Huo Jun naturally heard the warning in Yin Weiyue’s words, but he remained fearless. Just as he was about to tear off another piece of his robe to use as paper, he was interrupted by a series of urgent knocks at the door.
“Seventh Brother, Seventh Brother! Third Aunt is making a scene in Grandmother’s room!” Outside the door came the voice of a tender young boy, laced with a crying sob, sounding as though he had not yet reached the age where his voice would change.
Piecing together the plot in her mind, Yin Weiyue quickly realized that outside the door was Huo Dong, the late-born son of Marquis Xingwu, Huo Anjiang, who ranked ninth among the male offspring of the Huo family in this generation.
In the book, the original owner had also heard Huo Dong call for help. After learning about the matter, Huo Jun did not go to the Old Lady’s quarters immediately, but instead headed straight to the Third Branch to fetch the male and female leads so they could go together.
Because the only one who could tame Lady Chen’s shrewish demeanor to some extent was her son, Huo Kai. Yet for some unknown reason, it took the three of them about an incense stick’s time to reach the Old Lady’s courtyard.
Back then, the original owner had already signed the divorce letter, and whether anyone in the Huo family lived or died was none of her business. So, holding the divorce letter, she pushed open the door to find the guards on duty and returned to the Yin Residence right then and there.
However, Yin Weiyue could not leave things unattended at this moment. Since she had decided to temporarily remain a daughter-in-law of the Huo family to save her life, she would certainly have to deal with these people in the future, so she would not accept the filthy rumors cast upon the original owner.
Moreover, the Grand Dowager of the Huo Residence was the person who had left the second deepest impression on her after reading the first ten chapters. Later, when the Huo family was exiled, in order to save food rations for her grandsons and granddaughters, she actually starved herself to death.
Having grown up as an orphan who had never experienced parental love, Yin Weiyue really wanted to see what kind of elderly woman would sacrifice her own life for her children and grandchildren.
Without waiting for Huo Jun to open the door, Yin Weiyue beat him to it and pulled open the room door. Raising her eyes, she saw the skinny, bamboo-pole-like little Huo Dong, who could truly be described as skin and bones. In the book, he was only nine years old by nominal age. Although he was emaciated and bony from malnutrition during these two years of house arrest, she had not expected him to be so tall—he must be around 1.6 meters.
The height genetics of the Huo family were truly impeccably good.
At this moment, little Huo Dong’s tender face was filled with anxiety, and tears that had not yet fallen hung from his eyelashes. He froze upon seeing Yin Weiyue.
A child’s face could not hide things; the traces of disgust were blatant. He did not even call her Seventh Sister-in-law, merely stretching his neck to peek into the room before saying timidly in a small voice, “Seventh Brother, quickly go take a look in Grandmother’s room…”
Yin Weiyue was quite open-minded. She had only been here for a brief moment, and this disgust was directed at the original owner, so she naturally did not take it to heart. Furthermore, this little kid in the book had died quite early, and she had even shed tears out of sympathy for him.
Thinking of this, Yin Weiyue’s heart suddenly softened. She raised her sleeve to wipe his tears and said, “What bloody use is crying? Third Aunt is offending her superiors and angering Grandmother—can’t you learn from her example and scold her back?”
Hearing this, Huo Dong, who had been timid and introverted since childhood, widened his eyes like copper bells. The Seventh Sister-in-law who usually only knew how to scold people was actually wiping his tears? No, he couldn’t call her Seventh Sister-in-law anymore—she had wronged Seventh Brother, she was not his Seventh Sister-in-law!
While the boy was still agonizing over whether to acknowledge her as his Seventh Sister-in-law, Yin Weiyue took his hand without taking no for an answer and headed toward the Old Lady’s room.
She did not bother with Huo Jun.
According to the original book’s plot, Huo Jun would first go to the Third Branch to find the male lead, and then head over to the Old Lady’s courtyard. Although he arrived a bit late, he encountered no danger.
Besides, the book did not focus on describing what happened while Huo Jun went to find Huo Kai, which meant nothing major occurred. Since it would not trigger the “one-way pain perception,” Yin Weiyue let him follow the plot.
Yet at the thought of being controlled by someone else from now on, she felt displeased. Thus, she turned her head to glare at him and warned, “Watch where you step while walking, and be careful not to fall flat on your face.”
These words amused Huo Jun so much that he laughed out of anger. Was she cursing him?