In the 1960s
Su Lan accompanied the old man and his wife for breakfast and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "I never thought Ruqing had such great cooking skills. I've had breakfast made by the retired chef of Jinfulou before, and I thought it was the best breakfast I've ever had. I didn't expect Ruqing's breakfast to taste any worse than that chef's."
The old lady ate the sweet but not greasy snacks and nodded. "My eldest grandson is in luck, and we can all share in his good fortune. I see that Liyuan looks much better than when he first woke up. Master Linghai is truly a great monk, able to predict that Ruqing is Liyuan's lucky star. I've been feeling much better these past few days. In a couple of days, can you accompany me to the temple to fulfill my wish?"
"Okay, I'll also light a few incense sticks and pay some incense money." Su Lan nodded in agreement.
The three of them finished their breakfast, the maid cleared the table, and the old man stood up and prepared to go for a walk.
"Madam, Mrs. Wen is here." A maid came in and said to Su Lan.
Su Lan was stunned for a moment and said, "What is she doing here?"
She used to be a good friend and sister to her, but after Liyuan got into trouble and the Wen family broke off the engagement, no one from her family came to visit them again. Why was she coming here again now?
"Push me back to my room to rest." The old lady said to the maid with a cold face.
The old lady had never liked the Wen family, thinking they were hypocritical. However, since her daughter-in-law had a good relationship with the Wen family's wife and the two families were engaged, she couldn't be disrespectful and was polite to them. After the Wen family broke off the engagement, she disliked them even more.
She believed in Master Linghai's words so much that she did not force her son and daughter-in-law to cancel the engagement. However, less than a month after Liyuan's accident, their family proposed to cancel the engagement.
She didn't insist on them marrying their child into the family, but considering the relationship between the two families over the years, you should at least wait a few months until the family's mood has calmed down before bringing it up. You have to rush in and throw salt in someone's pain when they are hurting the most. Are you really that impatient?
"Guests are welcome. There is no deep hatred between our two families. Please entertain us." Mr. He said expressionlessly, then went out for a walk with his hands behind his back.
"I understand, Dad." Su Lan watched the old man leave, then said to the maid, "Please let her in."
Tao Yuan held He Liyuan's hand and carefully picked up the broken glass for him. "I know you feel bad. Anyone who ends up like you wouldn't feel good. But torturing yourself is the stupidest way to vent. If you really feel the pain, just go to sleep and vent it out in your dreams. You can punch and kick in your dreams, and vent however you want."
"In a dream?" He Liyuan curled his lips sarcastically and said, "After seeing this face, I'm afraid I won't have peace in my dreams. It's a good thing you didn't have a nightmare at night when you looked at this face."
Tao Yuan glanced at him and knew that the torment he was enduring was not something that ordinary people could bear. If it were someone else, they would have collapsed long ago.
"If your grandparents and parents knew about your condition, how sad would they be?"
"Don't tell them, they won't know." He Liyuan looked at Tao Yuan and said, "I don't want them to worry, so don't tell them."
"What about the bathroom mirror?"
"Please notify the guards for me, and I'll have them come over and change it secretly."
Tao Yuan thought for a moment and said, "I know that if you keep suppressing your pain, you'll definitely get sick. How about this? Although your feet can't move for the time being, your hands can still move. You should rest well for a few days. After a few days, I'll take you to the shooting range to shoot and let off some steam. How about that?"
"I'd better not go out and scare others with this face of mine," said He Liyuan.
"If you wear a mask, others won't be able to see you, right?" Tao Yuan said. "Then you can ask your soldiers to help you make arrangements. We can go quietly when no one is around. It's not a difficult task."
After Tao Yuan finished speaking, he lowered his head to help him treat the wound on his hand.
He Liyuan looked at his serious eyes and focused face, and suddenly he felt less uncomfortable. With someone who cared about him and could share his worries, he didn't have to endure the pain alone. He didn't know if this could be considered a blessing in disguise.
Su Lan stood up with a cold face and said rudely, "You don't need to worry about our family's affairs. Our Liyuan's face is ruined, and his body is ruined, but he will still live better than others in the future. I have other things to do and don't have time to continue entertaining you. Please go back."
Li Yiyue stood up and said awkwardly, "Su Lan, don't get me wrong. I care about Liyuan, too. We've been friends for so many years. Even though we can't be relatives anymore, we can still be friends, right? Don't blame us. Who doesn't love their own children? In fact, we love Liyuan too, but..."
"We have Liyuan, and we have our own family that is caring enough. We don't need your extra care." Su Lan raised her hand and said, "Please come. If you have nothing to do in the future, don't come to my house. I can't afford to be your friend."
Li Yiyue pursed her lips. Over the years, she knew what kind of personality Su Lan had. She was usually a very easygoing person, but once she got angry, she wouldn't give anyone face.
"Then I'll leave first. Calm down and don't take it to heart. I'll come back later... to see you again." Li Yiyue turned around and prepared to leave.
"Wait!" Su Lan picked up the paper bag on the table, threw it back into her arms and said, "Take these medicines back. Our He family doesn't lack these things."
"This is a kind gift from Wenhan. The medicine in it is especially effective in healing scars." Li Yiyue said, "Just accept it. You're angry with me, but you can't be angry with the child too, right?"
"I appreciate your kindness. There's no medicine that your Wen family can get that our He family can't. We can still get better medicine than this. If Liyuan wants it, we'll use the best. It's just like marrying a wife. If there are no unnecessary ones, we can still help him marry a better one."
