Chapter 109: Who is Convincing Whom

The maidservant rushed out in a fluster, and the Ning Family's residence regained its quietness.

Ning Yunyan was still so angry that her chest heaved violently.

Ning Yunzhao glanced at her without saying a word and walked into the room.

Eldest Madam Ning lay facing the inside of the bed, seemingly oblivious to the outside commotion.

Ning Yunzhao sat down by the bed and picked up a bowl of soup.

"Mother, have something to eat," he said.

Eldest Madam Ning ignored him as if she were sound asleep.

"Brother!" Ning Yunyan came in from the outside, gritting her teeth and shouted, "If you really care about mother and want her to get better, go settle this matter quickly."

"The matter of the marriage arrangement, of course, needs to be resolved," Ning Yunzhao said.

"Are you going to dissolve the marital ties or with that cheap..." Ning Yunyan said shrilly.

The word "cheap" had barely left her mouth when Ning Yunzhao put the soup bowl on the table. It seemed casual, touching the teapot next to it, producing a crisp and somewhat jarring sound.

Just like when a mother-in-law is displeased and sets down her teacup heavily, Ning Yunyan shuddered and stopped her words, then her eyes reddened again.

She was not a child and knew such actions were not coincidental, but intentional.

The mother-in-law appeared kind but always treated her as an outsider, giving empty praises and showing her displeasure not with words but with a cold face—a disapproval she, her husband, and servants could all see, and then they all treated her similarly.

She had to be extremely careful, reading her mother-in-law's words and expressions, serving her attentively.

She almost forgot the carefree ease of her maiden days; it was only these days when they mentioned Jun Zhenzhen that she remembered the times.

Back then, everyone was careful around her mood; she could be happy or unhappy at will, and her brother and mother would always indulge her.

But now, just because she wants to call Jun Zhenzhen a cheap slut, brother actually shows her a cold face, even mimicking the mother-in-law's gesture.

Tears streamed down Ning Yunyan's face.

Brother already treated her as an outsider.

She had expected that he would treat her as an outsider after he got married, but she had not expected it to happen even before the marriage.

And all because of an outsider.

Jun Zhenzhen.

For Jun Zhenzhen, that cheap slut, brother treated her like this.

"Speak properly, don't cry and make a fuss."

Ning Yunzhao's voice followed, still gentle and affable, but Ning Yunyan no longer felt the pampered care of her brother from before.

This was a rebuke, a sign of discontent.

Ning Yunyan cried louder.

"Who are you talking about?" Eldest Madam Ning abruptly sat up in bed and scolded with raised eyebrows, pointing her finger, "Get out of here, I don't need you to serve me, smashing and banging around, putting on a face for whom?"

She shook all over.

"I might as well not have given birth to a son like you."

Then she lay back down, burying her face in the pillow, crying loudly.

"When I was weak and pregnant with you, I almost died; the Doctor advised against keeping you, but I couldn't bear it, I struggled to give birth, and now you still want to take my life."

Seeing her mother cry, Ning Yunyan cried even louder. Eldest Master Ning, who had just reached the courtyard gate, rubbed his ears.

"I'll come back later," he said, looking back at the courtyard with a blend of admiration and sympathy, "Yunzhao really has it tough."

Inside the room, Ning Yunzhao sat between the cries of the two women, composed as a pine, his expression unchanged.

"Mother, I know all this, don't cry, the issue will always need to be resolved," he said soothingly, "You've heard just now, she has come back."

Previously, he always said that this matter would wait until Miss Jun returned to be resolved.

But in reality, the root of the issue had nothing to do with whether Miss Jun came back or not.

Do men really not understand, or do they just pretend to be confused?

Eldest Madam Ning ceased her weeping and looked at him.

"How do you intend to resolve this with her?" she asked.

"I can only know after asking her," Ning Yunzhao earnestly replied.

"I'm not asking her right now; I'm asking you," Eldest Madam Ning snapped, "No matter what she suggests for a solution, you still like her, don't you? Even if she proposes to annul the engagement, you still insist on marrying only her, right?"

Ning Yunzhao smiled.

"Insist on marrying only her... that promise is too big," he said. "No one knows what the future holds, so I dare not say such a thing."

To say that he's gone mad, his sudden admission of love for Jun Zhenzhen truly seemed crazed.

Just like that young man next door who had only just achieved the scholars' rank, his family hadn't even gotten the chance to rejoice when this scholar's son madly insisted on marrying a young widow.

But Ning Yunzhao wasn't like that scholar, frantically shouting that he'd marry no one else and threatening life and death.

His son had always been a rational person.

"Yunzhao," Eldest Madam Ning said with a mix of pleading and firmness as she grasped his hand, "has that cheap slut seduced you?"

Ning Yunzhao smiled.

"Mother, do you still not know your son?" he said. "Am I someone who could be tempted by others?"

Eldest Madam Ning was taken aback by his words, and her mouth instantly filled with bitterness.

She wished she didn't know!

She angrily flung Ning Yunzhao's hand away.

"In any case, you absolutely must not like her, not now, nor in the future," she commanded. "I will find you another good girl; you just said yourself that no one knows what the future holds."

"Mother, liking someone isn't so easy to control," Ning Yunzhao laughed, draping an arm around Eldest Madam Ning's shoulders.

So after all that was said and done, it amounted to saying nothing at all.

No, not nothing at all; he had all along been convincing himself.

Eldest Madam Ning felt a chill in her heart.

Even as she lay there feigning illness, refusing to eat, he went through the motions of dutifully attending to her but was always convincing himself, showing not the slightest inclination to comply with her wishes.

In his eyes, she was worth less than that cheap slut!

"Get out!" she croaked out hoarsely, pushing Ning Yunzhao away, "Get out, I have no son like you!"

Ning Yunzhao remained calm and sighed softly.

"Mother, please calm your anger," he said. "I'll listen to you, don't be angry, I'll step out for now."

With that, he withdrew.

Now he listens to her words again?

Watching Ning Yunzhao leave, Eldest Madam Ning swept a soup bowl off the table to the floor with a slap of her hand.

"Mother, what are we going to do?" Ning Yunyan wept, "Brother has been bewitched by that vixen."

Eldest Madam Ning clenched her hands, her face turning ashen.

"Unless I'm dead," she gritted her teeth and said, "I refuse to believe he would dare abandon his mother for that cheap slut."

As long as the mother remains firm, that's all that matters.

Ning Yunyan sighed slightly with relief; their father was unreliable, and the rest of the Ning Family was even more detestable. These bastards came out and even happily asked her when Miss Jun would enter the household.

Shameless, what's so good about that woman? They all acted as if they'd found a treasure.

"Mother," she thought of something, looked around, and took out a few pieces of pastries from a small drawer, "You should eat something quickly, don't really starve yourself. That would be playing right into that cheap slut's hands."

Of course, the fasting was fake.

Eldest Madam Ning grimly reached out and took the pastries.