Chapter 36

Cao Yu thought to herself that, no matter what, Cao Yunxia was still the daughter-in-law of the Huo family, and the Huo family wouldn’t actually hold her accountable.

So, if they took Cao Yunxia away now, the Huo family would surely plead with the authorities on her behalf and save her. After all, she really didn’t want herself, her second daughter, and her two sons to end up in jail. She was already so old—what would it look like for someone her age to go to prison? As for her second daughter and eldest son, they absolutely couldn’t go to jail. Her daughter still needed to get married—if she ended up in jail, who would dare marry her? And her son still needed to find a wife—if people found out he’d been in jail, no one would want to marry him either.

She conveniently forgot that even if Cao Guangji didn’t end up in jail now, no woman would want to marry him anyway. What kind of future could there be with a man like him?

Cao Yu’s words made Cao Yunxia feel so heartbroken that she wanted to cry. How could her mother do this? How could she abandon her like this? She was her child too!

Lan Yun’er chuckled lightly. She hadn’t expected Cao Yu to be so ruthless, willing to sacrifice even her own daughter. To protect herself and her other children, she treated Cao Yunxia like spilled water—completely out of her consideration.

And to think Cao Yunxia had been sending all the good things from the Huo family back to her maiden family. Now, look—she raised a pack of ungrateful wolves.

But Lan Yun’er didn’t sympathize with Cao Yunxia; after all, Cao Yunxia had brought this upon herself. She wasn’t worth pitying in the slightest!

Lan Yun’er lazily glanced at Cao Yunxia and said, “That’s right, sister-in-law. You should just admit to everything and take responsibility. This way, you can protect your mother, your elder brother, and your younger sister. Sacrificing yourself to save your entire family is a good deal.

“However…” Lan Yun’er’s tone suddenly shifted as she smiled playfully. “If you take the blame for both incidents, your punishment will be much heavier. It’s quite possible you’ll spend the next Chinese New Year in prison, unable to celebrate with your family.”

Cao Yunxia couldn’t imagine spending New Year’s alone in prison. Her expression filled with fear and unease, and she shook her head. “I didn’t do this alone. I won’t admit to it by myself!”

Cao Yu glared at Lan Yun’er angrily. This wretched girl—she just wanted her whole family to end up in jail. She had no good intentions!

After giving Lan Yun’er a hateful look, Cao Yu turned to Cao Yunxia and said urgently, “She’s bluffing! You just stole a few things. How could they put you in jail for so long? Don’t worry, it won’t be that bad. She’s just trying to scare you…”

“The stolen items involved a significant amount. If convicted, a long sentence is indeed possible,” Deng Wencheng interjected, frowning.

He was disgusted by the Cao family. From the elderly to the young, they were all despicable. He had never seen such a disgraceful family—they were the epitome of shamelessness!

Deng Wencheng’s words made Cao Yunxia panic even more. “It wasn’t just me! It really wasn’t just me! My sister told me to steal the clothes. She said she didn’t have nice clothes to wear, so she asked me to steal Lan Yun’er’s clothes for her.

“And the meat today—I only wanted to send one or two pounds to my maiden family. But who would’ve thought they’d be so greedy and take all the pork?”

Cao Yunxia figured that since her mother and sister were so selfish and wanted to shift all the blame onto her, they couldn’t blame her for speaking the truth.

As soon as Cao Yunxia finished, Cao Yu raised her hand to hit her. “You ungrateful girl! What nonsense are you spouting? When did your sister ask you to steal clothes? Stop framing your sister! And the meat—it was clearly you…”

“Take them all away!” Deng Wencheng said impatiently. He glanced at the officers and gave them the order.

Hearing that she was going to be taken away, Cao Yu turned and tried to run into the house. “I didn’t commit a crime! Don’t take me! You can’t take me!”

She was too old to go to jail. If she ended up in prison, how could she face the villagers? They’d laugh at her until the end of her days!

Cao Guangji and the others also tried to run but were unable to escape. After all, they were dealing with trained officers—it was a pipe dream to think they could resist them!

In the end, Cao Yu, Cao Guangji, and the others were arrested and escorted out of the courtyard.

Cao Yunxia looked at Yao Guizhi and pleaded, “Mom, I don’t want to go to jail. You have to save me! You have to ask Jun Da to save me!”

Seeing her mother being taken away, Huo Tianhe and Huo Tianbao rushed out of the kitchen.

Huo Tianhe wanted to hit the officers to make them release his mother, but Yao Guizhi held him back.

Yao Guizhi scolded him, “What are you doing? Do you want to be arrested too?”

Huo Tianhe raised his hand and hit his grandmother, yelling, “Bad Grandma! Bad Grandma! You’re a bad grandma! Let me go! Let me go!”

When Huo Tianhe came to the Cao family, Cao Yu had brainwashed him, telling him that Yao Guizhi wasn’t a good grandmother and that he shouldn’t be good to her when he grew up.

With Cao Yunxia adding fuel to the fire, Huo Tianhe was successfully brainwashed. He now believed his grandmother was terrible and hated her.

