Chapter 583: Chapter 398: Thoughts (Merry Christmas, everyone!)
After his daughter had taken her parents and siblings to accompany his wife to Lin Baohe’s hospital room, Jiang Yuesheng felt a continuous pressure in his heart.
He was very clear about which among Che Yali and Zhao Yulan was more suitable to be his wife, but for the sake of his career, he did not hesitate to choose Che Yali.
Did he regret it?
When he was being scolded by Che Yali’s parents, when he was ordered by Che Yali to prepare footbaths, he regretted it to death.
However, when flattered by his subordinates, envied by classmates and friends, and taken pride in by his parents and siblings, he was extremely relieved.
In this conflict of emotions, his father-in-law retired, and he gradually climbed to the highest position in the county. Meanwhile, his status in the Che family also began to change, bit by bit.
Che Yali had an older sister, Che Yaping, who married a son of her father-in-law’s old colleague, someone with a background comparable to the Che family. Whereas he was only a son of an ordinary worker. Therefore, when he previously accompanied Che Yali to her mother’s home, it was always the elder brother-in-law who chatted with the father-in-law, the wife and the elder sister-in-law who chatted with the mother-in-law, and he, who was responsible for preparing meals in the kitchen for everyone.
Since his promotion to county head five years ago, he finally did not have to enter the kitchen anymore and could join the elder brother-in-law to chat with the father-in-law.
What made him most proud was that he got to where he was today through his own efforts. The elder brother-in-law relied on his parents when he was young and now on his daughter.
The change in Che Yali’s attitude towards him was even greater, and although she still had a tigress-like personality, she definitely wouldn’t curse or strike as before.
He knew that without his father-in-law’s support, he would not have achieved his success today, so overall, he felt more fortunate than regretful.
Yet, he also knew that he owed Zhao Yulan.
When he was younger, he still thought of her, hoping that one day she would seek him out so he could help her a little, to ease some of the guilt in his heart.
But when Zhao Yulan actually appeared before him seeking help, seeing that face covered with hardships, he felt too estranged, so he couldn’t nod in agreement or utter a word to help.
When his wife was scratching Zhao Yulan, he wanted to reach out to stop it, but halfway through, he withdrew his hand, hoping through this attitude to make Zhao Yulan understand that she could no longer ask favors of him.
After that incident had passed, he had truly let go of the past; not seeing her might leave him fantasizing, but seeing her completely erased any lingering thoughts.
He thought he would never cross paths with Zhao Yulan again in this lifetime, but unexpectedly, they met again, which even caused his wife to misunderstand again.
He certainly knew that having his parents and siblings accompany his wife to confront Zhao Yulan was deeply unfair to Zhao Yulan, but he could not go against his wife’s temperament.
Although his status in the Che family had risen and his father-in-law had already retired, there was still an important member of the Che family he absolutely could not offend, which was his elder sister-in-law, Che Yaping.
Of course, Che Yaping herself was nothing to be afraid of, but her daughter, Qiao Ying, married Qiao Ningjiang from the military family Qiao Family. Although his wife was not quite pleasant, she was very close to her elder sister-in-law, Che Yaping, even closer than with her mother-in-law, and Che Yaping also loved Che Yali dearly.
So, for both public and private reasons, he could not offend his wife and could only let her have her way in bullying Zhao Yulan, yet he also hadn’t reached a point of being completely devoid of conscience. From the moment the group left, he was as anxious as if he were on a frying pan.
Just as he was anxious enough to want to go and see the situation himself, the door was pushed open, and his wife, daughter, and his parents along with his siblings walked in.
"How did it go?" Jiang Yuesheng asked, his face clearly anxious.
"Are you asking about me or Zhao Yulan?" Che Yali, full of anger, stared at him and explosively asked.
"Haven’t I followed your wishes? My parents and siblings also came, are you still displeased?" Jiang Yuesheng frowned, staring at her, "What exactly do you want?"
"Dad, don’t blame mom, that woman was too bullying..." Jiang Meixiang quickly recounted the recent encounter to Jiang Yuesheng, while Father Jiang, Mother Jiang, and Second Uncle Jiang and Little Aunt Jiang echoed alongside.
"I can’t let this go, after all, you caused this trouble, you must restore my dignity," Che Yali said vehemently.
While pondering the whole matter, Jiang Yuesheng remained silent.
"Hey, are you dead?" Che Yali pushed him forcefully, "I am speaking to you, or are you still thinking about that old fox spirit?"
Old Man Jiang and Old Lady Jiang, along with Second Uncle Jiang and Little Aunt Jiang, were used to such scenes. Although they were uncomfortable with Che Yali’s attitude towards Jiang Yuesheng, they knew they couldn’t provoke her, so they simply bowed their heads and played mute.
