Xia Xiao paused upon hearing this: Sun Yuhua’s father had actually suffered a stroke and been hospitalized. Then she heard Mrs. Sun saying, "Your dad also barely escaped disaster this time, otherwise our family wouldn’t even know what to do now. We can’t blame your sister for it."
"What do you mean escaped disaster, Mom? If Dad were in good health, our family could be doing even better. But now that Dad had a stroke, we’ve become nothing. Now, nobody at the meat processing plant even takes me seriously anymore. Isn’t it all because Dad was hospitalized? Before this, who would dare neglect me?" Sun Yuhua’s eldest brother complained discontentedly.
"I don’t understand men’s affairs, but I do know that your dad escaped a big trouble this time," replied Mrs. Sun.
"What big trouble did he escape? Our family has now offended Yang He. Otherwise, why would Dad have a stroke? You see, Yang He is now doing so well, if our sister had married him, our family wouldn’t be in trouble and could even be doing better," Sun Yuhua’s elder brother said.
"Forget about Yang He; You should stay away from him. If it weren’t for you provoking Yang He and bringing up your sister, would our family be in this state?" Mrs. Sun was also resentful towards her son, but felt powerless to do anything about it.
"Mom, all I wanted was for our family to advance further. Dad has been a senior leader for so many years without any promotion. If our sister were sensible, would our family be ? What’s wrong with Yang He? He has power, influence, status. By marrying him, she could enjoy endless blessings and respect for life. She could have returned to the city to enjoy her life, without having to suffer in the countryside. But she wasted my efforts," he said.
Upon hearing this, Xia Xiao also understood. Sun Yuhua had refused to marry Yang He and then ran away from home to return to the production team. This led to her father having a stroke out of anger. And now, Sun Yuhua’s brother was blaming her. So when Sun Yuhua wrote a letter home, it probably ended up in her brother’s hands.
Once Sun Yuhua’s elder brother had left, Xia Xiao came out of the Suns’ place, reverted to herself and went to knock on the Suns’ door.
"Who could that be again?" Mrs. Sun thought it was her son coming back, so she spoke as she opened the door, only to be stunned when she saw Xia Xiao, "Miss, who are you looking for?"
"Hello, Auntie. Is this Sun Yuhua’s home?" Xia Xiao asked.
"Yes, it is. What do you want?" Mrs. Sun asked, scrutinizing Xia Xiao with her gaze.
Xia Xiao thought Sun Yuhua and her mother looked quite alike. She said, "Hello, I’m from the same village as Sun Yuhua. We were in the production team together. Sun Yuhua asked me to visit her family when I came back to the city, to see if everyone was well."
"Oh, come in, quick." Mrs. Sun immediately let Xia Xiao in upon hearing this, clearly concerned about her daughter.
"Is Yuhua okay? Has she sent any letters back home?" Mrs. Sun poured a cup of water for Xia Xiao and asked urgently.
"Yes," Xia Xiao said as she took out a letter and handed it to Mrs. Sun.
Mrs. Sun hurriedly opened it, but her face turned sour in an instant, "What, she... this wretched girl got married and even has a child now."
"Yes, Auntie." Xia Xiao did not dare to speak out of turn or mention the Gao family for fear of causing trouble for the Suns.
After all, she had just heard Sun Yuhua’s elder brother’s words about someone named Yang He, who wielded a lot of power and even the Suns were wary of him.
"This child, why wouldn’t she tell her family first?" Mrs. Sun was very disappointed.
"Yu Hua sister wrote several letters home, but she never received any reply. She has been worried and couldn’t let go, so when I came back to the city, she asked me to check on you for her."
Xia Xiao stood up and said, "Auntie, I won’t keep you any longer, I need to go home."
"Alright," Mrs. Sun escorted Xia Xiao to the door and watched her leave, only then realizing she had forgotten to ask Xia Xiao’s name. But by the time she ran out, Xia Xiao was nowhere to be seen.
In any case, the message and the letter had been delivered, whether the Suns would reply was up to them.
Xia Xiao first returned to her grandmother’s house. She didn’t reveal herself, wanting just to see how her grandparents were, before checking on her own home.
Seeing that her grandparents were doing well, Xia Xiao headed straight home, only to hear Xia Wei crying as soon as she arrived, "Wu wu, they arrested my dad. They say what my dad wrote was subversive."
Xia Xiao’s heart tightened. Was her second uncle arrested?
"Second Brother, being so careful and cautious, how could you write something wrong?" Xia Weiguo didn’t believe it.
"It was Zhao Yan’s husband. He brought people to arrest my dad. My brother and I went to find my dad and saw them take him away. My brother wouldn’t let me go there and told me to come to tell Uncle," she said.
As soon as she said this, Xia Weiguo’s face hardened as well., and Xia Xiao was filled with rage. Zhao Yan’s man, wasn’t that Liang Wei who had tried to arrest Gao Jiaxing and Xia Chunrong last time?
Without revealing herself, Xia Xiao went directly to the Zhao family’s place. She had to find Liang Wei, hoping they hadn’t harmed her second uncle yet. Otherwise, if they did, Xia Xiao vowed not to rest until she had her revenge.
Xia Xiao arrived at the Zhao family’s home but did not see Zhao Xiang and Zhao Yan. Instead, she ran into Guan Mingli at the entrance. Guan Mingli had changed a lot since Xia Xiao last saw her the previous year. Now, Guan Mingli seemed dark and significantly thinner, with a gaze somewhat vacant and lifeless. Xia Xiao guessed it was because she had lost her child and turned out this way.
To Guan Mingli, her child was everything. After so many years of hope, to have everything destroyed, left with nothing – losing an eight-month pregnancy would be unbearable for any woman. Guan Mingli hadn’t collapsed, perhaps due to hatred.
However, Xia Xiao didn’t sympathize with Guan Mingli. Guan Mingli was not a good person from the start, and it was the Zhao family that had spoiled Zhao Xiang and Zhao Yan, inviting trouble into their own house; they had no one else to blame.