Lin Wan didnât get angry and looked at Xie Lingzhi with a smile. "Aunt Xie might be disappointed. Your good daughter-in-law is much more delicate than mine. Just a little bit of rain, and sheâs fallen ill. Sheâs downstairs being checked by Xiao Wang right now."
"Ah Qing is sick?" Xie Lingzhi muttered to herself, then looked at her son. "Xiao Chi, go and check whatâs happening."
Meanwhile, Old Mrs. Mei lying on the bed, patted the bed with her other hand not receiving treatment, and said, "What a sin, itâs all your fatherâs foolishness. The Mei Family wonât find peace anymore."
"Mom, donât mind these things. Just focus on recovering," Mei Shuqing glanced at Old Mrs. Mei and said.
"Iâm already so old, and you still wonât let us enjoy some peace. Every day is a ruckus, and your father and I have both ended up in the hospital. When will it ever end?"
Beside her, Xie Lingzhi remained silent, while Liang Qian secretly rolled her eyes, thinking: Itâs hard to say whether this commotion involves Xiao Wan being poisoned and if she has anything to do with it.
"Grandma, calm down for now. After the drip, maybe Grandpa will wake up. Iâll go downstairs to check on Ah Qing first," Mei Langchi coaxed the old lady.
The old ladyâs temper immediately eased a lot, and she said to her grandson, "Go, go."
Xie Lingzhi increasingly felt that the old house where they lived had been ominous in recent years.
Liang Qian might be right; this house shouldnât be lived in anymore. Xie Lingzhi wanted Mei Shuping to apply for a new house, but that was impossible. Heâs always been filial and definitely wouldnât abandon the elderly.
So this plan wonât work, she has to think of another way. Secretly look at a few properties and buy a suitable one. If not, theyâll have to move the elderly as well.
Such a troublesome old house, she wouldnât miss it.
...
Lin Wan felt stifled in the hospital room, so she took Little Star out to find Han Yi. This time, when they walked over, Han Yi had woken up.
Seeing his bloodshot eyes, Lin Wan knew he hadnât slept well last night.
"Why are you here?"
"As the granddaughter-in-law, Mei Familyâs elderly are sick, I should come and take a look."
"Look at what, there are plenty of people here. Didnât you see both sons and daughters-in-law guarding day and night? What need is there for you, pregnant, to take care of them," Chen Haichang, awake nearby, yawned lazily and spoke to Lin Wan.
Han Yi didnât say much, stood up to make space and let his wife sit down, raising his wrist to check his watch, "Have you eaten yet?"
Lin Wan and Little Star shook their heads simultaneously. "I wanted Aunt Wu to make some porridge, but who knew Ye Qing got sick, so I came with Xiao Wang."
"Ye Qing is sick?" Chen Haichang commented flatly, as if he had expected it.
Han Yi didnât care whoâs sick as long as his two treasures are healthy. "Letâs go, Iâll take you to eat something."
"Iâm coming too," Chen Haichang quickly stood up.
Lin Wan wanted to invite the stepmother to eat together, but unexpectedly, the stepmother and stepfather had already eaten at seven.
The hospitalâs cafeteria is quite large, but the food was mediocre, mostly plain dishes for patients.
Lin Wan ate very little.
Around ten oâclock, Mr. Mei woke up. Upon waking, he seemed confused, mumbling words indistinctly.
Having just undergone surgery, he shouldnât make big movements, but when the doctor touched his leg, he frowned, obviously in pain at the knee.
The doctor suggested taking an X-ray to check if the leg is fractured.
To their surprise, the results showed the leg wasnât ideal either.
Both knees had cracks, and one knee even had some broken bones. The cracks could heal slowly, but the fragments needed surgical reattachment. Otherwise, the leg would never stand straight.
The nose surgery was just completed, and now another surgery is needed. Mei Shuqing worried that Mr. Mei wouldnât tolerate it and suggested delaying it for two or three days.
Heâs over eighty, and enduring such hardship is tough. Itâs indeed Mei Erqingâs consequences.
Mr. Mei had passed the critical phase, so Mei Shuping felt thereâs no need for so many people to stay and asked Xie Lingzhi to hire a caregiver. Mr. Mei had his guards, who could help take care of him.
Leaving Mei Shuping alone at the hospital for one day, the rest were sent home to catch up on sleep. Originally, he wanted Chen Haichang to stay, since this incident started because of him. He feared Chen Haichang might do something to the elders, so he sent him away.
Chen Haichang couldnât wait to leave. He was so tired he wanted to lie down on the floor and take a nap.
Han Yijian didnât have to stay, he whisked his wife and child away in a puff of smoke to catch up on sleep.
Only Mei Langchi stayed, his eyes red, watching over Ye Qing by the hospital bed.
After Ye Qing was sent to the emergency room by Xiao Wang, the doctor hurriedly ran a series of tests. Who knew she had so many inflammations?
