196 A Violent Strike to the Soul
Xie Yunjin snickered and stared at Hu Shan.
Hu Shan gaped back. Here they go again… That man constantly acted so aloof and solitary, as if he was too good to hang out with the other groups. How infuriating.
Hu Shan’s father, however, constantly praised Xie Yunjin as being smart and asked Hu Shan to learn from him. In the past, he intentionally co-existed with Xie Yunjin but everything Xie Yunjin did pissed him off.
Hu Shan got up and was ready to leave.
Lu Jiao came in with tea and warmly said, “Young master Hu, have some tea.”
Since he was here, he might as well have some tea before leaving.
Hu Shan saw Lu Jiao and, given that she had saved his wife and son’s lives, sat back down.
Lu Jiao gave Hu Shan the tea, who sipped slowly. The annoyance in him dissipated a lot.
He looked up at Xie Yunjin and made a meaningful statement, “Classmate Yunjin, I must warn you, with that attitude of yours, you will not be viewed positively even if you do pass the exam.”
Xie Yunjin responded nonchalantly, “Hu Shan, I have to warn you, with that poor eyesight of yours, which cannot tell right from wrong, it’s better for you not to become an official.”
Hu Shan wasn’t a bad man. However, out of all the people who constantly tried to butter him up, most of them were wealthy playboys. Hu Shan was constantly involved in the poor decisions the others made. Sooner or later, he will be dragged down but sadly, he had no awareness.
“When the conversation gets disagreeable, to say one word more is a waste of breath. Classmate Yunjin, I wish you well.”
Hu Shan put down his cup and headed outside. He didn’t want to talk to Xie Yunjin anymore. That man was different from the rest and someone ought to teach him a lesson sooner or later.
Xie Yunjin watched Hu Shan leave coldly. Lu Jiao quickly walked the guests out.
Qi Lei followed Lu Jiao and chatted with her as they walked to lighten the atmosphere.
Xie Yunjin raised an eyebrow at the sight. For some reason, he felt that Lu Jiao treated Dr. Qi better than others.
This made him feel unhappy. Even if Dr. Qi did perform the surgery, she didn’t need to treat him this exceptionally well.
Xie Yunjin decided to talk to her about this once she came back.
After Lu Jiao helped Hu Shan and Qi Lei get into the carriage, she saw Lady Ruan heading her way.
Lady Ruan was now not only skinny and small, but she was also haggard and appeared like a 70-year-old elderly. Her current state made Lu Jiao realize why Xie Laogen spoiled Widow Wang with all he’s got. Lady Ruan in her current state was no competition to young women like Widow Wang.
When Lady Ruan saw Lu Jiao, her face deformed into a violent wolf, “Why are you looking at me like that?! You are not greeting me even though I am your mother-in-law?”
Lu Jiao coldly asked her, “Mom, what are you doing here? You have settled your family matter?”
That was an attack straight at Lady Ruan’s heart. With her face atrocious, she stared at Lu Jiao, “Shut up.”
Then, she headed straight into Lu Jiao’s home. Lu Jiao followed her. Soon, the four little ones’ voices were heard.
These days, the four little ones were allowed to roam around in the village. When they were bored, they would go play in Gousheng, Tiedan, and Niuniu’s homes.
This morning, Lu Jiao gave them permission to go to Tiedan’s home. They were just returning.
“Mommy, the third grandma said we have guests. Is that true?”
Lu Jiao nodded, “Your dad’s classmate was here but he had left.”
“Oh.” The four little ones were not interested in Xie Yunjin’s classmates. However, once they entered their yard with Lu Jiao, they instantly noticed Lady Ruan, who was now in their living room.
The four little ones’ faces dropped. The First Born looked up at Lu Jiao, “What’s grandma doing here?”
Nothing good ever happened when she was here. How unfortunate it was for them to have such a grandma.
The Second Born’s face changed and she ran into the living room, “She must be taking advantage of daddy.”
The four children fled to the living room, terrified that their dad would be hurt.
Lu Jiao made a face. Their dad’s legs were almost healed and nobody was capable enough to hurt him.
Lu Jiao went into the living room and heard Lady Ruan howl from the east bedroom.
“My third son, I am going to spend the rest of my days with you.”
Lu Jiao froze then mockingly grinned. Now she remembered her third son. Sadly, it was too late.
Inside the east bedroom, the four little ones spoke up, “Grandma, don’t you have a house? Why are you at my house? My house is so small and there’s no place to sleep.”
“You don’t like us, remember? Why do you want to live with us?”
