Chapter 774 [Bonus chapter]
"Yuezi is gone," said Old Madam Yue in a serious voice. "You should stop thinking about her."
"Louxue, I think you should listen to Kuijun. Don't ever say she is gone. Even I'm not willing to accept that my daughter is gone. How can you even speak about it so lightly as a mother?" He suddenly sighed, "Oh, I forgot. You always just wanted to be Lan'er's mother. Yuezi was never a daughter to you. She was just a reminder that you broke your promise."
Old Madam Yue lowered her head and chuckled strangely, "It's easier for you to say that, Master. But the only reason why I didn't want Yuezi to be born was that I knew she'd never be Yue Lan's match. No matter how outstanding my Yuezi be, she'd never be able to outshine Yue Lan. Because my Yuezi didn't have a backer like the Deng Clan. From the moment I knew I was pregnant, I knew what'd be the destiny of that child. You have no idea, how scared I had been in those nine months thinking about what if the child is a boy? What will I do if Yue Lan's place is threatened?
But at the same time, I didn't want to give birth to a daughter as well. Because a daughter will be even weaker than a son and won't be able to protect herself. I devoted my life to Yue Lan in hopes that she'd forget that my Yuezi even existed. But in the end, what happened? I lost my daughter. And even until this day, Yue Lan isn't willing to call me mother or even respect me. Even servants who serve you loyally for years are treated better than I had been treated."
Old Master Yue stayed quiet when heard that. He was actually surprised that for the first time, even this wife of his was willing to speak up her mind and show her dissatisfaction. She'd always keep it to herself. When he first married her, even the servants in the Yue Clan didn't give her the respect she deserved as his wife. And perhaps, they didn't respect her even now.
"You didn't just fail as a father, you failed as a husband to me as well," said Old Madam Yue. "But have you ever seen me complaining? Sadly, the daughter I gave birth to was exactly like me. She'd never complain about how wronged she felt. And that's why I told you, you shouldn't blame yourself. That silly girl would not want you to do so. As I said, she loved you the most. If anything happened to you because of her, she won't be able to forgive herself. So, please, take care of yourself."
Old Master Yue suddenly felt like this was the first time his second wife spoke so much to him in their years of marriage. But she was right. He did fail her as a husband. Even if the whole world said this old couple loved each other very much. Only they knew that Old Master Yue never loved Old Madam Yue. She was just a replacement for his dead wife. But this replacement never got his love and neither did she get the glory that'd come with the status of being the matriarch of the Yue Clan.
On the other hand, Old Madam Yue knew she was a terrible mother to Yue Yue. She never denied that fact. She never even expected her daughter to even understand her. The problem was, that it seemed her daughter still figured out her mother's situation and never even complained to her. Whenever it was needed, she'd even willingly offer her own mother to Yue Lan because, at the end of the day, she just wanted to make her sister happy.
Old Madam Yue could only lament in her heart at how naive her daughter was to think that she could get accepted. Yue Lan never even looked at her as a sister. She only looked at her as a stumbling block in her life.
Zhai Yanjun was in a daze for a while before he adjusted his emotions and knocked on the door. He pushed open the door and walked in, "Grandfather, how are you feeling?"
Old Madam Yue hid her tears once she noticed Zhai Yanjun.
"Jun," called out Old Master Yue. "Come here to grandfather."
"Yes," Zhai Yanjun obediently came to sit beside Old Master Yue.
"Don't worry about grandfather," said Old Master Yue. "I'm fine. I'll still live for a few more years."
"Well, I only hope, you live a very long life, grandfather," said Zhai Yanjun sincerely. Even if his maternal grandfather was strict, Zhai Yanjun knew that he loved him very much. After all, he was the only grandson he had.
Technically, there was another grandson but it was just that his Grandfather Yue didn't know about that grandson. And he didn't even know if there'd come a day for him to know his other grandson. Zhai Yanjun didn't know why he was having these random thoughts but he believed that if his Grandfather Yue met Hyson, he'd definitely like him who was lively and full of life.
"Look, how tanned you are," said Old Master Yue. "I told you army is a tough job. Why did you have to suffer like this?"
Zhai Yanjun smiled at his grandfather, "I don't think I'm suffering. It was hard when I was just a new recruit. Now, I'm already a captain. I have it a lot easier. And if nothing goes wrong, by next year, I'll get another promotion. I'll make you proud."
"Don't work so hard," said Old Master Yue.
"You don't have to worry about me at all," said Zhai Yanjun. "I'm still young. I can handle some hard work. But you... You're old now. You should rest more. And... Don't think about what Dad said. He just lost control of his emotions for a moment."
"What makes you think you have to speak up for your father?" asked Old Master Yue. "Even if I'm dissatisfied with the fact that he divorced Lan'er, I can understand him as well. As a father, I'm just unreconciled."
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