Doted By The Regent King
Chapter 327: Unrest at the Old Zhou Family

Chapter 327: Chapter 327: Unrest at the Old Zhou Family

It wasn’t that Lady Liang wanted to be the villain, inciting her husband to cause a division in the family. After all, as long as the elder was alive, not splitting the family was the right thing to do. By doing so, she would be unfilial.

Lady Liang’s thoughts were indeed clarified by the actions of the main branch of the family.

Not to mention the younger ones, but as for the eldest, Madam Lu, with her crude and shrewish tendency to be cunning and take advantage, Xiuxiu wouldn’t even speak of her. Given her limited background and understanding, she couldn’t be blamed.

What truly chilled her heart was Zhou Xuennian, who claimed to be a scholar. His talent was mediocre, yet he loved to put on airs. He lacked real substance but pretended to be a loftily disdainful intellectual, looking down on everyone. He even had to buy his scholarly title with silver through cheating.

Ever since becoming aware of that incident, Lady Liang had several nightmares, fearing that if the scandal broke, the Government Office would come to arrest them. In such a case, she would lose so much face that she might not even have the face to return to her parental home.

That issue had not yet subsided, and now there was the disgraceful affair of Zhou Dajun, which could ruin the Old Zhou family’s reputation entirely. And how did Zhou Xuennian, as the man in charge and father, handle it?

Zhou Xuennian’s methods of dealing with the issue were truly shocking, cold-blooded, and shameless.

Lady Liang thought that living under the same roof as such a person was a disgrace, and what about after the children were born?

Being influenced by the company one keeps, she truly feared the children would unconsciously learn the reprehensibility of the main branch.

What, say that Zhou Xuennian studies, and that the children could also study and recognize words after him?

After a succession of scandals like these, Lady Liang dared not let her children study with such a person, better to forego it. She would rather have her children be simple farmers, at least they would be kindhearted. At worst, she could teach them herself, and if she really couldn’t, she could send them to school.

So, she had to be the villain, if only for the sake of her own small family.

She believed that with her own effort, and her husband who was also hardworking and willing to work, without the headache-inducing issues of the main branch, they could certainly live a prosperous life.

In the West Chamber, Lady Liang was discussing the feasibility of splitting the family with Zhou Xueli.

In the main house, Old Lady Zhou was kneeling in front of the Buddhist jar, hands pressed together, murmuring prayers with tears streaming down her face.

"You at least died cleanly, leaving me to face this entire family," Old Lady Zhou said to Old Scholar Zhou’s memorial tablet.

The callousness of Zhou Xuennian, like a sharp needle, chilled her to the core.

Facing this issue, however, she didn’t know what to do. Although she knew the eldest was unscrupulous, deep down, she was inclined towards her eldest grandson.

"If there really is retribution, let it fall upon this old woman. It’s my fault for not educating them well, one privately deciding on a marriage, the other committing adultery," Old Lady Zhou ground her teeth and picked up the wooden fish from atop the Buddhist jar, knocking it loudly.

In the East Wing, Zhou Xuennian was still arguing with Madam Lu about who was right and who was wrong, ceaselessly accompanied by sounds of things being smashed from inside.

Madam Lu’s curses were thunderous: "Heartless wretches, ingrates..."

Zhou Xuennian’s own curses could not be distinguished, but after they stopped, only the sound of sobbing could be heard faintly.

Even so, this unrest drew the neighbors to peer over the walls, wondering what was happening at the Old Zhou family.

At the kitchen entrance, Madam Lu’s youngest son Yongyong was tugging at Zhou Xiuer’s skirt, timidly saying, "Sister, I’m hungry."

Zhou Xiuer glanced over the whole house, where all the adults were hiding indoors and not emerging. She couldn’t help feeling a chilling sensation as she led her younger brother into the kitchen.

Their Old Zhou family was about to face a great change, all because of that damned Zhou Dajun, who caused nothing but trouble.

As the night deepened, many in the Old Zhou family were fretting. What would tomorrow bring?