Chapter 93 He ran away with that Wu Xinbai.
Lu Lin hadn't called in a long time, and Shen Rong couldn't wait any longer, so she called him, only to be told that Lu Lin wasn't in Bincheng.
The whereabouts of the person were a military secret and they refused to disclose it. Shen Rong felt uneasy and anxious. Unable to contact the person, Shen Rong could only read news from the newspapers.
Both Mr. Shen and Mr. Shen Jiashi are very busy people. It is already a rare treat for them to be able to take time to come home and see their daughter and grandson. They have business matters to attend to and have to leave first. However, Mrs. Shen does not want to be separated from her daughter so soon. In the past few years, she has seen her daughter very few times.
She wanted her daughter to stay with her for a while longer, so that the father and son could return to Jincheng first. After thinking about it, Shen's father agreed, but Shen Rong declined.
“I won’t stay in my hometown for long either. I’m planning to go back to Pingcheng in a while. Mom, you should go back with Dad. I’ll come to see you when I have time.”
Shen's mother strongly disagreed. What was her daughter doing taking the child to Pingcheng alone? Lu Lin wasn't there, and she didn't want people gossiping.
Shen's father disagreed even more. He hadn't forgotten the things Shen Rong had done in the past; she wasn't exactly a well-behaved person.
"If you don't want to stay at the Lu family's house, I'll call your father-in-law and have your mother stay with you here." You'll be more comfortable at home, or you could go to Jincheng with them.
Everyone assumed she was uncomfortable staying at the Lu family's house.
Shen Rong was very troubled. That wasn't the reason at all. She wanted to return to Pingcheng because the city was well-informed and she could find out more about the situation in Bincheng. Moreover, Cao Fengyi was also in Pingcheng, so she could get firsthand information about Bincheng.
After the explanation, Shen's father was even more determined not to let her go to Pingcheng. If Lu Lin and the others couldn't hold them off, Pingcheng would be the first city to enter the pass, which was too dangerous.
Besides, my daughter cares so much about Lu Lin. If bad news comes out, who knows what she might do? It's better to keep her by my side.
“Come with us to Jincheng.” He thought it was a good idea, and Shen’s mother’s eyes lit up as well.
After saying that, he stood up and said, "I'll go and let Brother Lu know."
I believe the Lu family will be able to understand.
The decision was made in just a few words, without even asking Shen Rong. Now her temper flared up, and she retorted, "I'm not going!"
Chen's mother looked at her husband helplessly. Her daughter was known for her stubbornness. If she didn't want to go, even if you forced her to go, it wouldn't work. Besides, she was already married now.
For more than a year, she probably hadn't argued with her family, almost making the three members of the Shen family forget how terrible their daughter's temper was.
"Speak nicely, Rongrong. Mom and Dad are doing this for your own good. It's too hard for one person to take care of a child." Shen Jiashi winked at her, knowing he couldn't be too forceful.
Seeing Shen Rong purse her lips and lower her head, he turned around and advised his parents:
“It’s normal for her to be worried since Lu Lin is in Bincheng. Let him go back to Pingcheng. Even if that happens, it’s impossible for them to attack Pingcheng anytime soon.”
Shen Rong cast a grateful glance at her brother; at least he was starting to act like a proper older brother.
The father glared sternly at his son. How dare he speak like that? Shen Rong's audacity and recklessness are all thanks to their indulgence.
Just then, Xiaoming woke up and started babbling for his mother. Shen Jiashi immediately carried him to put out the fire.
Upon seeing her grandson, Chen's mother immediately put everything else aside and smoothed things over, saying, "Let's talk about this later. There are still a few days left. Let's go eat now."
Shen Rong was a woman who had made up her mind and nothing could change it. She ate with relish, carefree and without a care in the world, which made the two elders of the Shen family sigh and lose their appetite.
The phone rang; it was a call from Shen's father.
When he returned after the phone call, he looked a little unwell. His mother assumed it was a business matter and didn't pay much attention, saying, "If you're busy, you should go back first."
Shen's father glanced at his daughter discreetly. Shen Rong understood immediately, knowing it was related to her, and put down her chopsticks to wait for him to speak.
"The Japanese army launched a surprise attack on two cities, and now the two sides are engaged in combat."
Shen Rong suddenly stood up, and her father thought she wanted to make a phone call.