"Have you gone mad?" Jiang Yuesheng stared at Che Yali, "Haven’t you thought about it? So many of you went and still didn’t gain any advantage. What advantage would I get if I went?
I’ve told you countless times, I have no feelings for Zhao Yulan anymore, in fact, if you didn’t mention her, I would never even remember her.
But you, you’re always dwelling on this trivial matter. Think about it—who looks younger, you or her? Who can help me, you or her? Who’s the mother of my children, you or her?..."
"What are you talking about?" Che Yali pushed Jiang Yuesheng, "Can you even compare these things? I know you wouldn’t marry her, but I won’t allow you to have her in your heart, I won’t allow you to help her, and I certainly won’t allow her to pester you. So, every time I see her, I’ll hit her. I want to make sure she never dares to appear in front of you again!"
"What you’re saying doesn’t exist. I’ve said it a thousand times, why can’t you get out of this fixation?" Jiang Yuesheng waved his hand in frustration, "Forget it, it’s my fault anyway, let’s just leave it at that."
"Why?" Che Yali quickly stiffened her neck, "Why should we leave it at that? I was the one who got beaten, I was the one who lost out, why should it just be left at that?"
"Meixiang also said that Zhao Yulan’s husband’s relatives don’t seem like peasants. They know your identity and yet dared to treat you like that, why?
If Zhao Yulan really did come to find me and threatened you, I would now go and settle accounts with her—I could find a justification. But the problem is, you misunderstood her.
Under these circumstances, would there be any difference between me going and you going? Why didn’t I go just now? Because it wouldn’t be right nor forceful! Alright, let’s end this matter here. I hope I never have to see Zhao Yulan again in my life."
"You won’t stand up for me, so I’ll go find big sister. She will definitely help me," Che Yali said as she got up and walked out, "I can’t just let this go."
"You, you, you..." Jiang Yuesheng suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed.
"Dad!"
"Yuesheng!"
"Brother!"
The exclamations of several people pulled Che Yali back. She thought Jiang Yuesheng was faking it, but seeing his face turning purplish, she immediately panicked, "Alright, alright, I won’t go find my sister. You really, even if I was going to find her, I wouldn’t complain about you. I just wanted her to vent for me."
Jiang Meixiang had already run out to find the doctor.
After the examination, the doctor warned everyone not to upset the patient anymore, or it would invalidate all of the treatment from the past few days.
Jiang Yuesheng had once suffered from myocarditis, which had completely recovered with treatment. However, due to disappointing results in the recent election, his condition relapsed.
He had been hospitalized for half a month already and had almost recovered, but a sudden relapse now frightened Che Yali, who dared not mention the idea of confronting Zhao Yulan again.
Of course, this knot in her heart was definitely not untied.
Jiang Yuesheng’s sudden illness was certainly not on account of Zhao Yulan, but rather from his daughter’s account, he sensed a significant change in Zhao Yulan’s family circumstances. Without a clear understanding of the situation, especially at this sensitive time, he did not want to make more enemies for himself.
Jiang Yuesheng’s condition worsened, but Lin Baohe’s health was recovering very quickly.
After lunch, he was noticeably better and by evening, Qiao Ying clearly told everyone that discharging him the next morning would be no problem.
Originally, Grandpa Lin planned to visit Little Aunt’s home as an advance guard, but he changed his mind after seeing Lin Baohe’s rapid recovery.
He decided to give Little Aunt a surprise.
In the evening, Grandpa Lin and the others made do with a night at the hotel, and early the next morning, after Qiao Ying conducted a thorough check on Lin Baohe, she issued his discharge notice.
"Your Little Aunt married Qiao Laoer of the Qiao family from the Capital City, a notable man. If really compared, he could match up to Chuxia’s husband’s family, even surpassing the Zhou family," Grandpa Lin educated his nephew Lin Baohe on their way to Little Aunt’s home.
"Great-grandfather, I want to know, how old is Great Aunt this year?" Chuxia had been holding back this awkward question, unable to contain it any longer.
"What do you think?" Grandpa Lin teased.
"Over a hundred?"
"Hehe..." Grandpa Lin laughed, "Great Aunt is the youngest at home, senior in rank but not much older than me in age, exactly seventy-eight this year."
"Ah?" Chuxia wanted to ask how old the Great-grandfather and Great-grandmother were when they had Great Aunt, but the words died on her lips.
Instead, Grandpa Lin took the initiative to respond, "When Great Aunt was born, your Great-grandmother was already nearly fifty, so even though there’s a generation between us, we really grew up together."
Lin Baohe’s Little Aunt’s home was located in a three-story building in the eastern outskirts of Songshui County. When they arrived, it was just eight o’clock.
-------------------(To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it or send monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit to read.)