Chapter 472 - 412: Teaching
Chapter 472: Chapter 412: Teaching
At the Wu Mansion, Wu Xiaowen lay back on the sofa, a cold, wet white towel covering her forehead and eyes. As if remembering something, she raised a hand to her mouth and began to sob wretchedly.
Lin Aizhen walked over with a cup of hot water, handing it to her and trying to console her.
"Here, drink some hot water. Stop crying. You’ll swell your eyes up like peaches and ruin your image. If you ask me, the fact that Qingyun was willing to take you to a fancy hotel means he wanted to sit down and have a proper talk. You should have been more understanding. How could you cry and make a scene in a place like that? Men have their pride. Acting like that will annoy anyone, you know?"
"Mom, you don’t understand how awful I felt. The Tang family is so obviously targeting and suppressing me, setting a trap for me to fall into. It’s just despicable! They’re letting me transfer back to the provincial city, back to Beijing, but they’re leaving Tang Qingyun behind in that rural, mountainous area. A husband and wife living apart is bound to cause problems, which gives them the perfect excuse to abandon me. The moment we divorce, they’ll have Qingyun step down from his post, return to Beijing for ’studies,’ and take a two-year leave from work starting in the spring. He’ll never have to go back to that impoverished mountain region again... See, Mom? Aren’t they just bullying me? They said it themselves before: because of what happened with Manman, we both had to be punished. We’d be separated, one in the south and one in the north, unable to be together. Qingyun had to stay put in the mountains and couldn’t even think of being transferred unless he made some major achievements. But now, Qingyun can come back whenever he wants. He’s already earned more than enough credentials! After two years of ’studying,’ he’ll come out and climb the ladder, step by step... But none of it will have anything to do with me! This is how they treat me, trying to heartlessly kick me to the curb! Qingyun and I have been married since we were young! I suffered through so many hard years with him, gave birth to Manman and Hao Hao, and this is what I get in the end? I can’t accept it! It’s so unfair, Mom!"
As Wu Xiaowen spoke, she hiccuped, and the stench of alcohol filled the air. The room was a bit cold because the windows and door were ajar; otherwise, the smell would have been even stronger.
"Now you feel wronged and regretful, don’t you? What did I tell you back then? I told you that you must never distance yourself from Tang Qingyun, even if the sky were falling. But you just wouldn’t listen. You had such a bright future ahead of you, and you’ve ruined it. Don’t you think your father and I have every right to be angry?"
Lin Aizhen fanned the air with her hand in disgust. Wu Xiaowen had caused a scene with Tang Qingyun at the International Hotel and been sent back. She had holed up in her room crying all afternoon. Later, feeling hungry, she came out looking for food. Spotting a new bottle of cooking wine that Tang Yaxuan had bought, she was so miserable that she drank the entire thing. It wasn’t enough, so she had Tang Yaxuan go downstairs and buy two more bottles of Erguotou. She then chugged one cup after another, frightening Tang Yaxuan so much that she quickly called the Wu Mansion. She deliberately exaggerated the situation. As it happened, Wu Yu Xuan, Lin Aizhen, and Wu Xiaofeng were just returning from a banquet. Wu Xiaofeng rushed over immediately to bring the drunk and wailing Wu Xiaowen back to the Wu Mansion.
On the way, Wu Xiaowen grabbed Wu Xiaofeng, demanding to know why their parents had taken his family to the banquet but not her. Wu Xiaofeng explained that his wife, Xiao Yu, had taken excellent care of an elderly person who was hospitalized. That family was celebrating a happy occasion and had personally invited him and his wife. Their parents had only tagged along with them.
Hearing this, Wu Xiaowen finally stopped making a fuss, and the resentment in her heart dissipated. Once at the Wu Mansion, she started whining and crying to Lin Aizhen all over again.
Faced with a daughter who had made a terrible misstep with seemingly no way to recover, Lin Aizhen, for all her cunning, was at her wit’s end. She knew Fang Qinglan was a ruthless woman who already disliked the women of the Wu Family. Once Tang Qingyun and Wu Xiaowen divorced, she would never give them a chance to remarry.
