Chapter 221
Li Tianyou had originally thought that with his daughter's return, he would let his daughter misunderstand the situation, and he felt somewhat apologetic about it.
Who would have thought that just as he looked up, he saw Lady Yao staring right at him.
"W-wife?" Li Tianyou was dumbfounded. Damn Zhou Tong, why didn't he tell him that his wife had returned?
"Master, it has been a long time. I thought you missed me dearly," Lady Yao said, looking at Li Tianyou and then at Xu Jin'an, who was sitting slumped on the ground. The implication, even unspoken, sent a chill through Li Tianyou's heart.
Could his wife be misunderstanding that there was something between him and this girl?
"Wife, I naturally miss you very much. Wife, if you were coming back, why didn't you tell me in advance so I could go pick you up?" Li Tianyou said with a smile, stepping forward to try and support Lady Yao.
He thought to himself, that dog Xu Heming, he actually brought my daughter back without a word.
And this girl in front of him, could she be arranged by Xu Heming?
If Xu Heming really dared to do this, he would definitely make him pay.
"If you had gone to pick me up, I wouldn't have been able to see such a splendid scene, would I?" Lady Yao avoided Li Tianyou's hand and said unhappily.
"Wife, this is all a misunderstanding. I don't know her. Who knows why she insisted on crashing into my carriage today and then followed us all the way back. If you don't believe me, ask Zhou Tong," Li Tianyou hurriedly explained.
"Madam, it's true. This girl crashed into our carriage herself and insisted on coming back with us. Just now, the master was about to have me drive her out," Zhou Tong, seeing his chance to speak, quickly explained.
He was afraid that if he spoke too late and the master blamed him later, he would also be held responsible.
Thinking of this, Zhou Tong's gaze towards Xu Jin'an also turned unfriendly.
Who knows where this girl came from, hauntingly following them and now causing the master to be misunderstood by the madam and the young mistress.
"Master, you said you would marry me," Xu Jin'an, who had been silent until now, looked at Li Tianyou and said timidly.
"What nonsense are you talking about? When did I ever say that?" Li Tianyou flew into a rage. This wild girl from who-knows-where was actually slandering him like this.
Was he that kind of man?
"Wife, don't misunderstand, there's no such thing. I haven't even spoken to her," Li Tianyou anxiously explained to Lady Yao again.
Li Zhiwei, standing to the side, observed Xu Jin'an, whose eyes kept darting around.
"Madam, please don't listen to this person's nonsense. The master really has nothing with her," Zhou Tong also quickly spoke up.
"Master, today you asked me to come back with you and said you would give me a status," Xu Jin'an, however, still looked at Li Tianyou with reddened eyes, as if he were a heartless scoundrel.
Li Tianyou took a deep breath, wondering where this crazy woman came from.
Crashing into his carriage was one thing, but now she also wanted to ruin his reputation?
Was Li Tianyou that kind of person?
"If the master truly wants to marry this younger sister into the household, it's not like I would disagree. Why go to such lengths to hide it?" Lady Yao said somewhat discontentedly.
In her heart, she was actually very upset. Although she had long been prepared for Li Tianyou to take a concubine, she hadn't expected this day to come so quickly.
Thinking of the grievances her daughter had nearly suffered for lack of a brother, Lady Yao could only grit her teeth and tell herself that she would definitely do anything that was good for her daughter.
Moreover, it was better to have the person brought into the household than for Li Tianyou to keep someone outside.
"Goodness, no such thing! In your heart, wife, am I that kind of old man? Besides, look at her, she's about the same age as our Zhiwei. How could this old cow chew on such tender grass?" Li Tianyou explained anxiously, his words becoming somewhat incoherent.
"You say my father promised to marry you. When did he say it to you, where was it said, and were there any witnesses present at the time?" Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Jin'an on the ground, suddenly squatting down to interrogate her.
Xu Jin'an was startled, shrinking back in fear, her heart in turmoil. Li Tianyou had never said such a thing to her, so how could she possibly answer these questions?
She had merely followed her mother's instructions to come here and wait for her mother to come and demand an explanation, after which she could logically marry Li Tianyou.
But hadn't her mother told her that Li Tianyou's wife would only be in Li'an County? That from then on, in the capital, there would only be her?
Why was Lady Li in the capital now?
And this Li Zhiwei, the pressure she gave off was too strong.
She was a little scared.
"What are you afraid of? Didn't you want to marry my father?" Li Zhiwei asked, dissatisfied, looking at Xu Jin'an's frightened expression.
"Daughter, don't talk nonsense. I don't know her at all. How could I possibly marry her!" Li Tianyou said indignantly.
"Father, she's not bad-looking. Since she's so eager to be your concubine, why not just take her in? A concubine is still at your disposal. If she does something that displeases the head wife, it's not a big problem to have her beaten or even killed," Li Zhiwei stood up and said in a flippant tone.
Xu Jin'an, who was already scared, widened her eyes upon hearing this and said angrily, "I don't want to be your concubine!"
Her mother had said that she should make Li Tianyou marry her as an equal wife.
She was from an official's family, while this Lady Yao was just a merchant's daughter. Lady Yao should defer to her.
All this was what Niu Shi had told her.
"You don't want to be a concubine? Do you mean you want my father to divorce my mother and then marry you instead?" Li Zhiwei was also angered into laughter by this girl.
"Father, which family's young lady is she from? Is her brain not working properly?" Li Zhiwei looked at Li Tianyou, thinking that her father's taste was truly not ordinary bad.
"Young Mistress, we really don't know this person. She crashed into our carriage herself. We took her to Hui Chun Hall, and I even gave her ten taels of silver, but she didn't say a single word the whole way. Who would have thought she'd say this upon returning," Zhou Tong, hearing Xu Jin'an's words, was also very angry.
What nonsense, she even wants to be our mistress?
Is she worthy?
Besides, the master and madam are deeply devoted to each other. How could they possibly take a fancy to this useless little girl?
"Master, you can't just deny our relationship because Madam and the Young Mistress have returned, can you?" Xu Jin'an looked at Li Tianyou with an expression as if he were a heartless man.
Li Zhiwei watched, marveling inwardly. Based on her understanding of her father and Zhou Tong, this girl was absolutely trying to trap her father.
Perhaps she wanted to launch a surprise attack while she and her mother were not in the capital. She just wasn't sure what other tricks she might have up her sleeve.
After all, if it was just saying a few words like this, besides upsetting her mother, it didn't seem like she could accomplish much, right?
As long as her father was unwilling, she couldn't force her way into the Li family.
Just as Li Zhiwei was feeling puzzled, a loud "Bang! Bang! Bang!" of knocking sounded from outside the door.
Li Zhiwei raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself, she took back what she just thought. This was probably the main event, right?
