's house. The couple was so happy that they spent the whole night packing their belongings.
Wang Qian wanted to take this and that, but in the end, Li Wencai scolded her.
"What doesn't the capital have? Why do you need to carry it all? Aren't you tired? You might as well be a snail and carry your whole house with you."
"Do you think I don't want to? If I had the abilities of a snail, I would have carried my house away long ago."
Although Wang Qian said this, she put the items back in their original places one by one.
Seeing her stubbornness, Li Wencai didn't bother arguing with her.
He revealed his true thoughts. "It's not that I don't want you to take things. We don't know what it will be like when we go to the capital. What if our son marries a formidable wife? We might have to come back and live here."
"Externally, we'll say we're going to the capital to spend the New Year with our son. If we're not comfortable living there, we'll come back. It's not a loss of face, is it?"
Wang Qian had to admit that he was right. But she thought about how, in the village, which daughter-in-law would dare to yell at her mother-in-law? She would be severely disciplined.
Thinking of herself... Alas, it was all fate!
The next day, as he was picking up his breakfast bowl, Fan Xudong entered the village chief's house with his head hanging low. He glanced at Zhao Jiaqi, who didn't give him a look, and his lips tightened before he finally spoke.
"Sister-in-law, I was a scoundrel yesterday and said things I shouldn't have. Please forgive your younger brother!"
Zhao Jiaqi: ...
"Sister-in-law... your brother was wrong, please forgive me!"
He spoke to himself. Her eating did not stop, and she didn't even spare him a sideways glance.
Seeing this, little Junjun tugged at his sleeve. "Uncle, Mother is still angry. Don't linger around her. Go and get the carriage ready. We're about to leave!"
Xudong crouched down and grabbed her shoulders. "Is Uncle good to you?"
Little Junjun nodded. "Yes."
"Then when you have free time, help Uncle plead for me. Say nice things to your mother. When we return to the capital, Uncle will buy you delicious food!"
"Okay, I'll help you!"
Little Junjun promised wholeheartedly. As soon as Xudong turned away, she couldn't help but stick out her tongue at his back. "I'm not little anymore. He still treats me like a child. Does he really think he can win me over with anything?"
She would definitely plead for him, but she couldn't let her mother deal with him so quickly. His bad temper needed to be properly dealt with.
He spoke without thinking. Yesterday's words, every single one, had pierced her mother's fragile heart.
The group soon arrived at the town, boarded the ship, and set sail.
In the cabin, everyone met familiar faces and could converse with each other. The atmosphere was lively.
Half a month later, they arrived in the capital.
The mother-in-law, who had received the news early, was already waiting at the mansion with the child. She was looking forward with great anticipation and finally saw her daughter-in-law return.
When she saw that her daughter-in-law was not the only one getting off the carriage, and she saw familiar faces, Zhang Cuihua excitedly rushed forward.
"Oh my, sister-in-law, brother, you're here too? Come, come, let's talk at the mansion!"
Zhao Jiaqi saw the child in her mother-in-law's arms, whose eyebrows were exactly like Zehao's. She stepped forward and took the child.
"Mengmeng, it's Mommy. Do you still recognize me?"