’The only thing to do now is to hold on tightly to those two little brats. They have a lifelong debt to repay for being brought into this world and raised.’
’And then there’s Tang Qingyun...’ Lin Aizhen glanced at her daughter, who was still beautiful and elegant. Bai Lihua hadn’t been able to forget her after more than a decade; she refused to believe Tang Qingyun could let go so easily. ’So what if they get divorced? With the children as a bond and Wu Xiaowen’s relentless persistence, Tang Qingyun will still be the Wu Family’s son-in-law. He’ll still have to slave away for us!’
Lin Aizhen sneered internally. ’Fang Qinglan, do you think you can just shake us off and be done with us? No! This is far from over. Back then, you were so arrogant and vicious. Ruining my reputation wasn’t enough; you had to try and wipe out the very last of my Lin Family! I swore an oath. As long as I, Lin Aizhen, am alive, this won’t be over until I see you, Fang Qinglan, suffer retribution, fall from grace, and die a miserable death!’
It was late at night, and the last public bus had already passed. Wu Xiaowen’s head was still spinning, so she had no choice but to stay the night at the Wu Mansion. The room she had painstakingly decorated for herself had long been taken over by Wu Menan and Wu Meiting. Wu Xiaoyang and Yang Qianrong had matter-of-factly stated that their daughters were grown up and would be getting married soon, so they couldn’t all be squeezed together. They each deserved a proper room of their own. Wu Yu Xuan and Lin Aizhen couldn’t argue—when Wu Xiaowen and Wu Xiaorui were girls, they had each occupied two large rooms.
There was nothing to be done. The Wu Family’s siheyuan was originally a massive five-courtyard estate, so large they couldn’t even fill it. Back then, several branches of the Wu Family lived there together. Later, people scattered, and the compound gradually shrank. After the recent calamity, they only managed to keep the entire front courtyard thanks to the Bai Family’s intervention. With a main hall, two side-wings, and a few smaller outer rooms, it was just enough for their two sons and their families. It was difficult for a married-out daughter to keep a room.
So tonight, Wu Xiaowen could only sleep with Lin Aizhen, while Wu Yu Xuan slept in the study.
Before they went to sleep, Lin Aizhen instructed Wu Xiaowen at length. She told her she must hold on tightly to her two children and maintain even closer contact with them than before. She especially couldn’t let up on her connection with Tang Qingyun. She absolutely must not allow him to get involved with another woman or even entertain the idea of remarrying. As long as he didn’t marry and she didn’t marry, with the children connecting them, they would remain a couple for the rest of their lives!
Wu Xiaowen was receptive, listening very carefully to her mother’s instructions.
The next day, Wu Xiaowen went to work first, only returning to their apartment in the work-unit’s family compound at noon. Tang Yaxuan greeted her at the door, brought her slippers, and poured her a cup of hot water, fussing over her with great concern. She didn’t mention a word about Wu Xiaowen leaving her home alone and whether she had been scared in the dark. In fact, it was Wu Xiaowen who, seeing how sensible and well-behaved Tang Yaxuan was, felt a pang of guilt. She generously took out ten yuan and gave it to her, telling her to buy some of her favorite snacks.
Tang Yaxuan demurred for a moment. "Mom, you work so hard, and earning money isn’t easy. You should keep this for groceries. I don’t really like snacks."
Wu Xiaowen said, "Just take it. Your father gave me some money yesterday. It’s enough to pay off the debt your little aunt left behind, with some left over for us to have a proper New Year’s celebration... From now on, your father will be in Beijing and not leaving. If we have any problems, we can go to him. We won’t have to live so frugally anymore."
Tang Yaxuan was secretly delighted. ’Oh, that’s wonderful!’
’If Mom has money, she’ll be willing to spend it. Why don’t I tell her about Gu Shaoling inviting me to her birthday party? I’ll say Mom was invited too, and then she’ll definitely take me to buy a new dress...’