13 – Your husband’s family is royalty… Are you kidding?
After resigning, Lu Xiao Ning rode her motorcycle, feeling refreshingly cool all the way.
Upon returning to the slums, the looks from her neighbors had clearly changed.
Each was filled with envy, yet at the same time, they treated her with great respect.
This was how T Country was—the poor were equal among themselves, but between the poor and the wealthy, there was an insurmountable gap.
The neighbors all believed that Lu Xiao Ning was now the young mistress of a wealthy family and could no longer be treated as casually as before.
“Xiao Ning, good afternoon.”
“Xiao Ning, back to see your mother?”
“This motorcycle is nice, very impressive.”
Lu Xiao Ning greeted the neighbors one by one and finally arrived at her own doorstep.
Before even entering, she could hear a noisy, lively chatter from inside.
Puzzled, she parked her motorcycle.
Just as she pushed the door open, a little girl with two pigtails tied like ox horns came running into her arms.
The girl was about three or four years old, with chubby cheeks, bouncing around adorably.
“Auntie—”
Little Bun said in a sweet, childish voice.
Lu Xiao Ning immediately crouched down and instinctively hugged the little girl.
Searching through the original host’s memories, she realized this little girl was her niece.
Sure enough, as she lifted her head while holding Little Bun, she saw Uncle’s family sitting in the yard.
Uncle, Aunt, along with her Cousin and Cousin-in-law, had surrounded Mother Lu.
All four of them had rather ugly expressions, completely unlike the family of the adorable child in her arms.
“Auntie is here! Be quiet!” the little girl reminded in her sweet voice.
Only then did everyone turn their gazes toward Lu Xiao Ning.
In the original host’s memories, Uncle’s family was not good people—they were the type to sway with the wind.
When Lu’s father made money from business, Uncle’s family would come to flatter and take advantage in every way.
After Lu’s father fell ill, Uncle’s family avoided them like the plague.
This time, they had probably caught wind of something and rushed over to make their presence felt.
The family of four immediately stood up and crowded around Lu Xiao Ning, chattering away with all sorts of small talk and concern.
“Ning Ning, have you eaten?”
“Ning Ning, how is life with your husband’s family?”
“Ning Ning, I heard your partner is a wealthy man? Did you two register your marriage yesterday?”
Lu Xiao Ning felt as if countless flies were buzzing around her ears, and she was thoroughly annoyed.
“Life with my husband’s family is great! It’s practically heaven! Hundreds of people serve just me.”
“Oh my, that must be a big family! What’s your husband’s family name?” Cousin-in-law exclaimed, her face full of envy.
Lu Xiao Ning smiled slightly. “Zongzheng.”
“Zongzheng? That’s a rare surname. What??” Cousin-in-law was dismissive at first, but then her eyes widened in shock.
Not just her, but Uncle, Aunt, and Cousin all wore expressions of horror.
The surname Zongzheng was exclusively used by the royal family in T Country.
“Ning Ning, your husband’s family is royalty… you’re not joking, are you?”
“Do I look like someone who enjoys joking?” Lu Xiao Ning’s expression turned serious instantly.
The four exchanged glances, then all looked toward Mother Lu.
Mother Lu hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Hearing this, their eyes lit up immediately.
“Marrying into the royal family? The bride price must be huge, right?”
“Have you been to the Grand Palace? Is it as magnificent as it looks on TV?”
Aunt and Cousin-in-law craned their necks eagerly.
Lu Xiao Ning teased her little niece, feigning nonchalance, “Aunt, Sister-in-law, actually asking so many questions is useless, isn’t it? That money won’t end up in your hands anyway, and I won’t spend a single penny on you.”
“What?”
“Ning Ning, what do you mean by that!”
Upon hearing this, Aunt and Sister-in-law immediately turned pale with shock.
“We came here with good intentions to care about you and congratulate you. How can you have such an attitude?”
“Good intentions? Are good intentions worth any money?” Lu Xiao Ning rolled her eyes.
“You! Why do you keep talking about money!” Aunt grew anxious.
Lu Xiao Ning pouted exaggeratedly, deliberately making an ugly expression as she looked at Aunt, “Isn’t it you who keep bringing up money? When you first came in, I heard it clearly—your family of four pressured my mom to borrow money so you could buy a bigger house, saying that with Nannan around, your home is too small to move around.”
“Uh, well, don’t you have money now?”
“Anyway, Ning Ning, you’ve married into the royal family. Sharing a little money with us relatives is like plucking a single hair.”
“Yeah, don’t you love Nannan the most?”
The family members chimed in one after another, engaging in pure moral coercion.
No wonder Mother Lu had been keeping her head down, looking so upset.
“I heard from my mom that thirty years ago, you borrowed ten thousand yuan from my dad and still haven’t paid it back, right? Ten thousand yuan back then was a lot of money. If you add interest, it would probably amount to several million by now, wouldn’t it?” Lu Xiao Ning scanned the four members of Uncle’s family.
All four of them immediately looked guilty, even somewhat stunned.
When did Ning Ning become so assertive? And so sharp-tongued?
Moreover, her gaze right now was quite intimidating.
“Ning Ning, talking about money hurts feelings. We’re family! What’s wrong with borrowing a little money from you?” Aunt raised her voice, clearly displeased.
“Exactly,” the other three immediately echoed.
Lu Xiao Ning looked up at the sky, feeling utterly helpless.
So there really are such shameless relatives in the world!
“Haven’t you heard the saying ‘A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor’? When my dad was sick, you all hid far, far away. Back then, not only did you refuse to lend any money for his treatment, but you didn’t even offer a single word of concern!
Now that I’ve made it big, you want to take advantage again? Sorry, but I hold grudges!
Before you completely piss me off, get lost! Otherwise, I’ll call the royal guards to tie you up!”
Upon hearing the words “royal guards,” the four of them instantly turned pale as sheets.
Ordinary folks like them couldn’t possibly afford to provoke the royal family!
“Let’s go, we’re leaving right now.”
The four of them scurried away as if their feet were greased, almost forgetting the child.
Sister-in-law had already run out but turned back, not daring to meet Lu Xiao Ning’s eyes, and snatched Nannan away.
“Goodbye, Auntie.”
“Goodbye, Nannan. Auntie will take you out to play another day and buy you pretty clothes.”
“Mhm, okay.”
Before leaving, the adorable little girl didn’t forget to hug Lu Xiao Ning’s neck and give her a kiss on the cheek.
Sister-in-law looked utterly embarrassed as she grabbed her daughter and ran off.
After watching the unlucky relatives leave, Lu Xiao Ning walked over to Mother Lu.
At this moment, Mother Lu was staring at her wide-eyed.
“Ning Ning, you actually chased your uncle’s family away?”
In the past, it was always her and her mother who got bullied. This was the first time her uncle’s family had scurried away in such disgrace.
Lu Xiao Ning placed her arm around Mother Lu’s shoulder, smiling radiantly. “Your daughter has grown up, after all. Besides, Uncle’s family isn’t very strong, so driving them away isn’t really that difficult.”