Whenever Zhao Luoning thought of her younger sister having a foot in two boats, on one hand being all lovey - dovey with the eldest young master of the Ji family and even having a child, and on the other hand leading Ji Shisu on, playing with his feelings and claiming that the child which wasn't his was his, she felt both guilty and sympathetic towards Ji Shisu.
Ji Shisu had been around in the dating world for so many years, how could he have capsized in such a small gutter?
Bah, bah, bah.
Zhao Luoning quickly spat. How could she call Luoyu a gutter?
All of Zhao Luoning's moments of annoyance and self - talk were seen by Ji Shisu.
It seemed that after not seeing her for a few days, Luoning had become much cuter.
Ji Shisu was coming over. For the sake of Master Zhao, a grand banquet was to be prepared so that the family could have a lively meal together.
Ji Shisu replied, "It's okay to have a meal, but I'll only eat with my own family." He emphasized the words "own family" very strongly.
Master Zhao was a bit embarrassed and looked at Zhao Luoning for help.
Zhao Luoning also put on a troubled look. "Father, Second Master is just like this. He has such a temper."
Yes, who was Ji Shisu? He was afraid of nothing and dared to talk back to his own parents. How could he give any face to his future father - in - law?
Master Zhao was very troubled.
Xiulian was going to cause a scene again tonight.
The family dinner with only Master Zhao, Madam Zhao, Zhao Luoning and her husband Ji Shisu was not grand, but it was warm enough.
Madam Zhao hadn't experienced such a situation for a long time. Every time there was a family dinner, seeing Chen Xiulian flirting in front of her husband made her feel uncomfortable and she couldn't even eat. So later she simply pretended to be ill and didn't attend the family dinners.
Now that it was just the family of the eldest branch and there was no Chen Xiulian causing trouble, her husband also took good care of her.
Although Madam Zhao knew very well that her husband was just putting on a show for the sake of his son - in - law.
At the family dinner, Ji Shisu wasn't shy at all. He accompanied Master Zhao and got drunk. By the end of the meal, both men were staggering drunk.
Zhao Luoning instructed the servants, "Carry Master to Madam's room. As for Second Master..."
Just as Zhao Luoning was about to give further instructions, Ji Shisu stood up on his own and said, "No... no need to support me. I know the way to Yuzhu Courtyard."
Zhao Luoning: "..."
This guy really knew how to take advantage.
She originally planned to send Ji Shisu to the side room to sleep, but seeing him staggering away, she didn't have the heart to call him back. She gave a look to Caixue and told her to go with Yuchi to help him back to his room.
After Ji Shisu left, Zhao Luoning called two strong servants to carry Master Zhao away. At this time, a maid appeared at the door.
Zhao Luoning recognized her. She was from Chen Xiulian's room.
"Eldest Miss, Madam, the Second Madam sent me to pick up Master."
Zhao Luoning snorted, "When did it become her turn to dictate where my father should be?"
The maid was also sharp - tongued. "Eldest Miss, you don't know. Master can only sleep soundly in our Madam's place. If you don't want Master to get angry when he wakes up in the morning, you'd better let me take Master away."
This maid had been waiting at the door for a while and knew exactly what was going on inside.
Just as Zhao Luoning was about to argue, Madam Zhao grabbed her.
"Forget it, forget it."
Zhao Luoning was fuming with anger.
At home, it was always like this. They were clearly in the right and she could clearly win the argument, but every time her mother would hold her back.
Her mother was the kind who didn't fight for anything, but others were so eager to fight and grab!
Zhao Luoning rarely refused her mother's request. She shook off her mother's hand and said, "Mother, don't try to persuade me. How dare a mere maid make decisions for me?"
The little maid was very mouthy. She curtsied and said, "Eldest Miss, you've misunderstood. How dare I make decisions for you? I'm just passing on a message from the Second Madam..."
Before the maid could finish her sentence, Zhao Luoning's slap landed on her face.
"You..." The maid shot a resentful look at Zhao Luoning.
Zhao Luoning rubbed her hand and looked disdainful.
"What? I'm the mistress and you're the servant. Can't I even beat you?"
"I'm the Second Madam's person!"
"So what? I don't need to care about the master when beating a lackey like you!"
Zhao Luoning glanced at Master Zhao.
Actually, Master Zhao wasn't completely drunk. The fact that he was lying there motionless clearly meant he was pretending to be drunk.
He had always been like this. When Chen Xiulian bullied their eldest branch, he would pretend to be dead. When Chen Xiulian made a fuss with him, he would ask the eldest branch to yield to the second branch.
Zhao Luoning was completely disappointed in this father of hers.
Madam Zhao stepped forward to smooth things over.
"Take Master back."
After saying that, she comforted Zhao Luoning, "Ning'er, mother is okay. I can sleep more soundly alone."
Zhao Luoning nodded.
She thought of the scars on Luoyu's body and felt sad.
She originally wanted to tell her mother the news that Luoyu had come back tonight, but now her mother's attitude completely chilled her heart.
What was the use of telling her the news that Luoyu had come back? She might even drag Luoyu back to apologize to the second madam and beg for forgiveness.
"Mother, I've always supported whatever decision you make. I hope we can be fair. In the future, when I teach someone a lesson, you don't need to help, but don't stop me either."
"I... I'm just afraid that your step - mother will cause a scene."
"Do you think she won't cause a scene if you swallow your anger? She's going to cause a scene anyway. So it's better to live more comfortably."
"Ning'er... you... you seem to have changed."
"What, are you afraid that I'll beat you too, mother?" Looking at her mother's hesitant attitude, Zhao Luoning was almost angry enough to laugh.
"No... no. I'm just sighing. It seems that your husband treats you very well."
Zhao Luoning was stunned.
Oh right, if her mother hadn't pointed it out, she wouldn't have noticed.
In the Zhao Mansion before, she wasn't without a temper, but she never dared to vent it because the consequence of venting would be a backlash, either on herself or on her relatives.
So when she first arrived at the Ji Mansion, she was also very cautious. Even when she was wronged, she only dared to take revenge with some small tricks secretly.
When did she start acting boldly in the Ji Mansion?
It seemed to start when Ji Shisu stood up for her again and again.
When someone spoke ill of her, Ji Shisu directly had that person beaten with a cane and thrown out of the mansion.
When the madam bullied her, Ji Shisu caused a big scene in the Chenxiang Hall and threw out harsh words.
When the old matriarch secretly welcomed Lingxiang into the mansion without telling her, Ji Shisu directly promised that he would only recognize her children.
...
Because of Ji Shisu's support, Zhao Luoning began to act recklessly. She began to realize that it was okay to resist, that resistance was effective and that she didn't need to worry about the consequences.
Madam Zhao patted Zhao Luoning's back and sighed, "Mother's most worried about you. Shisu seems like a good person. Ning'er, you should hold on to him well."
The more her mother advised her, the more rebellious Zhao Luoning became.
"Mother, your taste in men has never been that great."