The husband I snatched halfway through his life is strange.

Chapter 375 I hate my mother, I hate my mother
Inside the ancestral hall, candles burned, crackling softly.

The lights were not on, and the light was dim.

The last rays of sunlight streamed through the windowpane, falling quietly on half of Wei Zhao's profile.

He stood tall and straight, like a pine or bamboo, and at this moment he maintained a respectful gesture of bowing with his hands clasped. His nose was like a black gall bladder, and his lips were thin and pale.

The ancestral hall fell into a long, deathly silence because of his words.

Ning Suchan's face remained calm, but her emotions surged like a turbulent tide. Her hands pressed tightly against the incense table, unconsciously exerting force until the veins bulged.

There was a soft click.

Ning Suqian's meticulously maintained index fingernail snapped, yet she seemed oblivious to the pain, staring intently at the person before her, her lips tightly pressed together. A huge weight pressed down on her heart, making it hard to breathe.

No wonder...

No wonder Wei Zhao acted strangely when he returned this time.

Even though the mother and son continued to interact as before, Wei Zhao remained self-disciplined and respectful, but Ning Suqian, being perceptive and perceptive, could easily see that something was amiss with Wei Zhao and that he was harboring something.

But she never thought much of it. She only assumed that Wei Zhao had gone through too much on this trip and had narrowly escaped death.

This child is always steady and doesn't usually cause her any trouble.

Therefore, Wei Zhao did not speak, and she did not ask.

That's how things have been all these years. Wei Zhao doesn't know what she's thinking. She can't tell what Wei Zhao is thinking either.

There was already a rift between the mother and son.

It's unclear how much time passed, but the two remained locked in a stalemate.

Ning Suqian took a deep breath: "Because I was married to that person, you suspect me of being unfaithful?"

"You came here to question me in front of the Wei family ancestors and your father?"

Wei Zhao heard his own voice.

"My son secretly investigated this matter."

"That person has come many times."

Wei Zhao: "Before my father left, he left behind many highly skilled bodyguards who only obeyed my mother's orders. If it weren't for my mother's orders, the main courtyard would be an impregnable fortress. How could he come and go as he pleased?"

"Before my son went to war, he left behind a lot of Wei family soldiers. As long as there is any movement in the main courtyard, they will definitely rush in."

But the main courtyard... was calm and peaceful.

Ning Suchan dismissed everyone around her beforehand.

That is... Ning Suchan is waiting for that person to come.

If she was forced, Wei Zhao would risk his life to tear that person to pieces!

Wei Zhao: "On the day my father passed away, he came to pay his respects and met with my mother privately."

At that time, Ning Suchan was with Wei Zhao in the mourning hall, but she left for half an hour.

Ning Suqian's expression turned even colder: "Continue."

“There were suspicious circumstances surrounding my father’s death. That cold he caught back then wasn’t incurable.”

"The nickname of my son was not given by the elders of the Wei family."

The deceased Crown Prince, Second Prince, and Fifth Prince were all jealous of his favor with the Emperor since childhood.

Tu, the eunuch serving Emperor Yingqian, often sighed in front of him.

"The Emperor always worries about you the most when you go on campaign, and he treats you like a son."

"The Hall of Mental Cultivation still holds a portrait of my mother, which hung in her study for three years."

How could Wei Zhao not recognize the painting by Wei Fengxing?
Why was it in the Hall of Mental Cultivation?

When Wei's army was able to return to the capital and he was allowed to appear in public, he intentionally or unintentionally mentioned the portrait to Ning Suchan.

He didn't want to believe it either; he was usually decisive and efficient, but when faced with something like this, he would run away.

He was stuck in the mud and wanted to hate Ning Suchan.

But that was her birth mother.

I feel ashamed before Wei Fengxing, but it seems I don't even have the right to do so.

Wei Zhao's world has collapsed.

His self-righteous attempt to uphold the prestige of the Duke of Wei's mansion has become a joke.

wrong.

He's a joke.

Clinging to his last hope, he asked Ning Suchan.

"Where did the painting that was displayed here go?"

What did Ning Suchan reply at the time? She merely glanced at it casually, her tone indifferent and cold.

—"Once stained, it was removed."

"Really? Is Mother sure?"

"Doesn't the mother have anything to say to her son?"

But all I got in return was a sentence.

"Now that you're back in the capital, according to custom you should go to the palace to pay your respects to the Emperor, and then offer incense to your father when you return."

They didn't mention anything else.

Why did she keep it a secret?
Ning Suchan raised her hand, with its broken nail, into the air, about to bring it down on Wei Zhao's face.

Wei Zhao neither dodged nor flinched, maintaining his previous posture.

But the hand that was about to hit his face stopped abruptly, trembling.

"you……"

Ning Suchan: "How much of a failure was I as a mother that I could..."

She choked on her words, her face turning deathly pale.

She did fail.

She remembered that when Wei Zhao was four years old, he fell off a pony and cried, wanting her to carry him.

She pushed him away.

she says.

"A gentleman has proper conduct."

"But your aunt often holds your cousin Yunling?"

His eyes were filled with tears.

"Does Mother dislike me returning home? That's what everyone's saying. They all say Mother doesn't like me."

"Son wants to argue with them, but Mother really doesn't care much about me. Mother, what you care about is a promising son who always ranks first in the Imperial Examinations and is virtuous and talented."

That was the first time Ning Suchan hit him.

Even though not much force was used, the child's skin was delicate. A handprint quickly appeared on his face.

Ning Suchan's heart trembled, she turned her face away, and spoke in a stiff tone.

"Yes! My child's studies cannot be poor; you cannot embarrass me!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhao's eyes turned red, and he looked up at her stubbornly.

"I hate my mother, I hate my mother!"

He rushed out and bumped right into Wei Fengxing, who had just returned from court.

Wei Fengxing glanced at his wife, whose face was cold, then at his son, who was crying like a baby. He bent down, picked him up, and took him to a side room.

Ning Suchan took a sip of tea to calm herself before heading towards the side room.

She heard Wei Fengxing's gentle voice.

"Your mother is different from others. She grew up in the palace and didn't experience much mother-daughter affection. No one taught her. She doesn't know how a normal mother and son should get along, and it's her first time being a mother."

"You were born after she carried you for nine months, how could she not care?"

"Ke Guizhi, you are a member of the Wei family. You are still young and do not know the burdens you bear. Your mother's strictness towards you is truly for your own good."

"Never again shall you say that you hate your mother; you are tearing her heart out. Your father is not allowed to either."

Wei Fengxing was strict in his studies, but he was fair in his rewards and punishments, and his approach was lenient yet balanced. Ning Suchan, on the other hand, never spoke softly.

The child who used to cry when she walked ahead is now taller than her.

Ning Suchan was pleased with this.

She stiffly withdrew her hand, closed her eyes, and asked out of the blue, "Do you know why your uncle never married in his life?"

His voice sounded less steady than before, and more tired.

Wei Zhao had heard about the affairs of his elders.

Ning Suchan's distraction caused him to slowly loosen his clenched hand, revealing a cold, damp palm.

The burden of many years suddenly collapsed at this moment, and the suffocating heaviness seemed to be relieved.

Wei Zhao pursed his lips, feeling deeply ashamed.

Before he could respond, Ning Suchan spoke first.

“The imperial concubine in the palace, the daughter of the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, and the aunt of Miss Shen who is on good terms with the Yu family, were once engaged to your uncle in secret.”