"Are you talking about that merchant's kid?" Li Yiyue said with some disdain in her eyes. "How can he compare with our Wenhan? Our Wenhan graduated from the Military Medical College and now works in the military hospital. Even if that merchant's kid has a few years of education, he was born into a merchant family. How can he have a good upbringing?"
"Do you think this is still the feudal era? Merchants were considered inferior? Come to think of it, weren't your mother's family merchants before? I've never seen anyone look down on their birth so much."
"That was all many years ago!" Li Yiyue hated it most when people said she was born into a merchant family. "You know, my family stopped being merchants after my father became an official!"
"Hmph!" Su Lan snorted coldly, "Whether your family is a merchant or not is not my business. Whether you love it or not is none of my business. As for the good qualities of our daughter-in-law, our family knows it for ourselves, and you don't need to worry about it. With your Wenhan's personality, it's not certain whether she can live a good life after marrying into the Ning family. There is a long way to go, so let's wait and see."
"Okay, let's just go and see who will have a better life in the future, your He Liyuan or our Wen Han!" Li Yiyue turned and left angrily.
Li Yiyue felt that she had put up with her for so long, and it was fine that she didn't give her a good face, but she actually brought up their Wenhan. Even if their Wenhan was not good, could she not be better than that merchant's child? Besides, their Wenhan was one in a million, and there were so many families who wanted to marry her. He Liyuan was half-disabled, his face was ruined, his body was ruined, what good life could he have in the future?
Li Yiyue didn't want to lose Su Lan as a friend. After all, the He family was powerful, and as long as Mr. He was still around, no one could shake the He family's position. But she wasn't one to be bullied. After she had already humbled herself in front of Su Lan, and she still didn't give her a good face, then she would not serve her.
Su Lan had previously thought that Li Yiyue was just a bit of a show-off and gossipmonger, but she had a good heart, which was why she had been friends with her for so many years. But when she came to call off the engagement, she cursed Li Yuan and was worried that Li Yuan would bring trouble to Wen Han. It was like stabbing a bloody wound in Su Lan's heart.
After so many years of friendship, even if she hadn't mentioned breaking off the engagement, Su Lan was ready to do it. But no mother could tolerate someone cursing her child, especially when her child was dying. And what she had just said was a bit harsh.
Su Lan also knew that in the military family quarters, everyone envied her for having a good son and a good in-laws. But now, there must be many people secretly watching her laugh. Even if there were some who didn't laugh at her, they would sympathize with her and feel sorry for her. However, she didn't need anyone's pity. She believed that her son would be fine in the future.
After Su Lan calmed down her anger and recovered her composure, she turned and went to the building in the middle of the mansion to see He Liyuan.
When Su Lan knocked on the door and went in, Tao Yuan just came out of the bathroom.
"Mom." Tao Yuan and He Liyuan greeted her.
Su Lan smiled at Tao Yuan, then sat down on the edge of the bed, looked at He Liyuan and asked, "How do you feel today? Are you still in pain?"
"It hurts a little, but I can bear it." He Liyuan's current physical condition is always painful, and the pain only gets better occasionally. If he hadn't been able to endure it and had strong willpower, an ordinary person would probably not be able to withstand such pain.
So when he was sent to the military hospital, the doctors told the He family that a temporary coma would be better for him. Otherwise, being tortured by pain would be even more detrimental to his recovery.
"Mom." Tao Yuan said to Su Lan, "The bathroom mirror needs to be replaced with a new one."
He Liyuan looked at him suddenly.
"Change the mirror? Why? Is the mirror broken?" Su Lan asked in confusion.
He Liyuan stopped him with his eyes, telling him not to continue.
Tao Yuan ignored his gaze and continued, "Brother Liyuan secretly went to the bathroom, stood up by himself, and broke the mirror with his fist."
"You stood up?! Didn't the doctor tell you not to try to stand up now?!" Su Lan glared at him, her eyes gradually reddening. "You kid! Why are you so disobedient?! Are you trying to drive your mother crazy?!"
"I, I didn't use the strength in my feet. I used the strength in my hands to support my body and stand up." He Liyuan hurriedly explained. He was most afraid of his mother crying. Every time his mother cried, he wanted to hide, but now, he couldn't hide even if he wanted to.
"Don't you need to put your feet on the ground when you use your hands?" Tao Yuan said, "When I went in to see you, both your legs were on the ground, and you even backed up and sat in the wheelchair by yourself."
"Why are you so troublesome?!" Su Lan pounded his shoulder with tears in her eyes.
"I..." He Liyuan didn't know what to say. His mother's strength was so little that it felt like tickling him. He was just worried that she would hurt his hand.
Su Lan knew that he saw her face and that he must be feeling bad. Thinking of Li Yiyue's hurtful words, she couldn't help but hug him and cry.
He Liyuan looked at Tao Yuan. He didn't expect that he would complain to his mother. He told him everything. He didn't want to make his parents worry.
Tao Yuan looked at him without avoiding the issue. He just couldn't tolerate his habit of hurting himself and didn't want to make his parents worry. So, he should not do anything that would make them worry.
Tao Yuan knew that he was in great pain, but he would never allow him to harm himself, so he had to stop him from thinking about it from now on. Besides, the pain was only temporary, and whether it was his face or his feet, he would help him heal.
He still had a long time to go in his military career, so he had to make sure he took good care of his body from now on, because from now on, it was no longer his own body, but their common property.
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