Jinghong Tower

Chapter 417: Marrying a Son-in-Law
Even without He Ran's warning, Zong Qi was already prepared to take action against Zhu Yanmin.

He has never been a kind-hearted person. He treats Old Madam Han well because she is his adoptive mother and someone he respects; he treats Congcong well because she is the only flesh and blood left by his adopted brother; he treats Han Yuzhu well because she is Old Madam Han's daughter; he treats Zhu Yanmin well because she is his adopted brother's widow.

In the past, as long as Han Yuzhu’s willful behavior did not touch his bottom line, Zong Qi would not bother with her.

Zong Qi could barely accept Zhu Yanmin's use of Cong Cong within a certain range, after all, she was Cong Cong's biological mother. But if she deliberately made Cong Cong sick and used Cong Cong's life as a bargaining chip, Zong Qi would never tolerate it.

If she doesn't treat Congcong as her daughter, then she should find a new mother for Congcong.

But Zong Qi never expected that someone would get ahead of him and attack Zhu Yanmin.

This person is Old Madam Han.

After the engagement banquet, Mrs. Han returned home and Han Yuzhu complained to Zhu Yanmin in anger. Mrs. Han then found out that Zong Qi left the engagement banquet because Zhu Yanmin sent someone to look for him.

Old Madam Han just felt her face getting hot. She had lived uprightly for most of her life, but now that she was old, she had lost all face in front of a junior.

But she was not the most shameful person. There was someone more shameful than her, and that was her son.

At this moment, Old Madam Han wished she could kill Zhu Yanmin.

But no.

She married the leader Han when she was a teenager. Even though she never interfered in the affairs of the gang, she was influenced by the gang and had experienced life and death. She was no longer the weak and fragile woman she appeared to be.

Zhu Yanmin broke her leg, and Old Madam Han forced someone to carry her to the clinic.

Old Madam Han first told her family that Zhu Yanmin would stay in the clinic for a while, but secretly found an excuse to sell all the maids and servants around Zhu Yanmin, and also replaced the wet nurse on the grounds that she was incompatible with Cong Cong.

And the housekeeper Han, who had helped Zhu Yanmin send people to deliver letters to Zong Qi several times, was sent back to Yangzhou by the old lady Han and his family on the pretext of guarding the tombs of the old master Han and his son.

Zhu Yanmin never came back after that.

After Zhu Yanmin left, Congcong cried for two days. After the new wet nurse came, he was only awkward for one day, and then he ate and drank as he was told, and no longer asked for his mother.

It's sad to say, but since Zhu Yanmin left, Cong Cong has rarely been sick and even cries less.

At first, her grandmother and the new wet nurse told her that her mother had gone to recuperate. When she was a little older, Madam Shangguan often asked someone to bring Congcong to her home to play with the other children. At that time, Congcong no longer remembered Zhu Yanmin.

Mao Yunzhen's twin boy and girl were a few months younger than Congcong, so Mao Yunzhen simply adopted Congcong as her adopted daughter. From then on, Congcong lived in Lao Mansion for twenty days every month.

Mao Yunzhen was a talented woman who often published articles in newspapers. When Congcong was five years old, Mao Yunzhen personally taught her. She and Mao Yunzhen were both mother and daughter and master and apprentice.

When she was seven years old, Cong Cong published her first article in the evening paper with her immature writing style. Old Madam Han happily bought hundreds of newspapers and gave them away to everyone she met. Everyone on the street knew that the Han family had produced a little talent.

At that time, Cong Cong had already accepted the fact that her biological mother had passed away. The maids and servants in the family told her that her mother had died of illness when she was less than one year old.

Because she was too young at that time, she has no memory of Zhu Yanmin. Maybe it was Mao Yunzhen who gave her the maternal love she lacked, or maybe she and Zhu Yanmin had a shallow mother-daughter relationship. In short, Congcong grew up in the love of her stepmother and the favor of her grandmother. She grew into a healthy, lively, well-educated girl.

Of course, these are all things that happened later. Now that Zhu Yanmin has just been sent away, Han Yuzhu is still at home, blaming Old Madam Han for indulging Zhu Yanmin.

"She is so shameless. If I were you, I would divorce her for my brother!"

Madam Han raised her head and said coldly, "Your brother is gone."

"Of course I know my brother is gone, but isn't she still here? Since she's still here, you can divorce her for my brother and see if her family dares to let her go back."

Han Yuzhu heard from his gang brothers that Zhu Yanmin's elder brother Zhu Yanhe was captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and that he was not a good person. Zong Qi has already ordered that Zhu Yanhe and his men be expelled from the Cao Gang.

If Zhu Yanmin was divorced by the Han family and sent back to her parents' home at this time, her parents would definitely not let her go back. Then Zhu Yanmin would have no choice but to die. Han Yuzhu felt happy just thinking about it.

