bookrebus Chapter 158 The Zhou Family's Upheaval
Chapter 158 The Zhou Family's Upheaval
Xia Li planned to take her sister out for a walk to relax.
Just as they stepped out, Zhou Qingyu rushed over.
"problem occurs!"
Zhou Qingyu's face turned pale. "My sister was threatening to commit suicide, but thankfully you had the foresight to discover it in advance."
Xia Li said irritably, "If you've already stopped them, just go and try to persuade them. Why are you coming to us?"
“We owe a great debt to Princess Nanhua this time,” Zhou Qingyu said, looking at Zhao Jihua. “My sister is not listening to anyone and not seeing anyone right now. I thought that since the princess was able to point this out, she must know where her troubles lie, so I would like to ask you to go and persuade her… Of course, you will be very grateful for the reward.”
Zhao Jihua smiled enigmatically: "I think General Zhou should know better where the problem lies and where the solution lies."
Zhou Qingyu lowered his head: "But... it's hard to disobey the imperial decree."
The emperor's mind is unpredictable, and he dared not gamble on the future of the Zhou family.
"So she compromised for the sake of her family, but she didn't want to leave it to fate." Xia Li hit the nail on the head.
"Please, both of you, save my sister!"
Zhao Jihua sighed: "Alright, since you're in such a hurry, let's go see Zhou Xianya."
The three of them rushed to Zhou Xianya's residence.
The room was in a mess, and Zhou Qingyu's sister was huddled in a corner.
It's unclear what she said that angered the Third Prince, but he slapped her across the face.
"You wretch! You're lucky to have caught the eye of this prince, yet you don't want to marry me? I don't want to marry you either! How could something like you be worth even a single finger of Miss Xing?"
As they were talking, they saw someone come in. The Third Prince glared at Zhou Xianya and said, "Prepare for your wedding properly and don't cause me any trouble!"
After saying that, he strode away.
Zhou Qingyu made a hand gesture to the two of them and then hurriedly went to chase after the Third Prince.
After everyone left, Zhao Jihua knelt down next to Zhou Xianya and said softly, "Do you know that your attempts to kill yourself won't change anything, and will only cause your family more pain?"
Zhou Xianya sneered: "Family? If they really cared about me, how could they disregard my wishes? They don't care about me, so why should I care about them!"
Zhao Jihua laughed, "That's right! This is the Zhou Xianya I know, the spoiled young lady who doesn't care about other people's lives."
Zhou Xianya stopped crying and started laughing.
She laughed and then cried. "It's easy to say, but they are my parents and relatives who love and cherish me. How can I bear to let my whole family be buried for my own selfish desires?"
"So you just made a scene to vent your anger?"
"Mmm!" Zhou Xianya pulled the other woman's skirt over and wiped her nose.
Zhao Jihua: !!!
Zhou, however, continued as if he hadn't seen anything, "I've always known that the Third Prince secretly seeks out women, and he even caused such a huge scandal before..."
Xia Li touched her nose.
Yes, the troublemaker is right in front of you.
“But today I saw the Third Prince forcibly abducting women in the street again…” Zhou Xianya continued.
Xia Li interrupted her: "Hasn't it already been legislated?"
"The law can restrain people, but it cannot restrain these princes and nobles. They will find loopholes, pay money to settle things, and become even more unscrupulous."
"Everyone has tacitly accepted it? Then what was the point of enacting this law in the first place?"
"Actually, it wasn't useless. When the matter blew up so much, the law did stop this phenomenon. But the Third Prince was in favor, so he started forcibly taking women again."
"Nobody cares?"
"Who dares to fight against the future emperor?"
With the Third Prince setting this precedent, people gradually resumed their old ways of forcibly abducting women.
Xia Li: "..."
The atmosphere became heavy for a moment.
Zhao Jihua clenched his fists.
No matter how strong or perfect the laws are, they are useless unless the root cause of crime is addressed.
Kill the Third Prince!
Zhou Xianya said, "That day I saw him forcibly abduct a woman in the street. I was so angry that I argued with him, but I was too weak to protect her. This feeling of frustration is so unbearable. I need to vent. Tell them not to try to persuade me anymore. I promise, once I calm down, I will obediently get married."
"Then what about your brother Duan?"
Zhou Xianya: !!!
She hurriedly ran to close the door, then squatted back in the corner: "Have you told anyone? My brother and the others don't know, do they?"
Zhao Jihua laughed and said, "Don't worry, we're best friends. Would I just say anything? Nobody knows except me."
After hearing this, Zhou Xianya seemed to finally lose her temper and sat down on the ground, wailing, "What can I do? All the land under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people on the shores of the earth are his subjects. If the king commands his subjects to die, the subjects have no choice but to die. The emperor made me marry, so I had no choice but to marry."
Zhao Jihua chuckled: "The Zhou Xianya I know isn't the kind of person who gives up so easily."
Xia Li continued, "We understand your grievances, but now is not the time to give up."
Zhao Jihua also said, "Fortunately, the Empress's faction most wants to form a marriage alliance with the Xing family, so it has been delayed and the matter has not yet been settled. Since it has not been settled, there is still a chance."
As he spoke, he took out a letter and handed it to her, saying, "I obtained this by chance; it contains some inside information about the Emperor's arrangements for your family."
Zhou Xianya opened the letter and her eyes widened. At the same time, she breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Xia Li and the other person with gratitude.
Zhao Jihua looked at Xia Li with an approving gaze, and Xia Li scratched his head shyly.
Zhou Xianya's hope was rekindled, and she firmly declared that she would fight hard for the fate of her family.
……
The two had just left Zhou Xianya's courtyard when Zhou Qingyu appeared in front of them.
He asked, "How did it go? Did you manage to appease her?"
Xia Li gave him a deep look before slowly uttering a single word: "Mm."
How can this not be considered appeasement?
She has indeed stopped causing trouble and is now focused on working hard for the family!
You're just making things difficult for me.
Zhou Qingyu, unaware of all this, breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, thank goodness she's stopped making a scene." While feeling relieved, he also complained a little, "I don't know what happened, she suddenly started making a scene, she's so inconsiderate of the family."
"Have you ever considered her feelings?" Zhao Jihua suddenly asked.
"We...of course we've always been thinking about her, but there are many things we can't choose."
"Just like you, she is also incredibly conflicted. If you love her, she will naturally do everything in her power, but it seems that you are going to abandon her. She is like a child who has been suddenly abandoned, at a loss."
"But she clearly..."
"She's clearly very lively, cheerful, loves to laugh, and is independent and strong. Right?"
But when we truly understand and analyze it, we discover that this outward "carefree" demeanor is all an act. It's a skill we feel compelled to cultivate in order to appear independent.
"Our suspicion, sensitivity, and extremism ultimately stem from our inner inferiority and timidity. We are afraid of loss, betrayal, and being hurt; we have an extreme lack of security."
Ali smiled self-deprecatingly. She was talking about others, but wasn't she also talking about herself?