Jiang Yuan grew more agitated as she spoke, her shrill accusations echoing inside the car, pounding painfully in their heads.
Lu Tingyan’s thin lips tightened, a sharp ache twisting in his chest.
In Lu Tingyan’s memory, his mother had always been proud and elegant.
Except for the period after learning of his elder brother’s death, he had hardly ever seen his mother lose her composure.
Even though he had sensed since childhood that his mother favored his elder brother over him, he never imagined she would one day say to him, “Why didn’t you die instead of your brother?”
They were both her sons—how could she wish for one to die in place of the other?
Lu Mengdie also sensed that her mother’s words had gone too far and quietly urged, “Mom, don’t be so upset. Let’s hear what Ge has to say. I heard that Ge didn’t even show up at the wedding and sent a fake groom instead. His marriage to that woman must not be as simple as it seems.”
Then, Lu Mengdie turned to Lu Tingyan. “Right, Ge? You married her for a reason, didn’t you?”
Lu Tingyan looked at Jiang Yuan. “Mom, I’m as heartbroken as you are about Da Ge’s death, and I hate her just as much. I can’t stand by and watch her live a good life. I married her to torment her.”
“Torment her?” Jiang Yuan sneered. “So you didn’t show up at the wedding to humiliate her?”
“Yes.”
Jiang Yuan scoffed. “Making a mountain out of a molehill! Dealing with someone like her is simple. I could make her life a living hell without lifting a finger. Why would you need to use your marriage to torment her?”
“Being an observer is never as satisfying as being the one who carries it out,” Lu Tingyan said, each word deliberate. “I know how much Da Ge cared for me, so my hatred for Xie Ning is no less than yours. When it comes to an enemy, I must be the one to strike her down.”
Jiang Yuan looked at her son sitting across from her. The flickering streetlights outside the window cast shifting shadows across his face through the glass, making it impossible to discern his expression.
Jiang Yuan suddenly realized she was understanding this son less and less.
She had always paid little attention to Lu Tingyan because her focus had been on her eldest son, Lu Sibo. It was only after Lu Sibo’s death that she began to notice her younger son.
She remembered him as a troublemaker since childhood, unlike Lu Sibo, who was sensible and likable.
Jiang Yuan had never held high expectations for him. After all, the vast Lu family fortune would one day be inherited by Lu Sibo. Lu Tingyan didn’t need to worry about anything; he could grow up freely, even if he turned into a frivolous, unambitious playboy.
After Lu Sibo passed away, Lu Tingyan had to interrupt his studies abroad and return to help manage the company’s affairs.
It was only then that Jiang Yuan discovered this younger son was also capable—many things he did were even better than what Lu Sibo had accomplished.
Looking back at Lu Tingyan’s academic records, she realized he had always been at the top of his class, far from the playboy she had imagined.
At that time, Jiang Yuan realized her perception of her younger son had been wrong. Just like now, she still couldn’t see through him.
However, Lu Tingyan’s explanation finally eased her mind a little. Her anger subsided, and even the hostility in her eyes softened.
She leaned back, relaxing into the seat, crossed her arms, and said slowly, “Then tell me, how do you plan to torment her?”
“An unhappy marriage is enough to ruin her,” Lu Tingyan said.
“Not enough.” Jiang Yuan shook her head, her eyes sharp and severe. “What does ruining her life matter? I want her dead! I want her to pay with her life for my son!”
Lu Tingyan’s heart sank, but his expression remained unchanged. “Mom, this world operates under the law.”
“If I follow the law with her, who will follow the law with me? She killed my son—why shouldn’t she pay with her life!” Jiang Yuan’s emotions flared up again. “She could still study abroad, get a degree, and even find a decent job after returning? My son lies cold in the ground—what right does she have to live!”
By the end, Jiang Yuan’s voice had grown hoarse, startling Xiao Yang, who was driving, causing his hands to tremble on the steering wheel and the car to swerve slightly.
The soundproof partition in the car had long been lowered, but Jiang Yuan’s voice was too loud to be fully contained.
Lu Tingyan took a deep breath. “Mom, no one could have predicted that my brother would have a car accident…”
“Are you defending that bitch?” Jiang Yuan leaned forward, one hand braced on the seat, glaring fiercely at Lu Tingyan. “You’re making excuses for her? Lu Tingyan, what do you mean by this!”
Jiang Yuan was like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment, making Lu Mengdie on the side break into a cold sweat. She held her phone up in front of Jiang Yuan and tugged at her sleeve. “Mom, look at this!”
On the screen was a video of today’s wedding that Lu Mengdie had obtained from a relative.
Watching Xie Ning’s helplessness on the screen and the fake groom beside her, and hearing the ridicule and mockery from the crowd in the video, Jiang Yuan finally felt a sense of satisfaction.
Yes, a woman like her deserved to be condemned by everyone, to be scorned and pointed at!
Hearing Xie Ning’s threatening words to the reporters later in the video, Jiang Yuan sneered. “Futile rage!”
She didn’t believe Xie Ning had any real leverage. A young girl with no background or connections—what kind of storm could she stir up? It was just her pride being wounded, making empty threats.
The harsher her words, the more humiliated she felt. And the more humiliated she was, the more satisfied Jiang Yuan felt.
She replayed the video several times before handing the phone back to Lu Mengdie, though her words were directed at Lu Tingyan. “You handled this quite well. It would be even better if we could make this a bigger scandal, so everyone could see her disgrace.”
Lu Mengdie quickly interjected, “Mom, that wouldn’t be appropriate. After all, my brother didn’t attend the wedding. If this blows up, people might blame him too. Besides, everyone at the wedding was from high society. In this circle, she’s already a laughingstock.”
Jiang Yuan thought it over and nodded, stroking the jade bracelet on her wrist leisurely. “Since she’s married to you now, take her along to your Uncle Zhao’s birthday banquet next month.”
Unaware that an important event had already been arranged for her, Xie Ning was simply watching Song Ziyan’s IV drip and helping change her medicine bottle.
Her mind, however, was occupied with what Xiao Yang and Lu Tingyan had just said—Lu Tingyan’s mother had returned.
She had seen Lu Tingyan’s mother once before, back in high school, when Lu Tingyan got into a fight and his mother came to pick him up from school.
From a distance, she saw an elegant noblewoman in a cheongsam, exuding an aura of pride and severity, leading Lu Tingyan into a luxury car.
There was no communication, not even a meeting of eyes, yet an inexplicable thought surfaced in Xie Ning's mind: Lu Tingyan's mother was not someone to be trifled with.
She had thought before that if she were to marry Lu Tingyan in the future, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship would likely be tense. Moreover, between her and the Lu family now lay the matter of "Lu Sibo's death."
Xie Ning guessed that Lu Tingyan's mother probably wished she could crush her to death.
In the future, this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship would likely become even more difficult.