Chapter 272

CHAPTER 272

Upon seeing the Guo family, Lu Mingzhu raised an eyebrow.

Originally seated in a chair by the hospital bed, she now stood up to greet Guo Lin. "Young Master Guo."

Since Madam Guo (the widowed matriarch) had brothers still alive, their nephew was naturally referred to as "Young Master."

Surprised to see Lu Mingzhu, Guo Lin politely said, "Miss Lu, you're here as well?"

"I'm here to see A Yue. And you?" Lu Mingzhu played dumb, as she noticed some unfamiliar faces among the people behind Guo Lin—some were his children, their faces clearly unhappy. Clearly, they weren’t happy about Guo Lin acknowledging his legitimate heir by his first wife.

It was worth noting that Guo Lin had both a wife and concubines.

The Guo family was quite large—otherwise, Mr. Ye wouldn’t have climbed the social ladder by marrying Madam Guo. Their mindset had one foot in the past and one in the present.

Recalling the age and background of Guo Lin’s eldest son, Lu Mingzhu roughly understood why Meng Ruyu’s birth mother had left home.

Guo Lin’s eldest son was a few months older than Meng Ruyu and was the chambermaid's bastard.

The fact that Meng Ruyu’s mother could marry into the Guo family and leave a sizeable fortune for his adoptive mother suggested she came from a respectable background and had too much pride to stay. Perhaps she had planned to raise him alone in Shanghai but never expected to die in childbirth.

So many women had died bringing life into this world.

Guo Lin said to Lu Mingzhu, "We came to see Ruyu, his wife, and their children."

"Hmm?" Lu Mingzhu arched a skeptical brow.

Ming Yue also asked, "How did you find out?"

Though they knew Meng Ruyu was a Guo by blood, he had made it crystal clear he wouldn't acknowledge the family. Neither Ming Yue nor Lu Mingzhu, who were present at the time, had ever revealed this secret to anyone. Even after learning about it from He Yun, Lu Mingzhu’s father hadn’t leaked the information and had instead warned He Yun.

They understood the complexities of the Guo family far better than Meng Ruyu, Ming Yue, or Lu Mingzhu did.

For over twenty years, the Guo family had stopped searching for Meng Ruyu.

With a loving marriage and a comfortable life, Meng Ruyu was far better off than he would have been in the Guo family. There was no need for him to acknowledge them now.

Guo Lin pulled out two photos.

One was black and white, the other in color. The colored photo showed Meng Ruyu at his wedding to Ming Yue—likely taken and developed by a guest. They could've been twins.

"This is me in my youth," Guo Lin said, pointing to the black-and-white photo. "When I saw this colored photo and heard the name, I knew you were my son."

He spoke directly to Meng Ruyu.

Of course, before approaching him, they had conducted an investigation and even visited Meng Ruyu’s adoptive parents.

Lu Mingzhu studied Guo Lin carefully.

She hadn’t paid much attention to his face during their meeting in New York, but now, she realized he was the spitting image of Meng Ruyu. Like looking in a mirror.

Meng Ruyu replied coolly, "What difference does it make? I grew up under my grandparents’ care, got myself educated, met the woman I want to spend my life with, and now have two healthy sons. I’m not a child seeking a father's love."

Guo Lin insisted, "I want to take you home to meet your grandparents. It would make their year to see their great-grandbabies."

The thought of his son being reduced to a live-in son-in-law cut Guo Lin to the quick.

Upon hearing this, the clever Ming Yue flew into a rage!

"Want to take my husband away? Over my dead body!" She immediately tried to throw off the blanket but was stopped by Meng Ruyu.

"You just gave birth—don’t get angry," Meng Ruyu said gently, calming her down before turning to Guo Lin. "There’s no need for this. My wife just had a baby, and the children are still young. We have no plans to leave Hong Kong in the near future. If Grandfather and Grandmother wish to see their great-grandchildren, you can take a few photos of them to bring back. I’m sure they’ll understand why we can’t immediately visit them."

Guo Lin went quiet for a moment.

After a few seconds, he couldn’t help but ask, "Are you really unwilling to come back with me?"

"No," Meng Ruyu replied. He noticed that the expressions of the young men and women accompanying Guo Lin softened immediately after his refusal, further solidifying his reluctance to get involved in the Guo family’s dirty laundry.

The bigger the family, the more scheming and infighting there was.

Thinking of how his birth mother had chosen to leave home and raise him alone outside rather than return, he knew the situation was far from simple.

