Chapter 171

The door closed, and Zhi Xia asked him, "Tired from the trip, and not even having a chance to rest when you got home, it's not even time for dinner yet. Do you want to lie down and take a nap first?"

On the way, the two of them each carried a child. When all three of them fell asleep, Pei Jing still had to keep an eye on them while Zhi Xia was able to get quite a bit of sleep herself. There were few times when Pei Jing was actually able to close his eyes.

Having been asked this by Zhi Xia, he did indeed feel a little tired. However, he still asked Zhi Xia first, "What about you then?"

"I don't feel sleepy right now, so I won't keep you company." Otherwise, if Pei Jing's grandparents saw, it might not look too good. Also, Zhi Xia's brain was probably a little excited for some reason right now, so even if she lay down, she wouldn't be able to fall asleep.

She had a bit of a sleeping problem. When she couldn't fall asleep, she liked to move her hands and feet around, which would disturb the person next to her from falling asleep.

"Oh right, I just saw that Mrs. Zhou prepared a lot of things. Grandpa and Grandma also said to have dinner here tonight instead of going back. Should I go let Dad know so he doesn't expect us to go back?" Zhi Xia asked.

Pei Jing: "Okay, go ahead then."

After Zhi Xia went out, she heard the old master calling her, "Zhi Xia, Mrs. Zhou prepared quite a few dishes. Go back and tell your dad to come here to eat tonight. Let's take this opportunity to drink a few cups."

That was the only hobby the two old masters had left. Old Man Pei was quite open-minded, but Old Master still had people watching over him, so usually if he wanted to drink a few cups, he'd have to find an excuse.

Like today for example, there was no better opportunity than this.

"Alright, I got it," Zhi Xia responded. She had originally still been thinking that after all, it was their first day back and if they ate here tonight, wouldn't it seem a little neglectful of the other side?

With Grandpa saying this though, she didn't need to worry about it anymore. Of course, Zhi Xia didn't know that ever since the two of them left hugging the children, Old Man Pei's heart had felt like a cat scratching incessantly, constantly feeling like something was missing.

When he saw Zhi Xia come in, he deliberately peered behind her, "Didn't little Jing and the kids come back?"

"No, Grandma and Mrs. Zhou prepared food. Grandpa said to go over and call Dad to drink a few cups together." Seeing the expression on Old Man Pei's face change from disappointment to excitement, Zhi Xia suddenly felt amused inside.

People always say someone is childish. When they get old, they really do become like little kids again. It seemed there was a bit of that feeling here.

"Alright, you go first. Let me get dressed then I'll go over." Old Man Pei said with a laugh as he went into the room.

When Zhi Xia returned to Grandma's house, she discovered that An Jingzhi and his wife, as well as her two older brothers, had also come over.

Zhou Nan greeted her, to which she also responded with a smile and called out 'Mom'. Then she slipped into the kitchen.

Zhou Nan's expression instantly dimmed and her tone carried a hint of loss. "We've been trying our best to make amends, yet she's still like this - neither cold nor hot..."

An Jingzhi sighed. "Let's just do our part and leave the rest to fate."

An Jingzhi understood even more than Zhou Nan. In his heart, he was clearer than anyone that some matters simply could not be resolved with just the word 'compensation'.

It couldn't be denied that there was some regret in his heart. If back then, they had made a resolute decision from the very beginning, perhaps it wouldn't have resulted in the current consequence of one daughter dead and the other estranged.

But the fact was there was no medicine for regret. Things had already turned out this way, so they could only accept it with grace. It was just that Zhou Nan had always harbored misgivings in her heart. Perhaps it was Mei Yun's death that caused her to transfer more of her feelings onto Zhi Xia. She kept hoping that she could gain Zhi Xia's forgiveness for her biased love and that they could interact like a real mother and daughter.

Inside the kitchen, it wasn't just Mrs. Zhou busying about, there was also another girl helping out - dark and skinny, only her facial features were still considered delicate. It felt like if her complexion could be improved, she would look even better.