Hearing herself being called a bad grandmother, Yao Guizhi’s face turned green with anger. She glared at Huo Tianhe and demanded, “Who told you I’m a bad grandma? Who taught you to say that?”

“My grandma and mom taught me. They said you’re a bad grandma!” Huo Tianhe shouted defiantly while continuing to hit Yao Guizhi.

Yao Guizhi was so furious that she wanted to hit someone herself.

She shot a furious look at Cao Yunxia, who was being escorted out of the courtyard. Was this how she had raised her grandson?

Well, fine! That woman was absolutely not welcome in the Huo family anymore!

Cao Yunxia heard her foolish son’s words and felt her heart stop for a moment. Panicking, she twisted around to plead with Yao Guizhi. “Mom, I didn’t teach him that! I didn’t! Mom, you have to save me. You have to!”

Yao Guizhi’s expression was icy as she turned away, ignoring her.

Save you? Dream on!

Huo Tianbao glanced at his mother, frowned, and said to Yao Guizhi, “Grandma, I don’t want Mom to go to jail. Can you save her, please?”

Huo Tianbao was in the second grade now and old enough to understand some things.

Yao Guizhi looked at him but didn’t answer. Instead, she said coldly, “Let’s go home.”

Then she bent down to pick up the bucket of pork.

“I’m not going home! I won’t go back with that bad grandma!” Huo Tianhe screamed, exposing his blackened teeth and shouting at Yao Guizhi.

Grinding her teeth, Yao Guizhi genuinely didn’t feel like taking care of this grandson anymore.

Still, in the end, Yao Guizhi took Huo Tianhe home. After all, he was the Huo family’s blood, and she couldn’t really abandon him.

Halfway home, Huo Jincheng and Huo Jun Da showed up. They had rushed to Luoyun Village after hearing about the stolen pork incident.

Huo Jincheng walked to Lan Yun’er’s side and looked at her gently. “Are you alright?”

Lan Yun’er tilted her head to look at Huo Jincheng and shook her head. “I’m fine.”

The ones in trouble were the Cao family.

Today, except for Cao Guangwei’s wife and children, everyone else in the Cao family was arrested. After this, the Cao family’s reputation in Luoyun Village was ruined. It would be nearly impossible for Cao Guangji to find a wife, and as for Cao Yunshu, marrying into a good family was unlikely too—whether she could marry at all was now a question.

Huo Jincheng brushed her hair back gently and said, “As long as you’re okay.”

He had been worried sick after hearing she and the others had gone to the Cao family to retrieve the pork. He feared they would be bullied by the Cao family, knowing how terrible they were.

Yao Guizhi glanced at Huo Jun Da and said coldly, “Jun Da, let me tell you—this time, you must divorce Cao Yunxia. Our family can’t afford to have a daughter-in-law like her!”

The thought of today’s events still made her seethe with anger. She had never seen people as shameless as the Cao family!

Huo Jun Da was a bit shocked. “Divorce? Mom, isn’t that too extreme? This isn’t such a big deal. Why should I divorce her?”

Even though Cao Yunxia had embarrassed him before and even seemed to have contracted some disease, he hadn’t seriously considered divorce. If they divorced, he would be left to raise two kids alone.

Two kids! How would he manage that? Unless his parents and Jincheng helped him raise them.

“It’s not a big deal? Ha! You call this not a big deal? Today, she took all the meat from our house and sent it back to her maiden family. All of it! This shows she doesn’t care about our family at all—only her maiden family matters to her!”

If she stayed in the Huo family, who knew how much more harm she could cause in the future? If the family ever had anything nice, she would take it back to her maiden family. How could the Huo family live well like that?

“Mom, I…”

“Let me make myself clear: if you still want to be my son, you’ll divorce her. Otherwise, you can leave this house!”

Yao Guizhi was adamant. She was determined to see her son cut ties with Cao Yunxia immediately.

She couldn’t stand the thought of keeping such a daughter-in-law in the family.

Huo Jun Da looked down, his face dark, and said nothing more.

Seeing his expression, Yao Guizhi wanted to say more but held back, fearing she would push him too far. If she pushed too hard, it might backfire.

In any case, she was done with Cao Yunxia.

Keeping a daughter-in-law like her was nothing but trouble!

After returning to the Huo house, the third branch’s wife had already finished preparing dinner.

The third branch couple had gone back to their maiden family today and returned in the evening.

Lan Yun’er thought this couple was like air in the Huo family—rarely speaking, just eating and doing their work quietly.

To outsiders, they seemed dull and honest, but Lan Yun’er thought they were clever.

They never got involved in any disputes, always standing on the sidelines watching, as if nothing concerned them.

In the novel, this third branch couple played key roles in certain events.

After dinner, Lan Yun’er went to her room, took off her cotton-padded jacket, and climbed onto the bed. She was about to lift the blanket and get under it when Huo Jincheng suddenly handed her something.

“Yun’er, this is for you,” he said.

Lan Yun’er looked at the item he handed her and was stunned. “How did you… you…”