allonlinenovel Chapter 152
Chapter 152
Aunt Xu retreated to the car, looking at Xia Chu with eyes full of love. "Since Miss Xia's return, the eldest lady's illness has improved a lot, and there is someone to take care of her. It's great." Her nose felt sore, and two tears fell, which she wiped away with a smile.
"Xia Xia, the Sun family is your biological father after all, how can...how can..." Jia Qingwu couldn't go on. Thinking back to what Sun Wujiu had done, everything she wanted to say seemed pale.
Xia Chu grabbed her hand and said solemnly, "Mom, life is only a few decades long. The most important thing is to be happy. Other people, especially those who make us unhappy, are just passing clouds. Don't worry about them."
"Madam, I think Miss Xia is right!" Aunt Xu was full of admiration and quickly agreed.
"But... he is your biological father after all," Jia Qingwu said in embarrassment. "What will you do in the future if people accuse you of being unfilial?"
"Then let's go to Lin'an." The Sun family has many children, and she is no exception. Xia Chu said cheerfully, "Stay away, don't get close to them."
Jia Qingwu chuckled, "You are just thinking about Lin'an. I also want to go and see the place you miss so much." She sighed softly, revealing melancholy.
Aunt Xu smiled and said that changing places was not bad. The lady would go to a new place and be free from the troubles and people she was dealing with now. If she was happy, maybe her illness would be cured.
"We'll go when mom gets better." Xia Chu began to look forward to it.
Zhang Zhou had been invisible for a long time. Since they were all women just now, he didn't say much. But Xia Chu had never suffered a loss when she spoke, so he wasn't worried at all. After walking with her for a while, he said, "Xiao Chu, I'm leaving."
Xia Chu almost forgot that her second brother was still outside. She lifted the car curtain and asked, "Where are you going, second brother?"
The driver slowed down to allow the two men to talk.
"Let's go to Moxiang Tower and take a look." Zhang Zhou said.
"Brother, you're all alone now. Do you want to go live at the Jia's?" Going to the Jia's house wasn't a good idea, after all, it wasn't your own home even if there were so many people around. But Zhang Zhou was living out there alone, and she was afraid he'd be lonely.
Zhang Zhou thought about this problem. If Xia Chu needed help, he wouldn't be able to arrive in time. But if he lived in the Jia family, he would be a man from outside the family, and Jia Qingwu and Xia Chu were both women, so it would be inconvenient. "I'd better live outside. If you need help, you can come to me. Do you know where to stay?"
"But what about big brother's apricot orchard? I know that place." Jia Qingwu said softly.
"It is indeed the Xingyuan Garden." Now that he knew it, Zhang Zhou did not stay any longer and said goodbye and left.
The carriage arrived at the gate of Jia's house, and the housekeeper Sun was guarding the gate. When he found that a carriage had returned, he quickly moved aside. Last time, he didn't pick up the person and was scolded when he returned. Sun Wujiu threw the cup and told him that he didn't need to go back if he didn't pick up the person.
Butler Sun was helpless, but not anxious. He handled many of the affairs of the mansion, and Qu Pingping had always wanted to seize power and replace the butler with one of her own relatives. She had put countless obstacles in Butler Sun's way, both overtly and covertly.
After all these years, he was a little tired and missed the time when his wife was at home. Fortunately, his indenture was with his wife, otherwise he didn't know what excuse Qu Pingping would find to sell him out.
Seeing his wife getting off the carriage, he went to greet her in surprise, "Madam, Madam!" He shouted twice, almost to the point of tears.
"Butler Sun?" Jia Qingwu asked in surprise, "Why are you here?" Then she thought again and felt that this question was redundant. Perhaps Sun Wujiu himself didn't want to come, so she asked Butler Sun to pick him up.
"The master sent to take you home." Steward Sun suppressed his emotions and greeted with a smile, "How is Madam these days?"
"Very good." Jia Qingwu nodded with a smile.
The lady didn't respond, she just didn't want to go back. Steward Sun didn't say much either. What was there to do back home? Living in the desolate and deserted Beiyuan, she had to endure Qu Pingping's constant sarcasm and ridicule. At least in the Jia family, the lady was valued and wouldn't be bullied. Steward Sun said nothing more. If the lady hadn't bought him back and given him food to eat, his old mother might not have lived to this day. "I'm relieved that the lady is well."
Xia Chu thought that Butler Sun would say something to persuade Jia Qingwu to go back, but he only said hello and then excused himself. She was a little puzzled. Didn't he say he would take her back? Why did he mention it and then not say anything? Thinking about it, she asked.
Jia Qingwu sighed, "I bought Steward Sun. His hometown was struck by disaster. His father died on the way, and his mother was seriously ill. He came to Huizhou and sold himself to pay for her medical treatment. I felt sorry for him, so I bought him back. He can read, is clever and resourceful, and worked his way up from servant to steward. He probably saw that I didn't want to go back, so he didn't mention it anymore."
At this point, Aunt Xu had something to say. Sun Wujiu was once a poor scholar, living in a shabby house, without a father or mother, and making a living by copying books and writing for others. The bookshop where he copied books belonged to the Jia family. Master Jia was attracted by his diligence, good looks, and lack of family burdens. That's why he decided to marry his daughter to him, thinking that he would just be a son-in-law who would be easier to control.
When Jia Qingwu got married, she had everything she needed, including a house, a shop, a farm in the suburbs, and servants. At first, Sun Wuji was very honest and treated Jia Qingwu very well. The couple lived in harmony and had a good life.
But unexpectedly, after Sun Wuji passed the imperial examination, he became arrogant. He began to dislike his family, who were merchants and money-grubbing. Especially after Sun Juexia disappeared, he was tired of Jia Qingwu's constant crying and wanted her to have another child. When Jia Qingwu refused, he became even more aggressive and threatened to take a concubine.
Jia Qingwu urged him to go out and look for his daughter every day. He pretended to agree and brought back a girl, saying that Sun Juexia had been found. In fact, the girl was not Sun Juexia at all, and everyone knew it. But they later found out that the girl was the daughter of Sun Wujiu's concubine.
Sun Wujiu brought the concubine into the house, and the identity of the concubine's daughter was also exposed. Under the double blow, Jia Qingwu collapsed and often became unconscious.
Xia Chu knew Jia Qingwu's hardship, but she hadn't expected that besides her daughter's abduction, she also suffered from her husband's betrayal. She immediately gnashed her teeth in hatred towards Sun Wujiu, calling him worse than an animal.
When the concubine's daughter first arrived, Sun Wujiu still called her Sun Juexia. When Jia Qingwu was not ill, she had strongly objected, but it was to no avail. Later, for some unknown reason, she changed her name to Sun Zhixia.
Xia Chu was so angry that she was spinning around in circles, "Why didn't Mom divorce him? Why keep a man like him around?"
Jia Qingwu's face was bitter, tears streaming down her face. "But, you don't have a father anymore. I'm afraid you'll come back and ask for your father, and then you'll blame me."
Xia Chu was deeply moved, not knowing what to say. She reached out and hugged Jia Qingwu. Although she knew that Jia Qingwu's love was not for her, it belonged to her now and would belong to her forever.
If she had previously done so out of sympathy and a sense of responsibility for the blood ties that bound her to this body, now she wanted a mother like that.