Chapter 6: She Wanted to See Who Would End Up Begging

Chapter 6: She Wanted to See Who Would End Up Begging

At the intersection of Feixia Road, the woman named Liang Yue finally got out and left.

With more room now and no longer pressed up against each other, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Zhiao's long fingers lightly brushed the trousers on his thigh, whether it was a subconscious action or a sign of disgust, no one could tell.

Clearly, she was the one who suffered, yet he acted so high and mighty!

His looks were decent, with sharp facial features, more handsome and steady than Zhao Lixiang, but he seemed stiff and difficult to approach.

Lin Yufan pressed her lips together tightly; in someone else's car, she had no choice but to endure.

Sun Jingxi finally felt comfortable enough to chat, "That really scared me. Thank goodness you showed up just in time, Zhi Ao."

Zhao Zhiao merely nodded slightly, "I was just passing by."

He didn't explain further or ask more.

Sun Jingxi couldn't help but babble on, "Oh my, that girl is way too bold. What would her parents do then?"

Zhao Lixiang turned and looked at Lin Yufan, his face lit up with an admiring smile, "I didn't expect you to handle it so well."

Lin Yufan didn't want to talk much, she said softly, "I just wanted it to be over quickly."

Her words had a double meaning.

She had wanted to leave the café earlier, and now she wanted to get out of the car sooner.

But Zhao Lixiang didn't catch on, he asked the person with a dark expression beside him, "Bro, how did you know I was at the café?"

Zhao Zhiao glanced at him and didn't respond.

Not getting a response from his brother, Zhao Lixiang didn't mind, he turned back to Lin Yufan. He had always wanted to speak to Lin Yufan alone, but never found the opportunity, either the Zhao family or Xi Gu were always around.

He smiled foolishly at Lin Yufan and tentatively asked, "The chess set Yun Jie always played with, do you still have it?"

Lin Yufan: "Burned it. Burned it for him."

Burned it? No more ties?

The smile on Zhao Lixiang's face grew even brighter.

He wanted to ask her more, but catching his brother's disdainful look, he swallowed his words.

Lin Yufan looked at the street scene outside, she said to Sun Jingxi, "Xi Gu, let's get off here, shall we?"

There was still some distance to go.

Sun Jingxi thought Lin Yufan had other matters to attend to, so she said, "Then let's get off here."

Zhao Lixiang wanted to persuade them to stay, "It's more convenient to take you home."

Zhao Zhiao: "..."

Lin Yufan just wanted to get out of the car quickly, "I need to pick up something at the department store."

The car stopped, and after thanking them again, Lin Yufan followed Sun Jingxi out of the car.

The air on the street felt liberating and sweet, filled with the scent of roasted sweet potatoes.

*

They skipped the rickshaw and decided to walk back instead.

Xi Gu cradled a loaf of bread, while Lin Yufan linked arms with her, chatting as they strolled.

After so many years, walking the streets of Haicheng again, Lin Yufan, returning to a changed world, let go of the earlier unpleasantness.

"Haicheng is still the best place."

When she first moved to Hong Kong, she felt utterly lost.

Compared to Haicheng’s bustling prosperity and glamorous foreign concessions, Hong Kong seemed chaotic and plain.

But she was destined to leave; the narrow, crowded streets of Hong Kong were her true home.

She likely confided her thoughts to Xi Gu.

Sun Jingxi asked with concern, "You want to sneak away from the Second Branch and go to Hong Kong alone?"

"Yes. Xi Gu, why not come with me? The north is at war, and it won’t be long before it spreads here."

Sun Jingxi sighed, "Your uncle would never leave his job. Honestly, nowhere compares to Haicheng. Why not see what kind of husband the Zhao family arranges for you? What if they find someone well-off?"

"Do you know Zhao Ding? A pockmarked face, a bad temper, a widower eager to remarry just three months after his wife’s death. And I don’t want to raise another woman’s child." Having learned her lesson, Lin Yufan wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

Sun Jingxi couldn’t argue, "It’s good for you to go to Hong Kong and escape the chaos for a while. When things calm down, come back, and I’ll find you a good match."

Lin Yufan wasn’t thinking about remarriage unless it was to someone who could give her a life of luxury; otherwise, she’d rather stay single.

Her only worry was how to bring Xi Gu along.

*

Sun Jingxi, worried the Second Branch would cause trouble for Lin Yufan, personally took her home.

With a wedding the next day, the Second Branch’s courtyard buzzed with activity as people hurried about, preparing.

Inside, Gui Xiang whispered to Lin Yufan, "Huan Jieer’s matchmaking this afternoon fell through. The old lady was furious and had just berated the eldest master and his wife. In her anger, the eldest wife said Huan Jieer’s sour expression and hunched posture made her unmarriageable, and even the matchmaker couldn’t help. Second Aunt was upset, and Third Master was fanning the flames. Guess what the eldest master said?"