In her opinion, her love for Zong Qi was justified, and they were not married yet.

But Zhu Yanmin is a widow. Although widows can remarry now, Zhu Yanmin does not want to marry Zong Qi. She knows that Zong Qi will not marry her. She just wants to use the Han family to hold Zong Qi tightly and make him revolve around her.

Han Yuzhu cursed: "She is so shameless, she must be divorced!"

Madam Han said, "If you divorce her, then Cong Cong will have a divorced mother."

Han Yuzhu was stunned. Although she didn't like Congcong very much, Congcong was her brother's flesh and blood after all. Although she was a girl, she was also the only grandchild of the Han family.

An orphan like Congcong is easily despised when it comes to marriage. If she has a divorced mother, it will be difficult for Congcong to marry into a decent family.

"But we can't let her go so easily."

Seeing Han Yuzhu change her tone, Old Madam Han felt slightly comforted. Although her daughter had many shortcomings, Han Yuzhu still acted like a human being when it came to treating Congcong.

"Aqi is already engaged and will be getting married in April next year. It's time for you to get back on track."

Han Yuzhu lowered her head, and after a while, she said, "Mother, I want to stay at home and marry a son-in-law, and I want to marry a son-in-law right away."

Old Madam Han was stunned. Her daughter really meant what she said. Of course, it was also possible that she was stimulated by Zong Qi's engagement. There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart, so she wanted to get married immediately.

"Okay, let's get one. Anyway, one of you and Cong Cong will have to get one, either you or her. I'll go ask the matchmaker tomorrow."

Old Madam Han asked Madam Shangguan to find a marriage partner for Han Yuzhu, but that was marrying off a daughter, not taking in a son-in-law. The men Madam Shangguan knew were either sons of officials or scholars with official titles. Such families would not allow a male member of their family to marry into the family, so Old Madam Han decided to find a matchmaker.

Unexpectedly, the matchmaker had not yet replied, but Han Yuzhu found someone on her own.

The man she was looking for was also from the Cao Gang, and was the junior manager of the dock closest to the capital. His name was Ding Qian, and he was 25 years old. He was handsome and suitable to be a son-in-law.

After finding the right person, Han Yuzhu was anxious to get married. Ding Qian was an orphan with no family, so as long as he nodded, the marriage would be settled.

In the past, Old Madam Han would have called Zong Qi over to discuss it, but Han Yuzhu kept pestering Zong Qi, so Old Madam Han didn't have the face to talk to Zong Qi about Han Yuzhu's marriage.

Anyway, it's a marriage of marriage, and he will be under his nose from now on. Ding Qian is from the Cao Gang, so I think he won't dare to act rashly.

In addition, Han Yuzhu was always making trouble, and Mrs. Han was tired of it. She was also worried that she would continue to pester Zong Qi, so Mrs. Han agreed to the marriage. When Zong Qi knew about it, the betrothal gifts of the Han family had already been sent to Ding Qian's residence.

Ding Qian was single. He rented a house with several gang brothers. The bachelors got together and either drank or gambled. On the day of delivering the betrothal gifts, there happened to be a group of brothers at their house, so the news reached Zong Qi's ears on the same day.

He hurriedly sent people to inquire about Ding Qian. Ding Qian's previous performance was neither good nor bad. He was the kind of person who would be difficult to notice in a crowd. No one knew where Han Yuzhu had picked him out.

Zong Qi had the same idea as Madam Han. Since Han Yuzhu was willing to get married, he certainly had no objection. Besides, Ding Qian was a brother in the gang. Could he really turn over his Five Finger Mountain?
So, just one month after Zong Qi and Lu Chang got engaged, Ding Qian married into the Han family and became the Han family's son-in-law.

Just as the Han family’s wedding was over, the news of King Zhao’s death spread out of the capital and throughout the world.

King Zhao of Zhou Jian died when he was less than nineteen years old. He had not even married and had no children.

It was Chunwang who held the banner for Zhou Jian. It was Chunwang's own initiative. When Zhou Jian was alive, he would never have dreamed that the person who held the banner for him in the end would be Chunwang, the very person who was pushed into the lake and "drowned" by him.

"Do you really want to carry a banner for King Zhao?" Yuan Xiaodong asked Chunwang puzzledly. After Chunwang left the palace, he had been living in his and Zeng Fu's house.

"Well, I served him for several years. Anyway, I have some feelings for him."

Chunwang didn't say that, in fact, at the beginning, he was sincerely serving Zhou Jian and wanted to help him sincerely. At that time, Zhou Jian was terrified and helpless, just like he was before he was adopted.

Yuan Xiaodong thought of the former little emperor Min Man. He had once depended on Min Man for survival. However, Min Man was much stronger than Zhou Jian. Min Man did not push him into the lake. Therefore, Zhou Jian's character was not even as good as Min Man's.