On her face, in her throat, even below her body. Yesterdayâs dousing brought out all of Ye Qingâs ailments.
Mei Langchiâs face was dark, staring unblinkingly at Ye Qing.
Throat inflamed, face swollen,
he didnât forget what the doctor advised him.
Reaching this point, he felt there was no need to drag it on any further. Divorce right after the New Year.
Of course, Mei Langchi had no compassion to stay with her forever. As the IV drip was about to finish, Mei Langchi got up and left. Didnât even tell the nurse.
When the drip finished, it wasnât disconnected promptly, causing some backflow of blood, luckily a nurse discovered it.
Ye Qing wasnât aware of this little episode when she finally woke up in the afternoon.
....
"Oh my, Hua Hua, youâve grown so sturdy and handsome." In the market, Aunt Wu brought Hua Hua out to grocery shop. "Just happened" to be seen by Li Liangâs parents.
"Hello grandpa and grandma, what a coincidence, thank you for the candies you gave me yesterday." Hua Hua definitely recognized these two, they were the ones who gave him something to eat last night.
"Such a good memory this little one has. I still have plenty of candies and treats at home. Do you want to come play at grandmaâs?" Li Liangâs mom increasingly saw the resemblance to her son Li Liang when he was young, liking him even more.
Hua Hua dared not speak. But Aunt Wu smiled, "Big sister, have you seen this little lord of my employerâs house?"
"Ah... ah, yes, I happened to pass by the gate yesterday and saw this child playing with a few kids, very adorable. He watched as the others ate their treats, such a pitiful sight. I just felt sorry and gave him some candies. Didnât expect such a coincidence, this little guy was the child Sister Wu often talks about." Li Liangâs mom almost spilled the secret, hurriedly explained.
"Oh, thatâs quite a coincidence." Aunt Wu didnât think much of it. Smiled and bid farewell to Li Liangâs mom, then led Hua Hua to buy groceries.
How could Li Liangâs parents miss such a great opportunity? They followed behind Aunt Wu, hoping to interact more with Hua Hua.
Moreover, Li Liangâs dad had just deliberately bought Hua Hua the instant noodles he loved and a handful of candies.
Hua Hua wanted to accept but habitually looked at Aunt Wu first.
When Aunt Wu saw them giving things to Hua Hua, she quickly refused, "Oh dear, brother, thatâs not right, our mistress has rules, this kind of junk food shouldnât be given to children. Itâs not nutritious, sorry brother."
Aunt Wu returned the stuff to Li Liangâs dad, and upon hearing Aunt Wuâs explanation, their enthusiasm immediately dampened by half.
They awkwardly smiled, retracting their hands, "I see... prominent families are indeed strict. In ordinary families like ours, no one cares that much, we buy whatever the kids like. We spoil them to bits."
"Whoâs to say otherwise, take my grandson for instance, every time I go back, I bring big bags of stuff for him, the kind of leftovers the big houses donât care for. They donât realize that these things are considered good stuff in families like ours. Just yesterday, I prepared a table full of dishes, fish, and meat, and because of some issue, the whole family ended up fighting. A whole table of food, had it been summer, weâd have to toss it all. But since itâs winter, they generally donât eat leftovers. Anyway, I called my spouse early today to pack it all up and bring it home."
"Howâd they end up fighting?"
Once Li Liangâs mom asked, Aunt Wu realized she had said too much, shyly smiled at Li Liangâs mom and said, "Nothing, nothing. I just remembered, I need to go back and do laundry. Iâll be off, big sister, letâs chat next time."
With that, she pulled Hua Hua to another vegetable stall.
Li Liangâs mom saw she was leaving so quickly and hurriedly said, "Leaving already? Got all your groceries for today?"
"Uh... yes, Iâm off then." Aunt Wu chuckled and dodged Li Liangâs momâs questions.
Seeing Aunt Wu taking Hua Hua further away, Li Liangâs mom slapped her own face with a âclapâ, "Itâs my fault for being nosy, asking that question."
"Be more careful with your words. Sister Wu has this trait, if you donât ask, sheâll tell you everything. But if you ask, she realizes and clams up." Li Liangâs dad pondered, rubbing his chin as he looked at the distance, then after a while said to his wife, "The New Year is approaching, we should think of a way to get some of the childâs blood. Whether or not we trust Ye Qing, we should have our own test. Whether it turns out in our favor or not, at least weâll know."
"Whatâs the point of a test, I feel Hua Hua is absolutely our Li Liangâs child, our grandson. I say, we shouldnât waste time, next time we see Ye Qing, letâs just take the child back. If she refuses, weâll go straight to her in-laws. I canât believe theyâd want to raise someone elseâs grandchild."
Li Liangâs dad thought that approach was too hasty, it needed to be more reliable with solid evidence, so when the time came to speak with her in-laws, theyâd have a case. Otherwise, theyâd just be seen as lunatics and get kicked out.