"Mom!" Huo Xiao looked at Liu Guilan disapprovingly. "I'm married and have a career now. I'm the head of the household. I'm a man. I'll get what I want through my own efforts. I don't need any compensation! We can just be like before."
After saying that, he looked at Old Master Qin and said in a cold tone, "It's getting late, Old Master Qin, you should go back first."
Old Master Qin's mood fluctuated wildly tonight. He had just recovered from the shock when Huo Xiao asked him to leave, which was like a bucket of cold water being poured over his head.
He looked at Huo Xiao, who looked back at him calmly, his expression indifferent, just as before, without a trace of anything amiss.
His heart sank again. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but under Huo Xiao's gaze, he couldn't utter a word.
It seems that whatever they say is just an attempt to justify and excuse what happened back then.
He has wronged Qingxue and the child, so what right does he have to ask for more?
Liu Guilan is right. He failed to protect Qingxue back then and wronged her. Now, he can't let the child suffer again.
So he took a deep breath, forced himself to smile and say the same word as when he first arrived: "Okay."
When she got up, one of her legs was a little weak and her body swayed slightly, but fortunately Ye Weiwei helped her up in time.
Grandpa Qin turned to look at Ye Weiwei, smiled and nodded, "People get old and can't do much anymore, so they should go back and rest early. I'll head back now."
Ye Weiwei looked at Huo Xiao, then at Liu Guilan, and said, "Then I'll see you off."
Without giving Old Master Qin a chance to refuse, she exerted force and firmly supported his body.
Grandpa Qin smiled and responded, then greeted Liu Guilan and Huo Xiao as usual before leaving.
Everything looked just like every time he had come before.
Ye Weiwei escorted Grandpa Qin a long way. The two walked in silence until they were about to turn the corner and see the shed. Only then did Grandpa Qin come to his senses and hurriedly tell Ye Weiwei to go back.
Ye Weiwei didn't see him off any further, and stopped in her tracks, watching him slowly walk away.
However, she kept an eye on Old Master Qin with her mental energy and saw him stumble and fall as soon as he turned the corner. He got up and took two steps, but tripped again. He fell four times in that short distance before finally returning to the shed. She couldn't help but sigh and shake her head.
When Ye Weiwei got home, she saw that her mother-in-law, Liu Guilan, was sitting alone in the main room, lost in thought. Huo Xiao had taken the child back into the house and hadn't come out.
Seeing that her mother-in-law was listless, Ye Weiwei sat down next to her, took her hand, and silently comforted her.
Once Liu Guilan had recovered, she looked at Ye Weiwei beside her, wiped her face, and forced a smile: "It's my fault for what happened today. I didn't tell you beforehand so you could be prepared... I scared you, didn't I?"
Ye Weiwei gently shook her head, "No, actually, Huo Xiao and I had already guessed it, but I didn't expect that Huo Xiao wasn't your biological son. You know, you treated him even better than your older brothers. Huo Xiao must be having a hard time accepting it for a while."
Hearing Ye Weiwei say this, Liu Guilan couldn't help but shed tears again, "How could I not be good to him? He is Miss's only flesh and blood, I..."
Seeing that Liu Guilan was too emotional, Ye Weiwei quickly patted her back gently to help her calm down.
Liu Guilan started talking and recounted many things from the past.
The Liu family was once a prominent and influential family in Qingshan County.
Her parents were servants of the Liu family. She was born into the Liu family. Because she was about the same age as Miss Liu Qingxue, she was sent to Miss's side from a young age. The two grew up together, studied and learned to embroider and sew together.
However, her talent was limited, and she was far less intelligent than her mistress. She could only skim the surface and learn the basics, unlike her mistress who was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and also had excellent embroidery skills.
Years ago, Master Liu had saved the Qin family. The two got along very well and arranged a marriage between their children.
As a result, the master and mistress had no children for many years after their marriage. The mistress finally became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter.
As a result, some members of the clan coveted the patriarch's property and frequently came to cause trouble, resorting to all sorts of tricks.
However, the master and mistress were very loving and doted on the young lady, so naturally they refused to give in.
When the young lady reached marriageable age, they tried to interfere with her marriage. At that time, they thought the world was not peaceful, so the master and mistress dismissed the servants in the house, and she returned to her hometown of Daqingshan Village with her parents. Not long after, the master died unexpectedly, leaving the young lady and her mother to face those clansmen in a difficult situation.
At that time, the Qin family came looking for them, claiming it was because of their marriage agreement from years ago.
The young lady must have been forced by her clansmen to agree to marry Qin Zhenyuan, who was almost ten years older than her.
When she finally had the chance to go to the county town to see her mistress, she learned that her mistress had already married far away and taken her wife with her.
When they met again, everything had changed.
She and her husband went to the county town to deliver a carpentry job, just in time to see the young lady return to bury her mother's ashes.
At that time, her daughter was pregnant, just like her.
Naturally, she was worried about her mistress and stayed in the county town for a few days to help her with the funeral arrangements for the madam. During this time, she also heard some things from her mistress about what had happened after she went to the capital.
Although the young lady didn't say much, they grew up together, so how could they not tell?
Miss must have suffered a great injustice, otherwise why would she come back from such a far place all alone with her big belly and no one by her side?
Seeing that her mistress was depressed all day long, and no matter what she did, she couldn't cheer her up, she felt sad and anxious.
Fortunately, they have children, and they often bring up the topic of children. Every time they talk about children, the young lady's mood improves, and her eyes become incredibly gentle.
However, the young lady had too many worries on her mind and grew increasingly haggard. She suffered severe bleeding during childbirth and did not survive. She only managed to say a few words before passing away, entrusting her child to her care.
She was so heartbroken because of what happened to her mistress that she lost her baby and miscarried.
After staying in the hospital for a few days, Huo Xiao returned to the village and became the third son in her family. The young lady was buried in the village cemetery.
In the first few years, some people came to investigate the prostitute, but she had already made arrangements in advance, so they couldn't find her and gradually the investigation stopped.
"Back then, Miss repeatedly instructed that unless Qin Zhenyuan came in person, no matter who came, she should not reveal the child's parentage. The pair of bracelets I gave you when you got married were part of the dowry that Madam had prepared for Miss. Miss specifically instructed that they were for her future daughter-in-law..."
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