Chapter 48: None of them are good people, just make do...
As the three approached the building, they witnessed a fascinating scene around the corner.
Ma Langhua saw them first, a malicious smile on her face, and looked at Shen Rong provocatively.
"Director Lu, you deserve to marry a better woman, someone who cares about you and will help your future career, not..." He continued, his words full of tenderness.
Lu Lin had his back to them, seemingly unaware that Shen Rong and the others had arrived.
Cao Fengyi hadn't expected Ma Langhua to come here and seduce someone else's husband; she was somewhat afraid to look at Shen Rong. People were trying to persuade her sister-in-law on her behalf, but her own relative was secretly stealing someone else's husband.
Just as she was about to speak, Shen Rong quickly covered her mouth, her eyes shining with a look of anticipation.
Is this catching someone in the act of adultery? Cao Fengyi was puzzled.
Dou Meiyun momentarily forgot her own troubles and looked at Shen Rong in surprise. Was she being too detached? Wasn't that her husband?
Lu Lin frowned, his tone flat and emotionless, yet with a hint of sarcasm: "Miss Ma, thank you for telling me all this. It's too much trouble for you. However, I'm a rigid and boring person, and I can't handle good women, especially someone like Miss Ma. I'd rather not have your way!"
Ma Langhua's face darkened instantly, and she gritted her teeth, saying, "Shen Rong cheated on you, and you don't even care?"
"What explosive content!" Cao Fengyi and Dou Meiyun widened their eyes simultaneously, looking at Shen Rong with curiosity.
Is it really true? She didn't stop Ma Langhua from saying that. Isn't she afraid that Lu Lin will misunderstand?
Only Lu Lin's cold voice rang out:
“Ms. Ma, I don’t know where you heard these rumors from. If you continue to slander me and my wife like this, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
His eyes were sharp, and he looked like he wanted to kill someone.
Ma Langhua was so intimidated by his imposing manner that she took a step back: "What... what are you doing? My uncle won't let you get away with this."
Lu Lin smiled sarcastically: "Miss Ma, I am deeply in love with my wife. I will never look at another woman in my life. No one can compare to her in my heart. Even if she really cheats on me, as long as she doesn't leave me, I can forgive her. If Miss Ma has other intentions, I advise you to give up as soon as possible. No one can sow discord between my husband and me."
Ma Langhua's secret thoughts were exposed, and she became somewhat embarrassed and angry. She took a few steps back and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Who has taken a liking to you? You're sick in the head."
She glared at Shen Rong behind him: "You're sick too." A pair of crazy people.
After saying that, he ran away in a fit of rage and embarrassment.
Lu Lin paused for a moment, then turned around with a smile.
The smile froze.
Ma Langhua's expression was off. He knew Shen Rong must be behind him, but he didn't expect Cao Fengyi and Dou Meiyun to be there as well. His expression was quite interesting.
Shen Rong laughed so hard she couldn't straighten up.
Cao Fengyi finally understood; the couple was deliberately teasing her.
The atmosphere was a little awkward, so she led Dou Meiyun away first: "We'll go in first, you two can chat slowly."
Lu Lin complained to her, "You did that on purpose."
He has completely lost face.
"They deliberately wanted to embarrass me." If she hadn't deliberately stopped them, Cao Fengyi and Dou Meiyun wouldn't have been so rude as to eavesdrop on others' conversation from behind.
Shen Rong dodged his hand: "Hey, we promised to be deeply in love, so you can't hit me."
She just wanted to see what Lu Lin would say, but she didn't expect it to be so cheesy. So this is the kind of cheesy thing Lu Lin says to hurt others with his words.
She asked with some curiosity, "If he really cheated on you, would you really forgive him?"
Lu Lin gave her a cold glance: "You try it!"
I knew it! Men make themselves sound so humble, but in reality... they're definitely not trustworthy!
***
The general was somewhat surprised to hear his daughter-in-law and daughter's words, and Dou Wenliang's expression turned rather unpleasant.
This is utterly disrespectful to the Dou family. They're about to get married, and they've produced an illegitimate child to embarrass them.
"Dad, why don't you give Uncle Yang a call?"
The general puffed on his hookah: "Don't believe everything you hear. We should find out the truth of the matter." He suspected that his daughter had made it up because she didn't want to get married.
Dou Meiyun's eyes reddened with anger: "I'm not that despicable. That woman said it herself. If you don't believe me, Ah Xin was with me at the time. You can ask her."
General Dou glanced at his son.
Dou Wenliang sent someone to find A Xin.
Dou Meiyun turned her head away to wipe her tears.
This old man doesn't trust his children at all.
Only when Ah Xin's words matched those of his daughter did Commander Dou put down his pipe, tap the table, and wrap the pipe up.
"Where does that woman live? Send a few people over to protect her."
This meant that she had agreed to stand up for Dou Meiyun, and Cao Fengyi looked at her sister-in-law with some joy.
"Dad, I've already sent people from the family to investigate and keep an eye on our house. They shouldn't be living too far away."
General Dou gave Cao Fengyi an approving look; this daughter-in-law was the makings of a good wife.
"You were just threatening to kill yourself a moment ago, how come you found a solution all of a sudden?" Commander Dou scolded his daughter.
Dou Meiyun rolled her eyes at her father and didn't say a word.
Cao Fengyi could only step forward to smooth things over: "Meiyun didn't explain clearly what happened before, so no one knew. Mrs. Lu just came over and asked us carefully, and that's how we found out."
Commander Dou glanced at Dou Wenliang with a half-smile: "So that's why Lu Lin was running around doing official business here all of a sudden. Turns out, he and his wife are your fire brigade."