"What did he say?" Lin Yufan washed her hands at the basin, dried them, and sat down.

"The eldest master said that without unity and cooperation, the family could achieve nothing. He accused you and Third Madam of only caring about reclaiming your own interests and contributing nothing, calling you selfish. He claimed he’d been selflessly devoted to the family but received no gratitude in return." Gui Xiang was indignant, "What he said was heartless."

Lin Yufan didn’t respond; she would have her revenge, and she wasn’t in a hurry.

*

Retribution came quickly.

It arrived the next day.

The Second Branch held a wedding banquet, inviting all the Zhao family’s relatives and friends in Haicheng.

Lin Yufan only entertained her own relatives in her room. As a widow, she wasn’t welcome to join the festivities outside.

Her family came with an aunt and a cousin-in-law, and she had even specifically invited the wildest and most troublesome Fifth Brother.

When Fifth Brother of the Lin family mingled with the relatives, no one could ignore his presence.

After the wedding ceremony, before the banquet began, a swarm of over a dozen police officers arrived and took Zhao Lijie away.

It turned out that Commander Ji had been killed by an explosion on his way back home the previous night. After investigating, it was discovered that a bomb had been planted in the car he was traveling in.

As the last passenger in the car, Zhao Lijie was naturally listed as a suspect.

With the officiant arrested but the guests already present, the wedding banquet couldn’t just stop; it had to go on with the usual fanfare.

However, the atmosphere had completely changed, and eventually, the guests left early, and the banquet wrapped up hastily.

After the guests left, the servants and helpers were busy clearing the tables and chairs.

Lin Yufan was wiping the table in her room with a damp cloth.

A newly hired maid from the old lady’s room peeked in furtively, "Fourth Madam, the old lady sent me to fetch you."

Lin Yufan had expected they would come for her.

She tossed the cloth into the basin by the door, washed her hands, dabbed on some cream, and then strolled over leisurely.

The first-floor hall was packed with relatives from other branches of the Zhao family, all chiming in with advice.

Going up to the second floor of the east wing, the First Madam was wiping her tears in the sitting room, while several other women were comforting the old lady.

Third Master Zhao Mingjie saw Lin Yufan walk in and immediately launched into complaints.

"If you hadn’t been so pushy, making Eldest Brother go to Huide Bank to retrieve those items, he wouldn’t have taken Commander Ji’s car! If he hadn’t taken Commander Ji’s car, he wouldn’t have gotten into trouble!"

Lin Yufan shot Zhao Mingjie a look; for someone like him, all she felt was contempt and disgust.

Her voice was icy, "Did I force Eldest Brother to take Commander Ji’s car? I didn’t, did I? I took a rickshaw myself, and Third Sister-in-law came along. When it came to retrieving the items, you all popped up, claiming you had a stake too. Now that something has happened, you’re only blaming me?"

Zhao Mingjie still wore that same unreasonable expression, "If you hadn’t been so insistent, letting your cousin aunt stir up trouble, and even calling Zhao Lixiang to help, forcing Eldest Brother to return the items yesterday, he wouldn’t have taken Commander Ji’s car."

Lin Yufan stood her ground, "Then why don’t you blame the family for inviting Zhao Zhiao to dinner yesterday, shouldn’t have invited Commander Ji over? If they hadn’t come, nothing would have happened."

"You! You’re just being difficult!"

"Am I being difficult?"

After years of enduring society’s harshness, Lin Yufan was no longer the little widow who would only swallow her anger!

"Compared to you, I’m nowhere near as bad! Don’t try to pin baseless accusations on me. Why have you called me here now? Oh, first to pin charges on me, and then what? After pinning the charges, force me to come up with money to find a way to rescue Eldest Brother to atone for my sins?"

Zhao Mingjie, having had his little scheme exposed, was momentarily speechless.

Lin Yufan turned the tables, "The uncles of the Zhao family are downstairs, should we call them in to settle this? Is this how you bully people?"

The old lady frowned and didn’t speak; she glanced at her daughter.

Second Aunt quickly stepped in to mediate, "Oh, Third Brother, stop talking. Fourth Sister-in-law, your Third Brother has no tact, we are family, and at this time, we shouldn’t be fighting among ourselves."

Lin Yufan scoffed, "Second Sister, since we are family, why didn’t you speak up for me when Third Master was falsely accusing me just now?"

Second Aunt: "!!"

Everyone in the room exchanged glances.

The old lady stayed silent, and the others were at a loss for words, as those who had spoken up had already been "beaten."

