By the time Qi Ziyue arrived at the main hall’s sitting room, dinner had already been laid out. The moment she appeared, the two little brats, Rui Rui and Hao Hao, hurriedly waved at her.
“Little Aunt, sit here!”
“Thanks, Rui Rui, Hao Hao.”
Qi Ziyue didn’t stand on ceremony and directly sat between the two children.
By the time she arrived, someone had already served her a bowl of sweet potato porridge, and there was even a small piece of pork crackling in her bowl. Once Father Qi saw her, he simply said, “Eat.”
The whole family began eating.
During the meal, the little boys on both sides secretly showed her their shoes and quietly asked whether she still had any bananas left.
The two children had barely started eating before their father glared at them and told them to focus on their meal.
The two children from the second branch kept glancing at their cousins. It was unclear whether they had noticed the new shoes or the new military coats, but either way, they pouted as if on the verge of tears.
Second Sister-in-law Qi glanced at her own children, then suddenly brought up the same old topic again—the Lin family.
She looked toward the old master before slowly saying, “Dad, there’s news from the Lin family.”
“What did they say?”
The moment those words were spoken, the living room fell silent for an instant.
First Sister-in-law Qi looked puzzled for a long while before asking curiously, “With the Lin family’s status, they can have whatever they want. Why are they so determined to marry Little Sister?”
Second Sister-in-law Qi was the happiest about the situation. Hearing the question, she answered proudly, “Because our little sister is beautiful, of course. And Deputy Director Lin is a sentimental and loyal man, so naturally he wants to treat her well.”
Father Qi frowned at his daughter-in-law and asked, “You told them about Yueyue’s condition before she went mad?”
“Of course. They said no matter what kind of situation Little Sister is in, they’ll accept everything. They’re willing to give her time to accept him too. He only hopes to meet her sometime soon.”
Qi Ziyue calmly finished drinking her tomato soup.
She wasn’t used to eating cornmeal buns, and since the two little boys wanted them, she simply split one bun in half and gave each child a piece.
Only after she finished dividing the buns did she realize the entire family was staring at her.
Qi Ziyue wiped her hands with a tissue before saying, “Dad, I want to go to the countryside and become a sent-down youth.”
Father Qi immediately snapped, “Nonsense! With the conditions down there, do you think you can survive?”
Qi Ziyue honestly didn’t understand why the Qi family thought she couldn’t survive.
She glanced at everyone’s expressions. Her eldest brother’s family probably respected her wishes, while at present only the old man and Second Sister-in-law still wanted her to marry into the Lin family.
After some thought, she said, “Dad, if I marry into the Lin family, then once my past—my madness and the fact that I had a child before marriage—is dug up, you’ll lose face.”
“Maybe people will even stand up and attack you.”
Father Qi frowned unhappily and asked, “Attack me for what?”
Qi Ziyue replied, “They’ll attack you for being part of the education department. They’ll say you behaved improperly in old age and failed to educate your own child properly. When that happens, you’ll lose tremendous face.”
“If you can’t even educate your own daughter well, who’ll still believe you can educate other people’s children?” Qi Ziyue added fuel to the fire.
Every sentence from her made Father Qi clutch his chest in anger.
“And who caused all these problems in the first place?”
“Dad, I know I was willful in the past. But those things are already established facts. Dwelling on established facts is meaningless. We should be thinking about how to solve the current problem.”
Qi Ziyue spoke confidently, but Father Qi only felt a headache coming on.
“And your solution is going to the countryside as a sent-down youth?”
“Of course. If I go to the countryside, it’ll prove our family is selfless and that you’re completely fair and impartial. My actions would also help the family avoid unnecessary trouble and prevent people from accusing you of abusing your authority for personal gain.”
“You—” Father Qi nearly had a stroke from anger. “How can you even say something like abusing authority for personal gain? Everything I’ve done was for you!”
Seeing the atmosphere turning bad, Eldest Brother quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
“Dad, let’s finish dinner first.”