Ming Yue shot daggers with her eyes at Guo Lin. "You heard what my husband said. Please don’t be presumptuous or overstep. When my husband was abandoned during the war, you didn’t find him. When he was almost killed in an alley, you didn’t find him. When he was driven out into the snow, you still didn’t find him. Now that we’re married with children, what do you want him back for? Planning to hand over the entire Guo family fortune to him? Fine, I don’t object to that. If you can actually do it, once I’ve recovered and our children are older, we’d be happy to make a trip—for the inheritance."

Seeing Guo Lin’s stunned expression, Meng Ruyu lightly patted her hand. "Don’t be ridiculous. Do you lack that bit of money?"

"Of course not! But we have two sons—we can't have too much inheritance!" Ming Yue retorted before asking Aunt Mingzhu, "Aunt Mingzhu, how does the Guo family’s wealth compare to mine? If it’s more, I might seriously consider it."

Aunt Mingzhu suppressed a smile. "Are you underestimating the assets your godfather He Yun left you?"

What she already had far surpassed the Guo family’s wealth.

The Guo family was in government and wealthy by common standards, but it wasn’t in the same league as what He Yun had given Ming Yue—not even the value of the shipping company shares Ming Yue had acquired from He Xuan.

This was something Aunt Mingzhu had learned from Madam Guo during their interactions.

Old Man Ye divorced her partly because the declining Guo family no longer served his interests, and partly because he coveted the wealth of his fourth wife’s family.

Guo Lin stared at Meng Ruyu for a long time without speaking.

Meng Ruyu suddenly chuckled and deliberately said, "After weighing the pros and cons, I think staying in Hong Kong is better for us. My father has promised to set aside stakes as a welcoming gift for the children."

Here, "father" referred to Ming Hui.

He had already changed his address during the wedding and received a lai see envelope with a fat check—proof of Ming Hui’s high regard for him.

Just then, Ming Hui rushed in energetically, briefcase in hand and pushing past the crowd. "Who are you people? My daughter just gave birth—we’re not entertaining guests. Please leave and stop frightening my precious grandsons. Oh, and my daughter too."

Two grandsons—double happiness!

Ming Hui couldn’t stop grinning.

He had been present during Ming Yue’s delivery and left only after confirming the twins to prepare the gift agreements: setting aside 10% stakes each from the shipping company, film studio, plastics factory, and insurance company, evenly split between the two grandsons.

He had returned now to have Meng Ruyu and Ming Yue sign the documents.

Ming Yue immediately said, "Dad, this gentleman here—Mr. Guo, around your age—is Ruyu’s birth father. He wants to take Ruyu to the United States and even your two grandsons!"

That hit a raw nerve.

Ming Hui looked ready to explode and turned to glare at Guo Lin with a murderous look. "You’re trying to steal my son and grandsons?"

"A son-in-law is half a son, and a matrilocal son-in-law is a full son."

He wasn’t wrong.

Guo Lin watched as the middle-aged man before him made such a clumsy move, completely at odds with his strikingly handsome appearance, and couldn’t help but say, "In-law, I—"

"Tell me, do you want to take my son and grandsons away?" Ming Hui shot back.

Guo Lin didn’t deny it.

Ming Hui immediately rolled up his sleeves. "Let me tell you, no way! Not a chance—not even a sliver of one! My two grandsons are named Ming Xu and Ming Sheng, and they’ll inherit the Ming family’s business in the future. They’re not taking the Guo name, and there’s no reason they should."

"A Guo heir bowing to another family?" Guo Lin could hardly accept it.

Earlier, he had wanted to take Meng Ruyu away to restore his Guo surname and give the two children the Guo surname as well. He’d heard that although Ming Hui had paid the bride price for Meng Ruyu, it was always referred to as a marriage, not a matrilocal arrangement.

Ming Hui snapped, "Ruyu’s a Meng, not a Guo."

"He is my biological son, my firstborn by my rightful wife," Guo Lin insisted. "The Guo family is a distinguished, century-old lineage, a household name. Our descendants only marry into other families—they never become matrilocal sons-in-law."

"Big-name family? Never heard of ’em." Ming Hui came from humble origins. Back then, he hadn’t even treated He Xuan well under He Yun’s influence, let alone now.

To him, his two grandsons were more important than anyone else.

He barked at his and Ming Yue’s bodyguards, "Get them all out. Let A Yue rest."

Seeing that Lu Mingzhu didn’t object, several bodyguards stepped forward and said politely, "Mr. Guo, this way."

Guo Lin couldn’t help but look at Meng Ruyu.

Meng Ruyu just coldly said, "Please."

Before Guo Lin could react, the people he had brought with him hastily pulled him out.

