Chapter 659 - 567: The Showdown
Chapter 659: Chapter 567: The Showdown
Lu Jian Country dodged Grandma Shi, watching as she and the chair she was holding tumbled to the ground together. He had no intention of helping her up. His face was as dark and heavy as a sky about to burst with thunder and rain, his voice cold and merciless:
"This is just a warning. Your hand isn’t crippled. A quick trip to the hospital will fix it. It’s rare for you to visit, and I understand you don’t know the rules of a city household. I let you shout and carry on because I wanted Weiwei to see and understand what his mother’s relatives are really like. To see if you are all as kind as you seemed in the past, and whether you truly love him. I’ve been holding back this whole time. Cry, act, curse—do whatever you want. But if you dare touch my sister or my family, then I’m sorry, but I won’t stand for it! Shi Juxiang is in the past. I’m the one who took down her photograph. That’s right. It’s because I’ve married a new wife. The mistress of this house is my wife now, and of course I have to consider her feelings. Everything old and from the past must be cleaned out! Shi Juhong, you’d better remember this: if you try to poison my son’s mind with talk of ’wicked stepmothers’ one more time, I’ll do more than just dislocate your wrist. I can cripple your arms and legs and make it so you never walk again for the rest of your life. Try me, if you don’t believe it!"
Shi Juhong cried out, "What is that woman if not a wicked stepmother? Don’t tell me she can be Weiwei’s real mom!"
"That’s right! In my heart, she is my son’s real mother!"
Shi Juhong froze, her mouth agape, forgetting to cry and scream. Shi Juying said resentfully, "Brother-in-law, how can you be like this? Where does this leave my eldest sister? Is this fair to her? The eyes of the masses are sharp as snow; you can’t erase the truth!"
Lu Jian Country snorted, not bothering to respond or explain.
Grandma Shi struggled up from the floor and, trembling, raised her hands to lunge at Lu Jian Country again. "My Juxiang died giving birth to the Old Lu Family’s eldest grandson... You’re heartless! A modern-day Chen Shimei!"
Lu Jian Country calmly sidestepped her, then grabbed Shi Zhiquan and pulled him in front to block Grandma Shi. Shi Juhong, who had been leaning on him, cried out as she lost her balance, and Shi Juying had to step in to hold her up.
Lu Jian Country watched Grandma Shi dispassionately and said, "A Chen Shimei like me is a rare sight in this world. Speaking of which, when it comes to how Shi Juxiang died back then, doesn’t your Shi family feel even a little bit of guilt? She just wanted to go back to her parents’ home for a short visit, but you all kept her there for an extended stay and wouldn’t let her return. You even made a pregnant woman do your housework—cooking and washing clothes every day, sitting for hours on end. That kind of labor would exhaust a normal person, let alone a pregnant woman! Shi Juxiang tripped on a bamboo pole while hanging laundry to dry, and not a single person from your family was there with her. A neighbor who dropped by was the one who found her."
"When I came back to handle the funeral arrangements, I saw you, her mother, crying your heart out, so sick with grief you couldn’t even get out of bed. Whatever I wanted to say, I couldn’t bring myself to say it. Could my grief possibly compare to yours, her own mother? That was your own daughter! And because you ’cherished’ Juxiang so much that you refused to have her cremated, insisting on giving her a resting place in the ancestral graveyard back in the village, I was willing to cultivate two talented people for your Shi family. I did it to fulfill Juxiang’s filial duties, to support you, her parents, so she could pass on without any worries and be reincarnated into a good life."
"So it turns out I was wrong to do all that. For all these years, you’ve been treating me like a fool, haven’t you? Well, take a good look today. Do I, Lu Jian Country, look like a fool? I am now making a solemn declaration: Today, I am furious! I no longer recognize myself as the son-in-law or a relative of your Shi family. From this day forward, everything to do with the Shi family has nothing to do with my Lu Family! I am not speaking for Weiwei, but he is still a child. He needs the protection and care of his parents and has no ability or obligation to bend to your will. If you want to see him, you can wait until after he turns eighteen!"
