When Yongjia accused him in front of the servants of not being a devoted father, Zhao Junyuan’s face immediately fell.
After all, he had always maintained the image of a loving father.
Having been married to Yongjia for many years, he didn’t mind retorting a few words: “Madam, you only say I failed to raise our daughter properly, but over the years, how many days have you actually spent at home? And now you question me? As a man, am I supposed to stay home every day teaching our daughter?”
If it weren’t for Yongjia’s complete disregard for him as her husband, how could he have grown to despise her so much?
Wives in ordinary households always spoke to their husbands with soft, gentle words, but she was like a firecracker, always questioning him.
Even as a princess, she ought to be reasonable.
Not only was she away all year, but on the rare occasions she returned, she would still be angry with him.
Thinking of this, he sneered, “Doesn’t Buddhism preach saving all living beings? I don’t know what kind of cultivation you’re practicing—all you do is abandon your husband and daughter.”
Yongjia seethed with anger.
Yet, she truly had neglected her family, especially her daughter. She had failed as a mother.
Because of this, she had no strength to refute him.
Seeing her remain silent, Zhao Junyuan felt a surge of satisfaction.
Only by using Aning could he gain some leverage over Yongjia.
“Father, what you said is wrong.”
A small voice spoke up. Zhao Junyuan looked down and realized that Zhao Qingning had woken up at some point.
Moreover, she had heard every word of their conversation.
Yongjia finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Aning, you’re awake at last! You scared me to death.”
She held her daughter tightly in her arms, her usually strong demeanor softening as her eyes reddened.
After all, Aning was the child she had carried for ten months—flesh of her flesh, bone of her bone.
If anything happened to her daughter, she wouldn’t want to live either.
Zhao Qingning patted her back comfortingly. “Mother, I’m fine.”
It was just that Yongjia was holding her so tightly she could barely breathe.
Perhaps sensing this, Yongjia loosened her embrace.
Zhao Junyuan sat by the bed and took her hand. “Aning, you scared me to death. You have no idea how terrified I was when I heard what happened to you.”
Zhao Qingning looked at his worried expression and inwardly laughed.
He was probably afraid she hadn’t died, wasn’t he?
She withdrew her hand from his grasp, her expression serious, and continued with the earlier topic. “In her early years, Mother fought to repel foreign invaders and, in doing so, took lives on the battlefield. In a way, she also saved countless people. Now, she cultivates Buddhism to accumulate blessings for the souls of the departed. Father, you shouldn’t have spoken to her like that.”
In her view, while Yongjia might have lacked in maternal care, that was no reason for Zhao Junyuan to attack her.
Zhao Junyuan’s face darkened.
He hadn’t expected Zhao Qingning to say such things.
Disgust flashed in his eyes. Truly, like mother, like daughter—both of them were cut from the same cloth. One questioned her husband, the other accused her father, neither understanding propriety or decorum.
But he couldn’t show it. Instead, he forced an awkward smile. “I was only speaking up for you, my dear.”
Zhao Qingning shook her head. “I don’t mind any of that. Mother hasn’t done anything wrong.”
Zhao Junyuan’s face turned grim.
With those words, it seemed everything was his fault.
Yongjia stared at her daughter, tears glistening in her eyes.
She had never imagined her daughter would say such things.
All this time, she had felt she owed Aning everything. It turned out her daughter no longer blamed her.
Watching her daughter smile at her, Yongjia’s heart melted completely. How could she remember anything else? She only regretted not being able to accompany her child as she grew up, having missed her development in the blink of an eye.
Zhao Qingning spoke in a muffled voice, “Mother, I’m a little hungry.”
Yongjia wiped away her tears. “Alright, alright. I’ll have someone prepare some delicious food for you right away.”
As she spoke, she stood up and went out, wishing she could cook for her daughter herself.
Zhao Junyuan put on a show of being a loving father to no avail, leaving in a huff.
