Chapter 33 She's quite gossipy
Lu Yanchuan frowned. "Don't bother calculating it. What happened next?"
Shen Li smiled faintly, "Later, when you returned to China, we signed an agreement to live a life of mutual non-interference. You know all of this, don't you?"
Things are definitely not that simple, but all Lu Yanchuan can see is a tightly closed door to his heart.
The car drove into the urban area of Haicheng City.
"Where are we going?" Shen Li asked.
Before long, the car stopped in front of a quiet and elegant courtyard.
Shen Li: "Is it a private kitchen restaurant?"
Upon entering the courtyard, one sees a beautiful water feature and well-maintained plants.
Lu Yanchuan led her through the curtain into the room. The curtain was made of some kind of fruit shell, and when it was lifted, it made a pleasant sound like flowing water.
"What's for dinner today?" Lu Yanchuan asked as he walked in.
As soon as Shen Li followed her inside, she heard a gentle female voice, sounding somewhat impatient, "There's nothing for you to eat."
Lu Yanchuan's voice carried a hint of amusement, "Isn't that a bit inappropriate? I brought my wife all this way."
Shen Li saw a kind-faced woman with shoulder-length silver hair neatly combed and a pearl hair clip behind her ear.
The elderly woman was very refined and energetic; one could easily discern her youthful charm from her eyebrows and facial features.
As Shen Li looked at her, she was also looking at Shen Li.
Shen Li was slightly flustered. "Hello, sorry to bother you. If there's nothing to eat, then forget it."
She genuinely believed that this was a tasteful private restaurant and had no intention of upsetting the owner.
Hearing this, the old man frowned and looked at Lu Yanchuan, "What did you say to that person?"
Lu Yanchuan raised an eyebrow, his long, narrow eyes filled with a casual smile. "I said I'd take her out to a restaurant."
"You...!" The old man frowned. "You brat!"
Shen Li felt that things were not simple. The more casual and relaxed Lu Yanchuan's demeanor was, the more Shen Li felt that the situation was not simple.
Lu Yanchuan sat down in a mahogany armchair, his long legs stretched out in front of him, making him appear even more incredibly tall.
"What can I do? She's getting a divorce from me lately. What if I bring her here and she runs away?" Lu Yanchuan shrugged.
The old man glared at him irritably, but when he looked at Chen Li, his gaze was relatively gentle. "Little Li, right?"
“Yes, my name is Shen Li. Hello…” Shen Li nodded.
"I am Lu Yanchuan's grandmother." The old woman's words left Shen Li completely dumbfounded.
She blinked, stunned. "You... but..."
Shen Li looked at the old man, then at Lu Yanchuan, who nodded to her.
Shen Li's pupils contracted sharply; her mind was in a whirl.
No... If this is Lu Yanchuan's grandmother, then... the old lady in the Lu family's old house who attended their wedding...?
As if guessing what Shen Li was thinking, Lu Yanchuan said, "That's the old man's concubine."
"Tsk!" Grandma finally couldn't hold back and slapped Lu Yanchuan on the shoulder. "How dare you talk like that! Nonsense."
"I didn't say anything wrong." Lu Yanchuan curled his lips.
Grandma slapped him again.
Shen Li was completely bewildered. Although she knew that a family of Lu's standing had a complex internal structure and there might be some shady dealings or lawsuits involved, she was still confused.
But I had never heard of it before, let alone imagined that such a thing existed.
She had been married for five years and had no idea that Lu Yanchuan's grandmother was actually someone else!
Grandma naturally wouldn't go into too much detail with her granddaughter-in-law, only saying, "The golden pomfret and abalone are quite good today. Let me cook you some seafood porridge. The mud snails I pickled earlier are delicious."
Grandma turned and went into the kitchen.
Shen Li suddenly turned her gaze to Lu Yanchuan.
"Are you angry?" Lu Yanchuan asked.
Shen Li bit her lip, lowered her voice, and frowned, saying, "How could you not have told me about this beforehand?"
"If I had told you beforehand, would you still have dared to come?" Lu Yanchuan said.
Shen Li thought about it and realized that if she had known in advance, she might not have been willing to come because she felt there was no need to have much interaction with the Lu family anymore.
She paused for a few seconds, then said, "At least we could have prepared in advance. It would be too impolite to come empty-handed."
“It’s alright.” Lu Yanchuan glanced toward the kitchen. “Grandma is different from the Lu family; she doesn’t care about those formalities.”
Shen Li: "I've never heard of this. Nobody has ever mentioned it."
Shen Li noticed a slightly sarcastic smile on Lu Yanchuan's lips, though she didn't know what he was thinking.
"Who would want to bring up their shameful past? The old lady in the Lu residence, with her noble and graceful demeanor, would never want others to know that she was born a concubine."
Shen Li was silent for a few seconds, then asked in a low voice, "Is it really... a concubine?"
Looking at her eyes, I saw a mixture of curiosity and embarrassment at asking too many questions.
Lu Yanchuan's lips curled into a smile. "Want to know?"
Shen Li nodded.
Lu Yanchuan stretched his long leg to the side, making room for himself. "Sit down."
Shen Li obediently sat down, and the cool fragrance of cedar wafted from Lu Yanchuan's body.
"Then promise me something," Lu Yanchuan said.
"What?"
“The old lady looks energetic, but she is getting on in years and her blood pressure is a bit high,” Lu Yanchuan said. “She was quite worried about the divorce before, and I brought you here today to put her at ease.”
Shen Liming understood what he meant, "Don't worry, even if you don't bring it up, I won't let the old man worry about our affairs."
Lu Yanchuan's expression was casual and relaxed.
He narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Shen Li, "Hey, good girl."
Before getting to the point, Lu Yanchuan chuckled softly, "I didn't realize you were so gossipy."
Shen Li blushed slightly. "I was just... curious."
Lu Yanchuan has a pleasant voice, deep and magnetic, and usually appears somewhat aloof, sounding detached and cold.
As she recounts this now, there's a hint of... gentleness?
Wen Xiuyun is Lu Yanchuan's biological grandmother and Lu Yanchuan's first wife, whom he married in his hometown years ago.
Later, Mr. Lu went to a big city to develop his career, while Mrs. Lu stayed in their hometown to raise the children and take care of the elderly.
Gentle and resilient, a virtuous wife and loving mother.
Meanwhile, Old Master Lu found a new love in the big city, the old lady who now lives in the Lu residence. Old Master Lu and that old lady got married.
But decades ago in my hometown, a marriage certificate wasn't that important. Once both families had exchanged betrothal gifts and the couple had gone through the wedding ceremony, they were considered husband and wife.
So now, the old lady in the Lu residence has become the rightful Mrs. Lu because of that marriage certificate.
Later, when news of the old man finding a new wife reached his hometown, Grandma...
"Divorced?" Shen Li was taken aback.
Lu Yanchuan nodded. "She was the gentlest of all, but more stubborn than an ox. In those days, divorced people were extremely rare."
By then, Grandpa Lu's business had already taken off.
Many people advised the old lady that as long as she gritted her teeth and persevered, Mr. Lu would not mistreat her financially, and her life would definitely not be difficult.
Since I've already been living a life of widowhood for so long, it's no different from before. I might as well just pretend I don't know anything.
Sometimes people just deceive themselves like this; once the moment passes, life slowly passes by. It's good to be a little confused.
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