In the kitchen, Xia Zhen brewed another pot of tea, but instead of delivering it herself, she had a servant do it!
Her main reason was that she didn’t want to see Qi Qun!
Every time Qi Qun came to the Lu family, she created either a big or small fuss. Even though Xia Zhen was used to it after several decades, it didn’t mean she wasn’t fed up!
She didn’t want their relationship to be strained. After all, on the surface, she was an elder, so she just gritted her teeth and endured it when she could!
When she couldn’t, she simply avoided Qi Qun!
Not far off, Mum Yu was chatting with Uncle Zhang.
Remembering that she needed to ask Mum Yu something, she went over. But before she got there, she stopped in her tracks!
She heard Mum Yu asking Uncle Zhang, "Why didn’t the Young Madam come back with them? Weren’t they supposed to pick her up from the airport together?"
Xia Zhen frowned - she had wanted to ask the same thing when she saw her son come home alone, but since the situation was unusual, she held back!
Uncle Zhang replied, "Initially, the Young Master planned to come back with the Young Madam, but after the Madam called, the Young Master didn’t bring the Young Madam back and sent her to a friend’s place instead!"
Mum Yu nodded in understanding, "That sounds about right. The wife of the Young Master’s cousin, honestly, how should I put it - every time she comes, she causes great distress for our Madam. It’s so magnanimous of our Madam to have put up with her this long without having a falling-out. If it were me, who knows what kind of fuss I would have kicked up by now! Probably, the Young Master didn’t want the Young Madam to see such a scene, that must be why he didn’t bring her back home!"
Old Zhang sighed too, "That should be it. But actually, the Young Master used to treat the cousin’s wife rather well, it seemed. It was only after the death of the young lady that he began to grow cold. Her death must have caused many changes in him. In any case, they are too deeply concerned about this family matter, something that we can’t understand. Hopefully, the cousin’s wife won’t kick up too much of a fuss this time, or else there will be no peace in the Lu family again!"
Upon hearing this, Xia Zhen’s eyes wavered and her heart sank slightly.
Ever since she married into the Lu family, because of her husband’s busy schedule in the Military District, she had no choice but to handle all the family affairs.
Leaving her job at the law firm, giving up her beloved legal profession - did she not feel a bit of loss? Of course she did.
But in a marriage, somebody must make sacrifices for the family. Her husband, Lu Wenming, couldn’t be the one to do so, so it had to be her!
Over these many years, she stood by the Lu family, watched over Old Master Lu, tended to her own children, and gracefully maintained the household.
Was it hard? Honestly, it was.
A woman transitioning from the bloom of her youth to hair streaked with white, no husband by her side, with only herself to shoulder everything — how could it not be hard?
But she had no regrets. She considered herself lucky to have married into the Lu family, and lucky to be Lu Wenming’s wife!
All these years, she believed she had been devoted to the Lu family. However, her daughter’s premature death left a scar in her heart, a wound she never dared touch!
Her daughter was her own flesh and blood, she raised her, and watched her grow. She failed to protect her daughter, and this guilt weighed on her heart!
She felt regret towards her husband Lu Wenming, towards the Lu family, and towards Old Master Lu!
So, while she was immersed in the pain of losing her daughter, she served Old Master Lu even more devotedly, taking care of all the matters in the Lu family...
And so, she doted on her younger daughter Qingtian even more, but increasingly neglected her grown-up son Lu Yinchu!
Yes, her son had changed, changed a lot. Since Xiaoyue’s death, he became increasingly mature and steady, but also more silent and taciturn!
Even his attitude towards Qi Qun had changed. Upon reflection, she realized there certainly was a difference. Initially, she thought her son was merely holding a grudge, and although he had this grudge from the beginning, he was good at hiding it and was always polite to Qi Qun. Now, things were clearly different! But why?
However, even Uncle Zhang noticed the change in Lu Yinchu’s attitude, but as his biological mother, she didn’t!
Uncle Zhang mentioned that her son had grown up and his thoughts deepened. Indeed, even as his mother, she found it harder to understand him!
Around half past nine, Qi Qun came out with Li Weihuan and Yi Mu, with Lu Yinchu trailing behind them!
Yi Mu and Li Weihuan greeted Xia Zhen politely. She acknowledged them, putting on a fake smile, "Are you all leaving now?"
Qi Qun smirked, "Should we stay and spend the night here instead?"
Lu Yinchu squinted his eyes, Li Weihuan looked uncomfortable, but Xia Zhen simply laughed it off and didn’t take it to heart. She only told her son, "You go escort them out first, I’ll go check on the Old Master. Don’t rush off afterwards, I have something to ask you!"