After Lu Ziwei's three-day homecoming ceremony, the Lu family began preparing for the Lu family patriarch's 60th birthday celebration.
This time, Zhou simply washed his hands of the business.
She took charge of her mother-in-law's birthday banquet, spending countless amounts of money and putting in all her effort, only to be betrayed by her mother-in-law and the second wife who plotted against her daughter.
When it came to her father-in-law's birthday banquet, she decided not to get involved and let Wang Shi handle it.
After all, she and Wang were of the same generation and both were daughters-in-law.
After all these years, it's time for her turn.
I didn't want to argue before, but now I don't want to let the second wife benefit.
Wang refused to agree to this at all costs. She wouldn't do something that involved spending money and effort but yielded no benefit. Did they think she was stupid?
Especially this time, Zhou has made it clear that the money for the birthday banquet should come from the second branch of the family, and the first branch of the family will not contribute a single penny.
After all, the second branch of the family didn't contribute a single penny to Old Madam Zhu's birthday banquet.
Therefore, such a proposal is fair, just, and reasonable. Even if it goes all the way to the King of Hell, the eldest son's family will still be in the right.
This made Wang even more furious. An old man who was about to die wanted to spend her money? No way!
Why bother with a birthday banquet? Just let them die; it'll be easier. Those two old geezers.
Wang was filled with resentment, and after seeing her mentally ill son, she hated the eldest son's family even more.
As a result, Wang and Zhou were completely at odds. Either they wouldn't hold the event, or the eldest son's family would pay for it. Trying to get money from her was out of the question!
No matter who tries to persuade her, she always says the same two words: "No money!!!"
After a few days of stalemate, neither of them mentioned the birthday banquet anymore, which was considered a tacit agreement not to hold a birthday banquet for the old man.
The old man got excited too. Why should his wife have a big celebration, but he shouldn't have one for himself?
The old man went on a hunger strike to force his two sons to back down. He not only wanted to hold the ceremony, but he wanted it to be even more spectacular than his wife's.
Zhou's side remained firm; she couldn't let the second wife and her in-laws control her forever.
If her in-laws truly feel she is unfilial, then they should simply divorce her.
Lu Jingming was unwilling to divorce his wife for the sake of his muddle-headed parents, so he was not enthusiastic about holding a birthday banquet at all.
Let Dad go hungry if he wants; he can't stand any hardship. He might sneak a snack at night, so there's no way he'll starve to death.
After a few more days of this stalemate, Lu Shunxin finally stepped forward like a man and promised to cover all of his father's birthday banquet expenses.
Even if Wang was unwilling, she had no choice but to agree.
Zhou was quite happy to be a hands-off manager, experiencing for the first time what it felt like, and it was incredibly comfortable.
On the day of the old man's birthday banquet, there were still many guests. Wang Shi put in a lot of effort to collect gifts, hoping to earn back all the money she had spent.
Su Yujiao went to the Lu family home with Lu Ziqian.
It wasn't that she wanted to go to her ex-husband's house all the time; this time it was because Zhou was not feeling well.
According to Lu Ziqian, Zhou had been suffering from diarrhea for no apparent reason since yesterday.
Sometimes you think you're farting but it turns out to be diarrhea, which is good because you can clean it up in time.
Even more frightening is that occasionally, without any warning, some oily liquid will leak out, which smells terrible.
Zhou became incontinent and thought she had some terminal illness, so she was too scared to sleep all night.
He had sent his son to the small courtyard in the east of the city to invite Su Yujiao early on.
Unfortunately, she went to another city for business and had been away for two or three days.
As a result, Zhou didn't dare to show her face all day, fearing she would embarrass herself in front of the guests, so she simply pretended to be sick and refused to see anyone.
When Su Yujiao and Lu Ziqian arrived at the Lu family home, the birthday banquet was already nearing its end.
The two dared not delay and immediately went to the backyard, accompanied by Lu Jingming and the eldest son's children and daughters-in-law.
Old Zhu and Wang also insisted on going to see it.
Lu Jingming frowned, feeling that they had ill intentions, especially Wang's gloating face, which clearly showed she was just watching the show.
"Mother, please don't go. Stay in the front yard and entertain the guests."
Old Zhu frowned, her triangular eyes squinting: "Hmph, what are you feeling guilty about?"
"I want to see if she's really sick or faking it."
"Could it be that he's faking illness to avoid fulfilling his filial duties?"
Lu Jingming felt inexplicably irritated listening to his mother's words. Why did everything his mother said sound so unpleasant?
"What are you up to? Why are you blocking my way?"
With Old Zhu shouting like this, Lu Jingming couldn't stop her anymore, otherwise she would only become more unreasonable.
Wang pretended to be filial, constantly supporting Old Zhu.
The group arrived at Zhou's bedroom. There were no maids guarding the door, and the lights inside were dim.
Lu Jingming felt strange and called out, but there was no response from Zhou Shi. Instead, he heard a heavy thud.
Lu Jingming thought Zhou was in some danger, so he pushed the door open and went inside.
As a result, we saw Zhou sitting on the edge of the bed with her hair disheveled, frantically buttoning her clothes and tidying her hair.
The moment the door opened, a white butt jumped out the window...
At first glance, it looks like a scene of catching someone in the act!
Everyone was stunned, even forgetting to react, except for Wang, who screamed loudly: "Heavens! Sister-in-law, you've been cheating on me!"
"Help! Catch that adulterer!"
Lu Ziqian reacted and kicked Wang Shi in the mouth, knocking her unconscious.
Then came Old Zhu's loud and clear shout: "Guards! Seize this shameless bastard..."
Lu Ziqian quickly pressed the acupoint that silenced Old Zhu.
Amidst everyone's shocked gazes, Zhou, filled with shame and indignation, pushed through the crowd and rushed out of the courtyard, jumping directly into the well with a splash.
"mother!"
"lady!"
The jump was so fast that no one had time to react.
Lu Ziqian was the first to react and jumped into the well as well.
Su Yujiao shouted, "Quick, get a rope! Save them!"
Jumping into a well is far more dangerous than jumping into a river; the river is wide enough that you can swim and won't sink indefinitely.
The well walls were narrow and smooth, leaving no room to swim if you fell in, let alone two people crammed together, which would be even more dangerous.
Lu Jingming realized what was happening and immediately threw the rope down.
Su Yujiao took the opportunity to hide in her room, travel back to the modern world, and buy a set of professional ropes—steel wire ropes, waist-loop ropes, the kind with hooks.
Sure enough, Zhou was too weak to hold on to the rope even after it was thrown down.
Moreover, she had no will to live and didn't want to be rescued at all.
Because she couldn't swim, her body kept sinking, so Lu Ziqian had to dive underwater to support her.
Su Yujiao watched as Lu Ziqian struggled to lift Zhou Shi underwater, and for a moment she felt worried. He was truly a filial son.
"Mother, I know there must be some misunderstanding here, but I believe in your innocence."
"You come up first. You can't die without knowing why, and you can't let your loved ones suffer and your enemies rejoice."
"Ziqian is running out of strength. He's your child. Can you bear to let him die saving you?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou regained her senses instantly and immediately stopped struggling.
She can't let her own child die!
I deserve to die, but my son is innocent!
She can't be so selfish!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
