Chapter 321: Mother and Daughter, Sighs, Guilt
Chapter 321: Chapter 321: Mother and Daughter, Sighs, Guilt
That proud yet fawning expression of hers was just too amusing.
Hua Yusen was also especially fond of Little Red Carp. After their meal, they took her out to play for the rest of the afternoon before he brought them back to Qingya Lake.
Just after Hua Yusen left, Zhao Nuanyue led Little Red Carp into the courtyard.
To her surprise, a woman holding a child was sitting on a long bench in the courtyard.
When the woman heard Zhao Nuanyue’s voice, she abruptly stood up. Her eyes darted back and forth between Zhao Nuanyue and Little Red Carp.
After a long moment, Xia Yingyu finally said slowly, "That Wang Lianhua really did lie to me again!"
"Mom, how long have you been here?" A storm of emotions washed over Zhao Nuanyue as she looked at her mother. She gripped Little Red Carp’s hand, her nervousness causing her to squeeze it slightly.
Xia Yingyu gazed at her grown-up daughter, her eyes stinging with tears. She hadn’t seen her in two years.
When she heard from Wang Lianhua that her daughter had returned to the city, she couldn’t believe it. She believed it even less when Wang Lianhua claimed her daughter had a child with some unknown man. After thinking it over, she figured her daughter and son would surely be living here if they had returned, so she came to see for herself.
Zhao Jinghai had originally wanted to come, but Xia Yingyu wouldn’t let him.
"Over eight months," Zhao Nuanyue answered honestly. "Mom, are you angry?"
"No!" Xia Yingyu shook her head. "I’m not angry. I know you two won’t forgive Zhao Jinghai for what he did. You didn’t tell me because you didn’t want to put me in a difficult position or disturb my new life. You did it all for me, so I can’t be ungrateful!"
Little Red Carp looked at the middle-aged woman, who bore a slight resemblance to her big sister, but said nothing.
’This is Big Sister’s family business, so I’d better stay quiet.’ When her gaze fell on the chubby little boy, however, Little Red Carp’s eyes lit up. ’A new little toy.’
"Mom!" Zhao Nuanyue could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down her face.
The subdistrict office staff had already gone home for the day, but a few people were still inside. Noticing them staring, Little Red Carp reminded her, "Big Sister, let’s go inside to talk."
Hearing that, Zhao Nuanyue realized this wasn’t the right place to talk. She looked at her mother and said, "Mom, let’s go to the back to talk. I’ve rented this front area to the subdistrict office."
"Oh, all right," Xia Yingyu nodded, following Zhao Nuanyue while holding her chubby son.
Once they were in the backyard, Little Red Carp beckoned to the chubby little boy. "Hey, little fatty, come on down. I’ll play with you."
"SOB, I’m not fat!" Zhao Yu was a clever boy and was unhappy to be called fat.
Hearing her little half-brother’s voice, Zhao Nuanyue smiled. "Mom, is this my brother?"
Zhao Nuanyue held no ill will toward this little brother. In her past life, he was the only one who had never harmed her. Her own investigation had confirmed this, as had the investigation by the Hua Yusen of her previous life.
"Yes," Xia Yingyu replied. She then pointed to Zhao Nuanyue and said softly, "Zhao Yu, that’s your big sister!"
Xia Yingyu had raised him well. Zhao Yu looked shyly at his sister and called out, "Hello, Big Sister!"
"Hello to you too, Zhao Yu," Zhao Nuanyue said with a smile, feeling touched. This was her maternal half-brother.
Although he carried the blood of the detestable Zhao Jinghai, Zhao Nuanyue could still sense the kindness radiating from him.
"And me! Call me Big Sister, little Zhao Yu!" Little Red Carp tilted her head back. Seeing that no one was introducing her, she decided to introduce herself.
Xia Yingyu smiled at Little Red Carp and asked, "Nuanyue, this is...?"
"Mom, this is my adopted sister, Zhao Hongli. We all call her Little Red Carp," Zhao Nuanyue explained. "She was found floating in the river, wearing a child’s bodice embroidered with a red carp, so that’s how she got her name."
"Oh, I see." Xia Yingyu let out a huge sigh of relief. "I could tell just by looking at her that she’s older than three—she looks about five. So it can’t be like what Wang Lianhua said."
"I knew that Wang Lianhua would start spreading lies the moment she left," Zhao Nuanyue sneered. "The moment that old hag showed up, she accused me of lacking an elder’s guidance and getting pregnant out of wedlock. She was just trying to sling mud at me, so I cursed her out and sent her packing."
"That’s just the kind of person she is." Xia Yingyu shook her head with a wry smile. "She’s been that way her whole life and will never change. Anyway, let’s not talk about her. We so rarely get to see each other. Tell me how you’ve been."
To keep the Zhao Family from finding out they were back in the city, Zhao Nuanyue hadn’t told Xia Yingyu anything about her circumstances.
"Mom, Nuanyang has completely recovered. He’s working at the museum now and should be back soon," Zhao Nuanyue said softly, figuring this news would be something to make her mother happy.
Just as she expected, Xia Yingyu’s eyes welled up when she heard this. "That’s... that’s wonderful," she choked out. "It’s all thanks to you being such a good sister that Nuanyang was able to recover. With a useless mother like me, he probably would have been sick for the rest of his life!"
Xia Yingyu, at least, was aware of her own shortcomings.
"The second piece of big news is that I’ve been accepted as an apprentice by the famous National Doctor, Sun Haoran. I’m studying at Immortal Grass Hall now." Zhao Nuanyue continued, "And the third thing is, I’m engaged. My fiancé is from the Hua family—he’s the man who saved me from Mrs. Li."
"An apprenticeship? An engagement?" Xia Yingyu was stunned, muttering the words to herself.
’So, without me even knowing it, my daughter has grown up enough to take complete control of her own destiny.’
"Yes. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want the Zhao Family interfering," Zhao Nuanyue replied bluntly. The sadness in her mother’s eyes pained her, but since her mother had chosen to be with Zhao Jinghai, she couldn’t afford to make any compromises.
At her daughter’s words, Xia Yingyu could no longer hold back her tears and began to sob uncontrollably.
Seeing his mother cry, little Zhao Yu immediately pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe her tears. "Mama, don’t cry!"
Zhao Yu’s actions were a comfort to Zhao Nuanyue. At least this child was nothing like Zhao Jinghai or the rest of his family.
"I’m not crying, Mama isn’t crying." Xia Yingyu nodded, quickly drying her tears so her son wouldn’t see her cry anymore. "Zhao Yu, why don’t you go play with your big sister Little Red Carp, okay?"
Just then, Little Red Carp emerged from the house carrying a small box filled with all sorts of little toys.
Forgetting his shyness, Zhao Yu slid out of his mother’s arms and went to play with Little Red Carp in the courtyard.
Little Red Carp knew her big sister had a lot to discuss with their mother, so she willingly occupied herself with playing with little Zhao Yu in the courtyard.
"Mom, you understand why things are this way, so please don’t be sad," Zhao Nuanyue said, trying to comfort her. "Are you doing okay now? Is Zhao Jinghai treating you well?"