Chapter 65: Chapter 65: How Can You Compare Me to Lu Youxi Chapter 65: Chapter 65: How Can You Compare Me to Lu Youxi She had no guard up at first, and just as she lifted her foot, she realized she couldn’t feel them at all and fell forward onto the ground, almost in the same position Lu Youxi had found Lu Youxue when she opened the door.
Then, Lu Youzhen felt an uncomfortable tingling in her feet, indescribable whether it was pain or itchiness, but although there was some sensation, she couldn’t muster any strength.
Lu Youzhen knew her feet were numb and were recovering, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as her legs and feet were okay.
Enduring the discomfort in her legs, Lu Youzhen supported herself to stand up and turned her head to glare fiercely at Lu Zhenguo and Lu Youxue.
Pointing at them with hatred on her face, she said, “You wait, I won’t let you have an easy time! All of you just wait!”
Lu Youzhen’s mouth had been stuffed with a cloth gag at Lu Zhenguo’s house the whole afternoon, the cloth had absorbed much of the moisture in her mouth, leaving her now parched and hoarse, sounding as rough as parched, cracked earth.
Hearing her own voice, Lu Youzhen was startled.
Additionally, due to dehydration, her throat also hurt significantly.
Furious and aggrieved, Lu Youzhen hurled out her threats before storming out.
On her way home, she overheard gossip about Lu Youxi and Zhou Shuyan.
Lu Youzhen slowed her steps, listening the entire way home.
After getting the gist of the situation, she quickened her pace, rushing home.
Ge Guifen was washing dishes in the kitchen.
Since their return, they had to cook lunch from scratch, plus with the addition of Lu Family’s elders present, they had to cook portions for two more people than usual.
Moreover, coming back hungry and exhausted, Ge Guifen was also scolded by Old Madam Lu.
She said Ge Guifen didn’t know how to manage a household or how to be a daughter-in-law.
She accused her of not thinking to come back to cook, making Old Madam Lu tremble with hunger.
While Old Madam Lu’s scolding still echoed in her ears, Ge Guifen went to make lunch.
After all this hassle, they had only just finished lunch.
During the meal, Old Madam Lu was very picky, criticizing Ge Guifen’s cooking, comparing it unfavorably with Liu Yushu’s, complaining one dish was too salty and another did not have enough meat.
Ge Guifen was so angry that she could barely digest her meal, feeling bloated with gas.
She really wanted to tell Old Madam Lu, “If you like Liu Yushu’s cooking so much, you should go back to her place and see if she still lets you in.”
But with Lu Zhenjia present, she didn’t dare speak.
After barely managing to finish the meal, Ge Guifen was washing up in the kitchen when she heard Lu Youzhen’s loud voice, “Dad, Mom, Lu Youxi has moved to live with Xu Mai at Grandma Xu’s house!”
“Dad, Mom, where are you?” Lu Youzhen called out in the courtyard.
“Annoying girl, stop yelling, you’re killing me with the noise!” Old Madam Lu came out and unleashed a torrent of scolding at Lu Youzhen.
Lu Youzhen sulked with a pout, her mouth having been gagged for three hours, leaving her lips dry and swollen.
Moreover, since she hadn’t had a drink of water from the time she left Lu Zhenguo’s family to her arrival back home, her voice was still rough.
She wanted to inform her family as soon as possible about Lu Youxi with firsthand information, ignoring her own discomfort, but Old Madam Lu ended up scolding her instead.
Tears streamed down Lu Youzhen’s face laced with a sense of injustice, but instead of sympathizing, Old Madam Lu scolded her even more, “Crying, why are you crying! Cry, cry, cry, that’s all you know! Coming back and crying right away, what a jinx!”
“Grandma, you never used to scold me like this before,” Lu Youzhen sobbed.
Old Madam Lu of course didn’t use to scold her in the past.
Lu Family’s elders used to live at Lu Zhenguo’s family, and Old Madam Lu spent her days scolding Liu Yushu and Lu Youxi.
She vented all her inexplicable irritations at Liu Yushu and Lu Youxi, and once there was nothing left to vent, naturally, there was no need to lash out at anyone else.
Besides, Lu Youzhen didn’t visit Lu Zhenguo’s family every day, mostly just occasionally to enjoy some schadenfreude and to act coquettishly around Old Madam Lu once she had finished venting her anger, so of course Old Madam Lu wouldn’t scold her.
But now that Lu Family’s elders were living at their house, there was no one else to scold but Ge Guifen and Lu Youzhen.
“I didn’t realize you could be so disgraceful before!” Old Madam Lu scolded, “You’re no better than Lu Youxi!”
“How… how can you compare me to Lu Youxi!” Lu Youzhen angrily said.
“Of course you can’t compare to Lu Youxi, she at least got into Jing University. Did you?” Old Madam Lu pointedly said, “Your grades at school were always at the bottom, and getting into university is tough for you, let alone Jing University.”
“Now you think Lu Youxi is good again, if you think she’s so great, why don’t you go back to her place!” Lu Youzhen retorted.
Old Madam Lu, fuelled with rage, widened her eyes and grabbed a nearby broom, charging at her, “Fine! You don’t want us living here, do you? I’ll beat you, the unfilial wretch! You are far worse than your brother! Poor in studies and disrespectful!”
Hearing the noise, Ge Guifen hurriedly dropped the dish she was washing and rushed out, grabbing the broom from Old Madam Lu’s hands, “Mom, what are you doing! All this scolding and hitting as soon as you arrive!”
“Are you rebelling too?” Old Madam Lu pointed at Ge Guifen and scolded.
Ge Guifen was no Liu Yushu; she had tolerated Old Madam Lu for a long time during lunch, “Mom, we are all dutiful to you, but you can’t just hit and scold people for no reason! It’s just Youzhen’s character to be loud when she speaks, what’s the big deal? Can’t one even control the volume of their own voice at home?”
“She raised her voice too high for me! Did you not hear what she just said to me?” Old Madam Lu angrily replied.
“Mom, you’re getting older and your hearing isn’t great; we always speak loudly when talking to you,” Ge Guifen rolled her eyes.
“Lu Zhenjia! Come out here! Can you not control your wife and daughter anymore?” Old Madam Lu trembled with anger.
“Mom, calm down,” Lu Zhenjia came running out, but instead of blaming Ge Guifen or Lu Youzhen, he asked, “Youzhen, what were you saying when you came in? Where did Youxi move to?”
Ge Guifen protected Lu Youzhen, wiping her tears.
Although earlier at Lu Zhenguo’s house, Lu Youzhen had betrayed her without hesitation, Ge Guifen still couldn’t help but protect Lu Youzhen.
“Stop crying, and tell us what happened,” Ge Guifen said, annoyed by the continued weeping.
Constant crying solves nothing!
“I need a drink of water first,” Lu Youzhen rasped, “I haven’t had water all afternoon, my mouth was gagged, and it’s all dry. Then I endured a sore throat all the way here to gather information. Who knew that upon returning…”
Lu Youzhen glanced at Old Madam Lu, signaling that she was scolded upon her return.
Old Madam Lu, seeing that glance, was about to explode again in rage, but then Lu Zhenjia interjected, “Then come inside and have a drink of water, and tell us everything in detail.”