Li Guan didn’t want to marry his cousin at first, but the Old Madam forced him to. Whenever he didn’t do as she wanted, she would try to kill herself. Li Guan had no choice, and he also thought that remarrying a stepmother could take care of the young Li Wanzhao. He was busy on weekdays and couldn’t take good care of her. 

But he brought back a mother for her, and she wasn’t happy. 

Li Wanzhao became more and more excited, childishly saying, “She’s not my mother, she’s not my mother! Since ancient times, it has been said that a mother’s status depends on her son, but in our family, it has always been the son’s status depends on his mother. Children with mothers live better than children without mothers.” 

A son’s status depends on his mother… 

Standing behind the screen wall, Wen Chen heard these words, and his eyes darkened. 

He hadn’t thought about this statement before, but listening to it today, he felt that it was quite apt. 

Li Wanzhao continued to say, “Mother called me today and asked me to make two red garments for my younger brother and cousin, and also asked me to go to the Wenchang Temple to burn incense and pray for good luck. I know, I’m a sister, and my embroidery is good, so it’s all right to do these things, but Ah Chen also needs it! The brothers in the family can’t all have it, but the husband doesn’t. Counting it this way, that’s three garments. There’s less than a month left, and Mother wants me to make three garments. The wind and snow are heavy outside, and she still wants me to go to the Wenchang Temple…” 

“If it were Shu jie’er (Li Wanshu), would Mother let Shu jie’er make three winter garments in a month? Would she let Shu jie’er go to the mountain in the wind and snow?” 

“And if Mother were still alive, would she let me do these things?” 

Li Wanzhao’s words were like a boulder rolling over Li Guan. 

He was defeated by Li Wanzhao’s words and couldn’t speak for a long time. 

Li Wanzhao was crying and about to faint. She didn’t even have the strength to hold Li Guan anymore, and she almost collapsed on the snow, “I don’t have a mother anymore, does Father really not want me anymore?” 

She’s Like His Night-Shining Pearl 

Li Guan gave Li Man a look. 

Li Man quickly helped her up from the cold snow with Zhixia. 

Li Guan looked at her, his expression still unhappy. He “hmph”ed and then said, “I don’t want you? If I didn’t want you, would I teach you how to behave? If I didn’t want you, would I send you to school to read and broaden your horizons?” 

It wasn’t bad for a young lady to read more. 

All the routes, prefectures, states, and counties had schools. The Li family also sponsored money for the school in Enwen Prefecture, so they naturally had to send their children to school. 

Li Guan asked her, “I sent you to school. What did you learn in school and bring back to me! You did that shameless thing first, and I fulfilled your wish and let you marry him. What else is there to say now?” 

The matter had already happened, and it was meaningless to talk about the past. 

She said, “I know that Father is angry that I’m not self-respecting and don’t love myself, but I told Father that I was plotted against, but Father doesn’t believe me. Now that the matter has already happened, it’s meaningless to go back and talk about it. I’ll follow him for the rest of my life. Father, Ah Chen isn’t that bad. If he can pass the imperial examination in the future, can you not be angry anymore?” 

Li Guan pointed at her, his fingers trembling, “Not that bad?! If he wasn’t that bad, would he let you do that kind of thing!” 

As he spoke, he began to fall back to his original state. 

Li Wanzhao didn’t want to talk to him about these things, and she couldn’t talk to him about these things. She cried and begged him, “Father… can you not talk about this anymore? What else can your daughter do now except accept it?” 

Hearing this, Wen Chen leaned against the back of the screen wall, looked up at the darkening night sky, and couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. The laughter was very faint, and no one could notice it. 

What else can she do except accept it. 

No wonder she could accept it so readily. 

That’s right, what else could she do except accept him? 

She could only accept someone like him. 

Li Wanzhao’s hand tugged on Li Guan’s sleeve, and Li Guan finally didn’t shake her away harshly. She said, “Father, it’s so cold. The charcoal in the room can’t warm it up at all, and the winter clothes haven’t come yet this year. Ah Chen’s family isn’t well off either. He only wears the cloak I made for him every day. If this continues, we’ll both freeze…” 

Li Wanzhao didn’t want to be cold anymore, and she didn’t want to let Wen Chen be cold with her anymore. 

She also guaranteed, “The teachers in the school all say that Ah Chen is promising. He will definitely pass the children’s exam and pass the exam in one fell swoop.” 

“Heh, pass the exam in one fell swoop, a pipe dream.” 

Li Guan didn’t know where Li Wanzhao got her confidence. This Wen Chen wasn’t even a poor scholar. Passing the xiucai exam was enough to burn incense and worship Buddha. He still wanted to pass the jinshi exam? 

But he also knew that it was useless to argue about these things now. He looked at Li Wanzhao, who was sad and miserable, and noticed that her winter clothes were indeed from previous years. 

As for Wen Chen, that was even more needless to say. 

Li Guan remembered seeing him just now, wearing only a thin cloak, which looked like Li Wanzhao had hurriedly made for him. 