Second Sister-in-law also hurried to explain, “Little Sister, maybe I didn’t explain clearly. Deputy Director Lin knows you have a child, and he said he doesn’t mind you bringing your child with you when you marry.”
“Ah?”
The instant those words were spoken, the entire room fell silent again.
Even First Sister-in-law gasped in shock.
This time, the whole Qi family collectively fell speechless.
Everyone knew that under such circumstances, the Lin family not only accepted her child but was even willing to wait for her. It meant they completely accepted Yueyue.
Even Qi Ziyue found it unbelievable.
She was bringing along a son.
As the saying went, raising another man’s son was something even Dorgon couldn’t accomplish successfully, yet this Deputy Director Lin accepted everything?
For the first time, Qi Ziyue felt truly troubled.
What kind of bodhisattva was this man? How could he accept all this?
Seeing everyone nearly united in support of the marriage, Qi Ziyue wisely seized the timing. Since the situation was unfavorable, she simply remained silent.
Afraid things might backfire, Eldest Brother suggested they wait until after dinner to continue discussing the matter.
After finishing her meal, Qi Ziyue went to check on the little bean sprout. This time, the child had actually finished all his food, so she carried the dishes back.
When she returned to the sitting room, the table had already been cleaned up. Aside from the children from the first and fourth branches being sent home, her second brother and eldest sister-in-law were also gone.
Qi Ziyue guessed that Father Qi and Second Sister-in-law had deliberately sent them away.
The moment she entered, Second Sister-in-law immediately asked her whether she had made up her mind.
Mother Qi coughed lightly as she came over to take the bowls from her hands. Before leaving, she advised Qi Ziyue to seriously consider the matter, basically saying that good men were rare, and once missed, the opportunity might never come again.
Qi Ziyue was pushed onto the sofa at the side.
Her eldest brother sat beside her.
Father Qi sat on the center sofa. He seemed irritated and was puffing away on a cigarette.
Second Sister-in-law sat opposite them, enthusiastically pouring tea while endlessly praising how wonderful the Lin family was.
“Yueyue, have you thought it over?” she asked.
After thinking for a moment, Qi Ziyue replied, “Dad, the situation outside is unstable right now. No matter how good the Lin family is, I don’t think this is the best time to get married.”
“Even if Big Brother Lin doesn’t mind my situation, that doesn’t mean his family won’t mind. It also doesn’t mean outsiders won’t investigate me. The moment my background gets exposed, both you and Big Brother Lin will become targets. It could even affect my brothers’ futures.”
After a pause, she glanced toward her eldest brother before continuing, “I know Eldest Brother doesn’t care, but Second Brother’s future would also be implicated. Would Second Sister-in-law really not mind?”
Second Sister-in-law was immediately speechless.
Her thoughts became chaotic, though she still refused to believe the consequences could be that severe.
Qi Ziyue continued, “And there’s my niece too. If my scandal affects the family, won’t people think the daughters of our family weren’t raised properly? In the future, Huihui might have trouble marrying into a good family.”
That sentence completely blocked Second Sister-in-law’s words.
At that moment, Second Brother walked in. As soon as he entered, he heard the conversation and asked what would affect Huihui.
Qi Ziyue answered that it would happen if her past was exposed after marriage.
Seeing that she truly didn’t want to marry, Second Brother said, “Not many people know about your past, so it probably won’t affect Huihui. But if you don’t want to marry, don’t ruin your own reputation either.”
Father Qi also understood by then.
She simply didn’t want to marry.
Mother Qi felt heartache for her and only asked softly, “But what will you do then?”
“As long as you give me more money and ration coupons, I’ll be fine,” Qi Ziyue answered immediately.
Second Sister-in-law nearly exploded. “So not only do you refuse to marry, you still expect us to prepare money and coupons for you to go to the countryside?”
She wanted to lose her temper, but Second Brother directly grabbed her hand and said, “Give them to her. Little Sister is right about one thing—if she goes to the countryside, it really will contribute to the whole family. People will say she sacrificed for the family. Eldest Brother, don’t you agree?”