But the old lady couldn’t bring herself to beg Lin Yufan for help, especially since Lin Yufan had already anticipated their intentions, she couldn’t bring herself to open her golden mouth.

Seeing the silence, the First Madam finally spoke up, "Fourth Sister-in-law, now we are anxious to rescue Eldest Brother, we need to smooth over the relations, at least ten small gold bars are needed, and we don’t have enough money now. The three small gold bars we gave you yesterday were scrimped and saved by Mother... could you lend them to us for now? The rent from the estate will come at the beginning of next month, and we will return it to you then. We can even calculate interest for you."

Lin Yufan smiled slightly, "So, I guessed right just now, didn't I?"

First, they accused her, then pressured her to pay to "redeem her sins."

Indeed, she guessed correctly!

Third Master Zhao Mingjie was fuming but couldn't argue back.

The eldest sister-in-law fretted, "We have no choice either. In the middle of the night, where can we raise money? Fourth Sister-in-law, for the sake of family ties, could you lend us your money to tide us over?"

Lin Yufan replied, "There's an old saying: 'Borrow and return, and borrowing again won't be difficult.' Lending money is easy, but getting it back is a real challenge. If it weren't for the family preparing for a celebration and fearing my cousin would make a scene, would the family have returned the money to me? I've been asking for years, and every time you claim there's no money."

Seeing Lin Yufan stand her ground, the old lady had to bow her head, "Yufan, I promise you, and I swear to our ancestors, that once the rent from the estate comes in, you'll be the first to be repaid. This is a matter of life and death..."

Lin Yufan tactfully refused, "I returned those three small gold bars to my cousin yesterday."

The eldest sister-in-law didn't believe it, "All three were returned to your cousin?"

"Yes, all of them."

The others were skeptical...

They knew Lin Yufan was making excuses, but for now, no one could do anything about it. The priority was to save Zhao Lijie, not to fight among themselves.

Someone entered the room—it was Nan Geer, the only son of the eldest branch. It should have been his wedding night, but he was still running around for his father's sake.

"Old Lady, Uncle Duo just called Uncle Ao's place. Uncle Ao has a banquet at the city government tonight. Uncle Duo advised waiting for Uncle Ao to return before making any decisions. We shouldn't rush to send gifts now."

Zhao Mingjie quickly added, "Right, I said earlier that we should find Zhao Zhiao. He's the one who can help. If he steps in, we might not even need to spend money."

The eldest sister-in-law looked puzzled, "So we're not sending gifts anymore?"

The old lady pondered, unsure herself, "Let's follow Uncle Duo's advice for now."

"Nan Geer, go and attend to Uncle Duo." After giving the order, the eldest sister-in-law shot Lin Yufan a glare, "In tough times, we still need to count on our own. Some people, though they live under the same roof, have long since given their hearts to others. They're strangers."

Lin Yufan retorted, "Yes, some people, even though they live in the same house, never consider you family. When you're useful, you're family; when you're not, you're a stranger."

The eldest sister-in-law was surprised by Lin Yufan's sharp tongue, usually so quiet.

Knowing she couldn't use Lin Yufan's money, she no longer needed to hold back. The eldest sister-in-law gritted her teeth and cursed, "Lin Yufan, what are you so proud of? You're nothing but bad luck! You caused Fourth Master's death, and you don't even have a son. What gives you the right to act this way here?"

Lin Yufan replied, "I don't have the right to act here, but you sure do, Qin E! When you need me, I'm Fourth Sister-in-law; when you don't, I'm bad luck. If you're so good at changing faces, why not take it to the stage? You're so talented, even the famous actress Qin Lianfang would be envious!"

The eldest sister-in-law was speechless with rage, "You!"

"Also, Zhao Yunjie didn't die because of me. He was a sickly man who married me and ruined my life. Now you say I killed him? Do you have no conscience? If you want to talk about who caused Zhao Yunjie's death, you should look at the root of the problem. It definitely wasn't me." Her implication was that the parents' misdeeds had brought misfortune upon their child.

The old lady had never imagined that her usually obedient fourth daughter-in-law would say such rebellious words.

She was so angry her face turned green.

Third Master and his wife exchanged glances, uneasy as they looked at Lin Yufan, neither daring to speak.

The eldest sister-in-law trembled with rage, "Our Second Branch hasn't fallen yet! Lin Yufan, do you think you can marry Zhao Ding of the Fourth Branch and live a comfortable life? With the way you're acting today, if word gets out, would Zhao Ding still want you? Don't get too cocky! There will be a time when you'll be on your knees begging us!"

Lin Yufan glanced at everyone, her eyes filled with nothing but disdain.

With the money in her hands, she wasn't afraid of offending them. She was waiting to see who would end up begging whom.