Reborn in the 70s: Pampered by Regiment Commander -
Chapter 421 - 289 A Family
Chapter 421: Chapter 289 A Family
It was the second watch of the night.
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After returning, the Zhou family, father and son, did not make a grand announcement to relatives and friends; including Zhou Jiping and Zhou Xiangping, the sisters only found out the next morning and hurried over one after another.
Zhou Xiangping could come because Old Master Liao had finally lifted her house arrest.
Having not seen her family for almost a month, Zhou Xiangping cried inconsolably, insisting on divorcing Liao Hui.
Liao Hui stood next to his wife and mother, his face a picture of embarrassment. Of course, he didn’t agree with his grandfather’s methods, but with his grandfather’s health not being good, he was afraid of enraging him to an ill end. All he could do was to persuade his wife to bear with it a little. In truth, seeing his usually cheerful wife without a smile day after day pained him greatly.
Lin Yanqiu had not seen her younger daughter for nearly a month and missed her terribly. She held her daughter tight, comforting her while wiping away her own tears.
Disapproving of the Liao family’s actions, Old Master Zhou, Zhou Jingping and his brothers, including Zhou Xikang, unanimously chose silence, leaving Liao Hui awkwardly out of place.
Sensing the odd atmosphere, Chuxia excused herself to help in the kitchen. The nanny had not yet returned, and busy at the stove were Liang Xiaohong and Yu Tao.
"The new bride shouldn’t get involved," Yu Tao said with a smile as Chuxia began to wash her hands, teasingly adding, "If you want Third Brother to see you flex your cooking skills, that can wait for another day."
Liang Xiaohong also laughed and said, "Right, you’re a daughter for a day, you should spend the day in high spirits. Why rush into finding something tiring to do when you can enjoy some rest?"
"Second aunt, sister-in-law, do you have to be so dramatic?" Chuxia looked at them helplessly, "The nanny will be back soon, what heavy work is there to do?"
"Hehe..."
Liang Xiaohong and Yu Tao laughed together, they were just teasing Chuxia for fun. Seeing that she genuinely wanted to help, they stopped being polite. "Sister-in-law, what’s your specialty dish?" Yu Tao asked with a smile.
"I can only make scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and scrambled eggs with leeks," Chuxia admitted sheepishly, "I can also stir-fry cabbage, but it’s just average in taste."
"Hehe..." Liang Xiaohong laughed, "Our Nanping can only make those two dishes as well." She sighed and added, "If she were as sensible as you, that would be great."
"Second aunt, give it a couple of years. She’ll be better when she gets older, or maybe once she has children," Chuxia comforting her, "After all, ’Parents’ grace is not known until one has their own children.’ Second aunt, don’t worry too much."
Yu Tao looked at Chuxia amusingly, "Sister-in-law, if this were from your mother-in-law or your sister-in-law, it would be perfectly fine, but coming from you, hehe..."
"It’s not really about age," Liang Xiaohong laughed and waved her hand, "Chuxia is six years younger than Nanping, but regardless of how you compare them, Nanping is no match for Chuxia. Actually, I don’t have much to worry about. It’s not just today that Nanping has a bad temper.
If she doesn’t want to come back, then so be it. As long as we live peacefully and she does too, nothing else really matters."
Yu Tao gave a thumbs up, "Second aunt, you seem to have an enlightened detachment from worldly concerns now."
"I’m not that insightful, it’s just that one should learn from what happens. Sigh..." Liang Xiaohong sighed softly, "This time, big sister-in-law has suffered a lot for the family. You guys should treat her well from now on."
"Definitely," the sisters-in-law quickly agreed.
"Chuxia, after you’ve been with us longer, you’ll realize that our mother-in-law is a very tolerant person and always thinks of others. This time, I was planning to move over there, but mother-in-law insisted against it.
She said my mother just had surgery and was still recovering. If she found out that such a big incident happened in the Zhou family, it would stress her and harm her recovery. Staying at home means that, whether my mother knows about it or not, she won’t worry as much.
And..." Pausing, Yu Tao sighed, "Anyway, you’ll understand in time. We have the best mother-in-law in the world, and of course, grandfather, grandmother, father-in-law, and uncles like second uncle and third uncle, they’re all hard to find good people."
"Taotao..." Liang Xiaohong looked at Yu Tao with affection, "Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Grandparents and your in-laws do not blame you, and besides, this thing between you two happened by chance. You have a great relationship; just remember, ’All good things come through adversity.’ Think positively."
Hearing Liang Xiaohong speak this way, Chuxia realized that Yu Tao was always careful not to overlook anyone when speaking, for fear of leaving anyone out, because of her constant guilt over her infertility.
"Big sister, you’ve stayed at your parents’ house for such a long time; didn’t your aunt get suspicious?" Chuxia changed the subject.
