Chapter 311
Chapter 311
Thinking of this, Zhou Yuying even felt that Lady Qin might just be jealous that she was about to marry into Prince An's Manor, and thus wanted to cut off this path for her.
With this in mind, the look in Zhou Yuying's eyes as she gazed at Lady Qin held a trace of hatred.
"He is just an unwanted burden. He should be grateful that I even gave him a place to stay. What, is he allowed to be picky? Does he think he is still the heir of Prince An?" Lady Qin spat lightly. She still didn't think there was anything wrong with what she did; Xu Qingshi actually dared to hit her son.
And he still wanted her to settle him in with a beaming smile?
Dream on!
"You are simply unreasonable. Qingshi is the heir of Prince An, a matter Prince An reported to the Emperor long ago. Do you think the title of heir is so easily requested and granted? As long as Qingshi commits no grave mistakes, no matter how many children Prince An has in the future, the heir will only ever be Qingshi!" Zhou Changfeng said, frustrated by her stupidity.
He thought to himself that if Xu Qingshi really inherited Prince An's title in the future, they might be able to reap some benefits through their uncle-nephew relationship.
Now, it was all ruined by this stupid woman, Lady Qin.
"How was I supposed to know?" Lady Qin genuinely didn't know this. She thought that since Prince An sent Xu Qingshi to the Zhou family, it meant he no longer wanted him.
Coupled with the fact that Xu Qingshi fought with Zhou Xingzhi, she was only thinking about how to punish Xu Qingshi.
"Besides, didn't you say that Prince An let him live in our Zhou family from now on? The way I see it, Prince An is going to marry a new wife and no longer wants the child left by his previous one. In my opinion, that title of heir will be taken away sooner or later. Under these circumstances, he should be content that I let him stay in Tingyun Courtyard!" Lady Qin thought about it and still felt she had done nothing wrong.
If anyone was at fault in this matter, it was Xu Qingshi. Who asked him to be a jinx that caused his mother's death right after he was born?
Lady Qin even thought to herself that Xu Qingshi might just be a jinx. Look, as soon as he came to the Zhou family, Tingyun Courtyard caught on fire.
"You still have the nerve to speak? Have you ever thought about how the people in the capital will view our Zhou family if this gets out?" Zhou Changfeng felt extremely stifled. Why hadn't he realized before that Lady Qin was this stupid?
"The fire in Tingyun Courtyard burned so fiercely, the person is definitely gone. How can a dead person speak?" Lady Qin said nonchalantly.
When the time comes, they could just say that Xu Qingshi started the fire himself. She might even be able to ask Prince An for compensation to repair the garden!
"If you ask me, this fire in Tingyun Courtyard started strangely. Maybe it was that little brat Xu Qingshi playing with fire and burning it down himself. I even want to ask Prince An for silver to fix the garden." Lady Qin felt her idea was excellent and simply voiced it out.
"Sister-in-law, do not forget that the two servants you had beaten with rods have already been taken back to Prince An's Manor. Do you think it is possible they will say nothing? I think you had better carefully consider how to appease Prince An's wrath first!" Zhou Yuying felt that since Lady Qin didn't want her to have a good life, she wouldn't let Lady Qin have an easy time either.
"Are you crazy? You even dared to beat Qingshi's people? Those are all people from Prince An's Manor!" Zhou Changfeng looked at Lady Qin in shock.
He knew she had her petty schemes, but he never expected her to be so bold as to touch Xu Qingshi's servants.
Was she insane?
"What are you yelling for? When servants do wrong, can't I, as a master, punish them?" Lady Qin retorted in dissatisfaction.
She didn't think she was wrong at all.
One must know, the lowly slaves brought by that little wretch were still putting on airs of Prince An's Manor in front of her.
How could she let them have it easy?
"Sister-in-law, they came to the kitchen to fetch food for Qingshi. What is wrong with that? Could it be that Qingshi isn't allowed to eat the Zhou family's food when he comes here?" Zhou Yuying continued to add fuel to the fire.
"You didn't send them food?" Zhou Changfeng asked through gritted teeth.
"They came to get it themselves after mealtime had passed. Is it my fault?" Lady Qin retorted with a guilty conscience.
"Where is Hu Lai?" Zhou Changfeng took a deep breath and roared outside.
Hu Lai was the steward of the Zhou family.
Whatever Lady Qin had done today, Steward Hu surely knew.
"Eldest Young Master, this old servant is here." Hu Lai had been waiting outside all along. Now, hearing Zhou Changfeng's words, he hurried in.
"Where was the Young Cousin Master arranged to stay when he came to visit today? Were his food, clothing, and necessities sent over?" Zhou Changfeng looked gloomily at Hu Lai and asked in a cold voice.
"This..." Hu Lai looked at Lady Qin awkwardly, not knowing how to answer for a moment.
"What, has this family changed its surname to Qin? Do my words no longer carry weight?" Seeing Hu Lai look at Lady Qin, Zhou Changfeng asked furiously.
"Please quell your anger, Eldest Young Master. This old servant will speak. The Eldest Young Madam had the Young Cousin Master sent to Tingyun Courtyard. As for the rest, the Eldest Young Madam said nothing, so this old servant..." Hu Lai did not dare to say the rest.
Since Lady Qin made no arrangements, he pretended not to know and didn't prepare anything for Xu Qingshi.
"So you are saying that you merely sent the heir of Prince An's Manor, my nephew, to that desolate courtyard where the weeds are taller than a person? And you did absolutely nothing else? Hu Lai, it seems your time as a steward has come to an end!" Zhou Changfeng angrily smashed a teacup at Hu Lai.
Hu Lai did not dare to dodge, and a bloody hole was smashed open on his head.
"Eldest Young Master, please quell your anger!" Hu Lai only dared to kneel and beg for mercy. Otherwise, as a domestic slave, if the Eldest Young Master sold him off, he would probably be sold to a dark coal kiln for hard labor.
Thinking of this, Hu Lai felt deep regret.
At the time, he should have asked the Eldest Young Master or the Old Madam for their intentions.
Standing aside, Lady Qin, who originally felt she had done nothing wrong, also began to panic at this moment. She was afraid that Zhou Changfeng's wrath would be directed at her next.
Next to her, a smug smile appeared on the corner of Zhou Yuying's mouth.
As long as Lady Qin was having a hard time, she was happy.
Although she might not be able to marry into Prince An's Manor anymore, she knew very well that Prince An probably wouldn't want to marry her anyway.
"Sister-in-law has truly managed this household well. It is Qingshi's first time coming as a child to stay for a few days, yet he has suffered endlessly in our Zhou family. Now, his life or death is uncertain. I wonder, if brother-in-law Prince An learns of Qingshi's news later, will our Zhou family even live to see tomorrow's sun?" Zhou Yuying said, looking at Lady Qin with a face full of sarcasm.
"Zhou Yuying, stop gloating over others' misfortune. Do you think that if something happens to Xu Qingshi, you still have a chance to marry into Prince An's Manor?" Provoked by Zhou Yuying like this, Lady Qin retorted angrily.
At Prince An's Manor, Xu Heming was currently processing some official documents.
"Your Highness, this is bad, something has happened to the Heir! Moyu and Ru Feng were carried back!" Liu Ming rushed into the study and shouted.
Hearing this, Xu Heming looked up at Liu Ming, a bad premonition rising in his heart.