Chapter 169 - 166: Zhou Lian’s Unwarranted Disaster
Early in the morning, after bidding farewell to the well-wishers, Li Xiu set off for the Capital City. He held Nuonuo in his arms and led Li Bao by the hand, with several large bags of luggage in tow. He didn’t let out a sigh of relief until the train began to move. ’I should avoid bringing Nuonuo back here in the future,’ he thought. ’It’s just too exhausting.’ He had been constantly worried she’d get bumped or squashed in the crowds, and even more terrified she’d start crying. Luckily, Nuonuo was very well-behaved, resting quietly on her father’s shoulder the entire time, staring at everything with wide, curious, dark eyes.
"Brother, how long until we get there?" Li Bao asked curiously, looking at how packed the train was.
Li Xiu carefully adjusted Nuonuo’s sleeping position and whispered, "Tomorrow morning. Why, are you getting anxious?"
"No, I just feel a bit... unsettled," Li Bao said, a little embarrassed. Even though his brother was with him, the thought of a strange, unfamiliar city was daunting. Suddenly leaving the place where he’d grown up left him feeling lost and unsure of himself.
Li Xiu smiled. "What’s there to be unsettled about? When your sister-in-law started university last year, it was my first time in the Capital City, too. I didn’t know a soul. You have to learn to step out of your comfort zone. The world out there isn’t as scary as you think."
"Okay, I’ll listen to you, Brother," Li Bao said obediently after a moment’s thought.
Li Xiu shook his head with a smile. ’Best to take things slow,’ he thought. He said gently, "When we get to the Capital City, I’ll have someone show you the ropes for a while. Your job is to watch more, do more, think more, and talk less. Don’t rush; just learn at a steady pace. Once you’ve learned everything you need to, you’ll be able to stand on your own. Brother didn’t bring you to the Capital City to do menial chores. I’ll have other things to handle later on. This whole operation—I expect you to be the one to take the lead in the future."
Li Bao stared at him in astonishment. "Brother, you want me to take the lead? Do you think I can really do it?"
"Why not? You’re already thinking of backing out before you’ve even started. Is that what I taught you!" Li Xiu shot him a glare, exasperated.
"Brother, it’s just that I don’t know the first thing about any of this!" Li Bao protested. ’I’m completely clueless, and he wants me to take the lead. Is it any wonder I’m shocked and scared? Brother is as overbearing as always. He never considers that not everyone can be like him—clever, cunning, and calculating since he was a kid.’
"And didn’t I just say you’re going to learn? Or are you too stupid to learn anything now?" Li Xiu shot back without ceremony.
"I’ll learn! Of course I can learn. But, Brother, why are you so testy?" Li Bao muttered. ’Brother is acting a little strange. He’s always had a temper, but he’s never been like this.’
Li Xiu glared at him but said nothing. He was, in fact, feeling restless and irritable. Why? Because he missed his wife, of course. He’d been away from home for days. His wife was pregnant, and he had no idea if she was suffering from morning sickness. Li Xiu hadn’t realized it yet, but whenever he was separated from Zhou Lian for more than two days, his temper became exceptionally short. This trait would later lead to constant teasing about how he couldn’t live without his wife. It also had the convenient side effect that at social engagements, no one would dare pull any shady business to try and get on his bad side.
Li Bao snuck a few glances at Li Xiu before whispering, "Brother, are you missing Sister-in-law? We’ll see her tomorrow. Surely you can’t be this impatient that you can’t even wait one more day, right?"
Shooting him an irritated glare, Li Xiu couldn’t stop himself from fretting. "But that’s still a whole day away! Your sister-in-law is pregnant. I wonder if her morning sickness is severe. Is she eating properly?"
’He’s nagging like Tang Seng,’ Li Bao thought, secretly rolling his eyes. He still wasn’t used to seeing this side of his brilliant and formidable older brother. He’d seen it often enough back home, but couldn’t he rein it in a little in front of his own younger brother? ’Besides, I just left my own pregnant wife to come to the Capital City all by myself, you know!’
Meanwhile, in the Capital City, Zhou Lian had no idea that Li Xiu was already on a train heading back. She was dealing with a bit of trouble herself. Staring at the unfamiliar middle-aged woman before her, Zhou Lian wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. ’What is this mess?’
The woman was exquisitely dressed, with a neat, ear-length bob, but her face was a mask of arrogance as she rattled on. "You’re nothing but a country bumpkin who got lucky and tested into university. Now that you’ve latched onto the Zhang Family, you should be focused on sucking up to them, not overreaching and trying to drive a wedge between my son and Zhang Hongying. Do you take our Wang family for a bunch of pushovers? I don’t care what you’re plotting, but you’d better fix this. Get Zhang Hongying straightened out. If she keeps fighting with my son, I’ll make you regret it!"
"Ma’am, you claim to be the mother of Zhang Hongying’s fiancé. Setting aside whether that’s true or not, what does a tiff between Hongying and her fiancé have to do with me? If you’re looking for a punching bag, you shouldn’t have come looking for me." Zhou Lian took a sip of the red date and longan tea Sister Fang had poured for her, her voice calm and unhurried. ’What a character. And here I thought she was supposed to be some cunning, calculating woman. This is all she is?’
"How is it none of your business? They were perfectly fine before! She only started fighting with my son after she met you. I’m telling you, don’t you try to deny it. I’ve seen plenty of women like you. You’re just..."
"Just what?" Wang Dongfang burst into the room, panting, cutting Mrs. Wang off mid-sentence. "Where did this crazy old hag come from, storming into my sister-in-law’s home to cause a scene? You think there are no men in this family to stand up for her?!" ’Sister-in-law is pregnant,’ he thought, ’and before Big Brother left, he told me a thousand times: if anyone dares to cause trouble for her, fight back immediately. He’d take responsibility for whatever happened!’
"You... you..."
"You what? Who the hell are you? Who let you in? Are people Under the Imperial City all this brazen nowadays? Barging into any house you please? Is there no law anymore!" Wang Dongfang was now going full throttle. ’We all know how much Brother cares about Sister-in-law. For this old woman to take advantage of his absence to come here and corner her... does she really think we’re all just going to stand by and watch?’
"Sister in law Wang, I’d also love to know what you think you’re doing here, in the home of my daughter’s friend and classmate." Mrs. Zhang had just reached the courtyard when she heard the voices from inside. She stared coldly at Mrs. Wang, her own voice calm. ’I really overestimated her. I always thought she was cunning, but it seems she’s nothing special after all. Still, making a scene at Zhou Lian’s home like this... this won’t be easy to resolve. Especially since Zhou Lian is pregnant. If anything were to happen to her, no one would escape the consequences.’
"Xiao Zhou, how are you? Are you all right?" Not waiting for Mrs. Wang to answer, Mrs. Zhang turned to Zhou Lian with a concerned smile.
Zhou Lian smiled back at her. "I’m fine, Auntie, don’t worry. I’m all right." She stood to offer Mrs. Zhang her seat. ’I understand why Mrs. Zhang is so anxious,’ she thought. ’Part of it is genuine concern for me, but the other part is surely because of Li Xiu’s connections to those old men in the Imperial Palace.’
Zhang Hongying’s face was pale as she looked at Zhou Lian, her eyes overflowing with unconcealed worry. ’What is all this? How did Wang Song’s mother find Zhou Lian’s house? How did she even know we were friends? And where did she get the ridiculous idea that I’m fighting with Wang Song because of Zhou Lian? Never mind the nature of my friendship with Zhou Lian—her current condition alone means she can’t be subjected to this kind of stress! How can a woman that old be so utterly clueless!’