Her father stopped her, saying, "It's no use calling now."
Shen Rong turned around, her face surprisingly calm: "I know, I just wanted to find a map to look at."
Father Shen was somewhat surprised, and his tone softened a bit: "It's in the study."
She drew circles on the ground with her finger, biting her lip. No wonder she couldn't find Lu Lin these past few days; he must have already gone to the front lines.
"Dad, I'm going back to Pingcheng." This time, the tone was unusually firm, not one of negotiation.
Father Shen sighed, "You'll only be worrying in vain if you go. You won't be able to help at all, and it'll only make things worse if you just let your mind wander."
Shen Rong turned her head, not unaware of her parents' worries: "I promised to wait for him in Pingcheng, Dad. Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid. I just want to hear more news, instead of waiting here and guessing based on the news in the newspaper."
After thinking for a long time, Mr. Shen realized his daughter had grown up, had her own ideas, and was now a mother herself. If she was determined to leave, could her parents possibly stop her? They had no choice but to compromise.
"Okay, but you need to talk to the Lu family nicely and not be stubborn."
The elders in the Lu family must also be worried about her taking the child back to Pingcheng alone; she can't bear the same burden as her own parents.
Shen Rong stayed at her parents' home for a week, and then returned to the Lu family with a large sum of pocket money given to her by her father and a generous gift for her grandson.
Shen Jiashi was a little envious. They were all his own children, so why was he treated so differently? His father had never been so generous to him.
Upon hearing this, Mother Shen sneered, "Who told you to be useless? If you could give birth to a grandson, I'd give you any amount of money."
Shen Jiashi fell silent, and his father rolled his eyes at him.
As soon as Shen Rong returned to the Lu family home, she knew something must have happened. She saw that Lu's mother was forcing a smile, looking anxious and worried, and she looked rather haggard.
Shen Rong felt a chill run down her spine. Could it be Lu Lin...? The Shen family had received a telegram from him confirming his safety before he returned.
At this moment, Shen Rong started to complain about Lu Lin in her heart. She clearly left him enough money before leaving, couldn't he have left a few more words? If you didn't know, you would think he was very poor.
Don't worry, I'm safe. You say it so easily, but don't you know your family is very worried?
Fortunately, Lu's mother said that Lu Lin was doing well in Bincheng and had even sent a telegram home.
Shen Rong was relieved and tactfully inquired about the situation at home. Lu's mother said everything was fine and told her to go back to her room to rest first, and that they could talk about it later.
As soon as she returned to the house, Shen Rong was hugging and kissing her son, playing with him.
Xiao Ming doesn't like being held anymore; he even wants to crawl down to the ground, sliding down the slope. Just as he's about to succeed, Chen Rong pulls him back up. After several attempts, Xiao Ming gets angry, puts on a stern face, and stares at him with teary eyes. You have to admit, he really does look like Lu Lin with his cold expression.
Just then, Jiang Yufen came looking for her, so Shen Rong handed Xiaoming over to Gui Chun and the others to take outside to play.
"What happened at home?" She pulled Jiang Yufen down to sit, eager to ask. The two elders looked unwell; something must have happened.
Jiang Yufen sighed, just when she was worried about not finding anyone to talk to about this. She whispered, "My little sister ran away."
"They ran away." Shen Rong didn't understand the meaning of this for a moment, so Jiang Yufen continued to explain: "They ran away with that Wu Xinbai."
This is... an elopement! Lu Xuan is incredibly bold!
Jiang Yufen shook her head, touched her belly and smiled bitterly: "My little sister has such a bad temper. Nobody expected her to dare to do such a thing. It has really angered Mom and Dad."
Mr. Lu forbade his family to mention her, as if he didn't have this daughter.
"Did you send someone to chase after them?" Shen Rong asked, her initial surprise followed by worry.
Lu Xuan is still a young girl, and the world outside is in such chaos. It's worrying that she's run away like this.
Jiang Yufen nodded: "They didn't catch up. Tianyou led his men to chase after them along the road. The people at the station said they bought tickets to Jincheng. Actually, Dad also secretly sent people to Wuxian to intercept them."
Lu's father was just being stubborn, of course, this was something Lu You secretly told her; outwardly, Lu's father didn't allow her to look for people.
