1079 Not Now
“Can I have the other letter?” asked Raelle.
Lu Shun shook his head as he responded, “No.”
“Why? That is also written for me,” said Raelle.
“Yes, but the condition to send out that letter doesn’t match,” replied Lu Shun professionally. “I was asked to send out only one letter. Whichever one matched the conditions. I can’t give out the other ones. That’s against the instructions I received from my client.”
Even Raelle knew she couldn’t force him to go against his principles. Even if his client was no longer around, he had to respect his client’s wishes.
“What are you gonna do with that letter?” asked Raelle.
“I’ll dispose of it properly,” replied Lu Shun.
Raelle nodded her head in understanding. She sat down as she held the letter in her hand and her eyes were stuck on the words written on it. The handwriting on the letter was very delicate and elegant. It had a feminine touch and was beautiful to look at. Somehow, Raelle was able to see the happiness of the person who wrote the letter.
It just showed how much Qian Yin wanted Raelle to become her daughter-in-law.
.....
“Mr. Lu, may I ask a few things?”
Lu Shun also sat down and gave her a nod, indicating that she was allowed to ask anything she wanted.
“You knew my late mother-in-law for a long time, right?”
“Yes,” replied Lu Shun. “She wasn’t just a client. She was a friend first.”
“Then why do you think she chose to write this letter to me? Was she really expecting the future to be like this?”
Lu Shun was silent for a moment but eventually, he decided to share it with her. “Do you know that Qian Yin had long drifted away from her own family?”
“I know.”
“Then do you know why it was so?”
“She abandoned everything for love,” replied Raelle.
Lu Shun sighed, “Indeed. She did abandon everything for love and the cost she had to pay in return was too much. She lost everything. Even the love she was fighting for.”
“I know,” said Raelle.
“She believed that she had failed her family and that’s why to accumulate merits for her parents and her brother whom she failed the most, she started visiting the monastery. She was never a devotee but she became one slowly. If it meant that she could get the forgiveness of the people she hurt because of her recklessness.” He looked up at Raelle and added, “She told me that she met an esteemed monk and he told her that there were two marriages in Xian’s destiny. When she learned it, she was very uncomfortable for a very long time. But it also left her with a hope that perhaps, the second time around, Xian will be able to find you.”
“So, she was prepared for all sorts of scenarios just because of those words from a fortune teller?”
Lu Shun chuckled, “It seems bizarre that she really believed a fortune teller but she really did. The reason was simple too. She would rather believe in this nonsense than not. Just like she was told long ago that she won’t live long. Her life star wasn’t that bright.”
Raelle looked up at him, “She knew she wasn’t gonna live long?”
Lu Shun nodded, “Well, those were just words. She always said she doesn’t take them seriously but the truth was, deep down, she planned everything because she believed in those words.”
That explained why she planned so far ahead in time when it was completely unnecessary to do so. It wasn’t like she died from an illness. It was an accident that took her life but she still seemed to know that she wasn’t gonna be around for long.
“She lost a lot of people in her life. Her parents, her brother, her first love, and even the person who loved her like her sister. All of this had left a very deep wound in her heart which was hard to get rid of. She did a lot of good deeds in her life but all just to seek forgiveness from all those people whom she lost. After all that, she had a deep-rooted fear in her heart that her happiness never lasts. Everything she loves gets taken from her. So, the years she spent with Shui Koshing, she spent in fear. She didn’t want to be too happy because she was afraid that she’d lose everything once again.”
“She became scared of happiness,” commented Raelle.
“Yes.”
Raelle contemplated those words. What a person had to go through to become scared of her own happiness and to actually become superstitious enough to even believe a fortune teller’s words? She actually understood a little. She was scared of happiness and that’s why she believed in the words of the fortune teller that she won’t live long. Because deep down she must have thought that she didn’t deserve happiness and she didn’t deserve to live either after ruining her family’s happiness.
She never thought her later mother-in-law had so much going on. But she kept it all to herself. Raelle didn’t think anyone else knew about these thoughts. Perhaps, not even Shui Koshing.
“Did she leave anything else for me?” asked Raelle.
Lu Shun paused and then replied plainly, “She did.”
“Can you give it to me?”
“No,” replied Lu Shun. “I’m supposed to give it to you on your wedding day.”
“I’m already married though,” replied Raelle. “That just reminded me, it seemed you didn’t know that I and Xian registered our marriage months ago, right? You only learned about relationships through the news and that’s why you only showed up now.”
“Yes,” Lu Shun honestly agreed. He indeed had no clue that Shui Xian and Raelle got married or else he’d have brought the things that Qian Yin entrusted to him long ago. Why would he wait until now? At first, he thought he was just coming to the engagement, but after talking to Shui Koshing he learned that Shui Xian and Raelle were already married.
This engagement was just a formality to announce their relationship to the world.
“So? The things that I’m supposed to get on my wedding day? Shouldn’t you give it to me now?”
“I don’t think so,” responded Lu Shun craftily. “Since the world only knows you’re getting engaged now, I’ll follow that too. The day you get married in front of the whole world, I’ll bring you the wedding gift that your late mother-in-law left for you.”
Raelle knew better than to argue with a lawyer. Especially a lawyer like Lu Shun who was already getting old. Old gingers were spicier and old lawyers weren’t to be messed with. They always had tricks above their sleeves. They would always find the loopholes in your words and then would play the word game with you. It was pointless to argue.
So, she accepted it calmly.
“Then can you tell me if she left me another letter?”
“No, she didn’t,” replied Lu Shun but there was a smirk on his lips that Raelle didn’t notice since she lowered her head once she got the reply.
For some reason, she was actually looking forward to getting another letter or something from Qian Yin. Because that would connect her to Qian Yin a little bit.
“I should take my leave now,” said Lu Shun as he stood up and fixed his suit jacket.
“You aren’t staying for the engagement? You’re already here,” said Raelle. “Since my mother-in-law isn’t here, shouldn’t you as a good friend stick around on this day that she looked forward to so desperately?”
Lu Shun did not expect that he’d hear this from Raelle. It seemed he was no match for Raelle even at this age. This young woman managed to stop all his retorts with that one statement. He couldn’t say that he had to leave because he was busy or anything.
He could only sigh and then he chuckled, “No wonder, she wanted you as her daughter-in-law.” He shook his head, “Then I’ll stay.”
With that, he left the waiting room. Behind him, Raelle closed her eyes and tried to recall the face of her mother-in-law once again. Those sentimental eyes appeared in her mind and the gentle woman smiled so warmly at her.
She took out the tiara and looked at it attentively.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen a more beautiful tiara than this. But this one really touched her heart. It was made with love and now, Raelle could see the hope of the person who designed it. Now, it wasn’t just a beautiful, glittering tiara. Now, it was a blessing. Now, it was the hope that Qian Yin had for her.
“You really left too soon,” whispered Raelle. “You didn’t even give me a chance to become a good daughter-in-law to you.” Raelle caressed the tiara and then she folded the letter on the side before putting it away safely. It was like the last memory from her mother-in-law. How could she be careless with it?
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