“I thought you liked the fourth uncle and fifth aunt? Why don’t you live with them?”
“Did they abandon you? Is that why you want to live here?”
The Fourth Born’s last statement was a violent strike to her soul. Lady Ruan wobbled and almost slammed into the ground.
In the end, however, she didn’t faint and only glared at the four little ones.
The children were scared at first but then quickly realized that this was their home and they had their parents’ protection. There was nothing to be afraid of.
The four little ones straightened their chests to show fearlessness.
Lady Ruan’s been making a fuss on the daily and was now drained of energy. She cried to Xie Yunjin, “My third son, I will spend my days with you.”
Xie Yunjin found this ridiculous and asked Lady Ruan mindlessly, “Mother, so you are giving away my father on a silver platter.”
If this was before, Lady Ruan would fight Xie Yunjin for saying that. But now, she absolutely hated how heartless Xie Yunjin was, “I don’t want him anymore. He likes to fool around with Widow Wang so let him. I sure want to see how well that will turn out for him.
That sl*t thinks being with him will make her life good. I sure want to see if she gets what she wants. You’re my son. If anyone gets to benefit from that, it should be me, not her.”
Xie Yunjin’s sarcastic grin widened. So she was only here now because she didn’t want Widow Wang to enjoy the benefits of having a scholar for a son. There was no way he was going to let her stay.
Xie Yunjin was about to speak when Xie Danqiang burst in.
“Mother, why are you here? Why did you run over here instead of staying home?”
Terrified that Xie Yunjin would tell their father about his history with Widow Wang, Xie Daqiang ran over here right away after he found out Lady Ruan was here.
Lady Ruan angrily cursed, “You coward, get the hell out of here! I don’t want to see you! I am going to live with your third brother from now on, just you wait! Sooner or later, you will regret treating me this way! Once your third brother becomes an official, he will give me a title. When that happens, none of you will get any of the benefits!”
Xie Daqiang darted a look towards Xie Yunjin, curious to see if Xie Yunjin agreed to keep their mother.
What he saw, however, was Xie Yunjin’s cold and warning gaze.
Xie Daqiang jumped. He wanted to curse his own mother for having the audacity to think that Xie Yunjin would want to spoil her.
“Mother, let’s go home. Let’s go.”
196 A Violent Strike to the Soul
Xie Yunjin snickered and stared at Hu Shan.
Hu Shan gaped back. Here they go again… That man constantly acted so aloof and solitary, as if he was too good to hang out with the other groups. How infuriating.
Hu Shan’s father, however, constantly praised Xie Yunjin as being smart and asked Hu Shan to learn from him. In the past, he intentionally co-existed with Xie Yunjin but everything Xie Yunjin did pissed him off.
Hu Shan got up and was ready to leave.
Lu Jiao came in with tea and warmly said, “Young master Hu, have some tea.”
Since he was here, he might as well have some tea before leaving.
Hu Shan saw Lu Jiao and, given that she had saved his wife and son’s lives, sat back down.
Lu Jiao gave Hu Shan the tea, who sipped slowly. The annoyance in him dissipated a lot.
He looked up at Xie Yunjin and made a meaningful statement, “Classmate Yunjin, I must warn you, with that attitude of yours, you will not be viewed positively even if you do pass the exam.”
Xie Yunjin responded nonchalantly, “Hu Shan, I have to warn you, with that poor eyesight of yours, which cannot tell right from wrong, it’s better for you not to become an official.”
Hu Shan wasn’t a bad man. However, out of all the people who constantly tried to butter him up, most of them were wealthy playboys. Hu Shan was constantly involved in the poor decisions the others made. Sooner or later, he will be dragged down but sadly, he had no awareness.
“When the conversation gets disagreeable, to say one word more is a waste of breath. Classmate Yunjin, I wish you well.”
Hu Shan put down his cup and headed outside. He didn’t want to talk to Xie Yunjin anymore. That man was different from the rest and someone ought to teach him a lesson sooner or later.
Xie Yunjin watched Hu Shan leave coldly. Lu Jiao quickly walked the guests out.
Qi Lei followed Lu Jiao and chatted with her as they walked to lighten the atmosphere.
Xie Yunjin raised an eyebrow at the sight. For some reason, he felt that Lu Jiao treated Dr. Qi better than others.
This made him feel unhappy. Even if Dr. Qi did perform the surgery, she didn’t need to treat him this exceptionally well.
Xie Yunjin decided to talk to her about this once she came back.
