Four o’clock in the afternoon was when Li Yue’s test results were due.
So, Li Shaohua once again dragged the whole family to the doctor’s office.
Looking at Li Shaohua’s fawning expression, the doctor pinched the bridge of his nose with a headache. For just fifty yuan, she kept coming over and over—truly unbearable.
A flash of irritation instantly passed behind his glasses.
“Doctor Feng, take a look at these test reports. I didn’t know this morning—aren’t we here for a kidney donation? Why are there heart scans too?”
Li Shaohua was hinting at him: she’d already given a bribe, yet he’d ordered all these unnecessary tests, costing extra money.
Doctor Feng pretended not to understand, adjusted his glasses, and took the reports.
He examined them one by one.
In the office, apart from the rustling of papers as the doctor flipped through them, you could hear a pin drop.
Li Shaohua and Lu Xiao were so tense they could hardly breathe.
Especially Lu Xiao, whose tightly clenched fists had turned bone-white at the knuckles, showing just how nervous he really was.
After a long while, Doctor Feng looked up solemnly: “No, it can’t be done.”
“Why?” Li Shaohua exclaimed in disbelief. She seemed unable to accept this outcome, even staggering back a step, nearly fainting.
Seeing her so distraught, Doctor Feng’s tone grew impatient: “This child is anemic, has low blood sugar, and severe malnutrition. Most importantly, she has congenital heart disease—didn’t you know? She has underlying conditions and doesn’t meet the donation criteria.”
Li Shaohua was a shrewd one. Immediately, she pulled another envelope from her pocket. Taking advantage of the fact that the other doctors had just left the office, she started trying to slip it into his hand again.
This time, she was going all out.
So the envelope was thick and bulging.
Seeing this, Doctor Feng gave Li Shaohua a deep look before tucking the envelope into his pocket once more.
He already understood: this woman wanted to sacrifice her daughter-in-law’s life in exchange for her elder daughter-in-law.
He would still need the family to sign a consent form, but surgery couldn’t proceed now. Perhaps after some time of recuperation, the family might reconsider having her donate a kidney.
His thoughts flashed by in an instant. Doctor Feng sighed: “Take her home to recuperate. Build up her constitution, make it stronger and healthier, then come back for another check-up. I’ll prescribe some good tonics for her—simmer three bowls down to one, drink it every night. Give her plenty of nutritious food, high-protein items like meat, eggs, and fish. As for Feng Jing, I’ll take good care of her and manage her condition. A month shouldn’t be a problem, and it’ll also give us time to wait for the specialist.”
Hearing this, Li Yue raised an eyebrow.
She hadn’t expected this doctor to also practice traditional Chinese medicine, even planning to prescribe her herbs.
Suspicious, she leaned in to take a look. Seeing they were all medicines for regulating qi and blood, she relaxed.
Li Shaohua, holding the prescription, asked again, unwilling to give up: “So, Doctor, what you mean is, if she doesn’t eat these good things, she still can’t donate a kidney, right?”
“That’s right. If her health is poor, the quality of the kidney won’t be good either. It would increase the patient’s risk of rejection. If she can’t get through that stage, it’ll all be for nothing.”
The doctor stated the facts plainly.
In his heart, he cursed this family ten thousand times over. Expecting the horse to run without feeding it grass, wanting someone’s kidney without giving them proper nutrition—what kind of people were they?
No matter how unwilling the Lu family was, the kidney couldn’t be donated on the spot. Moreover, they had to accept the reality of providing Li Yue with nutritional supplements.
The group returned to the Lu household.
On the way home, Li Yue was unusually quiet and well-behaved, saying nothing.
But once they arrived, she tossed her empty bag onto the dining table and declared to Li Shaohua: “I want braised pork hock tonight—the kind so tender it falls off the bone. And I want big bones too, clear stewed big bone, with some chopped scallions in the broth. I’ll drink the soup, and for vegetables, just some shredded potatoes…”
“Shut up. You think you can just demand whatever you want? How about you wish for the moon while you’re at it?”
