She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 575 - 573 Collapse

Chapter 575: Chapter 573 Collapse

Lady Zhao saw that Wong Qiao was still as respectful and obedient as before, her expression softened slightly as she stood up and helped him to his feet, saying, "As a mother, I shouldn’t be reprimanding you the moment after such a long separation. However, choosing a wife is a major decision, and you went ahead without consulting me, deciding solely based on your own preferences. Where does that leave your mother who raised you with so much hardship?"

Wong Qiao once again replied, "Yes, Mother, you’re right, it was wrong of me to decide on my own. I will remember this and won’t do it again."

"Hmm, sit down and let’s talk," Lady Zhao said, noticing Wong Qiao’s good attitude and gesturing for him to sit down.

Wong Qiao glanced up at Lady Zhao, who was now seated with poise, and tentatively said, "I already know I was wrong. But Second Miss Zhou is quite a decent person and she comes from a good family. You’ve been here for a few days now, have you taken a liking to her?"

Once Lady Zhao heard Wong Qiao’s question, her face darkened again. It took a good while before she spoke somewhat coldly, "I was just about to talk to you about this matter. Ah Qiao, you really don’t think things through. The Prefectural Magistrate holds such a high position, can we really reach that high? Don’t you understand to think it over more—how could the daughter of such a high official at the court be willing to marry you if she were any good?"

Wong Qiao was immediately stunned and looked at Lady Zhao in disbelief, his eyes filled with shock and humiliation. How could his mother say such things about Biyao? Biyao was only seventeen this year; when she had come to the Qi family to pester Ye Zi, she had just turned fifteen and was still something of a mischievous young girl. How could his mother speak about her like that!

By speaking such words about Biyao, his mother was not only sullying Biyao’s name and dragging her through the mud, but she was also insulting her own son.

Lady Zhao gave Wong Qiao a cold glance, seeing the change in his expression and couldn’t help but stern her face as she lowered her eyelids and asked coldly, "What? You haven’t even married yet, and my only son is planning to set his mother aside and begin to find faults with the old woman?"

Wong Qiao hastily composed himself and bowed his head saying, "I wouldn’t dare, Mother. It’s just that..."

Wong Qiao hesitated. Although Lord Jiang had told him again and again to conceal his true feelings and show his mother that he was more interested in the Zhou family’s power and not merely infatuated with Biyao herself.

But with his mother questioning the woman he loved like this, he found he couldn’t just stand by and say nothing.

Faced with the mother he had never dared to defy since childhood, Wong Qiao steeled himself and said with some trepidation, "Mother, allow your son to speak a few more words. Second Miss Zhou initially came for Ye Zi. At that time, she was still very young, and at her age, she probably hadn’t had the chance to do any real harm. Moreover, if she were a girl with flaws, how could she dare to get close to the daughter of the Duke’s Mansion and His Highness Prince Yu? Would Lord Zhou not be afraid of losing his head?"

His uncle had once speculated that Prefecture Governor Zhou allowed his daughter to get close to Ye Zi probably with an eye on His Highness Prince Yu, only Biyao was unwilling and preferred him instead. Having a flawed daughter approach Prince Yu would be nothing short of madness for Lord Zhou.

Lady Zhao felt irritated at being contradicted by her son. Yet, because it involved the reputation of the Prefectural Magistrate’s daughter, and what Wong Qiao said made sense, she dared not slander without any foundation.

This only made Lady Zhao feel even more unable to save face; her son had not even married yet, and he was already talking back to her for the sake of that Miss Zhou.

"Are you planning to disregard your mother for the sake of an unrelated girl?" Lady Zhao’s eyes reddened, and she questioned him.

Wong Qiao paused for a moment and then said, "Regardless of whether Mother favors Second Miss Zhou, we should at least not speak ill of others so lightly. It’s not just unfair to Miss Zhou, but it could also bring trouble upon our own family."

Lady Zhao stared at Wong Qiao for a while before saying, "No matter what Second Miss Zhou is like, it has nothing to do with our family. Such a high-born lady is more than I can bear. If you still recognize me as your mother, marry a woman whose family matches ours in status to attend to me, and in doing so, you will have fulfilled your filial duty as a son."

Wong Qiao bowed his head in silence.

"I am your mother, naturally I can’t bear to make things difficult for you, nor will I force you to do anything. Choose between Second Miss Zhou and me. Such a lady could not possibly condescend to serve wholeheartedly a mother-in-law of humble origins like me. I won’t hold you back. You may marry your bride, and I will return to our hometown to make my own living, never obstructing your marital bliss with a lady from an official family. You decide for yourself, no matter what you choose, I won’t complain," said Lady Zhao.

Once Lady Zhao had spoken these words, her woeful expression was too much to bear.

Wong Qiao’s face showed pain as he exclaimed, "Mother, Biyao is a good girl, she will definitely serve you sincerely. What are you talking about? If you return to our hometown by yourself, what would become of your son?"

Lady Zhao’s gaze became fierce as she decisively said, "Alright, since you insist and assure me that she will be devoted to me, then as a mother, I certainly don’t want you to be branded undutiful.

Go and tell her that after she marries you and enters the doors of our Wong family, she is not to gallivanting about, nor is she to put on airs by ordering the servants around. Having struggled half my life, all I want is for my daughter-in-law to serve me. She must always attend to the mother-in-law, put the mother-in-law first in everything, and is not to act on her own."

Wong Qiao looked at his mother, his eyes growing heavier. So his mother could actually say such things, not even using the servants, insisting that his wife must always serve at her side. Not just Biyao, a girl with aspirations, but even a somewhat capable and efficient girl from a poor family would probably find it hard to meet his mother’s demands.

Lady Zhao, seeing the look in Wong Qiao’s eyes, grew cold in her heart. She had struggled for years, acting as both father and mother to raise him. He had just come of age not long ago, and for a girl, he was already alienating her.

"I am your mother. Would it be wrong for your daughter-in-law to be kind to her mother-in-law? Besides, didn’t I say I wouldn’t make things hard for you? If you are determined to marry a high-born lady, mother won’t stand in your way," she said.

Lady Zhao, filled with sadness, would leave as soon as Wong Qiao spoke. She had managed to support the two of them in the past, and could support herself now. She would pretend she didn’t have this son, as if he were dead.

Wong Qiao, looking at Lady Zhao’s resolute expression, collapsed into hesitation, his complexion turning pale with dejection.

"I... I will listen to you, Mother," he said.

At last, Lady Zhao sighed, "That’s right, Mother is doing this for your own good. You must realize, marrying a woman of high status, you would never be able to lift your head high before her.

You have your skills, the appreciation of Duke An’s granddaughter, and can even go to the capital to instruct the craftsmen of the court in their work. Even without Miss Zhou, we can live well. At home, you’ll have a wife who puts you first and listens to everything you say. Your good days are still ahead. Trust Mother; she would never harm you."

"I," Wong Qiao asked Lady Zhao, "should I reply to Second Miss Zhou now, or should I first clear things up with the wife of the heir apparent? It was the wife of the heir apparent who brought us together, so I should pay her a visit and give her a heads-up." Last year, Madam Liang made inquiries from the wife of the heir apparent about his family background and household, which was the equivalent of signaling agreement to this marriage on the wife of the heir apparent’s part.