Chapter 266: The older, the wiser

Ling Ruonan followed Ling Mingrui into Grandpa Ling Jinhua’s room, where a young nurse was massaging the old man’s hands and feet.

Ling Jinhua had his eyes closed, as if he were asleep.

“Dad, Ruonan is here to see you,” Ling Mingrui whispered into Ling Jinhua’s ear.

“Oh?!” Ling Jinhua, who had had his eyes closed, suddenly opened them when he heard Ling Mingrui’s words. Seeing Ling Ruonan standing in front of him, he immediately broke into a smile, “Nannan is here.”

“Grandpa, I haven’t seen you for several days,” Ling Ruonan said with a smile as she sat down on Ling Jinhua’s bed, took hold of the old man’s arm, and began to massage it herself. “How have you been these past few days?”

The nurse, without needing any instruction, tactfully left the room and closed the door behind her.

“I’m fine,” Ling Jinhua gently patted Ling Ruonan’s arm and smiled kindly, “Nan, Grandpa has been missing you. Why haven’t you come to see me these past few days? Have you been very busy?”

“I have been rather busy,” Ling Ruonan admitted with a bit of embarrassment, “I rushed over to see you as soon as I finished my work today.”

“Have you seen your son?” Ling Jinhua’s eyes still full of tenderness, he looked at Ling Ruonan with a hint of a smile.

Caught off guard by her grandfather’s guess, Ling Ruonan was somewhat surprised, but still nodded, “Yes, Grandpa, I took him to dinner today.”

“Your eyes are all swollen from crying.” Ling Jinhua sighed softly, then continued, “The Yang Family must already know that your son is back, right?”

Surprised that the old man had guessed everything without her saying anything, Ling Ruonan was still quite shocked. She honestly answered, “Yes, Grandpa, the Yang Family indeed knows that Ziling is back, and they’ve even threatened revenge, to take his life.”

“Yang Yuanshan is still as arrogant as ever,” Ling Jinhua chuckled.

“Grandpa, how did you find out?” Ling Ruonan couldn’t hide her surprise any longer, “Did someone tell you about this?”

“No, I could tell from your demeanor,” Ling Jinhua patted Ling Ruonan’s arm again, still looking at her with loving eyes, “You are always calm and collected in your actions. Coming to see me so late today, there must be something you want to discuss. Besides your son, for whom else would you cry? If you had only seen your son, especially if it was in secret, you certainly wouldn’t come running to tell us, for fear that we would find out.”

“You just said that the Yang Family wants to take revenge on your son. If it wasn’t Yang Yuanshan himself taking action, you wouldn’t be so worried, and you might not have come to tell us at all. Since you’re speaking so solemnly about this matter, it goes without saying that the boy, Yang Yuanshan, is preparing to take personal action for revenge. Heh, after all, it was his own flesh and blood who died back then, the future heir he valued most in the Yang Family.”

Ling Ruonan couldn’t help but admire Ling Jinhua’s lucid analysis after hearing his thorough deductions.

He had guessed nearly everything correctly just from a few clues, and she felt that she still had a long way to go compared to her grandfather.

“Grandpa, I won’t ask for your help for the time being. I’ve already anticipated the possible retaliatory measures from them once Ziling returned, and I have a way to deal with it. However, given the seriousness of the situation, I felt I should inform you, so after sending Ziling back, I came over to discuss this with you,” Ling Ruonan candidly shared her thoughts with Ling Jinhua.

Ling Mingrui, who had been listening quietly at the side, saw Grandpa glance at him. He immediately said, “Ruonan, by personally taking your son back, are you trying to let everyone know that you and your son have acknowledged each other?”

“Indeed, that’s the case,” In front of her father and grandfather, Ling Ruonan didn’t hide anything.

This kind of thing can’t be kept secret; Ling Jinhua would know simply from her red and swollen eyes, let alone other obvious actions—they’ll realize its meaning right away.

“By doing this, you can indeed make the Yang Family have some concerns, but have you thought about how those in the family who are dissatisfied with you will think, how they will treat you?” Ling Mingrui’s words carried a hint of sternness.

“I’m not afraid,” Ling Ruonan stubbornly looked at her father, “I’ve already thought it through—let their dissatisfaction vent.”

“We hope that there will be no infighting within the family before the meeting at the beginning of next year to decide on personnel arrangements,” Ling Mingrui said sternly, “We also don’t want to see you in disputes with family members.”

Upon hearing this, Ling Ruonan suddenly fell silent.

Being in a high position and well-acquainted with family affairs, Ling Ruonan was very clear about her father’s implications—the weight of his words was very significant.

Whether Ling Mingrui could keep his position, or even advance a few steps to become the person at the pinnacle, was closely related to the developments in this period.

Ling Mingrui and Yang Yuanshan were both eyeing that topmost position of the tower.

The future of other members of the Ling Family, as well as those associated with the Ling Family, was also closely tied to how the situation developed. If there was turmoil within the Ling Family or major disputes with other families, the variables would certainly increase.

No family wants to have internal strife or disputes with other families.

Of course, they’re all happy to see other families in chaos or in disputes with other families.

Thinking of this, Ling Ruonan didn’t know what to say, but then something came to mind, and she looked up and asked her father, “Dad, does that mean the Yang Family also won’t dare to make any significant moves?”

Ling Mingrui didn’t answer, but just smiled slightly.

Ling Ruonan was certain of her conjecture and breathed a small sigh of relief, adding, “I hope they won’t stir up a war.”

“Since you understand this, what else do you have to worry about?” Ling Mingrui continued, “Grandfather also mentioned a while ago that your son lacks tempering. Now that things have turned out this way, it’s a great opportunity to toughen him up. You should hold back from getting involved for now, until the situation becomes unmanageable. Maybe, your son will surprise you.”

After a pause, Ling Mingrui added, “Isn’t he already surprising you? Just a month into school, and he’s dating Yang Yuanshan’s precious granddaughter. How many people in the world are capable of that? In my opinion, this kid is even better than his father at fooling women.”

These words made Ling Ruonan quite embarrassed, but after thinking it over, she also felt quite reassured.

Hearing her father’s tone, it seemed he didn’t hold any resentment towards Luo Xusheng and Luo Ziling; Ling Ruonan naturally felt much more at ease.

But she immediately expressed a worry she couldn’t shake off: “Dad, I’m afraid the Yang Family will let Yang Qingyin get close to Ziling and ruin him completely.”

“You’re definitely overthinking this,” Ling Mingrui said without hesitation, shaking his head.

“Why?”