CHAPTER 1225: CHAPTER 1219: HOW TO RAISE A CHILD

That look on her face was brimming with a boastful glee. Searcy immediately retorted, "Or else what? Did you choose that lover then?"

Gu Youyou’s face darkened with anger as she snapped, "If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll have someone throw you out. Can you imagine how my ’vinegar jar’ at home would react? You’ve turned a non-issue into an issue with your babbling."

"The innocent fears no slander. What are you afraid of?"

Searcy always managed to rattle Gu Youyou, who angrily countered, "You don’t know squat. This isn’t about fear, this is about avoiding unnecessary trouble. Do you think I’ve got as much free time as you? I need to earn money, raise my son — who has time for creating messes?"

At the moment, her son was crawling around joyfully in the Warm Pavilion. Hearing the word ’son’, it was unclear whether he understood, but he suddenly stopped and stared drooling at Gu Youyou continuously with the cutest expression.

Searcy felt her heart melting with cuteness overload, picked up his little arms, and stood him up, hugging him to her chest.

"Little darling, can you not even bear to listen to your shameless mom anymore?"

Jin Xuyao gurgled back at her, his babbling incomprehensible to anyone.

He seemed particularly interested in her hair, grabbing and scratching at it. Searcy couldn’t stand it anymore and had no choice but to pass him back to Gu Youyou.

"Your son’s hands are too restless. You take him."

Gu Youyou replied without much enthusiasm, "Who asked you to pick him up? He was having a good time playing by himself."

"Is this how you raise a child? I see others always holding their babies who can’t walk in their arms, but you? Just toss him on the floor and leave him to crawl around. What do you think you’re doing, raising a dog?"

Gu Youyou snatched Jin Xuyao back immediately and put him on the ground again, saying, "What does it have to do with you? If you don’t know, then shut it."

That woman, after so many years, hadn’t lost her touch in provoking others — if anything, she’d become even more adept.

In Gu Youyou’s view, anyone who could talk with her for three sentences without an argument had to be a wimp like Gui Yunxi.

The argument hadn’t subsided even when Jin Zijin came back.

The two women argued until their faces were red and their necks thick, while Jin Xuyao sat on the ground, laughing and seeming to clap in encouragement.

That was the scene Jin Zijin walked into.

He sighed, picked up a thick blanket, and took Jin Xuyao to the study.

When women argue, it’s best for neither men nor male infants to be present.

...

During the winter, the wealthy people of Jinxiu City often engaged in charitable works, and Miss Du, being a well-known affluent figure in Jinxiu City, naturally was no exception.

She had a porridge tent set up to provide food for the beggars.

Up ahead, servants were assisting and serving porridge to beggars lined up in a queue, while Miss Du sat at a second-floor window, looking down.

She had assumed that the one-armed beggar would come, but to her surprise, even after the last beggar had eaten their fill, that particular beggar still hadn’t shown up.

She couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed and somewhat worried.

With a mournful sigh, she stood up and moved away from the window.

Seeing this, Cuiya inquired, "Miss, what’s wrong? You seem unhappy."

Miss Du asked, "Everyone in the city knew about our charity today, right?"

"Of course, they all knew. We had people go to where the beggars congregate and make announcements with gongs and drums three days ago," Cuiya responded.

"Then why didn’t he come?" Miss Du asked, puzzled.

"Who?" Cuiya suddenly thought of something and said, "Miss, are you referring to that one-armed beggar?"