801 Just a Little Hardship
Xia Wen stayed in the study for more than an hour before he sorted out his thoughts and returned to his room. Tan Jing was still combing her hair in front of the dressing table.
After Xia Wen entered, he did not say a word. He just took a shower, packed his clothes, sorted out the things he needed to wear tomorrow and read in bed. He did not even look at Tan Jing.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?” Tan Jing asked Xia Wen calmly.
Xia Wen closed his book and looked at her quietly. They had been married for so long, but this seemed to be the first time he looked at Tan Jing so seriously. It was as if all these years of marriage had been a torture for Tan Jing and made her into a different person.
“I don’t know where to start. There’s too much going on,” Xia Wen said.
Tan Jing still did not think that she had gone overboard. She just wanted Qiao Mei to taste a little hardship and suffer like her.
“You must be terribly disappointed in me. You must think that I’m a vicious woman who only knows how to bully others and that my family is not good enough to be of help to you. Do I embarrass you?” Tan Jing said with tears in her eyes.
“When have I ever said anything about your family? Have I even said anything once? Have I ever rejected them when they came to me for help all these years?” Xia Wen questioned.
Tan Jing shook her head, but she still felt that Xia Wen was blaming her. There was nothing to discuss about this matter. Tan Jing just sat there quietly and cried.
Xia Wen sighed and walked over to hug her. “You’re the daughter-in-law of the Xia family and Qiao Mei is also the daughter-in-law of the Xia family. What good will it do you to hurt her? Has she ever hurt you?”
Tan Jing suddenly pushed him away and roared, “It’s because she’s pregnant! All of you care about her and have so much concern for her! Have all of you considered my feelings! That’s right… we’re all daughters-in-law of the Xia family. Why are all of you so nice to her! Have I done anything wrong!”
“My parents are old and they like children. They might not have paid attention to what they said and hurt you unknowingly, but has Qiao Mei ever harmed you? Why would you hurt someone who has never harmed you!” Xia Wen said with a frown.
“I didn’t harm her… I just wanted her to taste a little hardship… This way, we’ll be the same… I never thought of harming her…” Tan Jing said as she cried.
Xia Wen patted her back and did not say anything. Gradually, Tan Jing got tired of crying and fell asleep in Xia Wen’s arms.
Qiao Mei settled the children and Li Gui in their rooms one by one and then brought the softest blanket to Qiao Qiang’s room.
“Grandfather, you can sleep here first. I haven’t bought anything for the back part of the house yet. Let’s make a list of what we need tomorrow and then we can go shopping,” Qiao Mei said with a smile.
Qiao Qiang did not show any dissatisfaction with Xu Lan and had kept quiet to save the Xia family from embarrassment. Actually, there were also still many facets of the various relationships which Qiao Qiang did not know about, so it was not appropriate for him to flare up on the spot.
He did not expect the Xia family to be not as nice as Qiao Mei said, and that there were also people with ulterior motives around.
“Tell me, does Xia Wen’s wife treat you well?” Qiao Qiang said.
Nothing could escape Qiao Qiang’s eyes.
“Grandfather, she has a hard life too. Don’t take it to heart. I believe eldest brother will handle it well,” Qiao Mei said comfortingly.
Qiao Qiang did not think so. He was a good judge of character and he could tell that this person would do even more outrageous things sooner or later. If the Xia family did not punish her, then she would definitely become unscrupulous in the future, and might even commit murder and arson.
He did not expect it to be chaotic in the capital as well. Everywhere they went, there were nasty people. It seemed that peaceful days were hard to come by!
“You’re too kind-hearted. She bullies you to this extent and you still don’t take it to heart. When Xia Zhe comes back, I’m going to have a good talk with him. This brat’s family matters have caused you to suffer!” Qiao Qiang was so angry that he knocked the floor with his walking stick, almost lifting up the tiles on the ground.
“Grandfather! This floor tile costs 30 cents apiece! Slow down!” Qiao Mei said as she looked at the floor tiles with heartache.
Qiao Qiang looked at the heartless Qiao Mei and felt even angrier. It seemed that he had to settle this matter himself. This soft-hearted Qiao Mei would not be able to do anything.
“Fine, fine, fine. I won’t knock it anymore. You should go in quickly. You’ve been running around all day and didn’t have much rest. Go to bed early,” Qiao Qiang said.
Qiao Mei agreed and silently closed the door before returning to her room. The furnishings looked the same as before. It appeared that Xia Wen had put in a lot of effort to do up the house.
