Chapter 296: 304: Lingering in the Heart

“What are your plans regarding the third son and his wife? If you really let them go to the prefecture to celebrate New Year, then I will take the child and go back to my mother’s family. You and your family can enjoy a warm and bustling reunion all by yourselves. After all, you don’t care about us anyway! You even dare to invite people like Han Lin and Mrs. Wang back home, didn’t you see the way Mrs. Wang looked at us and the child? Such a crazy woman, who knows what she might do!”

Su Wenyue felt choked up whenever she spoke about this. Although Han Yu had promised to give her an explanation, he had indeed agreed to Old Man Han and Mrs. Yang, and he could not go back on his word. She had no idea how Han Yu was intending to handle this matter. If Han Yu dared to fob her off, she would truly take the child and return to her mother’s family.

Han Yu knew that his wife was waiting for this, and sure enough, before he knew it, she had brought up the matter: “Daughter-in-law, if you and the child are not here, Our family can hardly be considered united. Originally, I had no intention of inviting Father and Mother to the prefecture for the New Year because, being the first year, it is very busy, and I really don’t have time to accompany them. How could I know…”

Hearing Han Yu say this, Su Wenyue, who had been holding back her anger, immediately erupted. Her large eyes round and glaring fiercely at Han Yu, she poked him forcefully, again and again, accusing, “Mr. Han, you’re so heartless to say such a thing. Who was it for that I suggested we invite Mother over to the prefecture for the New Year? And what does someone do in return? Not only not appreciating the gesture but also thinking of inviting that ungrateful wolf back! If you think our life is too comfortable and you don’t give me an explanation, I will not live this life anymore!”

Han Yu found his wife’s furious appearance amusing, like an angry wild cat ready to scratch someone. Look at what she’s saying, not even calling him ‘Husband’ anymore, directly ‘Mr. Han’, and threatening to leave! She had certainly picked up this style from some village shrew—she didn’t argue like this before.

Hearing his wife’s tirade, Han Yu had his own thoughts and even more wanted to discipline her properly. She knew that he hated to hear words like ‘will not live this life anymore’. Perhaps it had been too long since she had been set straight. Of course, that’s a concern for later. The pressing matter was to clear up the issue of the third son and his wife to his daughter-in-law.

“Daughter-in-law,” Han Yu suppressed his laughter, embraced her into his arms, and as Su Wenyue kept poking him, looking away and trying to break free, he held onto her even tighter.

“Daughter-in-law, I’m the one being treated unfairly. Can you listen to me before you judge? I know I only gave in because of you, to have Father and Mother in the prefecture for the New Year and overlooked the things Mother did before, even inviting big brother and Second Brother’s families. You’re so virtuous, considerate, and generous. I don’t know if I must have accumulated good fortune in my previous life to marry such a wonderful daughter-in-law. How could I not appreciate it? Daughter-in-law, you’ve misunderstood me.”

“Hmph! What do you mean ‘misunderstood’? The promise you made to Father and Mother was in front of everyone, not just me who heard it; everyone did. And now you want to deny it! You really think I’m so easy to deceive? I was giving you face at the moment, not wanting to make you look too bad by quarreling, but if you don’t clearly explain yourself now, I will take our son and go back to my mother’s family. I won’t stand for this miserable life!” Su Wenyue kept repeating the same few words, which she had actually learned from a couple in the village who were joking around at noon; she thought it sounded interesting and decided to use it herself.

Hearing it once was fresh, but when Han Yu heard it again, he felt irritated. Repeating ‘won’t stand for this life’ was pushing it. Even if the heavens were to fall, it would not be likely, and Han Yu was very good at settling accounts after the autumn—a skill he held back from using right now.

“Daughter-in-law, aren’t I explaining it to you now? Stop fussing and listen to me.” There was a seriousness in Han Yu’s voice now, and the earnest look on his face finally calmed Su Wenyue down; she fixed her gaze steadily on him, curious as to what he would say next.

“Go on, I’m listening!”

Han Yu saw his wife’s stern little face and couldn’t help smiling, “About the third son and his wife, although I’ve agreed with Father and Mother, whether they will actually go is not our concern anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Su Wenyue obviously understood, but she wanted to dig deeper. Was Han Yu saying what she thought he was saying?

“Don’t you understand what I mean?” Han Yu looked at Su Wenyue almost teasingly, and after a moment he added, “The third child and his wife are restless. It’s possible they could trip or suffer a mishap; if someone ends up with broken arms or legs, they’d have to stay home to recover instead of traveling all the way to the prefecture.”

“Is Han Lin truly your elder brother?” Su Wenyue, hearing the coldness in Han Yu’s words, asked in surprise. She had never expected Han Yu to deal with the situation this harshly. She had thought at most that Han Yu would figure out some way to keep Han Lin and Mrs. Wang in check, but she hadn’t envisioned such cruel methods.

“Are you afraid of me? Do you find this too ruthless?” Seeing his wife’s question, Han Yu’s expression did not change, but he asked with a certain implication. The reason he did not want his wife to know about these matters was that he didn’t want her to think of him this way. The closer he felt to his wife, the more he cared about her perception of him; he did not want to become someone harsh and merciless in her eyes.

Hearing Han Yu’s response, Su Wenyue knew he had misunderstood her, “No, I’m just surprised. Compared to someone like Mrs. Wang, this is nothing ruthless. It’s not about taking someone’s life after all. But do you really not care about Han Lin? You are blood brothers, after all.”

“It’s precisely because he is my brother that I have tolerated the Third House’s behavior until now. They haven’t shown any repentance, and it’s time for a lesson.” If not for that remaining bit of brotherly affection, Han Yu would have already dealt with the third house, especially for what Mrs. Wang did to his wife. That he had restrained himself so far was difficult enough.

“Don’t worry about it; just remember that in my heart, you and our child are the most important. I would never neglect your and the child’s safety, no matter what.” Han Yu did not want to discuss the third house any longer, and Su Wenyue, having received a satisfactory answer, did not pursue it.

“I’ll remember that, but still, be careful. Just ensure they can’t cause trouble; don’t actually cripple them, at least out of respect for Father and Mother,” Su Wenyue said, worried that Han Yu might regret his actions later.

“Rest assured, I know where to draw the line. Now that we’ve discussed this matter, there are some things that you need to explain to me, too. If you don’t clarify things thoroughly, I won’t accept it,” Han Yu had not forgotten Su Wenyue’s phrase ‘won’t stand for this miserable life’ and, now that everything else was settled, he wanted to discuss what these ‘miserable days’ were about with his wife.

“What do you mean?” Su Wenyue looked at Han Yu somewhat baffled, not understanding what he meant. It didn’t seem like there was anything she needed to discuss with Han Yu; what was he referring to?