Chapter 25 Have you never seen a man in your eight lifetimes?

“Mm, your father and I have been saving money for so many years, and even…,” Bai Xiuying glanced at Wu Lifang mid-sentence, “…it’s all gone.”

Hearing this, the smile on Wu Lifang’s face vanished completely. The plan to have these two old folks come over was mainly her idea—to take some money from them during the wedding. After all, Xu Zhenhua was their only son, a son returned to them. Now that he was getting married, shouldn’t they contribute some money for his wedding?

But with this unexpected turn, the two elders didn’t even have a single cent. What use were they now—just freeloading? Wu Lifang’s face darkened as she tugged on Xu Zhenhua’s sleeve. “Zhenhua, come out here. I need to talk to you.”

Xu Zhenhua knew exactly what she wanted to say and felt even more frustrated. If he had known this would happen, he would have gone to pick up his parents himself, so he could figure out a way to manage the situation while Wu Lifang wasn’t around. But now… it was too late. He would have to deal with her soon, and who knew what kind of scene she would make.

Rubbing his nose, Xu Zhenhua spoke with exhaustion in his voice, “Mom, Dad, you sit here. I need to talk to Lifang first.”

Bai Xiuying’s heart fluttered nervously, but she didn’t show it on her face. “Go ahead.”

As soon as they left the hall, Wu Lifang pouted. “Zhenhua, your parents, forget helping us—they can barely take care of themselves now. I’m not keeping freeloaders here. You have to send them back today.”

Xu Zhenhua had already anticipated this outcome, but they were still his parents. He also knew Wu Lifang was right: his parents couldn’t help him now, and leaving them would at least allow them to survive off the fields in the countryside. But he couldn’t bring it up himself, or it would make him seem unfilial.

Knowing Wu Lifang, she could not stand losing out in any way. Seeing his parents’ situation, she certainly wouldn’t agree to let them stay. Xu Zhenhua pretended to hesitate. “Lifang, they are my parents. Now that their house was robbed, if I send them back, how will they survive?”

Wu Lifang knew exactly what he was doing—using her as a tool—but she had no choice. These two elders not only had no money, they didn’t even have luggage. If they stayed, she’d have to spend her own money on them—their clothes, food, everything. Just thinking about it made her heart ache.

“There’s farmland in the countryside, plus their own fields—they can survive just fine,” Wu Lifang said, clutching Xu Zhenhua’s arm and acting coy. “Besides, we have a baby now, and our expenses will only increase. If we have to support two more people, life will be impossible.”

Xu Zhenhua didn’t respond, only looked helplessly at his wife, waiting for his parents to speak first. They were still in the yard, their voices audible, and the hall door was open, so his parents surely overheard. Bai Xiuying and Xu Dingbang did, and their faces darkened.

They had been happy to hear that Wu Lifang was pregnant and had been looking forward to meeting this new daughter-in-law. Now, it seemed this Wu Lifang was not a good person. She wanted to push them out even before officially marrying into the Xu family. Once they were old and useless, would she send them to the mountains to die? They thought bitterly—this woman knew their son was married in the countryside and was carrying his child already. How shameless! Compared to Tang Wanning, she was far inferior.

Though the elderly couple resented Wu Lifang, no one spoke—they wanted to see their son’s reaction first.

In the yard, seeing that his parents remained silent, Xu Zhenhua grew more frustrated. Why couldn’t they understand him and suggest leaving themselves? Why make things so awkward? He was just a small company commander, after all. Seeing that he didn’t speak and the elders played dead, Wu Lifang’s eyes turned cold.

“Zhenhua, think carefully about what I said. You’re only a company commander. Supporting a family of five is impossible—even supporting me and the baby will be hard. Don’t blame me for not sparing your face. It’s better to be clear now than have chaos later.”

With that, Wu Lifang refused to stay and deal with this mess alone. But just as she was about to leave, Bai Xiuying could no longer contain herself. She suddenly leapt from her chair, pointed at Wu Lifang, and started firing off accusations.

“You shameless woman! You haven’t even married into our Xu family and you dare to disrespect your elders, trying to stir my son into sending us away? How cruel is your heart? Not only cruel, you’re vile. You haven’t even married my son and you’re already carrying his child—have you never seen a man in eight lifetimes? No shame at all!”

Wu Lifang was furious, her face twisting in anger. Though she wasn’t spoiled at home, as a military nurse she had never been treated so unjustly. Her eyes glinted with lethal hatred, wishing she could tear Bai Xiuying to pieces. If looks could kill, Bai Xiuying would already be dead hundreds of times.

“Xu Zhenhua, we already have our marriage certificate! Are you going to let your mother slander me like this? If you don’t give me a satisfactory answer today, I won’t go through with the wedding.”

Before Xu Zhenhua could react, Bai Xiuying spat at Wu Lifang. “Tch, you vile woman! Not even a single hair of Tang Wanning is worth as much as you. Let me tell you, someone as shameless as you? Our Xu family wouldn’t want you even if you begged to marry in.”

Feeling the sticky spit on her face, Wu Lifang’s anger contorted her features. “You old hag! How dare you spit on me? I’ll beat you to death!”

With a roar, she lunged forward and grabbed Bai Xiuying’s hair. Though Bai Xiuying reacted slightly slower, years of farm labor had given her strength far surpassing Wu Lifang’s. Refusing to be outdone, she grabbed Wu Lifang’s hair and yanked down hard, causing Wu Lifang to scream in pain, even making her fear her scalp would be torn off.