Eldest Brother nodded. “But Dad and I still don’t want her suffering in the countryside.”
At this point, Second Sister-in-law finally understood.
Her little sister-in-law had deliberately frightened her.
The Lin family had already said they would accept everything. With the Lin family’s influence, how could they fail to handle such matters?
Second Sister-in-law ignored the fact that her own husband had practically defected and still tried one last time.
“Little Sister, as long as you marry into the Lin family, both you and our family will gain the Lin family’s protection. The Lin family is powerful. Who would dare bring up old matters? You were sick for several years, so you don’t understand just how influential the Lin family is now.”
Even Father Qi and Eldest Brother nodded in agreement.
They said they wouldn’t force her, but hoped she would seriously think it over.
Seeing Second Sister-in-law about to continue, Qi Ziyue directly cut in.
“Second Sister-in-law, I can marry into the Lin family. But I hope you won’t regret it.”
“Regret what?” Second Sister-in-law was so happy she practically floated. “Little Sister, just marry peacefully. Leave the rest to us.”
Qi Ziyue smiled faintly.
“After I marry into the Lin family, the first thing I’ll do is get your brothers from your natal family fired from their jobs. Then I’ll live a luxurious life, eating and drinking well, and come flaunt it in front of you every single day. I’ll make you so angry you’ll die from rage.”
“You—!”
Second Sister-in-law was genuinely enraged.
Her finger trembled as she pointed at Qi Ziyue, feeling as though her hair was standing upright from anger.
“How can you be like this?!”
“Why can’t I? If I sell those two jobs, wouldn’t it be better for me to spend the money myself?”
“You—!”
Second Sister-in-law was so furious she nearly cried. Her face alternated between green and white with anger.
Second Brother quickly stepped in.
“Little Sister, what Second Brother said before still stands. No matter what you choose, I’ll respect you. If you really go to the countryside, how much money do you want?”
Qi Ziyue looked surprised.
“Whatever Second Brother wants to give.”
Second Sister-in-law was dissatisfied. “She refuses to marry and still wants us to pay for her? Dream on.”
But her husband dragged her outside.
Once only a few people remained in the room, Father Qi again said the Lin family was a good match and asked her to think carefully.
“Dad, I know the Lin family is good, and I know you all love me. But once the Lin family learns I wasn’t ‘pure’ in the past, they’ll bully me mercilessly.”
When she saw both men frown, she delivered another heavy blow.
“Dad, Brother, the Lin family is powerful, and Second Sister-in-law is greedy. If I really marry into the Lin family, she’ll definitely use their influence to bully people. That’ll bring disaster upon our family.”
Qi Ziyue continued, “And if she starts helping her natal family gain benefits through the Lin family, outsiders will say Father used his students’ influence to arrange it. If people start putting up big-character posters targeting our family, then our family will face a huge crisis.”
That statement exploded like a bomb in the minds of the two pillars of the Qi family.
They truly had never considered that possibility.
Eldest Brother broke out in a cold sweat and frowned.
“Could it really be that the only option left is for Little Sister to go to the countryside as a sent-down youth?”
Father Qi suddenly seemed to age ten years.
“Go back first. Your brother and I will discuss it. Whether you want to marry into the Lin family or not is entirely your choice. As long as you’re happy, even if this old man gets sent down, it won’t matter.”
Qi Ziyue: ?
…
As Qi Ziyue stepped out, she heard intense arguing erupt inside the room.
Her eldest brother seemed to have said something to the old man, causing Father Qi to explode in anger. From the scattered bits she overheard, it sounded like Eldest Brother had brought up registering An’an’s household registration, which infuriated the old man.
Qi Ziyue had just been about to sneak over and eavesdrop when her second brother quietly approached her and stuffed a bulging wallet into her hands.
Qi Ziyue looked up at him.
Second Brother pressed a finger to his lips with a “shh,” then whispered, “Let’s go listen from over there. We won’t get caught.”
Qi Ziyue: ?
Yeah right. As if they wouldn’t get caught.