Once the room quieted down, Zhao Qingning recalled Lu Jinghan holding a knife before she fainted and felt a headache coming on.
She had read before that psychopaths typically have a latency period of seven years. Lu Jinghan was already showing signs of that tendency—what would he be like in the future? She had to find a way to straighten him out.
But how should she do it?
Zhao Qingning thought it over but couldn’t come up with a good plan. However, she remembered that when her best friend was depressed during a low point, she always turned to reading for self-redemption.
Uncertain, she wondered if this method might work for Lu Jinghan too?
At the entrance of Virtue and Abundance Academy.
Lu Jinghan looked at the books in Qiuhua’s hands, puzzled. “What are these?”
“Miss asked me to bring them to you.”
Earlier, after eating, Zhao Qingning had gone to the study. She searched through several simple yet profound books that taught positivity and kindness, sending them to Lu Jinghan in hopes of guiding him onto the right path.
Qiuhua said, “Miss wants you to read all of these. She’ll test you on your insights when she returns.”
With that, she set the books down and left.
Lu Jinghan frowned at the books.
After a long while, he still took them back with him.
Learning that Lu Jinghan had accepted the books, Zhao Qingning was delighted. She had thought it over repeatedly: he had killed the vicious dog to protect her, and now he was cooperating with her efforts to help him. Given time, she believed he could become a sunny young man.
Due to the injury on her head, she took leave to recuperate at home.
During this time, she got whatever she wanted and found life quite pleasant.
The only thing tormenting her was Zhao Junyuan.
Probably trying to bridge the gap between father and daughter, he came every night to tell her bedtime stories.
Those stories were childish and boring, making her put on a pained expression.
Left with no choice, she could only pretend to be asleep.
Once she was “asleep,” Zhao Junyuan would drop his loving father act and leave.
That night, she used the same trick again, pretending to snore shortly after he started his story.
Seeing her asleep, Zhao Junyuan stood up and lowered the bed curtains.
Zhao Qingning cracked open an eye to peek, expecting him to leave, but he stopped in his tracks.
“What’s going on with the young lady lately?” Zhao Junyuan asked harshly. “Didn’t I tell you to lead her into causing trouble at the academy and make her resent Yongjia? Why has she been so well-behaved recently, and why are the mother and daughter so close?”
“This servant doesn’t know what’s happened to the young lady either. Lately, she seems like a different person.”
“Then what use are you to me?”
The sound of knees hitting the floor echoed.
“This servant admits her fault. Please give me another chance.”
“If you succeed this time, I’ll take you as a concubine and give you status. Otherwise, I’ll sell you off. Think carefully.”
Zhao Junyuan snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve, and left.
Once she was sure he was far away, Zhao Qingning widened her eyes, her back turning cold with fear.
She had only two personal maids in her chambers, both young girls of sixteen or seventeen. Chunlan was lively and quick-witted, while Qiuhua was steady and composed.
That voice just now was unmistakably Chunlan’s.
Zhao Qingning never expected that she was actually involved with Zhao Junyuan.
She hadn’t noticed before, but looking back now, many things were indeed suspicious. For instance, when the original host attacked Jiang Zhiyi at the academy, Chunlan had been the one egging her on.
At the time, the book made no mention of her connection to Zhao Junyuan, so Zhao Qingning had assumed she was merely being loyal to her mistress.
Moreover, when Zhao Qingning lost focus during class and apologized to Jiang Zhiyi, Yongjia found out as soon as she returned home and accurately mentioned the gift of the pearl and gold hairpin, flying into a rage.
Thinking back now, it was likely Chunlan who deliberately leaked the information.
Suspicion is like a seed—once planted, it grows into a towering tree.
Zhao Qingning grew increasingly convinced that Chunlan could not stay.
What if she conspired with Zhao Junyuan in the future to harm her?
But how could she drive Chunlan away without alerting Zhao Junyuan that she had already uncovered his sinister ambitions and was now on guard?