Zhao Guihua rolled around on the ground, covered in grease, with several chicken bones tangled in her hair. She looked utterly miserable.
“Help! They’re killing me! A soldier is killing me!”
“This is outrageous! My son-in-law is beating his mother-in-law!”
As she wailed, she secretly stole glances at Lu Zhan.
The man looked unfamiliar, but that military uniform was unmistakable. It had four pockets—a genuine cadre’s uniform.
Then there was the large military jeep parked outside, along with the two bottles of Moutai in Lu Zhan’s hand.
Zhao Guihua was the kind of person who valued power and money above all else, and her mind worked quickly.
Could this wretched girl really have married into a powerful family?
“Shut up.”
Lu Zhan shot her a disgusted look before striding into the main room.
His military boots struck the floor with heavy thuds, each step seeming to land directly on the hearts of the Su family.
He dropped the cigarettes and liquor onto the greasy Eight Immortals table.
Bang!
The two Moutai bottles clinked sharply against each other, making Su Laosan flinch.
“This… this is…”
Su Laosan was a complete pushover who had spent his entire life being bossed around by Zhao Guihua. Faced with someone as imposing as Lu Zhan, he could barely get the words out.
“I’m Su Man’s husband, Lu Zhan.”
Lu Zhan pulled over a long bench and sat down with an air of authority.
He didn’t ask Su Man to sit. Instead, he pulled her directly to his side and kept her standing beside him, as though deliberately declaring his ownership of her.
“I didn’t come back today to listen to you people wail.”
“Two things.”
Lu Zhan held up two fingers.
“First, to formally acknowledge the family relationship.”
He pointed at the cigarettes and liquor on the table.
“I brought the gifts. We’ve observed the proper etiquette.”
“Second.”
Lu Zhan’s gaze suddenly turned sharp as his hand moved toward his waist.
Smack!
A black handgun landed heavily on the table.
Its cold metallic surface gleamed, and the muzzle pointed directly at Zhao Guihua, who had just struggled to her feet.
The entire room fell deathly silent.
Even the villagers gathered outside to watch were too frightened to breathe.
A gun!
A real gun!
Zhao Guihua had originally intended to make a scene and extort some money, but the moment she saw the weapon, her legs went weak and she dropped to her knees.
“C-Commander, please spare me! I… I didn’t mean to!”
Su Gang was even more terrified. He was so frightened that he wet himself, and the stench quickly spread through the room.
Lu Zhan didn’t even lift an eyelid.
“The second thing is to sever ties.”
Su Man took a sheet of paper she had prepared beforehand from her bag and slapped it down on the table.
“Sign it.”
Her voice was cold, devoid of emotion.
“From this day forward, Su Man and the Su family have nothing to do with each other.”
“Whether it’s life, illness, old age, or death, we will have nothing to do with one another.”
“I won’t support you in your old age, and you’d better not think about selling me off again.”
The moment Zhao Guihua heard this, greed overcame her fear once more.
Sever ties?
Wouldn’t that mean losing her cash cow?
“No! I’m not signing!”
Zhao Guihua summoned her courage and shouted, “I’m your mother! I raised you all these years. You think you can just cut ties with me whenever you want? No way!”
“You married an official and now you want to abandon your own family? You ungrateful wretch!”
“And the bride price… the bride price still hasn’t been paid in full!”
She actually dared to mention money again.
Su Man was so angry that she laughed.
She pulled out the several dozen yuan she had left from the previous day, along with a stack of ration coupons, and flung them directly into Zhao Guihua’s face.
“Money?”
“Is this enough to buy off that so-called debt of gratitude for raising me?”
“Zhao Guihua, don’t push your luck.”
“My husband has a bad temper. The gun may not be loaded, but if it were to go off accidentally…”
Su Man deliberately drew out the last words as her gaze shifted toward the gun on the table.
Lu Zhan cooperated perfectly. He rested his hand on the gun’s grip, his fingers lightly tapping against the trigger guard.
Click.
The crisp metallic sound shattered what remained of Zhao Guihua’s courage.
She had money now, but what good would money be if she lost her life?
“I’ll sign! I’ll sign! I’ll do it right now!”
Trembling, Zhao Guihua grabbed the pen. With Su Laosan supporting her, she pressed her fingerprint onto the severance agreement.
Su Man took the document and glanced at the bright red fingerprint.
At last, the heavy weight in her heart finally lifted.
Two lifetimes.
She had finally broken free from this bloodsucking family.
“There’s one more thing.”
After putting away the severance agreement, Su Man turned and walked into the back room.
It was the room she had lived in as a child. It was dark and damp, packed with miscellaneous junk.
Relying on her memories, she walked to a loose floorboard in the corner.
She picked up a rusty shovel from the side and forcefully pried up the floorboard.
Beneath it was a dark pit in the earth.
Su Man reached her hand inside and searched around for a while.
Then she pulled out a redwood box covered in dust.
This was the only keepsake her biological mother had left behind.
In her previous life, Zhao Guihua had discovered the box and sold everything inside it. Su Man had never even gotten the chance to see what it contained.
But in this life, she had finally reclaimed it.
Holding the box in her arms, Su Man walked out of the room.
“Let’s go.”
She spoke to Lu Zhan.
She didn’t want to spend another minute in this house.
Lu Zhan put away his gun and stood up.
He coldly swept his gaze over Zhao Guihua and the rest of the Su family, who were still sprawled on the floor.
“If you dare go to the military compound and harass Su Man again…”
“I won’t be coming to deliver gifts next time.”
“I’ll be coming to attend your funeral.”
With that, he put an arm around Su Man’s shoulders and strode out of the Su family home.
The jeep started up again and sped away under the villagers’ awe-filled and envious gazes.
Inside the car.
Su Man held the redwood box tightly against her chest, her fingers trembling slightly.
“Open it and take a look.”
Lu Zhan spoke as he drove.
Su Man nodded and carefully undid the brass clasp on the box.
Click.
The lid opened.
Inside was lined with a layer of red velvet.
On top lay a pair of exquisite white jade bracelets. In this era, they were unquestionably priceless treasures.
But beneath the bracelets was an old black-and-white photograph.
Su Man picked it up.
The photograph showed a beautiful young woman dressed in a qipao, holding a swaddled infant in her arms.
The woman was stunning, and there was a striking seven-point resemblance between her features and Su Man’s.
But that wasn’t what mattered.
What mattered was the background of the photograph.
It was a magnificent traditional Chinese courtyard.
There was a tall gate tower, vermilion doors, and two bold characters engraved on the plaque above the entrance—
Although the image was somewhat blurry, the characters could still be made out.
Lu Zhan happened to glance over.
Just one glance.
His pupils suddenly contracted, as though he had seen something utterly unbelievable.
Screeeech—!!
The jeep slammed on the brakes.
The tires carved two deep tracks into the dirt road.
Su Man nearly hit the windshield, and the photograph fell onto her lap.
“What happened?”
Still shaken, Su Man looked at Lu Zhan.
Lu Zhan said nothing.
He stared fixedly at the plaque in the photograph, his breathing growing rapid.
That gate tower.
Its design.
Even the positions of the two stone lions at the entrance.
He knew them far too well.
It was the old residence of the Lu family in Beijing!
The place where he had grown up!
And the characters on the plaque clearly read—
“Lu Residence.”
Why had Su Man’s biological mother been standing at the entrance of the Lu family’s old residence, holding a baby in her arms?
Could it be…
Lu Zhan suddenly turned toward Su Man, his expression filled with indescribable complexity.
“Su Man.”
His voice was hoarse, trembling with disbelief.
“Who exactly… was your mother?”