Chapter 464 The Shackles of Marriage Only Bind Women

Chapter 464: Marriage Only Shackles Women

"Mom, I won't behave that way again in the future," Fu Tinghua suddenly added.

Hearing his words, Aunt Lan was stunned.

She truly hadn't expected Fu Tinghua to care so deeply about her feelings.

In an instant, everything suddenly felt worthwhile.

"Don't say that. No matter what you do, I won't mind. I know what kind of person you are and know that you always have your reasons for acting the way you do. You don’t need to worry too much about my feelings," Aunt Lan quickly replied.

She had come to find her son to resolve the persistent worries in her heart, not to make him feel uncomfortable.

"Alright, Mom, can I ask you a question?" Fu Tinghua suddenly inquired.

"Mm, go ahead." He actually had a question for her? Aunt Lan was pleasantly surprised.

"Did you like my biological father?" Fu Tinghua asked.

Aunt Lan was stunned by his question and didn’t know how to respond at first.

"You didn’t like him, did you?" Fu Tinghua stated with absolute certainty.

Aunt Lan hadn’t expected her son to figure her out so quickly. She couldn’t help but nod helplessly.

"His mistress lived right in the courtyard next to mine. If I had still liked him, how much more painful would those decades have been?"

Aunt Lan wanted to laugh thinking about how that woman had flaunted herself arrogantly in front of her.

As if he was some prized catch—she had never liked Gu Yanzhi, not even for a moment.

There was always someone else in her heart—her first love.

Hearing her response, Fu Tinghua knew he hadn’t been mistaken.

"Mm, if he comes looking for you someday, just divorce him. I’ll support you. From now on, you can settle down long-term in Wen City and live with us. That way, we can take good care of you," Fu Tinghua said, and Aunt Lan could sense the sincerity in his promise.

"Alright, I’m just afraid he might refuse to grant the divorce. There’s nothing I can do about that. If Old Master Gu, your grandfather, orders him to divorce me, then there might still be some hope."

At this, Aunt Lan couldn’t help but sigh.

The bonds of marriage only restrain women but don't hold men back at all.

For the sake of this child, she had already made compromises, thinking that she and Gu Yanzhi could live a good life together in the future.

But—

After that woman came into the picture, she rarely even saw Gu Yanzhi anymore.

And before she found her son, she was afraid to leave the Gu family.

After all, the Gu family had extensive connections and even military connections.

What if—just what if—Gu Yanzhi had a conscience and helped her search for their son?

Unfortunately, she had truly been expecting too much. All these years, Gu Yanzhi had been busy with his own career and his own new, separate family. How would he have had time to help her look for their son?

Moreover—he was a son he had never once acknowledged.

"Mom, don't worry, I’ll help you work something out in the future," Fu Tinghua promised.

Since his biological father was no good, Fu Tinghua naturally couldn't let his birth mother remain stuck dealing with someone like that.

"Alright, Tinghua, you don’t need to worry about my problems. I can handle them myself." Aunt Lan knew how busy Fu Tinghua usually was and didn’t want to trouble him.

"It’s no problem. I’ll do whatever I can within my ability."

This conversation between the two really cleared things up.

Aunt Lan felt even closer to her son and was thrilled.

When Su He and the child woke up from their afternoon nap, they saw Fu Tinghua already making dinner.

"Oh? You two didn’t nap at noon?" Su He asked as she moved closer to Fu Tinghua.

"No, we chatted for a while, and before we knew it, it was almost time, so we didn’t end up sleeping."

Fu Tinghua seemed back to his usual self.

"How did it go with Aunt Lan?" Su He was just about to ask when Aunt Lan walked over.

She looked at Su He with a somewhat awkward expression and said with a smile, "Su He, I’ve finished washing the vegetables."

Su He didn’t know what to say. She glanced at Fu Tinghua before turning to Aunt Lan and saying, "Mom, we can handle these things ourselves. It’s cold in the countryside, and you’re not in great health. You should rest for a while first."

Su He was telling the truth—Aunt Lan’s health really wasn’t very good.

But mostly, it was due to worry.

Ever since meeting Fu Tinghua, Aunt Lan felt her health had never been better than it was now.

"I’m fine, Su He. Have you forgotten where I came from?" Aunt Lan asked with a smile.

Only then did Su He remember that Kyoto was undoubtedly way colder than here.

Here, it snowed occasionally, but there, it might snow every day during winter.

"But still, washing vegetables in this weather, your hands must be freezing, right?"

"Tinghua heated up some water for me. It wasn’t cold." Seeing that Su He was still worried, Aunt Lan couldn’t help but laugh.

Fu Tinghua took Su He’s hand and shook his head.

They didn’t want Aunt Lan, who was raised like a lady, to become a housewife doing all the chores after coming to live with them.

What would make them different from jerks if that happened?

No, they’d be even worse than jerks.

As a woman of the 21st century, Su He had seen too many cases of women who gave up their careers for family and ended up always complaining about household chores.

She was also a little afraid that, amid these everyday household stuff, Aunt Lan would gradually go from being grateful to resenting them.

After all, in the past, she never used to do these kinds of things, but here, she had to do everything.

But for Aunt Lan, she wanted to fit in here.

She no longer wanted to be the lady she once was—and besides, that was a long time ago.

She wanted to bond with her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren, and she also wanted to do something for them, so she could truly feel she belonged in this family.

Fu Tinghua realized this point, which is why he just tried his best not to stop Aunt Lan from doing these things.

After a moment’s thought, Su He also understood Aunt Lan's feelings.

She smiled and said in a joking tone, "When we’re better off in the future, we’ll definitely hire a housekeeper or something."

"A housekeeper?" Aunt Lan hadn’t heard the term before and found it novel, she said.

"Oh, like a servant," Su He explained with a laugh.

Aunt Lan thought for a moment, nodded in agreement, and said, "You’re right, such a big family should have a servant. I have money—you can use it to hire one anytime."

As she spoke, Aunt Lan started to take out her bank card.

"Mom, Mom, no, not now—I meant in the future. If we hire one now, my mom would definitely chew me out," Su He quickly stopped her.

Aunt Lan thought about how capable Wen Qing was and realized that a servant wasn’t really needed at the moment.

It wasn’t that Wen Qing could do a servant’s work, but rather that someone like her, who was used to handling these tasks, might get to overthinking if she suddenly had nothing to do. She’d feel she wasn’t making any contribution to her daughter’s family and would probably move back home within a few days.

"Then when the time comes, I’ll help your mom as much as I can," Aunt Lan added.

Su He hesitated for a moment but finally nodded in agreement.

To be honest, if Aunt Lan had kept acting like a guest and done nothing at home, it would have been much harder for her to integrate.

Everyone would have subconsciously treated her as just a temporary guest staying here.

Over time, even if Fu Tinghua and Su He had no issues with it, others might not feel the same.

After all, sympathy only goes so far.