Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Gao Mingzhu’s heart clenched, and she immediately stepped forward to grab Mother Huo’s arm. In the dim light, she saw Mother Huo’s face was all wet and her eyes were red and swollen.

She’d obviously been crying!

Mother Huo, caught off guard, got flustered and quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand, her voice all choked up and nasally: “Ming, Mingzhu, what are you doing out here?”

Gao Mingzhu’s face got serious: “Mom, why are you crying? What happened? Who upset you?”

“No, nothing like that.” Mother Huo’s eyes darted away, still trying to hide it. “I wasn’t crying. It’s just, the wind was blowing hard earlier, and it got something in my eye. I rubbed it a couple of times…”

Gao Mingzhu said nothing, just stared at her steadily.

You think I’m buying that?

Mother Huo: “…”

“So what really happened?” Gao Mingzhu asked again, her tone a bit harder. “If you don’t come clean, then I’m going back to tell Huaichuan! What do you think he’d do if he found out his mom was sneaking off to cry here? Would he freak out? Would he march right over to the old house to find out?”

“No! Don’t you tell him!” Mother Huo freaked out at the mention of Gao Mingzhu telling Huo Huaichuan, blurting out her objection without thinking.

Even though Huo Huaichuan had never been super close to her, she knew deep down he was a good son. He’d told her before not to take crap from anyone and to let him know if she was mistreated.

He’d have her back.

If he found out she’d been crying, with his leg messed up and his stubborn streak, he might really ignore his bad leg and go after them… It’d cause a huge mess and stir up trouble.

The last thing she wanted was to cause more trouble for Huo Huaichuan and Gao Mingzhu.

But the second the words left her mouth, she realized her reaction was too strong. It was basically admitting she’d been crying.

She hung her head sheepishly, like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Gao Mingzhu watched her mother-in-law, all weak and resigned, and felt a mix of anger and frustration at her spinelessness.

She took a deep breath, forced herself to be patient, and softened her tone: “Mom, just tell me who was messing with you. Spill it, and we’ll figure it out together.”

Seeing Mother Huo still hesitating, Gao Mingzhu turned up the pressure: “If you don’t tell me, I’m going to the old house right now to ask! I bet I’ll get an answer!”

“No, no, no! Please don’t!” Mother Huo grabbed Gao Mingzhu’s arm, scared stiff.

After seeing Gao Mingzhu’s fiery temper yesterday, she knew she’d actually do it: “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you…”

“Then spit it out already!”

“Well…” Mother Huo sighed and, hesitantly, told her everything that had happened at the old house—how Lin Meilan had been all sarcastic, how Niuwa and Zhuwa had been crying and hitting her, and how Lin Meilan had twisted things around, saying she wasn’t their real grandma and wanted to hit the kids. She told Gao Mingzhu the whole story.

Gao Mingzhu’s temper flared: “How can Lin Meilan and them be so heartless?!”

She’d only been married into the Huo family for a little over six months, but she’d seen how much Mom Huo had given to Old Man Huo and the eldest and second branches of the family.

She never shirked work and doted on those children, holding them in the palm of her hand. When there was something good to eat, she would save it for them instead of eating it herself. When the children were scolded by their parents, Mom Huo would rush to protect them.

Calling her a real grandma was no exaggeration!

“You’ve been too good to them! So good that they take it for granted!” Gao Mingzhu suppressed her anger and said, “And what about Father? Didn’t he say a word for you?”

“No.” Mentioning this made Mother Huo even more upset, and her tone carried resentment. “He just sat on the doorstep with his broken pipe, smoking, without even lifting his head!”

Hearing this, Gao Mingzhu was even more furious.

What kind of husband was that? Others might not know how much his wife had given, but didn’t he, as her husband, know?

Thinking of this, a sudden flash of insight struck Gao Mingzhu—

In her past life! Huo Huaichuan had once mentioned to her that Old Man Huo had a mistress outside. When Mother Huo found out, it caused a huge, ugly scene…

This came up when she asked Huo Huaichuan about the Huo family after her divorce in their past life, and he had inadvertently let it slip.

But he wasn’t one to gossip, and he probably felt that family scandals shouldn’t be aired—just like now, with his leg disabled, he was particularly resistant to letting her see him in a sorry state. He never liked exposing his flaws and wounds to her.

So he had only mentioned it very briefly, not even saying who the woman was.

Gao Mingzhu’s face turned very dark, and her eyes grew cold.

Seeing her suddenly fall silent with such a frightening expression, Mother Huo grew uneasy: “Mingzhu? What’s wrong? Why do you look so upset?”

Gao Mingzhu snapped back to reality, looking at Mother Huo with a complicated gaze. Suddenly, she said something that left Mother Huo stunned: “Mom, how about you get a divorce?”

“Ah?!” Mother Huo recoiled, her eyes wide with disbelief: “D-Divorce?! How did it come to divorce?”

“Why can’t you?” Gao Mingzhu grew more convinced the idea was feasible. “He’s not good to you, and he’s never shown much care for Huaichuan! He clearly favors the eldest and second branches! What’s worse, you’ve given so much for them—more than a real mother would—and yet Lin Meilan and her sons treat you like this, and he doesn’t even say a word! What are you keeping a man like that for? To suffer for the rest of your life?”

“…It’s not to the point of divorce.” Mother Huo said weakly, looking at Gao Mingzhu’s young, fiery, and puzzled face, and shook her head with a bitter smile. “Marriage isn’t something you can just decide to end. It’s not that easy!”

“Why can’t you?” Gao Mingzhu thought the logic was simple. “Isn’t it just a matter of a divorce certificate? You don’t have any valuable property to split, and now you don’t even need to divide the land. Just settle your work points, and it’s done! If you have nowhere to live, you can stay with us. We still have an empty room!”

Mother Huo was taken aback: “…” Put that way, divorce didn’t seem that hard?

But she quickly waved her hand vigorously, as if to shake off this “terrible” thought: “It’s not that simple, Mingzhu! You’re young and don’t understand the complexities. Divorce is really not that easy! Besides, in this world, what woman would ask for a divorce? If I really divorced, I’d be gossiped to death!”

In their entire region, no one had ever heard of a divorce. Only widows or widowers remarried. If someone divorced… they’d be drowned in spit and scorn!

“What kind of logic is that?” Gao Mingzhu found it even more absurd. Though she knew such views existed in the country, she still couldn’t accept it. “I’ve seen plenty of divorced people abroad, and they live just fine.”

Mother Huo: “…” In Mingzhu’s mouth, divorce sounded as casual as commenting on today’s weather.

“It’s really not what you think.” Mother Huo, at a loss for words, could only repeat herself.

She had never considered divorce.

Seeing her stubborn refusal to budge, Gao Mingzhu’s frustration at her lack of backbone flared up again.

Why hadn’t she pressed Huaichuan more in her past life about who Old Man Huo’s mistress was? If she knew now, she could expose it, and maybe Mom would finally have the resolve to divorce!

No, she had to find a way to figure out who that mistress was!

Seeing Gao Mingzhu fall silent with an increasingly dark expression, lost in thought, Mother Huo grew nervous.

Was Mingzhu angry? Did she think she was hopeless?

…But marriage wasn’t a game!

Afraid Gao Mingzhu would bring up divorce again, she quickly changed the subject: “Um, Mingzhu, weren’t you boiling water just now? You should get back to it. I need to go too! As for today, it’s really just me overthinking things. Don’t take it to heart, and especially don’t tell Huaichuan! Alright, I’m off!”

With that, she fled.

Gao Mingzhu: “…” Watching her mother-in-law’s hurried retreat, she felt even more frustrated.

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