Chapter 382: Heartless

Chen said distressedly, "Xin'er, what are you doing? Get up quickly!"

The second old lady and others also spoke up for Hu Xiner.

After being persuaded by everyone, Old Master Liu regained his sanity.

But he didn't ask Hu Xin'er to get up. Instead, he said sternly, "You don't have to eat, but you must cut off all contact with Lu Yunjue from now on!"

"Grandfather, are you really so heartless?" Hu Xiner was shocked and aggrieved, a tear sliding down from the corner of her eye.

She was kneeling on the ground without caring about her dignity. Her thin body looked so fragile in the autumn wind. She was still suffering from the false accusations from the eldest wife and the oppression from Old Master Liu. The way she shed tears was actually somewhat sad and beautiful.

At this moment, she looked very much like Liu Se back then.

Old Master Liu was distressed by what he saw, but his thoughts did not waver at all.

He felt that Lu Yunjue would only bring misfortune to Hu Xiner!

He said firmly: "If we don't sever the relationship between you, you will only repeat the same mistakes as your mother. Xin'er, Grandpa is doing this for your own good!"

The second old lady shouted "Se'er!" and rushed to Hu Xin'er's side.

She didn't care about anything else and cried and questioned Old Master Liu: "Why are you so determined to break up Xin'er's marriage? Isn't it enough for you to lose your daughter? Are you willing to lose your granddaughter as well?"

"Do you think I'm the one forcing her?" Old Master Liu said angrily, "It was the Crown Prince who secretly put pressure on me, saying that if the Lu family is in trouble, I will never be allowed to help. This shows that the Lu family is about to face disaster!"

"So what? Are you going to force Xin'er away just because of this?" The second old lady hugged Hu Xin'er tightly, tears already streaming down her face.

Old Master Liu scolded her irritably, "You ignorant woman! If we divorce now, I can still protect Xin'er and the child born, and the Liu family can raise them. The Liu family can support Xin'er and her child for the rest of their lives. But if we don't divorce, the Liu family will definitely be implicated!"

How could the Liu family's century-old foundation be destroyed by Hu Xin'er alone?

He sighed heavily: "Xin'er is young, how come you are as ignorant as her?"

The second old lady just hugged Hu Xiner and cried, listening to the scolding of Old Master Liu.

The people in the first house felt the same way.

Liu Qingyi couldn't help but accuse him, "You think Grandfather is heartless, but I think you are truly selfish! You let the Liu family be implicated. Have you ever considered the feelings of our eldest wife?"

The people in the main house all echoed and cheered for Old Master Liu.

As Hu Xiner listened, she stood up.

The expression on her face changed from aggrieved to calm. She helped the second old lady up, wiped her tears, and then asked, "If you ever offend the noble, will you be willing to be abandoned by your own family?"

Just one sentence left the eldest wife speechless.

Of course, they are not truly selfless. They just feel that misfortune has not befallen them, so they are generous to others.

Hu Xin'er looked at Old Master Liu again and said, "If one day you offend the emperor, do you think we would sacrifice you in exchange for his forgiveness?"

Just saying this, Old Master Liu was speechless: "This..."

Hu Xin'er knew the outcome from his expression and sneered, "It seems that even though you've already caused such a tragic end, you still don't understand where you went wrong. Sometimes the more you want to get everything, the more you lose."

Liu Zhi curled his lips and said sarcastically, "Look, our little lady is really capable. She can teach a lot of people a lesson at such a young age."

"You don't have to mock me in secret." Hu Xin'er smiled bitterly. "You just want me to prove that the longevity peach is not poisonous? Then I'll prove it. After all, my grandfather's birthday banquet probably needs a longevity peach."

Then she grabbed the longevity peach, tore off a piece and ate it.

In fact, Old Master Liu didn't really want to make things difficult for her, he just wanted her to give in.

But he didn't expect Hu Xin'er to have such a strong temper, and he also underestimated the importance of the Lu family to Hu Xin'er.

The always stubborn Hu Xiner would rather kneel down herself, but when the issue of divorce was mentioned, she flatly refused.

The way Hu Xin'er snatched the longevity peach made him recall the scene of that year.

That day, the sky was filled with rosy clouds. Liu Se also stood up from the ground, holding the child in her arms, and resolutely left his sight.

This daughter whom he cherished like a jewel, this little girl who was brought up with great care by him, seemed to have grown up in an instant.

He shook his head, driving those images out of his mind, but saw Hu Xiner finish eating the longevity peach and take a step forward.

Old Master Liu was a little surprised, and his heart was in his throat. He was ready to face Hu Xiner's disobedience.

Unexpectedly, Hu Xiner took out a small note from the broken longevity peach.

That was her birthday poem.

"May grandpa be blessed with as much happiness as the endless waters of the East China Sea and as long-lived as the evergreen pines of the Southern Mountains. This is written respectfully by your granddaughter Hu Xin'er." She recited the poem word by word.

Even though the wording of this birthday poem was simple, everyone could feel the sincere friendship in it, and therefore felt even more sorry for the destroyed birthday peach.

After finishing her recitation, Hu Xin'er bowed deeply to Old Master Liu: "Today is your birthday. I don't want to make you angry on a day like this. Although the birthday peach has been destroyed, I still wish you a long and blessed life!"

The deafening blessing made even Old Master Liu shed a tear.

He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and choked, "Okay, okay, I know you are a filial child."

The second old lady burst into tears. She hugged Hu Xin'er in her arms and murmured, "Xin'er, my poor granddaughter, how could your cruel mother abandon you and die so early..."

Hu Xin'er was somewhat touched: "Don't be sad, Grandma. I have a family and a lover now. My life has finally turned bitter and sweet."

Chen also comforted her, "Mother, Liu Se is a lucky person, she must be living well somewhere in the world."

Others might not think much of this, but Hu Xiner felt sad. Who would have known that her biological mother was imprisoned in a dark dungeon right under their feet?

Old Master Liu's eyes also dimmed, and he didn't know if the second old lady's words touched his heart.

Hu Xiner knew that Old Master Liu also had many soft emotions, but when faced with family interest disputes, he would choose the family rather than the individual without hesitation.

Perhaps it was for this reason that Liu Se was imprisoned.

She looked at Old Master Liu, her eyes calm and resolute: "Grandfather, I hope you can understand that I will never be like my mother back then. I will not leave the Lu family, and I will never allow outsiders to bully the Lu family! Not even the Crown Prince!"

At this moment, she exuded an extremely powerful aura, and everyone was stunned.