Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Malice, White Medicine Powder
At these words, Zhao Jinghai’s heart sank. He turned to Zhao Huilan and scolded, "I had something to do this afternoon. You were at home, why didn’t you go pick them up?"
"Didn’t I just forget?" Zhao Huilan pouted, retorting, "If you can forget, can’t I forget something too? Hmph, now that the biological children are here, the daughter from the first wife is naturally worthless and just an eyesore."
With that, Zhao Huilan sat down next to Wang Lianhua, as if seeking her grandmother’s protection.
Seeing the house erupt into an argument the moment Zhao Nuanyang and Zhao Nuanyue returned, Wang Lianhua grew furious. "So you’re back. Did you expect a welcoming party?" she sneered. "Such airs! The moment you’re back, the whole house is in an uproar. A couple of troublemakers."
Xia Yingyu looked at Wang Lianhua and Zhao Huilan, her own anger flaring. "You’re the ones who wanted them back. Now that they’re here, you’re all scowling and sneering. It makes me wonder what your real intentions are! If I had known it would be like this, I would’ve left them in the countryside. I may be a useless mother who can’t protect them here, but at least they wouldn’t be cursed at. My children, Xia Yingyu’s children, are breaking their backs toiling in the fields, while Zhao Jinghai’s daughter lives comfortably at home and torments my daughter! It’s because I’m a useless mother. Fine! This life is impossible. The children are grown now anyway and can support themselves. I don’t need to stay here and be a nuisance anymore."
After speaking, Xia Yingyu turned to Zhao Nuanyang and Zhao Nuanyue. "Go to my room and get my bedding. The three of us are leaving. We’re not staying in this house to be bullied!"
Zhao Nuanyue was stunned to hear her mother’s words.
’Mom has such a tough side to her?’
Since her mother had spoken, Zhao Nuanyue didn’t hesitate and went to get the luggage from her mother’s room.
Seeing that Xia Yingyu was genuinely angry, Zhao Jinghai quickly blocked Zhao Nuanyue’s path and grabbed Xia Yingyu’s hand. "Don’t be angry. The children just got back. If you all go out like this, you won’t eat or dress well!"
"Since you can’t stand the sight of us, there’s no reason for us to stay." Xia Yingyu sneered. "I see it clearly now. Even though I’m serving them while heavily pregnant, I get nothing in return from those heartless scoundrels!"
"Xia Yingyu, who are you calling a heartless scoundrel?" Wang Lianhua snapped, displeased. "Are you talking about Huilan, or are you talking about me?"
Xia Yingyu didn’t back down. "Whoever has a guilty conscience, that’s who! If the shoe fits, wear it!"
As Zhao Jinghai watched his wife, mother, and daughter argue heatedly, his resentment toward Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuanyang deepened. They had only just returned and already thrown the house into chaos. Calling them troublemakers wasn’t an exaggeration at all.
’If that damn girl Zhao Nuanyue wasn’t of some use, I never would have spent money on train tickets to bring them back.’
"Alright, it’s all my fault, my fault, okay?" Zhao Jinghai said quickly. "It’s my fault for not making proper arrangements. My fault for not going to pick up Nuanyang and Nuanyue."
Just then, the Dragon Bright Grass on Zhao Nuanyue’s and Zhao Nuanyang’s necks suddenly grew hot. They both reached up to touch their necks at the same time, exchanging a look and seeing the alarm in each other’s eyes.
In that moment, they understood: Zhao Jinghai harbored ill will toward them.
Zhao Nuanyang took a few steps back, positioning himself in front of his sister.
Wang Lianhua saw that if this continued, her son would be the one in a difficult position. Besides, she planned to use Zhao Nuanyang to get her son a promotion this time; she couldn’t let that little bitch leave.
"Alright, alright, that’s enough! We’re all family, no need to talk like strangers. It’s the New Year season, what’s all this fighting about!" Wang Lianhua scolded. Then she looked at Zhao Nuanyang and Zhao Nuanyue. "Huilan was in the wrong. You two shouldn’t hold it against your big sister. Come, come, Grandma will get you some candy."
Seeing her grandmother act this way, Zhao Huilan was stunned and displeased. She followed her grandmother into the room, shutting the door behind them.
When Zhao Jinghai saw his mother give in, he breathed a sigh of relief. He put on an apologetic smile and said, "Yingyu, you see? Even my mother has backed down. You should stop making a scene. It’s freezing out, where would you go? Besides, you’re pregnant. Stop this!"
Xia Yingyu turned her head and looked at Zhao Jinghai. "Zhao Jinghai, I’m never the one making a scene, but in your heart, you always think I am. If you keep this up, we can’t go on. Even after the baby is born, we won’t be able to go on."
Hearing Xia Yingyu say this, Zhao Jinghai felt a surge of frustration. ’That man has been dead for so many years, but Xia Yingyu still can’t forget him. I thought that after she had our child, she would finally settle down and live a peaceful life with me, but she seems even more unsettled than before.’
’I can’t bring myself to torment Xia Yingyu, so I’ll torture these two bastards, Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuanyang, so that man can’t rest in peace in the afterlife. It’s his own damn fault for snatching Xia Yingyu from me.’
"Okay, okay, you’re not making a scene, my mother is," Zhao Jinghai said with an apologetic smile. "Don’t be angry. Come on, I’ll cook today to welcome Nuanyang and Nuanyue. You go rest and talk with them."
Xia Yingyu was indeed exhausted. She had worked a full day while heavily pregnant, then gone to the store to buy things, only to come home to this argument. She felt completely drained.
"I guess you have some conscience after all." Xia Yingyu’s tone softened. "Why aren’t you cooking yet?"
"Right, right, I’m going now." Zhao Jinghai took the basket and went to the kitchen with a grin.
At that moment, Zhao Nuanyue felt an unprecedented heat from her neck. It was clear that Zhao Jinghai’s malice toward her had just intensified.
"Nuanyue, Nuanyang, sit down and rest for a bit," Xia Yingyu said with a smile, beckoning to her son and daughter.
Zhao Nuanyue finally understood. Because of her pregnancy, Xia Yingyu’s status in the family had risen. At the very least, she now dared to stand up to Zhao Jinghai and Wang Lianhua. ’This is good,’ she thought. ’At least I don’t have to worry about Mom being bullied all the time.’
While chatting with Xia Yingyu, Zhao Nuanyue extended her Divine Sense into the kitchen to see if Zhao Jinghai would tamper with the food.
After he finished making the braised fish, Zhao Jinghai put a white medicine powder in it.
’Holy shit! I knew Zhao Jinghai was up to no good. It’s only our first day back and he’s already trying to drug us. We can’t eat that fish later.’
Taking advantage of the moment when her mother went to her room to change, Zhao Nuanyue wrote on her brother’s palm: "Don’t eat the fish later."
"Okay, I remember," Zhao Nuanyang whispered back with a nod. "I definitely won’t eat the fish."
While Zhao Nuanyue was communicating with her brother, Zhao Huilan, who was inside the room, grew upset. After shutting the door, she whined to her grandmother, "Grandma, why were you suddenly so nice to those two little bastards? I’m your real granddaughter, not them."
"You silly girl, why can’t you see it?" Wang Lianhua said, poking her granddaughter’s forehead. "Your dad didn’t bring those two little bastards back for no reason. Of course he has a use for them! You need to behave yourself. Don’t provoke that damn girl Zhao Nuanyue. If you make her angry and she really runs off, then all your father’s efforts will have been for nothing."
