Chapter 665 - 573
Chapter 665: Chapter 573
Mother Zeng stole a glance toward Granny Gu and the others, only to jump in fright. Granny Gu’s face was grim, and she was staring right back at her. There was a certain meaning in that somber gaze that Mother Zeng seemed to comprehend instantly, and her heart began to pound wildly. To make matters worse, Grandma Tang, who was sitting nearby, shot her a disdainful look and snorted. In an instant, Mother Zeng’s face burned with unbearable heat.
Mrs. Gu got up and walked over to Wu Xiangyun. She leaned in to whisper a few words in her ear, then wrapped an arm around her and patted her back gently. Aunt Zhou smiled and said, "Shaofeng and his wife just registered their marriage not long ago, right? They haven’t even had the ceremony yet, and I hear his wife is still in university. Young people these days aren’t like we were. They prioritize their careers and studies. They won’t think about having children for at least two or three years after getting married—you’re being too impatient!"
"Did you misunderstand me? It’s not that I’m impatient, it’s that she..."
Granny Gu covered her mouth with a handkerchief and cleared her throat, interrupting Tian Xueqin without even looking at her. Her gloomy expression vanished, replaced by a kind smile. She whispered a few words to Aunt Zhou, then turned to Zhou Jiayu and Huang Minyan. "Jiajia, Miss Huang, are you finished eating? Why don’t you let Manman, Xiangyun, and Shaoling take you to the living room to watch TV? You can play other games too. We have chess, cards, and all sorts of things. Go on and have some fun."
Wu Xiangyun, feeling a little better after Mrs. Gu’s comforting words, was helped to her feet by Xiao Man and Zhou Jiayu. Huang Minyan followed behind them. Gu Shaoling pouted reluctantly but trailed after them out of the small parlor and into the main hall.
But Zeng Rong remained seated. Granny Gu said nothing to her. She simply waited until the young women had left, then suddenly clenched her jaw, raised her hands, and viciously slapped herself twice!
Everyone was stunned. The room fell silent once more.
Suddenly, a little girl’s loud wail shattered the silence. It was Jiang Yuyan, who had been carrying Gu Shaoying over. She was just stepping through the door when she saw what was happening. The sight frightened Gu Shaoying into tears, and Jiang Yuyan nearly tripped. She froze for a moment, then turned and ran away, clutching the crying child.
Mrs. Gu snapped out of her shock and rushed over to examine Granny Gu’s face, crying out in a choked voice, "Mother! Mother, are you alright? D-don’t scare us like this!"
Aunt Zhou, who was sitting right next to Granny Gu, quickly grabbed her arms to stop her from hitting herself again. "Oh, Matriarch!" she exclaimed urgently. "If something’s wrong, let’s talk it out properly! Acting like this will be the death of us juniors!"
Grandma Tang glanced at the dumbstruck Tian Xueqin and the Zeng mother-daughter pair, then sneered. "I say, old friend, is putting on such a show really going to help? ’Punishing yourself for someone else’s mistake is just plain stupid!’ You told me that once, and now I’m saying it right back to you!"
Two streams of tears flowed from Granny Gu’s eyes. "It’s my fault. I deserve to be punished! Mr. Gu was right. My foolish mercy, my doting nature... a soft-hearted mother ruins her son and her family. I deserve this! Back then, I couldn’t bear to see our second son looking half-dead, so I relented and let him bring that woman home. She seemed perfectly fine when she first arrived. Who could have known she’d turn into such a rotten wife? We have wronged Xiangyun, hurting that child again and again... It’s all my fault! If I hadn’t been so meddlesome, Tian Xueqin wouldn’t even be sitting here, and Xiangyun would have been spared this heartache! Mr. Gu set a rule: the second son and his wife were forbidden from entering the family home without permission. He told them to stay at the military base even when they came back to Beijing. But I just had to take pity on them! I thought, the whole family is here, so lively and together... how cold and desolate it must be for the two of them to live outside, all alone. And especially my Qi Yuan... he loves being with his brothers. He didn’t want to live out there..."
"Mother!"
"What’s wrong with Mother?"
Gu Qiming, Gu Qiyuan, and Gu Qifan burst in as if carried by a gust of wind, with Tang Qingyun following behind them. It was unclear what Jiang Yuyan had told them, but of the three Gu brothers, one was filled with fury, another was alarmed and heartbroken, and the last had tear tracks on his face. Gu Qiyuan rushed forward to cup his mother’s face. Seeing her swollen cheeks and the trace of blood at the corner of her mouth, it was obvious she had used all her strength. Gu Qiyuan’s eyes turned red, and fresh tears welled up. ’She must have been absolutely livid to strike herself so hard!’
