A Beautiful Duchess with a Dark Heart – Chapter 138

Chapter 138

Completely Opposite

Madam Qi’s attitude was good, and her voice wasn’t loud.

But the content didn’t concede at all!

Qi Youyi was very angry. This woman has always been sharp-tongued. I won’t argue with her! “I heard that you arranged marriages for Lao Si and Lao Wu back in your hometown?”

“Yes, Xiao Si is engaged to Magistrate Zhang’s niece. Xiao Si took a look at her, and he quite liked her.”

“Not bad! She’s the Magistrate’s niece!” Qi Youyi said sarcastically.

“She is Magistrate Zhang’s elder brother’s daughter. That elder brother is a Huiyuan scholar. For so many years, he has been teaching and educating people, and his students are all over the world. In the future, it is very possible for him to become a great Confucian scholar! The key is that the Zhang family has a pure and good family tradition. They are truly filial to their parents, brotherly and respectful to each other, and harmonious as husband and wife. Moreover, like my mother’s family, they have no concubines or illegitimate children. So, I took a liking to her at first glance.”

These words left Qi Youyi trapped in a dead end.

What does she mean? Why is every single thing pointing at me?

“Also, for Xiao Wu, I arranged for him to marry Miss Wen. Her family is ordinary, but I like this girl. She is generous, intelligent, loyal, sensible, skillful, and good-looking! Ah, there is nothing bad about her! We immediately settled on her. Xiao Si will get married after the New Year. Xiao Wu… maybe half a year later!”

“It seems like there’s nothing for me, the father, to do in this…” Qi Youyi said lightly, with a hint of forcefulness.

“We are husband and wife, each with our own responsibilities. Besides, General, do you remember when Xiao Si and Xiao Wu’s birthdays are?”

“…” Qi Youyi was embarrassed by the question. He only remembered Qi Hua and Xiao Mao’s…

Madam Qi smiled, “So, you just need to remember that you have to stay in the capital after the New Year, and half a year later. As a father, you have to attend your sons’ weddings!”

I’m the father? Am I just a figurehead?!

“Aren’t there enough prestigious ladies in the capital for you to choose from? Why do you have to go so far!” Qi Youyi was a good hand at fighting wars, but when it came to family matters, he was really clueless.

Being pressured by Madam Qi, his resistance was indeed weak.

The battlefield aura that he naturally carried, Madam Qi simply didn’t care…

Sure enough, Madam Qi said with a smile, “What are you talking about? In fact, I was a top-notch prestigious lady in the capital! Didn’t I also fail to catch your eye? The Old Madam in the back courtyard was brought back by your father from thousands of miles away. What kind of background does she have? She hasn’t had a disagreement with your father for so many years, isn’t that good?”

Qi Youyi was immediately enraged, “Shut up, what are you talking about!? How dare you gossip about my father and mother! Cui Shi, you are getting more and more outrageous!”

Madam Qi just smiled and didn’t say anything.

“I still have to take a look at the marriages. If there’s anything inappropriate, I don’t care how you arranged them! It won’t happen!” Qi Youyi continued to be angry!

“General, you are good at deploying troops and fighting battles, but when it comes to matchmaking, you are an outsider. The three matchmakers and six ceremonies have already been completed. Miss Zhang and Miss Wen are already half members of the Qi family. The consequences of breaking off the engagement, even for a prestigious family like the Zhenyuan Marquis Residence, are not something you can easily bear!”

“I can bear it if I want to!”

“You haven’t even managed to become the heir apparent yet!” Madam Qi’s face was full of mockery.

“Cui Fengying! Aren’t you afraid that I’ll divorce you?” Qi Youyi was furious and ashamed, his beautiful eyes wide open.

Qi Wu was good-looking, a small part of it was because he resembled him, and the other larger part, it was unknown which ancestor’s features he had inherited and enhanced.

“Not afraid.” Madam Qi picked up the teacup and took a sip. “You can’t divorce me! Qi Youyi, after so many years, haven’t you figured it out yet? If it weren’t for Xiao’er and Xiao Wu, do you think I would have stayed for the title of First Rank General’s wife of the Qi family? I would have taken the initiative to give way to your beloved long ago!”

Qi Youyi was so angry that he couldn’t stand it, but he couldn’t do anything about it, so he slammed the door and left.

Madam Qi sneered, not taking it seriously at all.

After a while, “Madam, Eldest Young Master is here.”

“Mother.” Qi Xiao came in and performed a standard bow.

✿✿✿

Madam Qi was not as indifferent to him as she was to Qi Youyi. Her eyes even had a gleam in them, “Xiao’er, have you been doing well over the past year?”

Qi Xiao was used to his mother’s expression.

Ever since he was sensible, his mother had always been like this… which made him feel a lot of pressure.

Why couldn’t his mother be like his grandmother, easy and joyful to get along with?

“Everything is well with your son.”

“I planned to be home before you, but I was delayed by some matters. I rushed all the way back. But when I got home, I was told that you haven’t returned yet. I was worried that your matters weren’t going smoothly…”

Madam Qi rambled on, and Qi Xiao sat down silently and listened.

In fact, this feeling wasn’t too bad. But he didn’t know why, what remained in his heart were all bad feelings.

Unlike when he was with his grandmother.

Especially his mother’s attitude towards Minghui… She was his wife, the mother of his daughter.

Thinking of how Minghui had cried and complained just now, saying that his mother treated her own nieces better than her eldest granddaughter.

Since she loved him, why couldn’t she love his wife and daughter as well? Besides, they, mother and daughter, were so lovely!

Madam Qi didn’t know what Qi Xiao was thinking and was carefully recounting the matters from her hometown.

Of course, her attitude was completely opposite to that towards her husband.

Qi Xiao listened attentively and then said, “Mother, before, Minghui told you that she would accompany you back when I returned. From what you just said, it doesn’t seem that urgent, why didn’t you wait for me!?”

Madam Qi wouldn’t get angry at Qi Xiao and just softly explained, “Your Fifth Brother happened to have some business to take care of there, and you weren’t home either. So I went with him. The house and the road have been repaired. If you have time, Mother will go with you again. It’s very convenient.”

Her attitude made Qi Xiao unable to say the rest of his words.

“Look at this…” Madam Qi stood up and walked to a nearby table where a set of fine iron soft armor was folded.

“Mother found a set of soft armor for you. This is a product of the Bai family from Shaanxi! Although it’s a bit old, look at the material, it’s drawn so finely and it’s still so tough! It’s lightweight and easy to carry! You travel around all year round, wearing this, Mother can feel a bit more at ease.”

Qi Xiao’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw it. He was an expert and knew that this soft armor wasn’t cheap. The key was, it was very hard to find!

“Mother, you are so thoughtful! This is truly a good thing…” He picked it up. It was much lighter and softer than ordinary armor. He was quite fond of it.

He felt touched in his heart, but then he felt conflicted and said, “Leave it for Fifth Brother to wear!”

“He doesn’t go to the battlefield, how could he wear this? We’ll find another one for him when there’s a chance. There are straps here, so it can be worn whether you are fat or thin… I heard that the Bai family’s smelting techniques have long been lost, so this is truly a rare item! I had someone carefully clean and maintain it. Don’t dislike it…”

Qi Xiao’s voice carried sincerity, “Your son doesn’t dislike it. Thank you for your concern, Mother.”

“You are my son, who else would I care about if not you!?”

For a moment, a rare scene of warmth appeared between mother and son.