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“Liu Jie, wipe this comrade’s face and get her a glass of water,” Gu Wanru said coldly, a stark contrast to her usual warmth, as she casually instructed Qingfen.
This left Qingfen utterly bewildered.
Wait a minute—
Yang Wei had just been arrested. Shouldn’t his mother-in-law be just as heartbroken and anxious as she was?
What went wrong here?
Qingfen looked up at Gu Wanru, then turned to her daughter, Yang Jiaojiao, with a questioning gaze.
Yang Jiaojiao was equally confused.
She stepped forward and called out to Gu Wanru, “Mom, my brother—”
Whoosh.
A cold, knife-like glare stopped her in her tracks.
Gu Wanru, no longer the amiable mother-in-law, stared icily at Yang Jiaojiao and said, “Comrade Yang Wei has offended the entire military district. If we continue to associate with him, not only will the Lu family be denounced, but you will lose everything. You might even be exiled.”
Exiled?
Like, sent to live in a cowshed?
At the mention of “exile,” Yang Jiaojiao’s entire body went cold. Panicked, she turned to her mother and demanded, “Mom, what exactly did Brother do? How could he cause such a disaster?”
The Lu family must not fall—must not!
Her entire future depended on Lu Yuetang.
She had grown addicted to the extravagant life she now had—the luxury of eating whatever she wanted, wearing the finest clothes, attending endless social gatherings, rubbing shoulders with elites, riding in fancy cars, and flaunting exquisite jewelry.
It was a life she had never dared to dream of.
Qingfen shivered.
She hastily tried to explain, “No, no, mother-in-law, you’ve got it wrong! This really has nothing to do with Yang Wei. It was Hu Jingsheng—no, the Song family is making trouble—”
Before she could finish, Gu Wanru signaled the guards and had them recount everything that had happened. They also reported the police investigation and its findings.
“Comrade Song Beibei is the biological daughter of the Song family, who was fostered in Hutoushan. She is their legitimate blood relative, not the woman Yang Wei falsely accused her of being. The police have confirmed that Yang Wei committed the crime of indecency.”
Hearing this, Qingfen burst into tears, while Yang Jiaojiao was completely dumbfounded.
How could this be?
She refused to believe her own ears.
“Jiaojiao, you have only two choices: return to Ning City with your mother or cut ties with them completely. Think carefully—I’ll give you one day to decide,” Gu Wanru said coldly.
Bang!
Yang Jiaojiao collapsed onto the floor, trembling.
She had never imagined things would escalate to this point.
“No! Gu Wanru, you heartless woman! How could you say something so cruel? I gave my daughter to your family, condemning her to a lifetime of loneliness, and now you refuse to help us?” Qingfen wailed, making a scene.
Gu Wanru frowned.
What did she mean?
“Mom, what do you mean by ‘a lifetime of loneliness’? What are you talking about?” Yang Jiaojiao panicked, grabbing Qingfen and demanding an explanation.
Qingfen noticed Gu Wanru’s slight hesitation and smirked inwardly.
Heh.
So you refuse to help?
Fine, then let’s all go down together.
She was going to expose the Lu family’s precious son’s secret.
“Liu Jie, take Jiaojiao to her room to rest,” Gu Wanru ordered.
“No—!”
Yang Jiaojiao tried to resist.
But Gu Wanru, no longer kind and accommodating, snapped, “Go to your room.”
Having never seen this side of her mother-in-law before, Yang Jiaojiao was taken aback. She hesitated, then sulkily retreated to her room.
Once she was gone, Gu Wanru had all the doors guarded.
She then sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, and looked down at Qingfen with an air of superiority. “Go ahead. What leverage do you think you have against the Lu family?”
Qingfen was stunned.
She had assumed everyone in this compound was a fool.
This was the first time she felt the intimidating pressure of Gu Wanru’s authority. She was uneasy but determined to save her son.
“I—Yang Wei and I both know that Lu Yuetang is infertile. Now that he’s locked up, if you refuse to help us, I’ll go straight to the newspapers and radio stations.”
After all, if Yang Wei remained imprisoned indefinitely, there was no way to guarantee he wouldn’t talk.
Gu Wanru took a sip of tea, letting the bitterness spread in her mouth.
Then, her expression relaxed.
“If you knew this all along, why didn’t you warn your son sooner? Clearly, you were prepared to sacrifice your daughter from the start. People as heartless as you—what makes you think you can blackmail me?”
“W-what do you mean?”
Qingfen was stunned.
Gu Wanru slowly stood up, her expression indifferent.
“Do you really think we could keep my son’s condition a secret forever? He has been examined at the Beijing Military Hospital and other facilities. Many doctors and nurses know. You can spread the news if you want—it makes no difference to me.”
Qingfen was completely dumbfounded.
She stared blankly.
“Then why did you choose Jiaojiao as the scapegoat?”
At this, Gu Wanru’s face darkened with rage.
She shot to her feet and snapped, “If it weren’t for you two trying to climb the social ladder by forcing an innocent girl into my son’s hospital room, coercing her into ‘serving’ him, would we have needed to take her in?”
Qingfen was shaken to her core.
She had never heard about this before—her son had never mentioned it.
“I warn you, slandering a military officer’s reputation is a crime. If you dare go to the radio or newspaper, you’d better think twice. This isn’t something you can just run your mouth about. Liu Jie, see her out!”
Gu Wanru issued the order without hesitation.
“No! No, please—!”
Qingfen sobbed and screamed, but she was dragged away.
Soon after, Gu Wanru had both Qingfen and Yang Wei permanently removed from the Lu family’s list of permitted visitors.
Now, only one person remained.
If Yang Jiaojiao was willing to behave, the Lu family would be magnanimous enough to adopt her as a foster daughter and support her until she married.
But if she continued her reckless ways, then she only had herself to blame.
Meanwhile, Hu Ouhua was walking down the road, carrying a tape recorder.
Her good mood from winning an award had been completely ruined by Yang Jiaojiao.
Unbelievable.
She had told Yang Jiaojiao countless times—she had no interest in stealing her man. But not only did she refuse to believe it, she kept picking fights.
Screech!
A car suddenly stopped beside her, making her jump in fright.
“Why are you alone?” Lu Yuetang asked, leaning out of the driver’s seat.
Seeing him made Hu Ouhua even more irritated.
Why did he always show up? Wasn’t he supposed to be a high-ranking officer? Did he really have this much free time?
She turned away. “None of your business. Go home and comfort your fiancée. We’re not close, and from now on, let’s not even greet each other. I don’t need more people accusing me of being a gold digger.”
“Do you see yourself as one?”
Lu Yuetang’s cold eyes bore into her.
He knew she could have handled that earlier conflict herself. But when he saw Yang Jiaojiao ganging up on her, he just couldn’t hold back.
“I—”
Hu Ouhua stomped her foot in frustration.
“Enough. Don’t be stubborn. Get in the car. It’s still a long way to the Chang family’s house.”
“Fine! If you don’t care about what people say, why should I?”
She huffed and climbed in.
Click.
At that moment, a Seagull-brand camera captured the scene.