Chapter 11
After he hung up the phone, he and I lapsed into silence once more.
Someone had to break this silence.
I let out a sigh.
Zhao Gongzi looked at me guardedly.
I called Ham over, stuffed him into his embrace, and said, “If you want to throw a tantrum, just hit him.”
Zhao Gongzi looked down at Ham, furrowed his brows, and asked, “Why the fuck would I hit him?”
I said, “You look like you really want to hit me. Since I’m the one raising him, it’s just as well if he takes the beating for me.”
Zhao Gongzi cursed at me, “Damn it, how many days have you raised him? I’m the one who’s been raising him all along! When it comes to raising him, he’s my dog, but when it comes to getting a beating, he’s your dog?”
Seeing that he had recovered a bit of his usual self, I felt relieved. I placed Ham back on the floor and gave him a kiss.
Zhao Gongzi grew even more guarded. “If you dare take one single step outside, I will stew your dog.”
If I were really going to elope with someone, would I still care whether you stewed Ham or not? Of course I would take Ham along with me. Am I supposed to just leave him behind so you can use him to track me down across thousands of miles? Ham, that little traitorâI am the one raising him, yet he is closer to Zhao Gongzi.
I reasoned with him earnestly, “The one you ought to be worried about is Thirteenth Concubine.”
Zhao Gongzi’s face darkened right back down. “I can’t control her.”
Right, right, right, you can only control me. Now I want to swear too.
Zhao Gongzi is just so loathsome. He can drive someone with a good temper like me to the point of wanting to use foul language.
I continued to persuade him, “That was all many years ago. Fifth Brother was young and reckless back then. Fortunately, no catastrophic mistake was made either. Sixth Miss said he already found love elsewhere a long time ago outsideâ”
“When did you talk to Zhao Liu?” Zhao Gongzi interrupted me displeasedly, “I said you are not allowed to talk to Zhao Liu!”
Who cares about you! Is there even a single one among your brothers and sisters that you don’t hold a grudge against?!
Zhao Gongzi furrowed his brows. “Fine, we won’t talk about Zhao Liu; we’ll deal with that later. Why do you still care about Zhao Wuâs business?”
I said, “Sixth Miss just mentioned it in passing.”
Zhao Gongzi reluctantly accepted this explanation of mine.
Before long, Fourth Master Zhao called in person. “Yixin, what is Xiao Long doing?”
I said, “He isn’t feeling very well and is sleeping.”
Zhao Gongzi promptly gave me a hard pinch.
Fourth Master Zhao said, “It’s rare for everyone to be home tonight. Bring him back for dinner.”
I felt completely helpless as well. When one is living under someone else’s roof, one has to comply; I was merely adopted by the Zhao family, so I had no choice but to be obedient.
Zhao Gongzi barked at me, “Fart!”
I said, “Change your clothes. We’re going back. Today is the Master’s birthday.”
Zhao Gongzi was reluctant in every possible way. “He already had a birthday ball last week. Besides, we don’t have the key, so we can’t get out.”
I said, “Call Hao Da.”
Zhao Gongzi refused to make the call, so I did it myself. Hao Da said he could be here within five minutes. I told him there was no need to rush, and arriving within five hours would be perfectly fine.
Persuading Zhao Gongzi to step out the door required an hour, and the remaining time was spent persuading Zhao Gongzi to wear slightly better-looking clothes.
Zhao Gongzi grumbled righteously, “Do I really need to dress like this to be more handsome than Zhao Wu?”
I said, “Of course not. You’re more handsome than him even without wearing anything.”
Zhao Gongzi said coldly, “It seems you know exactly what he looks like without wearing anything.”
I stared at Zhao Gongzi coldly.
Zhao Gongzi averted his gaze.
I said coldly, “Say that one more time.”
With flickering eyes, Zhao Gongzi cursed at Ham, “Biting my clothes again, I’m going to stew you!”
I said coldly, “Change into this outfit I picked out.”
Zhao Gongzi began to change his clothes.
The plan went much more smoothly than I had anticipated.
I said, “Don’t keep staring at me while you’re changing.”
Zhao Gongzi changed his clothes obediently.
Fifth Brother truly was incredibly dashing and handsome, beyond description.
However, we didn’t get to see Fifth Brother.
Fifth Brother called back, saying something had come up and he wouldn’t be able to make it.
Fourth Master Zhao appeared to be long accustomed to this. He didn’t lose his temper and merely remarked, “He probably died somewhere out there.”
Everyone remained silent, focusing entirely on eating their food.
Zhao Gongzi was the youngest child and usually the most doted on by Fourth Master Zhao, but everyone knew that Fourth Master Zhao loved Fifth Brother the most. This was because Fifth Brother was the only son of Fourth Master Zhao’s first wife. After all, they were a couple from their youth, so the affection was ultimately differentânot to mention the First Madam had passed away later because of Fourth Master Zhao. Fourth Master Zhao also doted on the young Fifth Brother, so he placed him in the room of Thirteenth Concubineâwho had just given birth to Zhao Gongziâto be raised together for many years. Consequently, this caused Zhao Gongzi to place Fifth Brother right at the top of his list of hated siblings.
Sigh.
In a sense, Fifth Brother was quite a legendary figure.
After dinner, Zhao Gongzi accompanied his father in the living room to play chess. He was remarkably well-behaved, which cheered Fourth Master Zhao up quite a bit. As long as Fourth Master Zhao was happy, Zhao Gongzi would be happy too. When the two of them were happy and peaceful, they wouldn’t stir up trouble, and everyone would be happy.
However, Uncle Dali rushed in and shattered this harmonious atmosphere. “Fourth Master, Fifth Young Master is back!”
Fourth Master Zhao showed a frown that was thirty percent irritation and seventy percent unhideable joy.
Zhao Gongzi’s entire demeanor turned ice-cold again, and he glared at me coldly.
Could he possibly be blaming me for failing to assassinate Fifth Brother in a timely manner? Other than that, I couldn’t comprehend what he could possibly blame me for. Whenever anything went wrong, he would blame his assistant, and if the assistant wasn’t around, he would blame me. It seems I will have to pay his assistant double the salary so he can follow him day and night from now on.
Fifth Brother’s return was spectacular. He brought back a blonde, blue-eyed young lady and a blonde, blue-eyed middle-aged man.
Fourth Master Zhao hurriedly went forward to greet them. “Ambassador Andrew! Forgive me for not welcoming you properly!”
The Ambassador said with a smile, “So you are Charles’s father. I only just found out myself. I heard today is your birthday.”
According to Sixth Miss’s latest intelligence report, Fifth Brother was no longer with the “good match” from three months ago; he was now striking up a new match with Ambassador Andrew’s daughter. Meanwhile, Fourth Master Zhao had been eager to establish a connection with Andrew for some business matters for a very long time.