"Mrs. Zhou, do you need my help with anything?" Zhi Xia spoke up first and glanced at the girl, asking, "This is...?"

Seeing the slightly awkward expression on Mrs. Zhou's face as she looked at the girl, she still explained, "You just got back so it's normal you don't know. I guess your Second Bro probably hasn't had a chance to tell you yet. She is your Second Sister-in-Law."

It was only because Zhi Xia had asked that Mrs. Zhou simply gave a brief explanation and didn't intend to say more. "Everything's prepared already and you don't need to help out anymore either. Caixiang, don't tire yourself out. You two sisters-in-law can go out and chat."

Wang Caixiang was also secretly sizing up this little sister-in-law. She had been in the An family for a while and had heard about the incident where the family's daughter was switched.

Only she was used to being timid and afraid the other party wouldn't like her, not even daring to openly look at Zhi Xia.

"Zhi Xia, hello, I'm called Wang Caixiang. You can also just call me by name directly." She stumbled a little over the sentence and Zhi Xia's face was still filled with confusion.

When did Second Brother get married? Even though they weren't very close, letters still went back and forth frequently between them. It couldn't have reached the point where he didn't even notify her right?

Besides, Pei Jing didn't know either.

Third Brother and grandparents' letters never mentioned this matter either. Something really didn't make sense.

"Hello," Zhi Xia responded somewhat awkwardly. In the end, she still didn't call out 'Second Sister-in-Law'.

Wang Caixiang was obviously a little let down, her two hands grasping each other seeming somewhat at a loss.

"Mrs. Zhou, since you don't need any help, I'll go out first then." She had originally come in to avoid interacting with An Jingzhi and his wife in the first place. And now there was inexplicably an additional Second Sister-in-Law in the kitchen, leaving her even more muddled.

She smiled awkwardly at Wang Caixiang then turned to head out.

Grandpa and Grandma were also in the yard, a whole circle of people fussing around the two children. Zhi Xia walked up to An ZhiXian and pulled him. "Third Bro, I have a few things I want to ask you. Come out with me for a bit."

This was the first time Zhi Xia had reached out to him. It should be known that before this, the only person she would take by the hand was Fourth Bro.

As they walked out, they happened to bump into Old Man Pei coming over. "What are you siblings going out for?"

"Just going to the entrance to talk for a bit," Zhi Xia explained. "Dad, the kids are in the yard. Hurry in."

Only after watching Old Man Pei go in did Zhi Xia ask, "When did Second Brother get married? How come no one told me about it?"

The mocking curvature of An ZhiXian's lips was very obvious. "In a rush to get here huh. Second Bro hasn't even taken the woman to heart. They didn't even hold a wedding. Don't think too hard about it, no need to bother with that Wang Caixiang."

The contemptuous tone clearly let her hear Wang Caixiang's standing in the An family.

But in response to his explanation that was clearly not one, Zhi Xia sulked, "Forget about not telling me, it's got nothing to do with me anyway." Hearing her obvious anger, An ZhiXian was able to make out her displeasure. "Hey, don't go. Isn't it fine if I tell you now?" He quickly grabbed her.

Even mentioning it now after so many days had passed, An ZhiXian's gritting of teeth was still very obvious. "That Wang Caixiang was Second Bro's student. Taking advantage of teaching him, she tricked Second Bro to her house and drugged him with an aphrodisiac. And that's how things became like this. Her parents threatened the family for a 500 taels dowry, otherwise they would accuse Second Bro of indecent assault. Dad and Mom's intention was to give money to avoid disaster and they didn't want Wang Caixiang as a daughter-in-law either, but they took the money and it still wasn't enough. They insisted on Wang Caixiang marrying into our family and Second Bro conceded in the end, so things are how they are now."

Of course she did marry in, but since it was a coerced marriage, just how her days were spent could only be personally experienced by Wang Caixiang herself.