Gu Qiyuan handed his mother over to Gu Qifan, then turned, strode over to Tian Xueqin, and yanked her out of her seat. He dragged her straight to the door. "Get the hell out! Right now! Pack up all your things. From this day forward, you have nothing to do with the Gu family!"
Tian Xueqin’s shrill cries could be heard, but they quickly faded into the distance.
Granny Gu waved her hand, gesturing for Gu Qiming, his brother, and Tang Qingyun to go back. "Don’t alarm the others and make them worry," she said. She then shot a look of mild reproach at Jiang Yuyan, who was standing by the door. Jiang Yuyan lowered her gaze. ’Are you kidding me? Seeing my mother-in-law in that state, how could I not have gone to tell them? My husband would have blamed me for sure, I wouldn’t have been able to face my brothers-in-law, and who knows what my father-in-law would have said!’
The Zeng mother and daughter sat in their seats, looking apprehensive and uneasy. Zeng Rong kept glancing toward the door, her brow furrowed, wishing she could run out and say a few words in Tian Xueqin’s defense.
Granny Gu recalled how Tian Xueqin and Gu Shaoling used to whisper in her ear about how wonderful Zeng Rong was, and how she and Shaofeng were a match made in heaven. Tian Xueqin had even nearly gotten Xiangyun killed in her attempt to make Shaofeng marry Zeng Rong! ’That woman is a muddle-headed fool,’ she thought. ’And now, even though Shaofeng and Xiangyun are married, the Zeng family still hasn’t given up. The way they were trying to stir up trouble at dinner... it’s truly chilling. Unforgivable!’
Granny Gu sighed wearily and said to Mother Zeng, "You’ve seen it for yourself. Qiyuan and Xue Qin have truly had a falling out this time. Even if they don’t divorce, Xue Qin will no longer have any say in matters concerning Qiyuan and their two children. Otherwise, she can forget about her future in the military and the hospital. Shaofeng’s marriage was personally approved by his grandfather and me. There is absolutely no possibility of it changing. My Xiangyun might be a bit frail, but she is a granddaughter-in-law of the Gu family. What does it matter if her health is poor? Our family has ginseng and Lingzhi; we can slowly nurse her back to health! And it doesn’t matter if she really can’t have children. There are several brothers in their generation, so there will be no shortage of children! The most important thing is that the couple loves each other and lives a peaceful life together. So, whatever intentions you harbor toward my family, let them go. Stop thinking about it. And don’t bother looking for Tian Xueqin again; it’s completely useless! If you still refuse to listen and try to stir up trouble for my family again... well, this old woman knows a thing or two about your Zeng family. We’ll see who can cause a bigger mess then!"
Mother Zeng’s face was pale and her lips were parched. Sweat beaded at her hairline as she forced a smile. "You have quite a sense of humor. We just have a bit of a friendship with Qiyuan and Xue Qin from having worked together in the past. We like to get together from time to time, that’s all. How would we dare harbor any other intentions?"
"It’s for the best if you don’t. From now on, when Qiyuan and the others come back, they’ll be staying at the military base. Since you’re friends, feel free to get together there. There’s no need for you to come here anymore. It’ll save you the displeasure of seeing this old face of mine."
"Yes, I understand." Mother Zeng nodded. Humiliated as she was, she could only endure it. The men hadn’t finished their meal yet.
Zeng Rong gripped her mother’s hand tightly, her eyes filled with anxiety, sorrow, and pleading. Although Mother Zeng pitied her daughter, after the dressing-down from Old Mrs. Gu, she was so ashamed and annoyed that she had lost the mood for anything. All she wanted was for her husband to finish up so they could go home immediately and not suffer any more of this humiliation.
As for her daughter’s desire to marry Gu Shaofeng, Mother Zeng was now completely against it. ’The Zeng family isn’t some minor, insignificant household,’ she fumed internally. ’How could we tolerate being ridiculed by others? It’s not as if my daughter is lacking in talent or unable to find a husband!’
Mother Zeng gritted her teeth and made a decision. It seemed she would have to resort to drastic measures to viciously sever this inappropriate Heart Demon, this disastrous infatuation of her daughter’s!