Chapter 90: Seeing Through It
Wei En informed Old Master Xia of Xia Chenge’s reply, and Old Master Xia’s heart sank little by little.
As expected, his guess was correct. Xia Minglan was here for this marriage contract, wanting Xu Jingyun to replace Xia Chenge as Ling Hanmu’s fiancée. How could he have been so naive to think a beast would turn into a human?
Old Master Xia gave a bleak smile, heartbroken by Xia Minglan’s unscrupulous proactive attack and Xia Chenge’s step-by-step counterattack.
Old Master Xia pondered for a long time and decided to give Xia Minglan another chance.
If Xia Minglan remained unrepentant, he would not be able to save her.
“Have Minglan come up,” Old Master Xia made up his mind.
Wei En retreated, and Old Madam Xia looked at him, “Old man, what are you planning to do?”
“She pushed Xiao Ge to this extent, and we’re still giving her another chance; we’ve done all we can. If she still insists on her own way, then we’ll just pretend we don’t have such a daughter!” Old Master Xia said with deep sorrow.
Old Madam Xia did not reply. Like Old Master Xia, her heart was being twisted.
Both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh; it hurts wherever it’s cut.
It’s just that some things cannot be overcome by their open-mindedness and repeated forgiveness.
Xia Minglan and her daughter soon came up anxiously. As soon as they entered the room, they asked, “Dad, have you decided what to do? I also had a good talk with Yunyun downstairs, and Yunyun agreed to the plan I mentioned.”
Old Master Xia looked at Xia Minglan’s wolfish ambition, and his heart ached.
How did such a good daughter turn into this?
“Minglan, have you ever considered what would happen if the Ling family took their anger out on you and targeted Jingyun? As you said, if they are unwilling to form an alliance with the Xia family, they will certainly not want to be associated with the Xia family’s in-laws,” Old Master Xia said gently, pretending ignorance.
Xia Minglan thought to herself: Once you acknowledge that Jingyun is engaged to Ling Hanmu, I’ll have plenty of ways to make the Ling family accept this marriage. Then, we’ll have a grand engagement, and why would Jingyun not be able to marry into the Ling family?
However, she put on a worried expression: “The Ling family is prominent in Country A; there’s no need for them to take their anger out on us like this. At most, they’ll privately break off the engagement with us; they won’t publicly announce it!”
“Dad, before Jingyun changes her mind, hurry up and decide. Otherwise, if Jingyun goes back on her word, who knows what kind of scene she’ll cause.” Xia Minglan acted as if she were making a great sacrifice, “Although I don’t want Jingyun to bear the scandal of having her engagement broken off at such a young age, it’s better than provoking Xiao Ge.”
“What if Xiao Ge can’t think straight? Brother only has this one daughter, and I’m also worried…”
Towards the end, Xia Minglan choked up and forced out tears: I’ve even brought up Xia Mingxuan, so you have to agree!
As she expected, Old Madam Xia’s complexion changed drastically, and she said urgently, “Old man, what are you still hesitating for?”
Old Master Xia took a deep breath, as if making a great decision, “Alright, then Jingyun will have to be wronged!”
Upon hearing this, Xia Minglan was overjoyed and couldn’t help but tremble slightly with excitement.
After all this effort, she finally got the two old undying ones to agree.
“Then, what did you use to get engaged to the Ling family back then? Even if there’s no token, there should be some other item representing both parties, right?” Xia Minglan suppressed her excitement and tried her best to make her voice sound calm.
“Xiao Ge saved Ling Hanmu back then; Ling Hanmu should still remember this. When Old Master Xia said this, his heart was bleeding.
He had never mistreated his biological daughter, even giving her half of the Xia family’s industry, yet she was still not satisfied. Like a vampire, she, along with her husband’s family, schemed against her maternal family in every way, even scheming for her niece’s marriage…
The old master didn’t know what sin he had committed in his past life to have such a heartless daughter.
He had given Xia Minglan one last chance, but she remained unrepentant, unwilling to stop until she had taken everything from the Xia family. Heaven knows how much resolve he had to muster to personally dig a trap for his daughter.
He didn’t tell Xia Minglan how Xia Chenge saved Ling Hanmu, nor did he tell Xia Minglan that Ling Hanmu had left a bite mark scar on Xia Chenge’s shoulder that was still there today.
When Xia Minglan and Xu Jingyun heard that Xia Chenge was Ling Hanmu’s life-saving benefactor, they were overjoyed.
They thought that the marriage contract alone would not be enough for the Ling family to acknowledge this marriage, but with the life-saving grace, everything became much more logical!
Xia Chenge, that little slut, is truly blessed with good fortune to have saved Ling Hanmu’s life. However, all of this will be hers from now on! Xu Jingyun was jealous, yet secretly glad that she could reap the benefits.
After receiving Old Master Xia’s promise, Xia Minglan and Xu Jingyun couldn’t be bothered to act anymore and left in a hurry with a casual excuse.
As soon as they left, Old Master Xia seemed to age considerably, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Recalling his decades of life, he had once been spirited and happy. Who would have thought that in his old age, he would end up in such a miserable state?
Old Madam Xia also shed tears in silence, and for a moment, the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.
——
When Xia Chenge returned home from school, she went upstairs first to visit the two elders. She knew how much Xia Minglan’s actions would hurt them.
As soon as Xia Chenge entered the room, she noticed the low atmosphere. The two elders merely said ‘you’re back’ as a formality upon seeing her, unlike their usual habit of asking about her school life in detail.
“Grandfather, are you very sad?” Xia Chenge sat by the bedside and asked softly.
Old Master Xia sighed and remained silent.
Old Madam Xia, however, said, “Xiao Ge, have you encountered a lot of trouble outside? Why don’t you tell us about it?”
“Grandmother, others are just spreading rumors and slandering me. Telling you will only add to your worries. I don’t care about those things; after all, such attacks won’t make me lose a piece of flesh or anything,” Xia Chenge comforted her. “On the contrary, if anything happens to you, I will be sad and upset.”
“So, Grandfather and Grandmother, let’s not care what outsiders say. As long as it doesn’t cause me any substantial harm, there’s no need to pay attention to it. We’ll live our own lives behind closed doors; we don’t need to watch their expressions.”
Xia Chenge’s words immediately eased the emotions of the two elders considerably. They even felt that they had lived for so many years in vain, seeing things less clearly than the child.
“Xiao Ge, it’s great that you can think this way. We were worried that those rumors would hurt you. It seems my Xiao Ge is even stronger than I imagined,” Old Master Xia looked at her with affection.
“Grandfather, I will never forget what Xia Minglan has done. Perhaps this will make you sad, but has she ever made you feel good? After all, you are her biological parents; does she have any filial piety as a child?” Xia Chenge said.
“Xiao Ge, I know she has made many mistakes, but Grandfather still hopes that you can spare her life for my sake,” Old Master Xia pleaded. He knew he was treating Xia Chenge unfairly, but she was his daughter after all.
Xia Chenge sighed. Pity the hearts of parents everywhere. If they knew that Xia Mingxuan’s death was entirely Xia Minglan’s doing, how would they accept it?