Li Shaohua was already fuming, and seeing her smug expression made him explode like a firecracker: “What are you even good for? Huh? We ask you to donate a kidney, and you come up with all these excuses—malnourishment, heart disease. Why didn’t you just die earlier? This is marriage fraud! You knew you had a heart condition but still married our Xiao. You’re deliberately trying to prevent our family from having grandchildren, aren’t you?”
Classic case of raising hopes only to dash them.
Li Yue saw the genuine disgust in his eyes—not an ounce of pretense. When she glanced at Lu Xiao, the revulsion in his gaze was almost tangible.
She truly couldn’t understand. Even if there was no love, wasn’t she still someone they paid to marry into the family? There was no deep-seated hatred—at least none she could recall.
You wouldn’t treat a stranger this harshly.
Though it baffled her, it didn’t stop her from saying things that infuriated others.
“If I die, your precious daughter-in-law dies too? Besides, the doctor said I need to nourish my body properly. Remember, it’s not for me—it’s for the daughter-in-law you adore so much. Anyone would think Sister-in-law is your biological daughter. Even Lu Qing doesn’t get this kind of treatment.”
Li Shaohua’s eyes flickered: “Stop spouting nonsense. Don’t think I don’t see through your little schemes.”
“What schemes? Feel free to spell them out. If you don’t want my kidney, you don’t have to play along. Suit yourself.”
Li Yue replied indifferently.
“Mom, the doctor said she should eat well. Just make it for her.”
Lu Xiao’s expression was frosty as he glanced briefly at her before turning to his mother.
Li Yue wasn’t grateful: “Save your hypocritical sympathy. You’re just worried your beloved Sister-in-law won’t survive the rejection, aren’t you? Anyone would think you’re Feng Jing’s husband.”
She rolled her eyes so hard at Lu Xiao that only the whites showed.
Hearing this, Li Shaohua looked at her son with a hint of something unreadable in her eyes.
“Xiao, you’re not young anymore. After she donates the kidney, the two of you should try for a child soon. Our family is counting on you to give us grandchildren now.”
Lu Xiao remained silent…
“Did you hear me? Stop sleeping in the study. Go back to your room tonight.”
After laying down the law, Li Shaohua went to the study, grabbed the bedding, and threw it into the master bedroom.
“Hurry up and buy groceries. I’m hungry,” Li Yue urged.
Truth was, she was just bored and stirring up trouble—creating drama out of nothing.
Li Shaohua shot her an impatient glare, grabbed his bag, and headed out.
Was Li Yue done after just one remark? Of course not.
Just as Lu Xiao was heading to the study and Li Shaohua was about to leave for groceries, she spoke up again:
“I don’t want to sleep with Lu Xiao. Tonight, I’m staying upstairs. I want to change rooms.”
Li Shaohua, who had just turned to leave, slammed his empty bag onto the table with a loud smack.
Her eyes blazing with fury, she spat, “Where did you pick up all these filthy habits? Don’t act like you have authority when you don’t. The doctor said you should eat well, but he never said you needed to change rooms. What’s the point of marrying you if you’re not even sharing a room with my son? If you want to change rooms, go live in the chicken coop outside!”
Li Yue didn’t respond. Instead, she walked past Li Shaohua and straight out of the house.
Immediately, her loud, piercing voice rang out from outside—completely different from before, almost infuriating to hear.
That grating voice carried clearly from outside.
“Uncles, aunts, and neighbors from all around, let me introduce myself. I’m the newlywed wife of Lu Xiao, married for three months. My husband doesn’t share a room with me. On our wedding night, he spent the whole night in his sister-in-law’s room because she wasn’t feeling well. And now, since she has Uremia, they want me to donate a kidney. Fine, I’ll donate—after all, I’m part of the Lu family now. But they’re treating me worse than dirt—starving me until I have low blood sugar and telling me to live in the chicken coop…”
Halfway through hearing this, Li Shaohua finally snapped out of her daze and slapped her thigh in realization. “Oh no, that little wretch…”
She turned and rushed outside.
Lu Qing, who had been fuming inside the house, heard it too. She dashed out of the bedroom right after, followed closely by Lu Xiao, whose anger had already reached its boiling point.