"It happened to be a coincidence. My eldest and second brother were both on business trips, my sister-in-law and my mom don’t get along, and my second sister-in-law is too far away from work to take care of her. I told them that my husband’s family had agreed to let me go back and stay with her for a while, and she believed it." As she said this, Yu Tao couldn’t help but sniffle again, "My mother-in-law always thinks of everything. If I hadn’t gone home to take care of my mom, who knows how much she would have suffered this time."
"Every family has its own set of problems, and there’s no such thing as a perfect situation in the world. Thankfully, both your brothers are filial. Besides, they have you, right?"
"That’s true." Yu Tao smiled, "We should be happy today, let’s not talk about this."
The three of them chattered away in the kitchen, which brought them much closer. The atmosphere in the living room, however, was completely different from that in the kitchen.
Old Madam Zhou called Liao Hui to her side with a serious look, "What did you promise us when you married Xiao Xiang into our family?"
"Grandma, I’m sorry," Liao Hui said, hanging his head in shame, "It’s all my fault, I said one thing and did another. Grandma, hit me if you want."
"Heh heh..." Old Madam Zhou laughed, but the look she gave Liao Hui was devoid of any amusement, "Are you trying to provoke me? At my age, even if I wanted to hit you, who would suffer from it?"
"Then I’ll hit myself..." As Liao Hui spoke, he actually slapped himself hard twice. Standing nearby, Zhou Xikang quickly grabbed him, "What are you doing? Do you think Grandma will feel better if you do this?"
Zhou Xiangping had already stopped crying by then. When she lifted her head and saw the clear finger marks on Liao Hui’s face, she felt a pang of heartache, but her words were not so kind, "You’re showing your capability now, huh? If you kill yourself, can that make up for the hurt I’ve suffered these days?"
"As long as we don’t divorce, you can do whatever you want to me," Liao Hui quickly replied.
"Really?" Zhou Xiangping raised her eyebrows, "Are you sure you’ll do whatever I tell you to?"
"Yes." Although he could sense Zhou Xiangping’s hostile tone, what other choice did he have at that moment? Besides, they had known each other since childhood and had been married for several months. He was confident in his wife’s character; he believed she wouldn’t make him do anything that goes against moral values. For example, he trusted that she would not ask him to sever ties with his grandfather and the Liao family.
"From now on, you’re not allowed to speak a word to Jiang Xue," Zhou Xiangping said emphatically, "If I find out you’re still in contact with her, divorce is certain!"
Before Liao Hui could respond, Lin Yanqiu spoke first, "You’re in contact with Jiang Xue? To what extent? When did it start?"
"No, Mom, I really haven’t been in contact with Jiang Xue."
"So you’re saying I wrongly accused you?" Zhou Xiangping scoffed coldly, "Do I, Zhou Xiangping, jump to conclusions and randomly accuse people? Huh?"
"Liao Hui, have you forgotten what you promised me?" Lin Yanqiu’s eyes were filled with anger. She had always been aware of Jiang Xue’s little crush on Liao Hui and had even spoken to him about it. He had been quite adamant in his reassurances back then.
"Mom, it’s a wrongful accusation—I really have nothing to do with Jiang Xue. We grew up together, and yes, we say hello and talk when we see each other, but there’s nothing else," Liao Hui pleaded, looking to Zhou Xikang for help, "Big brother, we see each other often, and if I was up to anything, you’d definitely know, right?"
"This..." Zhou Xikang had watched Liao Hui grow up. He knew Liao Hui to be somewhat indecisive, but the idea of him secretly having an affair with Jiang Xue behind his sister’s back was something he truly did not believe.
However, defending him at this time seemed to let him off too easily, especially considering that the Liao family’s actions were truly indefensible. On the other hand, he didn’t want his sister and Liao Hui’s relationship to become complicated, as their feelings for each other had always been good. It would be a shame if this incident led to a serious fallout.
Weighing the situation back and forth, Zhou Xikang didn’t know whether he should speak up for Liao Hui or not.
If it had been before, Zhou Mikang would have probably thrown Liao Hui out directly, but having had his freedom restricted recently, he had come to realize that relationships were not simply a matter of black and white.
"Younger sister, explain your suspicions," Zhou Mikang turned to Zhou Xiangping with a serious face, "If he has indeed wronged you, I will make the decision on your behalf."
"Thank you, Third Brother!" Zhou Xiangping gritted her teeth and pulled out a letter from her pocket, "This is what I found in Liao Hui’s coat pocket..." She looked at Liao Hui, "I’m giving you one last chance. If you come clean now, I can still forgive you. But if you wait until I expose you before admitting it, then our marriage is over."
"I still say the same thing. There’s really nothing between Jiang Xue and me," Liao Hui said firmly, looking at Zhou Xiangping, "Although I don’t know what the letter in your hand says, I hope you grant me the right to see it and to verify its contents."
"Heh..." Zhou Xiangping glanced at him disappointedly, "Are you feeling guilty, or are you trying to turn the tables?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
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