"So damn self-righteous," Lu Mingzhu heard Meng Ruyu mutter under his breath before he turned to Ming Hui and said, "Dad, relax. We’re staying put. Did you name the brothers Ming Xu and Ming Sheng?"

"Yes," Ming Hui said, feeling the names had great meaning.

He whipped out gift contracts from his briefcase and called in the lawyer who had come with him to witness. "As the parents of Ming Xu and Ming Sheng, both of you sign these. From now on, they’ll get yearly payouts."

His grandsons absolutely must not fall behind.

After reading the contents, Ming Yue tsked, impressed. "Dad, you’re quite generous!"

It was unexpected.

She’d gotten just 5%—shares in the shipping biz—while each son scored 5% across four companies.

Ming Hui laughed heartily. "In the future, all my assets will be theirs. Hands off the liquid assets—I have to leave a little for Yue’e."

Everyone exchanged amused glances.

Wow, he recalled Yue’e exists.

Amused, Lu Mingzhu was satisfied. "I should head back now."

Ming Hui was currently lifting the thin blanket to sneak a peek at his two grandsons’ little faces. Hearing her, he said, "Mingzhu, stay for lunch!"

"No, Hao Hao’s too little for me to stay out long," Lu Mingzhu said, thinking of her precious daughter.

Sweet, soft, and utterly adorable.

Growing fonder by the day.

Motherly love overwhelmed her, and Lu Mingzhu hurried to leave.

She left the ward but hadn't yet exited the hospital when she saw Guo Lin's children trying to persuade him. She caught snippets of conversation: “What’s wrong with that? Why insist on bringing big brother home? To become a TCM doctor? We’ve all looked into it—the Ming family's assets, especially Ming Yue's wealth, are at least ten times more than our entire Guo family's combined! If Meng Ruyu wants to be a live-in husband taking the wife's surname, let him. He doesn’t even bear the Guo surname anyway. What’s wrong with the kids being named Ming? They’ll inherit tens of millions in assets, and they’re still your grandsons by blood.”

If giving up the Guo surname for his son could bring tens of millions in inheritance, he’d be willing too!

Tens of millions in assets!

It made his mouth water.

The entire Guo family’s assets were barely worth a million dollars, and after dividing it among the branches, each share wasn’t much.

Lu Mingzhu shook her head imperceptibly and walked past them, leaving the hospital.

The weather had turned bad—it started raining as soon as she stepped outside.

The wind was strong, too.

Since the villa wasn’t built above the garage or servants' quarters, Lu Mingzhu got spattered by windblown rain during the brief walk from the car to the house.

Xie Junyao was playing with Pingan in the living room when he noticed the rain spots on her clothes. He immediately said, "You haven’t finished your postpartum recovery yet. I told you not to go out, but you insisted. Now you’ve been exposed to the wind and rain! Go change your clothes right away."

Lu Mingzhu was both amused and annoyed. "What do you mean I haven’t recovered? It’s been two months already!"

Seeing Xie Junyao’s stern expression, which somewhat resembled Xie Junhao’s, she raised her hands in surrender. "Fine, fine! If you insist on observing the hundred-day recovery period, I’ll gladly let you pamper me!"

She quickly went back to the bedroom to change into comfortable nursing clothes.

Worried that her ring might accidentally scratch her daughter’s delicate skin, Lu Mingzhu took off her red diamond ring. She initially intended to put it in her jewelry box but found it already completely full, with no room for another piece. So, she opened the left drawer instead.

Suddenly, she absentmindedly picked up a document inside, and what she saw shocked her.

Just then, Xie Junyao walked in. She asked, "What is this?"

Xie Junyao blinked. "As you can see, I went to the hospital for a simple procedure."

"A simple procedure? Is this simple?" Lu Mingzhu was furious. "Do you even know the consequences?"

"I do. It means I can't father more children," Xie Junyao replied honestly. "I didn’t want to see you go through the hardships of pregnancy and childbirth again, so I had a vasectomy as permanent birth control."

"Why didn’t you talk to me first before getting sterilized?" Lu Mingzhu demanded. "You violated my right to have more children!"

But secretly, she was thrilled.

No more pregnancies.

Thank goodness.

Let out a deep breath.

Though Pingan’s birth had gone smoothly, there was no guarantee the next one would be just as safe for mother and child.

Her earlier statement about having at most two children was based on fairness and a slight concession to societal expectations—after all, while the Xie family had no royal title to pass down, they did have billions in wealth.

She had also considered the risks of difficult labor and amniotic fluid embolism.

Anyone who claimed not to fear childbirth was lying.

Even in the 21st century, deaths from childbirth complications still occurred, let alone in the medically limited 1950s.

What angered her was that Xie Junyao hadn’t talked to her first.