CHAPTER 896: CHAPTER 895: ARE YOU HERE TO LAUGH AT US?

Lady Zhao was already in a bad mood, and being stopped by Zhou Biyao made her even more furious. This wretched girl, that was her husband. With her husband’s legal troubles looming, not only was she unconcerned, but she was also preventing her as the mother to get involved. What was she plotting?

Just as she was about to lose her temper, a stroke of inspiration hit her, and she remembered her in-law. Yes, how could she forget about her in-law? Her in-law worked at the Ministry of Justice, and his position wasn’t low either.

Previously, Lady Zhao had little regard for Zhou Bingyi’s official title, because she was confident that her family never broke the law. Even if her in-law held the position of Junior Minister at the Ministry of Justice, what did that have to do with her family?

In the past, even when neighbors envied her for having an in-law who was a government official, Lady Zhao remained unmoved.

But now things were different. She looked at Zhou Biyao as if she had seen a lifeline.

Lady Zhao grabbed Zhou Biyao’s arm and said, "Biyao, isn’t your father-in-law a Junior Minister at the Ministry of Justice? Ah Qiao is our child, after all. As his father-in-law, shouldn’t he look after him? Don’t you think so?"

As Lady Zhao spoke, she stared intently at Zhou Biyao, as if terrified she might refuse.

Zhou Biyao was at a loss for words. Lady Zhao’s thinking was truly problematic. Did she think she was the only one concerned about Wong Qiao? In fact, Lady Zhao was the source of most of Wong Qiao’s troubles, and today’s situation was all because of her as the mother.

"Do I even need to say this? My father has already made arrangements. It’s just that due to the relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law, my father is avoiding direct involvement in the case. Rest assured, Mother, with my father watching, we definitely won’t be falsely accused of something we didn’t do, and third brother won’t be wronged."

Though Zhou Biyao said this, Lady Zhao still pushed her out the door. "Biyao, go home and ask around, find out what really happened at the yamen today. Seeing Ah Qiao so exhausted, did they secretly use some torture on him? Has he suffered some invisible injury?"

Thinking of her in-law’s official position gave Lady Zhao some peace of mind, yet she had more demands. "Also, Biyao, have your father-in-law pull some strings. We’ll pay from our own pockets if needed, but can we keep Ah Qiao out of the yamen? If Ah Qiao keeps coming and going from the yamen and being questioned by officers, people will think our family is not proper."

At this moment, Zhou Biyao didn’t really want to go back to her parent’s home. She wanted to go to her room and see Wong Qiao, especially after hearing what Lady Zhao said afterwards, which made her feel even more disgusted. How could there be such a mother? Her son was involved in a case that was not yet resolved, and she was already worried about appearances.

But Lady Zhao pushed her insistently to make a trip home, and she had no choice but to head out.

This Lady Zhao truly had a self-destructive temperament. In normal times, she liked to show off the airs of a mother-in-law, flaunting the strict upbringing of the Wong family. After Zhou Biyao got married for more than half a year, other than the three days after the wedding and during the New Year, she hadn’t returned to her parent’s home with Lady Zhao’s permission.

If it happened to be a half-month holiday, she’d be reprimanded by Lady Zhao for wanting to visit her family: "You don’t even know how to serve your proper mother, and when you have some free time you just think about going back to your mother’s house? What kind of upbringing is this?"

So when she usually visited her parent’s home, it was under the pretense of going to work, taking leave from Ye Xinyan, and spending one day with her mother.

Now Lady Zhao was anxious, not even willing to wait a moment to send her back, what kind of person is this?

She couldn’t disobey Lady Zhao’s words, but she returned quickly. "My mother said, our family rules are strict, and ordinarily do not allow a daughter-in-law to return to her parent’s home. My mother didn’t dare to keep me, and sent me back without letting me speak much."

Lady Zhao immediately widened her eyes. Her in-laws were so vicious, at this point in time, they were settling old scores. Had they been waiting for a day when the Wong family would fall into misfortune, or what?

Ah Qiao ran into trouble, does it mean her daughter could possibly fare well?

She wanted to scold Zhou Biyao a few words, but dared not open her mouth. Her Ah Qiao claimed to work for Prince Fu, but what kind of stature was Prince Fu? How could people like them ever associate with him? Ordinarily, their reliance was just the chief manager of the Iron Workshop.

But now, that powerful chief manager of the workshop had already been imprisoned. Originally, their in-laws were not a match, but if they offended Zhou Biyao and her family, they’d look down upon their disgraced Ah Qiao with no future, despise the poor and love the rich, and divorce Ah Qiao. Then Ah Qiao would truly be at the mercy of others, without hope.

Lady Zhao’s once glaring eyes instantly lost their edge, and she couldn’t care less about her dignified mother-in-law manner. She took two steps forward, took Zhou Biyao’s hand, and even patted it lightly. The pat made Zhou Biyao feel uncomfortable, her spine shivered with cold, but she couldn’t break free, so she awkwardly endured.

Lady Zhao continued speaking to herself: "Biyao, previously...well, I misjudged. I didn’t think through many things. You’re a good child, don’t argue with your mother-in-law..."

As she spoke, she felt her heart bleeding. When had she ever suffered such humiliation? When had she ever spoken with such humbling words? At this moment, she said these words to her daughter-in-law; how could she hold her head high as a mother-in-law in the future?

Lady Zhao spoke with great difficulty, while Zhou Biyao finally had a chance to pull her hand back.

She quickly withdrew her hand and held onto Lady Zhao’s arm. "Listen to what you’re saying, Mother, how could you say such things? My mother pushed me out, saying that my father is looking out for third brother and has already made arrangements, so we shouldn’t worry. My father instructed that we just let third brother follow the yamen’s requirements and go to the yamen daily. It’s just part of the investigation process, and since third brother is the Official Craftsman of the Iron Workshop, he has to go through this."

"Still has to go to the yamen?" Lady Zhao was slightly disappointed, but with her in-law’s assurance, at least her son wouldn’t be caught up in the lawsuit, which was a relief.

"My mother also said that appearing at the yamen is quite exhausting. I’ll go see third brother and offer him a shoulder massage and leg rub to help him relax a bit."

After saying this, Zhou Biyao released Lady Zhao and dashed out the door.

In the young couple’s bedroom, Zhou Biyao indeed gave Wong Qiao a shoulder massage.

Wong Qiao leaned back in a chair, wearing a very comfortable expression, saying, "Since you went back, why didn’t you stay longer? Why rush back so quickly? You know there’s nothing wrong on my side."

Zhou Biyao applied pressure as she spoke, "I was just thinking about you. At a time like this, why bother with going home? I didn’t actually go."

Wong Qiao shifted slightly and asked in surprise, "Then how did you report back to Mother?"

Zhou Biyao was quite pleased, taking advantage as Wong Qiao couldn’t see, she raised her eyebrows behind him and recounted everything she had said earlier without hiding anything.

Wong Qiao sighed and said, "Why did you bother? It just causes Mother unnecessary worry." Naturally, he knew what kind of personality his mother had and how she treated Zhou Biyao, so he couldn’t bear to blame Zhou Biyao.

However, a mother is still a mother, and he was still concerned.

Zhou Biyao snorted and said, "So what? She may be your mother, who raised you from childhood, and you can bear in mind her nurturing grace and never hold grudges no matter what she does. But I don’t have that kind of affection."

"Sigh, you’ve really been led astray by Ye Zi." Wong Qiao shook his head, remarking.