Chapter 103 Not Born Rich

Mrs. Cheng coughed for a long time before she finally breathed smoothly.

"I have watched you two grow up. Can't I see your character and behavior? ... You just said that Shu'er kept crying but refused to report to the police. In the end, she admitted that it was consensual... She has always been unwilling to suffer a loss. She must have had a difficult reason and had to admit it."

She paused.

"You two have always been at odds with each other. If she hadn't done something wrong first and you hadn't taken revenge later... this wouldn't be hard to guess."

Qi Huaijing rarely felt any guilt.

Although this scandal was Yue Lingshu's own fault, the Yue family's reputation was greatly damaged after all.

"Jing'er, since I can see it, the old man can naturally see it too... He asked you to handle it because he was afraid that others would find out... Ahem, go home and admit your mistake to the old man."

After returning home, he went straight to the study.

But the old man wasn't there.

The servants said that the master went to the courtyard outside Beijing.

The sky had been gloomy for days, and finally there was a thunderous rain. By the time Qi Huaijing dismounted from his horse in a small courtyard outside Beijing, he was already soaked.

This small courtyard is very old, with two low houses. The thatched roof has collapsed a little, and it looks particularly desolate in the wind and rain.

There was a low table with a dim lamp. The old man was holding an old bowl and drinking by himself. He was not surprised to see him come in.

"Sit down."

This was the house that my grandfather rented in his early years. Later, when he became rich, he bought it. Since my grandmother passed away, whenever he had troubles, he would come here to sit with her.

He was dripping wet, but as he sat across from the old man, he remained as cold and hard as a knife.

"Grandfather, I did it! But I fought back with a tooth for a tooth, and I have no regrets. If it were you, would you have watched her bully my wife like this and just laughed it off?"

The old man didn't respond, but drank the wine in the bowl and motioned him to pour the wine.

"To be honest, I've never been very good at educating children."

The wine was turbid in color, it was the village liquor he often drank in those days.

"Everyone says that I spoil my children and grandchildren too much. Your mother was spoiled by me. But what do they know! When your mother was born, it was also a rainy day, early spring, and very cold. I went out to sell goods and wanted to go home overnight, but it was raining and difficult to go, so I stayed outside for a night. Unexpectedly, Sui'er gave birth to your mother prematurely that night..."

Sui'er is my grandmother's maiden name. Over the years, the old man never called her Madam or anything like that, he always called her this.

"...When I returned home the next day, both mother and daughter were covered in blood. She held her daughter in her arms like a frozen cat for the entire night before she finally gathered some warmth...If they had stayed like that for a little longer, I'm afraid they would both have died!"

The old man picked up the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp, hiding the sob in his throat.

"Everyone says that I dote on Ya'er too much, but how can I not love her! She suffered from the moment she was born. She followed us everywhere when she was still in her cradle. Sui'er suffered, and Ya'er also suffered... Later, we had money, a house, and a shop... Naturally, I had to dote on her!"

"As for your uncle... he was such a good child! He was born late, and I wanted to train him, so I let him travel around the country, hoping that he would experience the hardships of life like me. What a pity... the world is too bitter, and his life was wasted."

Mr. Yue always said that he couldn't live without the springs in the suburbs of Beijing, so he had a headache when he left the capital and never went south to do business.

Qi Huaijing knew long ago that it was not that he couldn't leave the capital, but that he couldn't go to the south. His beloved son got sick in the south, and he was heartbroken for half his life...

The old man didn't know how much wine he drank, but he was a little tipsy.

"Among all of you youngsters, the one I worry about the most is Ling Yun. I'm afraid he'll suffer, and I'm also afraid he'll be too spoiled and incompetent. I've been careful and given all kinds of instructions, but I've never been able to help him succeed... You probably don't know that when I asked him to open his first shop, I sat upstairs across the street for a full half month every day... I watched the shop close down not long after... This kid really isn't cut out for business."

"You are younger than him, but you are so smart! You can see through things quickly and know everything. You make your cousin look worthless! But he is better than you in one aspect. He is also the most like your uncle, honest and sincere. I thought that if you two grow up together, you two brothers will have some affection for each other, and you will be able to help him in the future..."

"Ling Shu, I know that this child is a little narrow-minded and has been awkward since she was a child... But sometimes, when she acts like a spoiled child, she is very similar to your mother when she was a child. She only allows people to pamper her and play with her... I thought it was just the nature of a child! But I really didn't expect that a little bit of scheming and a little bit of malice could lead to this... She deserves it, and I have nothing to say."

"I am a selfish old man. I can't let go of your uncle's bloodline in my heart. I always want to settle them down. Even though you grew up together, I am still worried. I also think of the marriage between the two families... The closest people in the world are husband and wife. If they are more closely related, have children, and are connected by blood, you will naturally take care of Ling Shu and care about Ling Yun..."

After all, it’s all for the Yue family’s children.

Qi Huaijing listened for a long time before he spoke.

"I know that you think of me as your uncle and want me to support the family, inherit the family business like your uncle, take care of his children like your uncle, and ensure that the future generations of the Yue family will be rich and worry-free."

The old man was drunk and patted the old table. Before he became rich, his family of four always ate at this broken table.

"Boy! Remember... your old man is not like you, he was not born rich! This family business was hard-earned, I want you to be your uncle's heir, I don't want to watch it go to waste! I don't want to watch Ling Yun squander the family business! I don't want to watch them... live a poor life running around to make a living... Otherwise, what would the hardship and suffering that Sui'er and I went through in the past mean! What a waste!"

Qi Huaijing turned his head and looked at the old furnishings in the house. The rain kept hitting them, just like the poor days that kept hitting the old man's heart.

His face was grim, but he still shook his head.

"Old man, I was born rich. But since I was born, my mother treated me as her eldest brother, and you treated me as your uncle. I alone have lived the lives of three people! But I am not the eldest brother, nor the uncle... I am myself, and I have my own way of living!"

The old man couldn't help but smile bitterly.

From the time he refused the marriage, then refused to take over the throne, to the current situation... the old man has understood.

"I know, I know!... Occasionally, I would scold myself. If it was my own son or grandson, would I force him like this and make things difficult for him? I... am indeed selfish."

Old Man Yue took out a warm jade seal from his arms and placed it on the shabby table.

That was his private seal, and every employee in every shop of the Yue family knew it.

"Here, I give it to you! You've loved it since you were little! I gave it to you last year, but you didn't want it and threw it on the ground... I'm weighing the pros and cons of a useless grandson and a useful grandson... Well, I'll give it to you, I'll give it to you!"