Time Travel: The Noble Family-Chapter 1353 - 554: Refusal (2)

When Tingzheng saw Yueyao, Yueyao’s expression was as it always was, with a smile, not at all the serious face Tingzheng had imagined. Tingzheng naturally called out, "Sister."

Yueyao smiled and nodded, pointing to Kexin beside her, saying, "This is Kexin. Brother Shengsheng and the others have gone to school and won’t be back until the evening."

Kexin gave a junior’s greeting to Tingzheng and formally called out, "Uncle." Given the previous incident with Madam Lin and Wanting, Kexin didn’t have a good impression of Tingzheng.

Tingzheng, due to the environment he grew up in, was sensitive to this and immediately felt that Kexin didn’t like him.

Yueyao said to Kexin, "Kexin, you may leave now!"

After Kexin greeted Yueyao and Tingzheng, she left.

Yueyao looked at the uneasy Tingzheng and smiled, "Sit down." Tingzheng had left the Capital City for six years, and he seemed more mature than before.

After sitting down, Tingzheng was thinking about his wife and children who couldn’t enter the Inner Courtyard, unsure how to bring it up.

Yueyao looked at Tingzheng, who appeared to be in good health, "I heard from your brother-in-law that you were injured, your arm was hurt. Is it serious?"

Instinctively, Tingzheng grasped his left hand with his right, smiled, and said, "Sister, it’s just a minor thing, nothing serious, it’s all fine now."

Yueyao nodded and asked about Tingzheng’s experiences in Haikou over the past few years, seemingly asking about trivial matters, but she gathered a lot of information from Tingzheng’s responses.

Tingzheng felt Yueyao was only discussing mundane topics and didn’t mention Lin Qinghan or Wanting, eventually unable to hold back and said, "Sister, why won’t my brother-in-law let Qinghan enter the house?"

Upon hearing this, Yueyao’s smile immediately faded, "Did Madam Lin not tell you the reason?" Actually, Yueyao could guess that Madam Lin wouldn’t speak the truth.

Tingzheng’s expression changed, "Qinghan said it’s because of the red coral tree incident. Sister, it was really a misunderstanding; it’s my fault for not explaining it clearly to Qinghan back then."

After Tingzheng finished explaining, Yueyao slowly said, "Because you were fighting in Haikou, there were things I didn’t tell you. After the red coral tree incident occurred, Lady Lin brought Madam Lin to visit. Lady Lin apologized to me, but Madam Lin only said she would compensate me, and the next day someone delivered Three Thousand Silver Notes. Your brother-in-law was extremely angry when he found out."

Tingzheng was somewhat incredulous, "Sister, is there some misunderstanding? Sister..."

Yueyao interrupted Tingzheng by raising her hand, "Tingzheng, Wanting came over a few days ago alone, asking me not to let you divorce Madam Lin. I told her that this was an adult matter, and children shouldn’t intervene, and Wanting pointed at my nose and called me cruel."

Immediately, Tingzheng shook his head and said, "Impossible, how could that be?" His daughter was so delicate and charming, how could she say such things?

Yueyao’s expression was very plain, "Tingzheng, I never liked Madam Lin, and to avoid making things difficult for you, I also kept my distance from her, not interacting with her so ’out of sight, out of mind’. However, after the red coral tree incident, having such a matriarch in the Lian family is worrisome for the future. I did think about letting you divorce Madam Lin, and Wanting’s actions made me even more steadfast in that thought."

Tingzheng was dumbfounded; he thought it was a misunderstanding but didn’t expect it to be true: "Sister, Qinghan was legally married into the family; sometimes her actions are inappropriate, but she hasn’t committed grave wrongdoings. How could I divorce her?" Tingzheng’s underlying sentiment was that even if Qinghan and Yueyao had conflicts, it shouldn’t lead to divorce.

Yueyao smiled bitterly; she had already anticipated this outcome, but why did she feel so sad when it really happened?

Watching Yueyao’s expression, Tingzheng felt a bit panicked, "Sister, I know Qinghan’s actions have been inappropriate, Sister, I’ll have her apologize to you."

Yueyao didn’t know why, but her heart felt blocked. She took a deep breath and then slowly asked, "So, are you saying that if I asked you to divorce her, you wouldn’t agree?"

Looking at Yueyao, Tingzheng after a long pause slowly shook his head: "Sister, I know Qinghan has done many things wrong, but Qinghan was my legal bride and has given birth to Wanting. I cannot be that ungrateful person. Sister..."

Yueyao felt very conflicted, upset that Tingzheng seemed not to care about her feelings at all, not pondering why she had the thought of him divorcing Madam Lin. Yet at the same time, Yueyao breathed a sigh of relief, as Tingzheng’s refusal to divorce meant she wouldn’t be the villain who broke up a loving couple.

After a long time, Yueyao said, "There’s a saying, it’s better to demolish ten temples than to ruin one marriage. If Madam Lin hadn’t truly gone too far, do you think I want to be the one to break up your marriage? I want you to divorce Madam Lin for your own good, for the future of the second branch."

After hearing this, a trace of panic welled up in Tingzheng’s heart, "Sister, I know you’re doing this for my own good, but this... Sister, even if only for Wanting, I cannot divorce Qinghan!"

Yueyao smiled, but the smile seemed especially peculiar, "I only had that thought, since you’re not agreeing, let’s just pretend I didn’t say it."

A glimmer of hope flashed in Tingzheng’s eyes, but before he could speak, Yueyao stood up and said to him, "I still have some matters to attend to, you should go and take care of your own affairs!" It was evident Yueyao was asking him to leave.

Tingzheng stared blankly at Yueyao; from childhood to now, this was the first time Yueyao had asked him to leave. Feeling a bit flustered, Tingzheng implored, "Sister, I haven’t seen you for so long; I still have so much to talk to you about!"

Yueyao smiled and said, "I’m holding a painting exhibition in two months, and there’s a lot to prepare for. We’ll chat slowly when there’s an opportunity in the future! You’ve just returned; surely, there are many things you need to take care of, so go handle them first."

Looking at Yueyao’s smile, Tingzheng felt it was unfamiliar; for some reason, his heart felt emptily hollow as if he had lost something very important.