Dou Wenliang chuckled: "And sure enough, it came in handy."
"They're gone?"
Cao Fengyi's expression was somewhat strange: "I just ran into Mrs. Lu at the door; she must have gone back."
This anomaly could not escape the sharp eyes of Commander Dou. As soon as his daughter-in-law and daughter left, he sent his son to investigate what had happened.
Before long, he found out about the shameful thing his niece had done.
Dou Wenliang: "I'll have someone call my cousin over."
General Dou gave his son a disapproving look.
"Why did you call her over? Are you trying to make me angry? Isn't she embarrassing me enough? Didn't I tell you to find her another husband to settle things with?" She was already taking her anger out on her son.
This is the only child left by his sister. Even if it's shameful, what can he do? He can say things like he'd beat his daughter to death, but he can't say a harsh word to his niece to her face. Otherwise, when the child cries, he'll think of his poor sister and his heart will ache.
Dou Wenliang was also troubled: "I've brought out all my men, and I've even asked someone from the Cao family to introduce her to someone, but as soon as they hear it's someone from Langhua, they're not interested, and the ones who are interested aren't to her liking."
They say they want to find someone who can't be worse than Lu Lin, but how many people can compare to Lu Lin? Those who can are already married.
He had figured out Lu Lin's character quite well these days; he wasn't the type to climb the social ladder through connections. Lang Hua's move was a terrible one.
"This child is so arrogant, she doesn't even know her place. Does she think she can take a good look at herself? How could Lu Lin possibly be interested in her? I'm her uncle, not her father. How dare she compare herself to Shen Rong?"
General Dou didn't hold back when criticizing his niece, counting on his fingers: "She has neither talent nor beauty, she can't compare to Mrs. Lu in any way, and her family background is even less impressive. Her Ma family is at most a small-time country bumpkin. Back then, your aunt even said she wanted to strengthen the family ties through marriage..."
Dou Wenliang panicked. Was she trying to force this on him? No way, he didn't want this young lady.
"Dad, why are you bringing her up in the past?"
General Dou was speechless for a moment: "I didn't ask you to marry her! What's the rush!"
Dou Wenliang breathed a sigh of relief: "Didn't you bring that up first, Father?"
“Your father is just expressing his feelings. I know you look down on Lan Hua, and I look down on the Ma family, but we Dou family are where we are today thanks to your aunt. For her sake, you should treat Lan Hua better.”
Dou Wenliang nodded.
He knew that back then, his father had gotten into trouble in the countryside and people had issued a kill order. At that time, Commander Dou was just a country boy and could only run away for his life, but he had no money. What could he do?
Finally, Dou's eldest aunt gritted her teeth and married the mentally challenged son of a landlord in a neighboring village, earning a dowry of ten silver dollars, which she gave all to Dou, the general, for travel expenses.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be where he is today; he would have lost his life long ago.
When the Dou family prospered, Dou Da Gu died after only a few years of enjoying her wealth, leaving behind only Ma Lan Hua, her bloodline.
“My aunt has had a hard life.” Dou Wenliang wiped away his tears, thinking of another person.
“Your mother also had a hard life.” General Dou silently lit another cigarette. His first wife was also a woman with a hard life who never enjoyed happiness.
Dou Wenliang said with relief, "With you thinking of her, Father, Mother can rest in peace."
General Dou exhaled a puff of smoke and glanced at his son with disdain: "You actually believe this nonsense? If someone dies, they're dead. They're not going to know anything in the afterlife. If there really was an afterlife, with so many dead people, it would be overflowing. There's a saying that when a person dies, everything is empty. What do they know?"
"But I remember your mother's kindness because I have a conscience. Back when I was just a small bandit, your mother dared to marry into the country with a large dowry. If it weren't for her dowry, I wouldn't be the King of Northeast China today."
He sighed and warned him, "You should have a conscience, don't let your wife down."
He glanced at his son and said, "Do you know why I didn't agree to your aunt's request before?"
He didn't expect his son to answer, and said to himself, "Although I haven't read many books, there's an old saying that goes, 'A virtuous wife can bring prosperity to three generations.' Whether the Ma family can raise a good daughter or not, whether our Dou family can continue to prosper depends on you. I have to choose a good wife for you, as she will be a great asset to you in the future."
He patted his son on the lower back: "This is the confidence to stand tall. What kind of family is the Cao family? Can the Ma family compare?" He laughed heartily, "I've been good to you, haven't I? You should have a conscience too. Don't let his daughter down in this life."
Dou Wenliang grinned: "Dad, I understand."
General Dou glanced at his son and said, "Don't make things too ugly." He was referring to his son's romantic escapades, which he had already heard about.
Dou Wenliang's face flushed slightly.
Commander Dou stopped there and went back to his niece: "Have your wife persuade Lan Hua to stop bothering Lu Lin and his wife. Lu Lin is very arrogant and doesn't care about his niece. Tell her not to bother. Besides, the Shen family is not easy to mess with."
Dou Wenliang was in a dilemma. He knew that his wife didn't like his cousin either, and he would have to ask for help again when he got back.
"Let her choose for herself. Apart from Lu Lin, just let me know who else she likes. There's only one rule: she can't be anyone's mistress!"
Dou Wenliang was taken aback; this was not an opportunity for those people to curry favor with the Marshal's Mansion.
"That's all your cousin is capable of. Let her cling to you if she wants. As long as the Marshal's Mansion doesn't fall, they won't dare to treat your cousin badly."
They're all bad people, let's just make do.
General Dou took a few puffs of his cigarette. The adjutant outside the door said that the Third Madam invited the General to go back and rest, so Dou Wenliang took his leave.
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