After Lu Jiao helped Hu Shan and Qi Lei get into the carriage, she saw Lady Ruan heading her way.
Lady Ruan was now not only skinny and small, but she was also haggard and appeared like a 70-year-old elderly. Her current state made Lu Jiao realize why Xie Laogen spoiled Widow Wang with all he’s got. Lady Ruan in her current state was no competition to young women like Widow Wang.
When Lady Ruan saw Lu Jiao, her face deformed into a violent wolf, “Why are you looking at me like that?! You are not greeting me even though I am your mother-in-law?”
Lu Jiao coldly asked her, “Mom, what are you doing here? You have settled your family matter?”
That was an attack straight at Lady Ruan’s heart. With her face atrocious, she stared at Lu Jiao, “Shut up.”
Then, she headed straight into Lu Jiao’s home. Lu Jiao followed her. Soon, the four little ones’ voices were heard.
These days, the four little ones were allowed to roam around in the village. When they were bored, they would go play in Gousheng, Tiedan, and Niuniu’s homes.
This morning, Lu Jiao gave them permission to go to Tiedan’s home. They were just returning.
“Mommy, the third grandma said we have guests. Is that true?”
Lu Jiao nodded, “Your dad’s classmate was here but he had left.”
“Oh.” The four little ones were not interested in Xie Yunjin’s classmates. However, once they entered their yard with Lu Jiao, they instantly noticed Lady Ruan, who was now in their living room.
The four little ones’ faces dropped. The First Born looked up at Lu Jiao, “What’s grandma doing here?”
Nothing good ever happened when she was here. How unfortunate it was for them to have such a grandma.
The Second Born’s face changed and she ran into the living room, “She must be taking advantage of daddy.”
The four children fled to the living room, terrified that their dad would be hurt.
Lu Jiao made a face. Their dad’s legs were almost healed and nobody was capable enough to hurt him.
Lu Jiao went into the living room and heard Lady Ruan howl from the east bedroom.
“My third son, I am going to spend the rest of my days with you.”
Lu Jiao froze then mockingly grinned. Now she remembered her third son. Sadly, it was too late.
Inside the east bedroom, the four little ones spoke up, “Grandma, don’t you have a house? Why are you at my house? My house is so small and there’s no place to sleep.”
“You don’t like us, remember? Why do you want to live with us?”
“I thought you liked the fourth uncle and fifth aunt? Why don’t you live with them?”
“Did they abandon you? Is that why you want to live here?”
The Fourth Born’s last statement was a violent strike to her soul. Lady Ruan wobbled and almost slammed into the ground.
In the end, however, she didn’t faint and only glared at the four little ones.
The children were scared at first but then quickly realized that this was their home and they had their parents’ protection. There was nothing to be afraid of.
The four little ones straightened their chests to show fearlessness.
Lady Ruan’s been making a fuss on the daily and was now drained of energy. She cried to Xie Yunjin, “My third son, I will spend my days with you.”
Xie Yunjin found this ridiculous and asked Lady Ruan mindlessly, “Mother, so you are giving away my father on a silver platter.”
If this was before, Lady Ruan would fight Xie Yunjin for saying that. But now, she absolutely hated how heartless Xie Yunjin was, “I don’t want him anymore. He likes to fool around with Widow Wang so let him. I sure want to see how well that will turn out for him.
That sl*t thinks being with him will make her life good. I sure want to see if she gets what she wants. You’re my son. If anyone gets to benefit from that, it should be me, not her.”
Xie Yunjin’s sarcastic grin widened. So she was only here now because she didn’t want Widow Wang to enjoy the benefits of having a scholar for a son. There was no way he was going to let her stay.
Xie Yunjin was about to speak when Xie Danqiang burst in.
“Mother, why are you here? Why did you run over here instead of staying home?”
Terrified that Xie Yunjin would tell their father about his history with Widow Wang, Xie Daqiang ran over here right away after he found out Lady Ruan was here.
Lady Ruan angrily cursed, “You coward, get the hell out of here! I don’t want to see you! I am going to live with your third brother from now on, just you wait! Sooner or later, you will regret treating me this way! Once your third brother becomes an official, he will give me a title. When that happens, none of you will get any of the benefits!”
Xie Daqiang darted a look towards Xie Yunjin, curious to see if Xie Yunjin agreed to keep their mother.
What he saw, however, was Xie Yunjin’s cold and warning gaze.
Xie Daqiang jumped. He wanted to curse his own mother for having the audacity to think that Xie Yunjin would want to spoil her.
“Mother, let’s go home. Let’s go.”
