Doted By The Regent King
Chapter 280: Oblivious to Good Intentions

Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Oblivious to Good Intentions

Wufu had no idea she was disdained by others. If she ever heard such talk, she’d probably burst out laughing, then sarcastically retort, "Huge thanks for the disdain."

Dajun, lazing about half the day before heading home, bumped into his aunt Madam Zhou. When he saw her, he rolled his eyes and glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"Big Army," Madam Zhou, quite delighted to see her nephew, called out to him cheerfully.

Dajun snorted through his nose in response.

Liu Jin lagged a step behind Madam Zhou, keeping an eye on Dajun.

Seeing her younger relative, Madam Zhou habitually reached into her purse and pulled out a handful of candy for Dajun, "Big Army, take these back and share with Yongyong."

Dajun glanced at the candy and dismissively slapped it away without a second thought, "Who needs a few candies? If you’ve got silver, why don’t I see you giving me that?"

He was of an age where candy was childish. Wasn’t this enough to make anyone laugh their head off?

Madam Zhou stood stunned, staring at the candies scattered on the ground and then back at Dajun, her smile frozen on her lips.

Liu Jin, on the other hand, clenched his little fists in anger, glaring daggers at Dajun.

What an ungrateful wretch.

Sensing something was amiss, Dajun caught Liu Jin’s menacing look and couldn’t help but reveal a ferocious expression, "What are you staring at, dog?"

Being so beautiful, yet nothing but Little Rabbit Lord. Could it be, as Hei Niu and others suggested, that Liu Jin really did attend to Wufu and the others?

Dajun’s glance subconsciously shifted to Madam Zhou. With her fair complexion and rosy cheeks, her demeanor gentle, her hair neatly coiled into a bun adorned with hairpins, and dressed in a new Qiu Xiang-colored jacket and skirt, she looked every bit like a young bride, well-nourished and alluring—far from resembling a woman who had lived alone for over a decade.

Dajun’s heart skipped a beat. He snorted and turned to leave. As he hastened his steps, he couldn’t help but look back, catching a glimpse of Madam Zhou’s forlorn and tearful smile.

Upon returning to the Zhou family residence, he overheard his mother and grandma gossiping about his aunt, prompting him to pause to eavesdrop.

"... When I asked to borrow money, she said she had none, pretending to be so pitiable. Now she talks about adding a few new rooms to her house, huh, what a two-faced act." Madam Lu spoke indignantly to Old Lady Zhou, "Mom, look at this. Once the schooling gets him the title of scholar, if they think they can rely on us, they can forget it."

Old Lady Zhou scowled, "What does it matter to us what others do? Just take care of your husband. His exam is in a few days, and if anything goes wrong, you’ll be the one crying."

"Ptui, ptui, ptui!" Madam Lu, disliking such inauspicious words, spat a few times, saying irritably, "Mom, why can’t you speak more auspiciously? This time, my husband is bound to pass."

After sinking several hundred taels into this, how could he not succeed? If not, she truly didn’t know what she’d use to fill this massive hole. Out of that money, one hundred fifty taels had been borrowed shamelessly from her family; for that, she had even suffered the disdain of her sister-in-laws.

Old Lady Zhou glanced at her and scoffed sarcastically, "You’d best pray he does, and everything stays calm and steady."

When she said this, a flicker of worry crossed her eyes. She pressed her hand to her chest and glanced towards the West Chamber.

To support her eldest son, she’d even ignored the desires of her most cherished youngest son, stubbornly using up the family’s last reserve. Because of this, the youngest son had grown estranged from her, and his wife, furious, had gone back to her parents’ home.

These past few days, the youngest son had been staying with his wife at her family’s home, leaving Old Lady Zhou very irritated. The head of the household was her; how could her daughter-in-law disrespectfully turn away from her and go stay at her parents’ place? What kind of behavior was that?

Old Lady Zhou had previously found her to be quite sensible and gentle. But now, her temper didn’t seem so mild.

Feeling dissatisfied, Old Lady Zhou mentally grumbled a few complaints. As she caught sight of her eldest son’s wife, her discontent grew even deeper, and she irritably closed her eyes in vexation.