"In a moment, I’ll take you to the hospital, then get you a room at a hotel. I’ll also settle all of Zhiquan and Juying’s tuition fees in one lump sum for you to take. They are both adults now. They can decide for themselves how to walk the rest of their path!"
The members of the Shi family stood there, stunned. Uncle Lu smoked his cigarette in silence. Lu Jianling held Weiwei in her arms, patting him gently, and pursed her lips. ’He should have done this ages ago! My brother doesn’t know because he wasn’t home in previous years, but these people from the Shi family are nothing but bloodsucking leeches. Brother sends them money on time, but they’re never satisfied. They come to our house twice a year, claiming to visit Weiwei, but they never bring anything but a few hard buns. They stay for two or three days, eating and drinking their fill, then demand we buy them this and that. They’ll sigh about how hard life is in a small town, and our dad will take the initiative to give them a sum of money. If the amount isn’t to her liking, Grandma Shi will even give him a sour look until he adds enough to satisfy her!’
’Only a family like the Lus would put up with this. Just try and see if any other family would do the same!’
After a moment of silence, Lu Jian Country turned and walked into the inner room. Shi Juying was the first to react, stomping her foot and crying out in a shrill voice, "No! Brother-in-law, you can’t! If you give the tuition to my mom in one go, she won’t let me study anymore... Brother-in-law, you can’t abandon me!"
Grandma Shi raised her hand and—SLAP!—smacked the back of Shi Juying’s neck. Cursing her as a "death-courting brat," she shouted at Lu Jian Country’s retreating back, "Son-in-law! Even if the bone is broken, the sinews are still connected! We’re Weiwei’s blood relatives! You have to act with a conscience!"
Then she turned to Uncle Lu. "In-law! You’re the one who values etiquette the most. You’re a well-read, courteous, and good man. You even made a promise when you came to my house back then to ask for my daughter’s hand in marriage for your son. That was a big reason why we agreed to the match! Why aren’t you saying a word now?"
Uncle Lu: "..."
He stood there, innocently stunned and afraid to move. ’What promise did this old man make? Why don’t I remember?’
"In-law, you must have forgotten, haven’t you? You said it with your own mouth: ’Once we’re joined by marriage, we’re one family. It would be best to keep adding to this bond for generations to come!’ In the two years after Juxiang passed away, you also agreed to let Jian Country marry another girl from our Shi family..."
"No, no, I never agreed to that! Never!" Uncle Lu came to his senses and quickly waved his hands. He wasn’t that senile yet. He had already been very unhappy about arranging the marriage with Juxiang for his son, so how could he agree to another one? And a girl from the Shi family, no less! It was only after the marriage that he learned about the behavior of his in-law and the other women of the Shi family. Forget his son, even an old man like him didn’t dare to provoke them!
"Hey! In-law, you can’t be like this! At your age, how can you go back on your word and deny it?"
Grandma Shi clamored, and Shi Juhong wailed along with her, "Mom! Oh, Mom, my hand hurts so much!"
Lu Jian Country came out of the inner room with a satchel slung over his shoulder. He pulled on a pair of gloves as he said, "Let’s go. I’m taking you to the hospital!"
Shi Juhong’s wrist joint was dislocated from the blow, and Lu Jian Country could have easily set it right for her. But he wasn’t willing to. This also served as the perfect excuse to send them away.
’He had originally planned to treat them well, seeing as they were Weiwei’s maternal grandmother, uncle, and aunts. But their behavior was simply too outrageous. What right or reason did they have to condemn him for getting married to a new wife? And they even had the gall to fantastically demand he marry another girl from the Shi family. It was simply unbelievable!’
’Thank goodness Yang Liu’er was out seeing Manman off. Otherwise, if his beloved woman had seen and heard all this, a knot of resentment would have formed in her heart. Their little life, which had just recently become so smooth and sweet, would have turned awkward again.’
’This was something Lu Jian Country could not tolerate. Anyone or anything that tried to destroy his love and happiness had to be absolutely eliminated!’