Chapter 471: The Daughter That Married Rich
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
He thought of Grandma Ye who adored Xiao Ling since she was young. Grandma Ye had been wanting to visit Xiao Ling ever since she heard that she had given birth to a son. However, they weren’t able to contact Xiao Ling, and the news reported that she was recuperating from a difficult labor, so they did not want to disturb her.
Hence, the couple rang the old lady living in the countryside.
Grandma Ye was delighted at their invitation. She asked, “Is Xiao Ling’s health all good now? Can she have visitors? Will it be inconvenient for us to go over?”
Father Ye sheepishly responded. “Actually, we’ve not met Xiao Ling yet and don’t know exactly how she is doing. We thought that she has always been close to you, and if you go with us, perhaps she will let us…”
Hearing his words, Auntie Liu anxiously snatched the phone away from Father Ye. “Mum, don’t listen to Old Ye’s rubbish. We’ve already made arrangements with Xiao Ling, don’t worry about that. You will definitely get to meet her.”
Even though Grandma Ye was blind, she was sensitive to the discrepancy in their words. She started to worry about Xiao Ling’s condition. Why didn’t they allow her family to see her? How was her husband’s family? Was she very weak now? How was the child? Were they hiding anything?
It appeared that she would have to make a trip down to be able to answer all these questions.
Hence, Grandma Ye packed her luggage and rushed to the city that very night.
This day, when Nanny Zhou went grocery shopping, she bumped into Auntie Liu again.
A middle-aged man followed behind Auntie Liu, and she was holding on to a blind old grandma.
Nanny Zhou frowned and recalled that Madam had told her not to get involved with her family members. As such, she was about to go around them and pretend that she did not see them. Yet, Auntie Liu blocked her way insistently.
Auntie Liu smiled winningly and said, “Aiyo, Nanny Zhou, don’t you recognize me? We just met several days ago!”
Seeing that there was no way to avoid her, Nanny Zhou replied, “Oh, it’s Auntie Liu. How can I help you?”
“There is indeed.” Auntie Liu continued. “Come, let me make some introductions. Nanny Zhou, this is our Old Madam, who is Xiao Ling’s paternal grandma. The old lady really wants to see her great-grandson. Nanny Zhou, will you be able to help us pass the message to Xiao Ling?”
Nanny Zhou was unmoved. “Madam already said that she won’t see the family, but will regularly send living expenses to you.”
Grandma Ye vaguely understood what was going on. Seeing that Nanny Zhou seemed to be rather reverent to Xiao Ling and was slighting Auntie Liu, it seemed that Auntie Liu had been trying to get money out from Xiao Ling, and hence, Xiao Ling did not want to see them.
Wealth attracted the unwelcome, and Xiao Ling had done her part in regularly sending money back. Avoiding them was to be expected.
After all, Xiao Ling was not close to her parents since she was young. Auntie Liu frequently bullied her in the past, not feeding her well and not giving her enough warm clothes in the cold seasons. Hitting and scolding her were also frequent occurrences. She had a hard time at home, and now that she was doing well, for her to still remember to send money back home was already a big show of filial piety.
Grandma Ye silently scolded Father Ye and Auntie Liu in her heart for being so shameless.
But she really wanted to see her granddaughter and great-grandson. As such, she took a step forward and addressed Nanny Zhou. “Miss, can I trouble you to just help an old lady and pass a message to your Madam that I’m here? She was brought up by me and has been very close to me since she was a child. If she knows that I’m here, she will be willing to see us.”
Hearing the old lady’s clearly worded request, Nanny Zhou hesitated as she thought to herself that this grandma did not seem to be speaking nonsense. The last time Auntie Liu wanted to meet Xiao Ling, she didn’t bring along this old lady. Perhaps Madam wouldn’t mind meeting her grandma. As such, Nanny Zhou agreed to pass on the message.
Nanny Zhou completed her grocery shopping and returned to the bungalow.
She found Xia Ling and conveyed to her what Grandma Ye said.
Xia Ling did not expect Grandma Ye to have made the trip down to see her. She hadn’t seen Grandma Ye since she bade her farewell in the countryside two years ago. She missed her dearly. Too many things had happened in these two years, and she recalled how caring and kindly the old lady was to her.
“I’ll meet them.” Xia Ling said. “Grandma has bad legs and is blind. Let my dad and Auntie Liu accompany her.” Even though her parents were money-minded, they were still filial to grandma as her son and daughter-in-law. She felt less worried about having them take care of her.
Nanny Zhou nodded and then asked, “Madam, do we need to tell Mister about this first?”
Xia Ling had forgotten all about that before Nanny Zhou raised it. Even though this bungalow was both of their homes, the real owner was still Pei Ziheng. She needed to seek permission before making any decisions. As such, Xia Ling said, “I will tell Pei Ziheng.”
She raised the topic about her family coming to visit with Pei Ziheng.
Pei Ziheng was unhappy. “They aren’t even your real family. Why do you bother with them?”
“I’m not going through the motions.” Xia Ling said. “I truly miss grandma.”
Pei Ziheng looked at her in shock. He rarely heard her say that she missed anyone, so he knew that this old grandma had a strong standing in her heart. She was a person that viewed family relationships strongly as could be seen by her attitude toward Xia Yu in the past. Since she wanted to see them, then he would let it be.
Hence, Pei Ziheng agreed for her to invite her family over to the house.
However, he did not want to be involved. “Pick a time when I’m not around.”
Xia Ling knew that he did not like the disturbance and agreed to his request.
Hearing of the arrangement, Nanny Zhou was not agreeable. She sought out Pei Ziheng in private and said, “Mister, it’s the first time Madam’s family is visiting. How can you avoid them? They will think that you’re not giving Madam any face.”
Pei Ziheng replied nonchalantly. “Naggy.” That bunch was coming over to see the baby, who wasn’t even his son. Why did he need to go pretend to be one happy family? Such a joke.
Thus, that was the end of the conversation.
On a fair-weathered day, Xia Ling asked Nanny Zhou to invite the Ye Family over.
The Ye Family appeared in their best clothes. Grandma Ye was dressed in a light-green button down, traditional outfit. Father Ye donned a suit. There was a saying that how one carried a suit was telling of one’s upbringing. When Pei Ziheng or Li Lei wore a suit, they looked tidy, clean-cut, and handsome. However, Father Ye did not have the charisma to carry it off and somehow looked a little cowardly and funny.
But that was that.
The worst of the lot was Auntie Liu. She freshly permed her hair and was wearing a flower-printed cardigan and a long dress with the same prints. She was accessorized excessively with gold and silver jewelry as if she had dug out all the most expensive items at home and put them on all together.
Since it was her first time entering such a luxurious bungalow, Auntie Liu was extremely excited. She looked around trying to take everything in at once and exclaimed at everything she saw. “Wow, there’s a sculpture at the door! That must be expensive! And that cupboard over there… what wood is it made of? That must be expensive too, right?”