Chapter 723: Making Peace (2) Chapter 723: Making Peace (2) Editor: Atlas Studios Qi Haoran straightened his neck and said, “Eldest Uncle, since Aunt raised me up, I’ll naturally be filial to her.

Not only me, but Zijin will also fulfill his filial piety.

However, this doesn’t mean that Aunt can interfere in Zijin’s domestic matters.” “Atrocious.” Zhu Qing shouted, “She’s Zijin’s biological mother.

Why can’t she interfere in his domestic matters?

Do you think a son can disobey his mother just because he’s married?

Why can’t a mother interfere in her son’s marriage or taking in concubines?” A dark glint flashed across Qi Haoran’s eyes as he said, “But other mothers do that in the interest of their son.

Was Aunt doing that for Zijin’s interest?” Qi Haoran turned his head and looked straight into Madam Xia’s eyes.

He asked word by word, “Aunt, are you helping Zijin or harming him?” Madam Xia’s face turned pale.

Zhu Qing moved his feet, wishing he could kick Qi Haoran out.

He was here to broker peace, not to sow discord.

Yet, Qi Haoran actually tore open the wounds of the mother and son in front of them.

Qi Haoran glared at the person opposite him stubbornly.

Fan Zijin was the person involved, and his eldest uncle and aunt were elders.

No matter what he said at this moment, it would be deemed as wrong and unfilial.

On the other hand, his big brother was the Emperor.

Even if what he said was not an imperial edict, it was a final verdict.

It would not be good for Zijin and Madam Xia to have Qi Xiuyuan speak up.

Therefore, he was the only one who could speak about Zijin’s grievances.

At the very least, he could not let his eldest uncle abuse his status as an elder to suppress Zijin.

Zhu Qing glared at Qi Haoran.

Qi Haoran straightened his neck and resisted him.

Although Fan Zijin, who was beside him, was kneeling with his head lowered, his back was straight.

Clearly, he also did not think that he was in the wrong.

Behind Zhu Qing, Zhu Feng was frowning at them.

He couldn’t help but look at the Emperor.

Qi Xiuyuan was drinking tea and clearly didn’t intend to interfere.

That made sense though.

Although Madam Xia had raised Haoran, Zijin had grown up with Haoran.

Although Madam Xia was their aunt, Zijin had grown up by his side since he was 12 years old.

In terms of relationship, Zijin seemed to be closer to the Emperor.

The Emperor had already taken a step back by agreeing to be their middleman last night.

Zhu Feng sighed slightly and looked at Madam Xia.

Now, they could only depend on Madam Xia’s choice.

It was useless no matter how anxious they were.

If Madam Xia couldn’t sort out her own thinking, even if they pressed Fan Zijin to admit his mistake now and made the mother and son reconcile, Madam Xia would wear down Fan Zijin’s feelings for him in the future.

When the time came to look back on the past, the relationship between the mother and son would probably be even worse.

At this moment, Madam Xia was looking down at Fan Zijin and Qi Haoran, who were kneeling on the ground.

These two children had always grown up under her care.

Yesterday, they were clearly two strong and good-natured kids, but in the blink of an eye, they had become adults.

Time really passed quickly.

She knew that Zijin and Haoran had lived a hard life.

Haoran lived in the Fan Residence, and the servants below gossiped behind him back.

Zijin often complained to her that someone had confiscated his and Haoran’s allowances.

Even though furious, she could only keep a keen eye on the other party and deal with them after catching them red-handed.

However, even so, her mother-in-law would just deploy that servant elsewhere as though nothing had happened.

If it wasn’t her mother-in-law, her husband would also think that she was making too much of a fuss and that she had neglected her stepsons because of her maternal nephew.

The two children had seen how she was bullied back then.

When they faced her, they did not say anything.

But behind her back, Zi Jin came up with random ideas, asking Haoran to steal his grandmother’s or Madam Liu’s jewelry and stuff it into the servants’ rooms….

In the Fan Residence, the three of them relied on each other.

When did Zijin start having grievances about her?

Madam Xia recalled carefully and remembered Zhu Qing’s slap last night.

At that time, Zhu Qing had scolded her.

“You’re simply blinded by love.

If Fan Siwen had you in his heart, would he have let his mother make things difficult for you again and again back then?

Would he have kept elevating his concubine and Fan Zixiao’s identities to slap your and Zijin’s faces?

For such a man, you actually schemed against your only son.

Why, why…” Zhu Qing’s face was filled with disappointment.

“In the past, you still scolded Wan’er for being muddle-headed and not being ruthless to Qi Feng.

But I think you’re even worse than Wan’er.

No matter what, Wan’er won’t regard Qi Feng as being more important than Xiuyuan and Haoran.

Look at what you’ve done all these years.

“Back then, when Fan Siwen offered hereditary privilege to Fan Zixiao, you should have decisively told us.

Even though your second brother and I don’t have any other abilities, we could’ve lodged a censure against him for over-favoring his concubine at the expense of his legitimate wife.

What’s the use of you arguing with him?

What’s the use of chasing him all over the residence with a horsewhip?

Other than losing face in front of the servants, did he lose a piece of his flesh or a drop of blood?

You can’t bear to be harsh with him, but he can bear to be cruel towards Zijin!

“How many years has Zijin been in the north?

Has he ever asked about him?

Or did he send Zijin manpower and money?

Fan Zixiao got married at the age of 16, but what about Zijin?

When he returned to the capital, how old was he?

Did Fan Siwen mention his marriage?

You won’t be ruthless to him, but you’re willing to let your son stay in the north for so long.

If you packed your things and returned to your maternal family when Zijin left home, do you think Fan Siwen can still be so smug now?

“Why did he treat your second brother and I as dead?

Because it was you who first treated us as dead!

Don’t blame Zijin for being hostile towards you.

Even if I were in his shoes….” Zhu Qing took a moment to catch his breath.

Seeing that her face was ashen and pale, he finally stopped saying worse things.

He waved his sleeve and said, “This is the last time I’ll intercede for you.

If you can think it through, you can still salvage your ties with Zijin.

If you can’t think it through…” Zhu Qing closed his eyes and said, “If one day you can’t stay in the Fan Residence anymore, come back to your maternal family.

Your nephews don’t have any other abilities, but it won’t be a problem for them to support you in your old age.” He meant that if she couldn’t figure it out, she probably wouldn’t be able to keep Fan Zijin as her son.

If she didn’t even have her son, what else did she have left?

Her parents had passed away when she was born and her grandparents had passed away before they could see her grow up.

Yet, her husband had never belonged to her.

At this moment, Madam Xia looked at Fan Zijin and suddenly thought of many things that had happened to her when he was young.

At that time, Zijin was only nine years old and had participated in the tongsheng examination for the first time.

She did not expect him to make it all the way to the academy examination and enter the top three in one shot, becoming a xiucai.

A nine-year-old xiucai was very eye-catching even in the capital where there were crouching tigers and hidden dragons.

Overjoyed, Madam Xia gave the people in the residence an additional two months’ worth of monthly allowance and even booked a fine banquet in a top-notch restaurant to celebrate.

Fan Siwen was also elated, but when he went to bed that night, he suggested that Madam Liu be promoted to be his noble concubine.

The reason was that Zixiao, who was born before Zijin, was in an awkward position now that Zijin had become successful.

Recently, the servants had been humiliating him, so Fan Siwen wanted to boost his position at home… At that time, Madam Xia only felt sad.

It was not the first time that the servants in the residence had trampled on the weak.

She and her son had suffered for so many years and had been bullied by those old servants openly and secretly.

Why didn’t he stand up for them back then?

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