“Minghui.”
Wen Xia came downstairs, with Qiu Li following behind her,
“Come over and help prepare dinner.”
The Shu Family had a nanny. Wen Xia was merely finding an excuse to call her daughter away. Now that the Old Man was wholeheartedly protecting that eldest granddaughter, it would be unwise to confront him directly.
That evening, Lu Dakui brought his family over, along with a bottle of fine liquor.
Like Shu Zhenzhong, before his enlistment in the army, Lu Dakui had married a Wife in his hometown. However, the Lu family was luckier than the Shu Family. Once Lu Dakui had settled down, he brought his wife and children to the Military Region.
“Company commander, this is my Wife, Qin Chunmei. This is my eldest, Lu Dingyuan, and this is my eldest son’s Kid, Lu Wang’an.”
Qin Chunmei had a broad, round face, round eyes, and a round nose. She looked kind and easygoing. Perhaps because she had done so much farm work in her hometown, her skin was rough and dark, making her look even older than Lu Dakui,
but her attitude was neither servile nor overbearing, and she appeared very composed:
“Commander, Sister-in-law, thank you for your trouble today.”
Wen Xia looked at Qin Chunmei’s old-fashioned clothes and felt somewhat disdainful, but for Shu Zhenzhong’s sake, she still forced a smile.
Lu Dingyuan looked to be in his late twenties. His features were square and stern, and he was wearing a military uniform. He raised his hand and saluted Shu Zhenzhong:
“Commander.”
Lu Wang’an was about six or seven years old. He looked at grandmother and father, then at Shu Zhenzhong and Wen Xia. His eyes rolled, and he called out sweetly:
“Commander Grandpa.”
He did not call out to Wen Xia.
Shu Yao could not hold back and lowered her head, letting out a small laugh.
Wen Xia always thought that people were blind and could not see her attitude. But look—even such a young child had noticed it.
But she had always been this way, snobbish and narrow-minded. In this compound, only the military family members of cadres ranked at the same level as Shu Zhenzhong or higher could receive a pleasant look from her.
Shu Yao’s laughter drew Lu Wang’an’s attention. When he saw Shen Huaiyu in her arms, the child’s eyes lit up, and he came running over,
“Little sister!”
“He is a boy. And according to our family seniority, you should call him your Little Nephew.”
Upon hearing that he was a younger brother, Lu Wang’an’s eyes visibly dimmed. Only after Shu Yao said he was his Little Nephew did his interest return,
He stared at Shu Yao and thought for a moment:
“Sister!”
This child was truly amusing, and Shu Yao was delighted.
“Come, come, let’s eat!”
Shu Zhenzhong called out.
Lu Wang’an had an exuberant time playing with Shen Huaiyu. Wherever Shu Yao went, he followed her. No matter how Qin Chunmei called him, he refused to listen, and he even wanted to sit beside his Little Nephew during the meal.
“Lu Wang’an!”
Lu Dingyuan called his name in a deep voice.
Only then did Lu Wang’an go over reluctantly, his lips pursed.
After dinner, once Lu Dakui’s family had left, Shu Zhenzhong kept Shu Yao behind to speak with her for a few moments before having Xiao Fan drive her back to Liuya'er Hutong.
“Mom~”
Shu Minghui entered Wen Xia’s room with an especially sour expression,
“I saw dad give that burden money again, and even have a guard drive her home. When I had a fever before and wanted a guard to take me to the hospital, dad refused!”
“That burden is so hateful. Why did she have to get a divorce? Why did she have to come back?”
“She should have been sent into forced relocation with the Shen Family!”
Wen Xia scooped out some cold cream and carefully rubbed it onto her face. Through the vanity mirror, Shu Minghui saw her mother’s expression grow colder and colder.
That little slut must have been enlightened by some divine being. She actually dared to undermine her in front of Old Shu.
Thinking of how Shu Zhenzhong had been sleeping in the study recently, and how close Shu Mingshan had been to that little slut today, Wen Xia was so furious that her teeth ached.