What she said should be true. 

Chen was really deliberately treating them harshly while they were having a falling out. 

Li Wanzhao was trembling, perhaps from crying, perhaps from the cold. 

She wasn’t crying now, but she just lowered her head, sobbing uncontrollably, which looked even more pitiful than before. 

Li Guan finally relented, “Since there’s no charcoal and no winter clothes, why not go to Li Man?!” 

“Father doesn’t pay attention to me, and I don’t want to embarrass Uncle Man. It’s just that there’s no money, no clothes, and no charcoal. I really can’t bear it anymore…” 

Li Guan had a deep relationship with his first wife, Yang, which was naturally different from Chen, whom he was forced to marry. 

In the end, she was the only daughter left by his first wife. 

Li Guan glanced at Li Wanzhao and finally said, “What are you crying about? Do you have any backbone? I’ll have someone send it to you tomorrow morning.” 

He flicked his sleeves and was about to leave. Thinking of something, he paused and said, “How can you make three winter garments in a month? Are you going to do it without sleeping? But it’s just a children’s exam. Why do you need to go to the Wenchang Temple?” 

Li Guan himself had passed the jinshi exam back then. Among the children’s exam, the autumn exam, and the palace exam, the county exam was the most basic exam. If he had to go to the Wenchang Emperor for this, then what was the point of taking the juren exam? What was the point of passing the exam? 

Li Guan left these words and left with Li Man. 

He ran into Wen Chen, who was eavesdropping behind the screen wall. The two looked at each other, and Li Guan gave him a cold look, coldly humming from his nostrils, and left in large strides. 

After Li Guan left, Zhixia comforted Li Wanzhao for a long time, “Miss, you’ve made it through. The master also feels sorry for you.” 

Li Wanzhao nodded, and then wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. She had cried so much that her nose was running. She tidied up her appearance before walking back inside. 

After crying like this and saying her grievances, she finally got some things. 

It was nothing. 

There was nothing to be wronged about. 

But even so, Li Wanzhao’s heart couldn’t help but feel sour. 

She was crying shamelessly just to avoid being harshly treated by her stepmother, just to get some winter clothes and some charcoal. 

No one would be willing to give up their face like this. 

After making such a scene, it was already dark, and the moon had unknowingly poked out a corner. 

Li Wanzhao walked inside, her feet making rustling sounds as she stepped on the snow. After walking behind the screen wall, she found that Wen Chen hadn’t left and was still waiting here. 

The two looked at each other and fell into a long silence. 

Had he heard everything just now? 

Thinking that Wen Chen had heard her crying and acting shamelessly completely. 

Li Wanzhao’s face immediately burned badly. 

“Didn’t I tell you to go back first…” Li Wanzhao looked at him, her eyebrows tightly furrowed. 

Wen Chen said, “Let’s go back together.” 

The two walked back, and Li Wanzhao asked him, “Did you hear everything just now?” 

He must have heard everything. 

Li Wanzhao asked unwillingly. 

Wen Chen “mm”ed. 

She was seen being embarrassed, and Li Wanzhao’s heart wasn’t happy. She lowered her head and stopped talking. 

Wen Chen’s peripheral vision took in Li Wanzhao’s actions, knowing that she was feeling sullen again. 

Saying that she was petty, Wen Chen didn’t think he was wrong. 

She was getting angry about this too? What was there to be angry about? What was there to be angry about that he heard these things? 

Wen Chen naturally wouldn’t pay attention to Li Wanzhao’s thoughts, and he wouldn’t be willing to “have mercy” and ask her what she was angry about. 

Since coming to Enwen Prefecture, he had changed a lot. He was clearly more down and out, but he was also more aloof. 

He wouldn’t have been so bad when he was in the imperial city. 

But now, he even turned a blind eye to the pain of the person who slept with him every day, and he wasn’t willing to explore it deeply. 

He even talked about an unimportant matter. He said, “Your father actually knows what your stepmother is doing.” 

In fact, to some extent, Li Guan was indeed okay to Li Wanzhao. After all, even after this happened, he could still see it through to the end and wouldn’t let her fend for herself. But on the other hand, he was also not very good, because if Li Guan really treated Li Wanzhao well, he shouldn’t have remarried, and the wife he remarried wouldn’t love his original wife’s child. 

Chen was narrow-minded. Didn’t he know? Li Guan clearly knew, but he also turned a blind eye. 

Perhaps he felt that she had cried very sadly just now, so Wen Chen kindly reminded her, hoping that Li Wanzhao wouldn’t have too many expectations for her father. 

After all, the greater the expectation, the greater the injury. 

In fact, his words had the flavor of sowing discord, but Li Wanzhao knew that he wasn’t that kind of person, and she also knew that what Wen Chen said was true. 

“I know.” 

Li Wanzhao had always known. 

Over the years, Chen had acted like this, how could the head of the family, Li Guan, not notice? But perhaps in order to whitewash peace, he had always turned a blind eye. 

At least, he wouldn’t make things big and break up the family.