Shen Rong frowned deeply. She had really misjudged Wu Xinbai. How dare he seduce a girl and elope? Was he even a man?
Jiang Yufen spoke up for Wu Xinbai, saying, "It might not be his idea. I think it was probably my younger sister's own idea."
When Shen Rong asked why Lu Xuan was suddenly planning to elope, he was surprised.
Jiang Yufen's expression was somewhat complicated: "It's all because of the marriage. I don't know what's wrong with my great-aunt from another family. She came to our house and said a bunch of old-fashioned things to my younger sister, and she even wants to marry her nephew to my younger sister."
Her family wasn't well-off, and they'd only managed to feed themselves thanks to her all these years. Her grand-nephew was even worse off; a young man in his twenties who was still living off his parents and constantly coming to freeload. How could the Lu family possibly want him?
Shen Rong was truly amazed; how could her great-aunt have the nerve to propose such a marriage to someone like that?
Jiang Yufen whispered in her ear, her eyes filled with disdain: "My great-aunt must have heard about Wu Xinbai from somewhere, saying she doesn't care about my younger sister losing her virginity..."
Lu's mother immediately turned cold and kicked the man out. Lu's father was also furious, feeling that his daughter had embarrassed him, and immediately decided to arrange her marriage as soon as possible.
When Lu Xuan found out about this, she went to confront that great-aunt and made a scene. She didn't know what she said, but she made the great-aunt faint on the spot, and now she was in the wrong.
Lu's father scolded her, saying he wanted to marry her off as soon as possible. Lu Xuan was furious when she heard this, and naturally refused to marry, saying that she already had someone she liked.
Lu's mother also stopped taking her daughter's side and advised Lu Xuan to break up with Wu Xinbai, saying that since he didn't dare to come to propose marriage, he was not someone she could entrust with anything.
Lu Xuan reacted strongly, acting as if she would marry no one but him. Her father was so angry that he slapped her, and Lu Xuan suddenly stopped making a fuss. But then she ran away in the middle of the night.
Last time, she had Lu's mother backing her up when she ran away from her arranged marriage, and her brother and sister-in-law escorting her. This time, she really eloped. Lu's father was furious and threatened to publish a notice in the newspaper to sever his relationship with her. It took a lot of persuasion from his family to calm him down.
"Sister-in-law, what do you think of this mess?" Only Lu Lin in the family dares to stand up to the old man, but now that he's in Bincheng, no one can persuade him.
Lu You went out to chase after her, but who knows where she will run off to? What if she goes to the Wu family? If she elopes there... wouldn't that make the Wu family look down on her for nothing?
Shen Rong's first reaction was whether Lu Xuan had brought enough money.
Jiang Yufen sighed: "She didn't bring any valuables, and she only brought a few sets of clothes to change into."
These pampered young ladies had no idea of the importance of money. In their anger, they didn't want to touch anything from the house, appearing determined to sever all ties with the Lu family.
"Is she stupid?!" Shen Rong scolded her.
Has she gone mad from studying too much? She's obsessed with money. She thinks she can absolve herself of family ties by not taking the Lu family's wealth. How naive!
As the two were talking, Wu Ma came looking for Shen Rong, saying that Lu's mother was looking for her.
Jiang Yufen must be looking at her because of Lu Xuan's matter.
The two were right; Lu's mother really had come for this matter. She mainly wanted to ask what kind of person Wu Xinbai was. Now that her daughter had gone with him, if he was of bad character, Lu Xuan didn't know what she would encounter.
Shen Rong felt somewhat guilty. She knew about Lu Xuan and Wu Xinbai's relationship back then, but they hadn't officially started dating yet. Lu Xuan was oblivious, so she didn't point it out. Lu Lin even told her not to interfere. She never expected it to escalate to the point of eloping. She wondered if Lu Lin would regret his past indifference if he knew about this.
"He is an upright, kind, and well-educated person." At least no moral issues were found, and his classmates and friends also spoke highly of him.
Lu's mother breathed a sigh of relief, at least her daughter's life was not in danger.
"You know what's going on at home, right?" Lu's mother looked haggard, and could only sigh when she talked about her daughter.
Shen Rong nodded.
"Mom, don't worry. My little sister is old enough to take care of herself. She might be back in a few days."