Back then, she had agreed to be with Shu Zhenzhong, who was nearly ten years older than her, first because he was a Regiment Commander, and second because she knew he had no one left in his family. Who could have known that when his eldest was already nineteen, he would suddenly bring a child back from his hometown and claim she was his granddaughter?
Wasn’t that constantly reminding her that there had been someone before her?
And to make matters worse, some simpleton had dragged her around the entire compound, announcing to everyone as if proclaiming it to the world that she, Wen Xia, had become a stepmother-in-law.
How could proud Wen Xia accept that? During that period, she always felt that everyone in the compound was laughing at her. Her youngest daughter was the same age as the granddaughter of the woman who had come before her.
“Mom~ I don’t want to see her. Can’t you make her leave?”
As Shu Minghui spoke, she shook Wen Xia’s arm.
“Enough!”
Wen Xia slammed the cold cream jar onto the vanity,
“Forget about her for now. Did you hear what I told you today?”
“Break things off with Li Weijun. He is no good.”
“If I hear from someone else again that the two of you are still in contact, don’t blame me for breaking your legs!”
“Brother Weijun is a good person!”
Shu Minghui retorted,
“What era are we living in? People believe in free love now. I don’t like that son of army commander Wei’s at all. He looks dull and clueless, with no sense of romance!”
And he was ugly, too!
“What good is romance? Can romance put food on the table?!”
Back then, before she met Shu Zhenzhong, she had also liked a military doctor in the Military Unit. He was witty and handsome, had studied abroad, and knew how to charm girls.
But what was the result? Shu Zhenzhong, this crude brute, had now become a Commander, while that military doctor whose name she could no longer remember had long since become a handful of earth. Even if he were still alive, his life was probably not going well now.
“I don’t care whether you can marry into the Wei family in the end, but as for the Li Family, you can forget about it for the rest of your life!”
Shu Minghui ran out while wiping her tears. Wen Xia sat alone before the vanity, her chest heaving violently.
They were all impossible! Every last one of them!
She thought of Shu Yao. Minghui was right. Keeping her in the Capital City would cause trouble sooner or later. Just look at what she had done to one person after another in the Shu Family.
The old one gave her money, the young one gave her money, and even that daughter-in-law—did she think Wen Xia had not seen her secretly give Shu Yao several sets of her second son’s childhood clothes?
She had to get her out. Quickly.
Lu Dingyuan… perhaps he would do?
Wen Xia’s eyes shifted as she thought of a suitable candidate.
At dinner, she had heard that Lu Dingyuan’s first Wife had died in difficult childbirth, and that the child had been raised by his grandfather and grandmother since childhood.
Now that Lu Dakui had been transferred to the Capital City, Lu Dingyuan had remained in Minzhou as a battalion commander.
From what Qin Chunmei had said, it seemed they wanted Lu Dingyuan to find another wife and bring the child to live with him.
Wen Xia did not think much of a mere battalion commander. More importantly, the family members of someone in that position could accompany the army. Minzhou was so far from the Capital City, and with one wife raising two children, she might not return even once in several years.
That little slut had made her become a stepmother-in-law for no reason, so she would let her taste what it was like to have a stepmother.
Lu Dakui was also Old Shu’s former subordinate. Surely Old Shu would not object too strongly.
The more Wen Xia thought about it, the more suitable it seemed.
After tidying herself up, she went to whisper sweet nothings into her husband’s ear.
Shu Zhenzhong gave Wen Xia a furious scolding.
“Yaoyao only got a divorce a few days ago. How can you already be unable to tolerate her?”
“No wonder she refuses to live at home and insists on finding a place of her own!”
“I’m still here, and you already dare to treat her like this. Once I’m gone, who knows how you’ll bully that mother and son!”
“Get out!”
Shu Zhenzhong had driven her away with his scolding, but the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. What if one day he really was gone…
No, he still had to find Yaoyao someone to rely on.
The Old Master thought about it for half the night and prepared to call Commander He in Minzhou the next day.
Shu Yao still did not know that the Old Master was already finding her a second marriage. She had already comfortably lain down in bed with the child, preparing to sleep.