"Okay, I'll go talk to the boss." Yuan Xiaodong patted Chunwang's shoulder.

He Ran agreed without hesitation.

There is one thing that she has not made public, and of course, it will remain a secret forever.

Zhou Jian did not die of illness, nor was he killed by her. Zhou Jian was knocked unconscious by his own mother Liu Ruyan with a stool and then strangled to death with a ribbon.

Liu Ruyan knocked Zhou Jian unconscious with a stool because she was angry for a moment, but she strangled Zhou Jian to death. In her own words, that was -

"After I knocked him out, I suddenly thought, how great it would be if he just died like this. This little bastard has always been a burden to me. If I hadn't given birth to him, I would still be the most popular prostitute on the red-light district. If I hadn't had him as a burden, I would have been bought home by a rich man as a concubine, and would never have been cheap to that beastly family. Later, I finally had a good life, but he ruined it. I just want him to die, let him die, I hate him so much, he must die!"

The jade pendant finally returned to He Ran, and she handed it to Zhong Yi: "This is Zhou Chi's thing, I give it to you."

Zhong Yi looked at her and said slowly, "You dislike him, don't you?"

This "he" is not Zhou Jian, but Zhou Chi.

He Ran looked at him deeply and said, "Some children are no longer fun when they grow up."

Zhong Yi smiled bitterly and took the jade pendant.

Walking out of Laomofang Hutong, Zhongyi looked up at the blue sky, which was cloudless and the autumn air was crisp and refreshing.

He took out the jade pendant. He couldn't remember whether he had such a jade pendant before. He Ran said it was his, so it must be.

She actually remembered that he had worn this jade pendant.

This means that she didn't deliberately erase him from her memory. She still remembered a lot of things about him and she still cared about him.

At this moment, Zhong Yi suddenly wanted to go back, rushed to He Ran, and asked loudly: "Sister, do you still blame me?"

But he turned around and turned back.

He didn't dare, he really didn't dare.

He felt ridiculous that he liked something and actually dared to do it.

He had lived two lifetimes and had been extremely daring. He even dared to rebel, but he did not dare to ask a question in front of a little woman.

He laughed at himself and got on the horse. There were still many things he could do. He wanted to thank her for letting him stay with her in this life and clean up the mess for her.

Thousands of miles away in Longxi, He Shuting was playing with her son in the cradle with a rattle in her hand.

The child made an "ah ah" sound, opened his little mouth and laughed happily.

At this moment, the maid pushed the door open and came in, whispering in He Shuting's ear: "Madam, Sister Hongxiu is back."

He Shuting immediately perked up: "Let her come to see me."

The maid smiled and said, "Sister Hongxiu is washing and changing her clothes. Not only that, she also asked me for sandalwood to fumigate, saying that she was afraid of bringing in the evil spirits from outside."

He Shuting smiled and said, "She is the most particular. You should all learn from her."

The maid said hurriedly, "Sister Hongxiu is the best at serving the Madam and the young master. We servants are stupid and can never learn half as much as Sister Hongxiu no matter how hard we try."

He Shuting smiled without saying anything, but thought in her heart, of course you can't learn it. It's just that Hongxiu's martial arts, how can you learn it?
A moment later, Hongxiu came to see He Shuting in a refreshed outfit, with a faint scent of sandalwood on her body, which diluted the murderous aura that she inadvertently revealed.

"Have you found out?" He Shuting asked impatiently.

"Madam, I have accomplished my mission. Mr. He was wronged. The man who lives next door to the small courtyard where he lives is Captain Liu from the Third Battalion.

Captain Liu was not on good terms with his wife. He would rather live in the barracks and rarely go home. As a result, his wife had an affair with Wang Shusheng, a letter writer on the street.

It was also Mr. He's bad luck that he happened to see the two of them together that day. Mr. He pretended that he saw nothing and went home. However, the adulterous couple was worried that he would tell others about the matter, so they wanted to frame him.

That night, Madam Liu jumped over the wall into Mr. He's house, intending to frame Mr. He for molesting her, and then have Scholar Wang catch them in the act, thereby dragging Mr. He into the affair and making him afraid to speak out, thus concealing their scandal.

But Mr. He was a gentleman, so how could he give in? He started fighting with the two of them. In desperation, he picked up the inkstone on the table and smashed it at them, hitting Madam Liu on the head, killing her.

Madam Liu died, and Captain Liu came back and beat Mr. He. Perhaps because he knew that Mr. He was wrongly accused, Captain Liu did not report it to the police.

He Shuting frowned slightly, "Not reporting to the authorities? That won't do. Give Captain Liu 100 taels of silver and ask him to buy a good coffin for Madam Liu. Then write a petition for him to report to the authorities and have He Zongqun sent to death row."