Mother Lu shook her head, but she knew in her heart that it wouldn't be that easy: "Once she's made up her mind, not even ten oxen can pull her back. The more you talk to her, the more stubborn she becomes. She won't turn back until she's bruised and battered. If only Tianming were here."
Lu Xuan was most afraid of this older brother, so she didn't dare to run away. Even if she did, Lu Lin could catch her and break her legs.
Seeing Lu's mother so heartbroken, Shen Rong didn't dare to tell her that Lu Lin might have gone to the front lines, as she was afraid that her mother would be even more devastated.
Having one daughter is enough to worry about, not having to worry about a son on the battlefield. It would be better to just take her heart out and crush it.
"That old hag won't let anyone look for them." Mother Lu held her daughter-in-law's hand, looking at her pleadingly. "I heard from Tianyou that they went to Jincheng. Aren't our in-laws going back to Jincheng? Could you ask them to help look for them?"
She spoke in a low voice, with a hint of cautious pleading. It was indeed shameful for her daughter to elope, and she was worried that Shen Rong wouldn't want to be involved in it.
Shen Rong held her hand: "Mom, don't worry. I'll talk to my parents. If my little sister really went to Jincheng, then there's no need to worry. With the Shen family here, and my third brother here too, finding her won't be difficult."
Mother Lu lowered her head and wiped away her tears: "That's what I thought too. I just hope they really went to Jincheng. I hope they don't get off halfway. You don't know how cunning she is."
What they could think of, Lu Xuan could certainly guess as well. The only fear was that she wasn't really going to Jincheng, but rather it was just a phantom shot.
Shen Rong also felt that this was more likely.
"This child only knows how to cause trouble." Mother Shen rubbed her forehead, truly worried sick.
Shen Rong shouldn't have brought up leaving at this time, but she was so worried about Lu Lin that she took the opportunity to say it.
When Lu's mother heard that she was going back to Pingcheng, she was very disappointed: "You're leaving too?"
“Mom, I have some acquaintances in Pingcheng, so it’s easier for me to find out about the situation in Bincheng. The information here is a bit outdated.”
Upon hearing that it concerned her eldest son, Mrs. Shen immediately realized, "Yes, you're right."
She was a little reluctant to part with her eldest grandson, who had only been back for less than a month.
"Go back. I'll have someone send you back the day after tomorrow," Father Shen's voice came from outside the door.
It's unclear how long he's been there, but he heard Shen Rong's words. Madam Lu snorted and turned her head away.
"Did your dad tell you?"
Shen's father glanced at his wife, his words vague, but Shen Rong understood.
Mr. Lu must have also received news of the fighting in Bincheng, but he kept it from his wife.
"yes."
Shen's father nodded and asked her, "Do you want to take a few people back to Pingcheng?"
I'm worried that my daughter-in-law might have a hard time taking care of the child alone, and my eldest grandson seems to have a lot of energy.
Shen Rong politely declined, saying, "We have enough people."
Father Shen instructed, "If you get any news from Pingcheng, remember to let the family know immediately. Also... if your younger sister calls, try to calm her down."
Seeing their surprise, Mr. Shen explained with a dark face: "She has the temperament of a young lady, she probably doesn't know what it means to be frugal when traveling. The little money she brought can only last for a few days."
When you run out of money, you naturally have to borrow from someone. Your family is definitely out of the question, so the only option is your sister-in-law, Shen Rong, who is both wealthy and dotes on you.
Shen Rong's lips twitched. Why did she make her sound like a stupid, rich fool?
"Dad, I understand."
Lu You was not at home, so Lu's father asked his third uncle's eldest son to escort Shen Rong and the others back to Pingcheng.
Xiao Ming was very reluctant to part with his grandma. His little face was all scrunched up, and he tugged at his grandma's sleeve, wailing loudly. This made Lu's mother cry her eyes out, and she kissed Xiao Ming, calling him her "darling."
But once the car had driven away, the little guy immediately stopped crying. Shen Rong wiped away the tears on his face and said admiringly, "You really have the potential to be an Oscar winner."
The little guy grinned at her.
"Little liar!" Shen Rong patted his bottom.
***
No sooner had Shen Rong returned to Pingcheng than Cao Fengyi's invitation arrived.
"The young mistress said she has something to tell you, and asks you to come over tomorrow."
Shen Rong knew it must be something that happened in Bincheng.
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