They were enjoying good times currently, having nothing better to do.
On the other hand, at Old Master Lu’s place, Qin Xiaoyue was crying pitifully with tears and snot all over her swollen face. A bald patch could be spotted on the top of her head, whereas random scratches covered her body, as if she had been attacked by a cat. In summary, she was an unsightly mess.
“Dad, look what Ye Shuyun did to me!” Qin Xiaoyue cried, “Even though our Lu Jing is not here anymore, how is it fair for a widowed mother and her child to be treated in such a harsh manner?”
This was the last thing Old Master Lu wanted to deal with. As the saying goes, “Even an impartial judge would have his hands tied while resolving family affairs”. How was it possible for him to maintain the role of a father and father-in-law at the same time while settling this mess?
Now, with Qin Xiaoyue bawling and screaming, his peace of mind was ruined.
He picked up his phone and called Lu Jin.
“Lu Jin, come over to my place with Ye Shuyun now.”
“Alright, Dad.”
Lu Jin, who was still in the army, had no choice but to leave earlier upon receiving a sudden call from Old Master Lu. He had no idea what was on his father’s mind and what he wanted. Could it be his precious calligraphy collection? Probably not. If that was the case, he would just ask him to come alone, and beat around the bush while trying to con him into letting go of one of his artifacts by using various approaches. At the end of the day, as a son, he could not help but to give in and ‘donate’ some of his collection despite his reluctance.
Just as he returned home, the tantalising aroma of rice coming from the kitchen tickled his nostrils.
Why does it smell so good?
Temptation led him towards the kitchen where he caught sight of Ye Shuyun cooking up a batch of dumplings.
“Oh, you made dumplings?” Lu Jin hurried into the kitchen and tossed a piece into his mouth without hesitation. Ye Shuyun was really good at making dumplings, but she rarely made them. Thus, he did not have the chance to eat much of it regularly.
Was there any special occasion going on today?
“Yup, I am making for Huanhuan since she was craving for these.”
To be honest, Lu Jin could not deny his jealousy. Nowadays her daughter-in-law was at the top of her priority list, not her husband, and not even her son.
But of course, Ye Shuyun was totally unaware of Lu Jin’s subtle envy. She filled up the entire lunchbox with the cooked dumplings, only leaving a few behind.
Lu Jin helped himself to a small bowl of dumplings, but the portion was way too small for him. He was thinking of asking Ye Shuyun to make more for him, but he knew it that it would be pointless since she had started to clean up.
He had no share of whatever that was inside the lunchbox.
Moreover, Ye Shuyun was already on her way out, taking the lunchbox with her.
“Hold on,” Lu Jin quickly blocked her way.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m taking these dumplings to the hospital.” Ye Shuyun was in a hurry as the dumplings need to be served fresh so that they would remain tasty. After all, she had spent her entire morning making these.
“Just ask someone else to deliver it,” Lu Jin took the lunchbox from her and put it on the table.
“Dad asked us to go over to his place, which is why I’m back from the army at this time.” Speaking of this, Lu Jin felt slightly gloomy. He came back during normal working hours, which was considered unusual, yet she did not even bother to ask him why he was back at this moment. Was she not curious at all?
He used to be her one and only priority.
Unfortunately, after their son was born, he got demoted to a lower rank, and he was demoted yet again after their son got married. He was basically living his life in reverse!
With the initial intention to take back the lunchbox, Ye Shuyun just let her outstretched hands drop to her side.
“Dad asked us to go over to his place? For what reason?”
“I have no idea, not until we go there and see what’s going on,” Lu Jin replied as he shook his head.
“Alright then,” Ye Shuyun entrusted the delivery to the nanny while she got dressed without further delay to go to Old Master Lu’s place.
As they reached the front entrance, they could already hear someone sobbing inside the house.
Ah I see.
Pursing her lips, Ye Shuyun understood what was going on now.
So, the true evildoer had already cried foul before she did, even though she was the real victim. After all, there was a famous saying that goes: ‘The most shameless person doesn’t exist, but a more shameless one than the next does.’
Lu Jin had recognised the voice as well. “Qin Xiaoyue?” he asked.
“Yup,” Ye Shuyen nodded and shrugged, “Who else if not her? Dad asked us to come in such an urgent manner, don’t tell me that he is trying to stand up for Qin Xiaoyue?”
Stand up for that woman? What on earth does that mean?
Lu Jin was confused. Qin Xiaoyue was the one with a guilty conscience, so by right she was supposed to feel unnerved and ashamed of going anywhere. Yet she had the nerve to complain to Old Master Lu after initiating the whole fiasco? She could not be that stupid, could she?
Hey, hold on.
He looked at Ye Shuyun, seeing that her expression was void of any trace of fear. A bad feeling crept up his heart out of nowhere.
“Shuyun, what did you do?”
“Nothing.”
Ye Shuyun truly felt like she did nothing.
“I just went to her place and gave her a good beating, that’s all.”
“…” Lu Jin was speechless.
Inside, as Ye Shuyun and Lu Jin went in, the first thing they say was the impatience that was written all over Old Master Lu’s face. His aura of dissatisfaction permeated the air, so obvious that everyone in the room could feel it.
“Tell me, what’s all this about?” Upon their arrival, Old Master Lu pointed at Qin Xiaoyue’s pig-like face and asked.
“A disgrace to the family,” Lu Jin was reluctant to talk about this matter as it was a hideous smudge on the family reputation.
“Disgrace?” Old Master Lu was on the brink of smashing something, but there was only a teapot in his hand and there was no way he would smash that.
“Yup, the disgraceful Lu family skeleton,” Lu Jin looked directly into his father’s eyes. Those eyes were overflowing with darkness, along with a swirl of vengeance and brutality despite his old age, reminiscent of his younger days on the battlefield, bringing down enemies while on horseback.
“Do you really want to know what happened, Dad?”
Lu Jin was very calm, or maybe tranquil was a better word to describe how he felt right now. As for Ye Shuyun, she stood aside respectfully but with her chin lifted, not a single shred of guilt for beating someone up.
“Spill it then,” Old Master Lu ended up deciding to not smash his precious teapot. The teacups were long gone and this pot was his last and only one. If it broke, so would his heart.
“Dad, why don’t you just ask Qin Xiaoyue who was the one who beat her up and how did she end up like this?” Lu Jin said flatly.
“It was Ye Shuyun who beat me up!” Qin Xiaoyue was mostly shrieking.
“Why did she do that?”
Lu Jin turned to Qin Xiaoyue abruptly, his grave tone sent chills down Qin Xiaoyue’s spine. She opened her mouth from time to time with the intention to say something, but at the end of the day she found herself speechless.
“Let me do the talking,” Ye Shuyun could not bear to see Qin Xiaoyue’s hypocritical attitude anymore. After all these years, she had not changed at all, with the same disgusting behavior.
“Dad, after I reclaimed the house from the mortgage, I intend to renovate part of it and keep it for our future grandchildren since Qin Xiaoyue has her own house already. Am I not doing the right thing?”
Ye Shuyun threw the question at Old Master Lu. He might be slightly stubborn and self-centered, he was not a totally unreasonable old man at all.
