Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After Zhai Sheng and Zhai Yaohui found out about what was going on, they returned to their rooms. Knowing how much Miao Jing cared about Qiao Nan, Zhai Yaohui did not wait for Miao Jing to ask him before telling her about the conversation between Qiao Dongliang and Qiao Nan. “So that’s what happened. I guess it was the first time the three children saw Qiao Dongliang being so unreasonable and clingy toward Qiao Nan. They’re so upset. Da Bao and Er Bao have been finding an opportunity to get revenge on Qiao Dongliang on Qiao Nan’s behalf.”
“That can’t do!” Miao Jing raised her voice before lowering it again. “Everyone in the quad knows about how good and obedient our three children are. It will be too unjustified for them to disrespect their elders and scold their grandfather just to get back at that muddleheaded old man, Qiao Dongliang. I can’t let the three children ruin their names for Qiao Dongliang’s sake.”
Could Qiao Dongliang compare with her three grandchildren’s futures? If they did not take revenge, the three children would continue to hold resentment within their hearts and would not be able to rest easy. If there was no other choice, she would teach Qiao Dongliang a lesson on the three children’s behalf.
She was peers with Qiao Dongliang after all. Now, Nan Nan was not only Qiao Dongliang’s daughter but was also the Zhai family’s daughter-in-law. They had to be clear of their priorities. Qiao Dongliang was not bullying his own daughter but the Zhai family’s daughter-in-law. Did Qiao Dongliang think that the whole Zhai family was dead and that he could just manipulate Nan Nan as he wished? “I’ve decided. It’s better for me to do this. I’ll get justice for Nan Nan. Just because Qiao Zijin is dead, Qiao Dongliang only remembers Qiao Zijin alone as his daughter. Is Nan Nan a child that he picked up?”
Seeing how Miao Jing jumped to conclusions without significant evidence, Zhai Yaohui felt the same way as his son: extraordinarily sour. Their children were often away from home, and the three children were in boarding school. Thus, it was their daughter-in-law, Qiao Nan, who spent the most time with the two elders at home.
Otherwise, Zhai Yaohui would really be upset with this daughter-in-law of his.
“Zhai Sheng knows how to deal with this matter. Besides, it won’t be appropriate for you to show up. It’ll be better for me to do it.” Zhai Yaohui rejected Miao Jing’s suggestion. If Miao Jing were to approach Qiao Dongliang about this matter, it would only make Qiao Dongliang feel embarrassed at the very most. But it would be different for him. As long as Qiao Dongliang remembered that he was once from the military, his words would be much more powerful. “I’ll find some time to have a chat with him. Nan Nan indeed has it tough. Thankfully, she met a good mother-in-law like you.”
In Zhai Yaohui’s eyes, Qiao Nan was quite lucky. The time she spent with Ding Jiayi and Qiao Dongliang was only a little more than ten years. The problem was that Qiao Nan had already been married into the Zhai family for over ten years. Miao Miao’s health was not the best, but there were no major problems, so it was possible for her to live for another two decades.
Qiao Nan had lived with a bad mother for more than ten years, but Qiao Nan would live with a good mother-in-law, Miao Miao, for more than thirty years. If one looked at it this way, meeting a good mother-in-law was not any worse than being her biological daughter.
Miao Jing proudly lifted up her chin. “Then, you should take a closer look. No one is luckier than me to have a good daughter-in-law like Nan Nan. Our two dreadful children, Zhai Sheng and Hua Hua, can’t even match up to the time Nan Nan spends with me. As far as I’m concerned, Nan Nan is even closer to me than my own daughter is. And I saw that you weren’t in a very good mood when Nan Nan wasn’t home for dinner tonight. Admit it. You treat Nan Nan like your own daughter too!”
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Zhai Yaohui raised his eyebrows, quietly turned off the lights, and covered himself with the quilt. Then, he said sullenly, “You’ve said it yourself that Qiao Nan spends more time with the two of us and has even given birth to three intelligent and obedient grandchildren. So, she’s also a hero in the Zhai family. What’s wrong with me treating her well?”
It was only because Qiao Nan had made great contributions to the Zhai family that he treated Qiao Nan well as a daughter-in-law. It was not as incredible as Miao Miao had put it.
Miao Jing was over the moon. “Act. Just act.” If he did not love Nan Nan from the bottom of his heart, why was Old Zhai even more anxious about Nan Nan than her own biological father was upon hearing that Nan Nan had encountered a problem and was being bullied?
Of course, she could not rule out that Qiao Dongliang’s lack of reaction was because he was incapable. No matter how angry or worried he got, there was nothing that he could do for Nan Nan in the capital. The problem was his attitude. Qiao Dongliang’s behavior showed that he did not care for Qiao Nan as much as her father-in-law did. That could not be right.
It had always been said that even an honest and upright official would have difficulty resolving a family dispute. Was Old Zhai the kind of person who was willing to meddle in other people’s father-daughter relationships? Old Zhai had said that he would talk to Qiao Dongliang. Old Zhai must have thought it over carefully and felt that he, out of all people, would have the greatest impact on Qiao Dongliang and thus benefit Qiao Nan the most. Otherwise, there was no way Old Zhai could have readily agreed without hesitation the moment his son brought this matter up.
Even though Old Zhai had already had such a plan, he had waited for his son to beg him for help. Even then, he acted as though he was only agreeing to it reluctantly. What a trickster!
Feeling that Zhai Yaohui seemed to be ‘regressing’, acting even more childish than Old Master Zhai had, and needing his three grandchildren to coax him at times, Miao Jing felt helpless. Thankfully, Da Bao and San Bao always wondered if Er Bao reincarnated in the wrong body since he was not like Nan Nan or Zhai Sheng at all. That was because Da Bao and San Bao had yet to see through their grandpa’s true nature.
In her opinion, Er Bao’s personality was the spitting image of Old Zhai! That was what Old Master Zhai had said when he was still alive anyway. So that was it. Old Zhai was to be blamed for Er Bao’s personality.
After nagging at Zhai Yaohui, Miao Jing finally switched off her bedside lamp and lay down. Only then did Miao Jing cover herself with the quilt. Zhai Yaohui, whose back had been toward her, turned around and stretched out his arms to hug Miao Jing within his embrace. His outstretched hand smoothly pinched the corner of the quilt to prevent any openings for the cold wind to enter.
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It could be bitterly cold in the capital during November or December.
Sleeping in Zhai Yaohui’s embrace, Miao Jing could only smile. They were already a seasoned couple, but they still had to cuddle together while sleeping.
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Zhai Yaohui had taken the matter into his hands and said that he would handle it himself. To allow the three children to go to school with an ease of mind, he even gave them a definite answer. “Don’t worry. The next time you come home, I promise that I’ll have taken care of this matter. The goal is not punishment. It is more important to ensure that such a thing will never happen again in the future.”
With their grandpa’s reassurance, the triplets’ expressions brightened. But Da Bao thought about it more than Er Bao or San Bao. He was the eldest son in the family. In the future, he would only be able to protect his loved ones if he was stronger. When he became a powerful and influential man, he would never let anyone bully his mother like that. Not even his maternal grandpa.