Chapter 92: Contingency

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Contingency

Finally, Lin Kangshun let out a cold laugh. "That Gu Family brood is no better than a pack of wolves. Compared to our family, it’s like she’s fallen from a lap of luxury straight into a mud pit. You think she can handle a place like that after all those years of being pampered in our home? Can her family stand it? And those two little bastards... the shock will probably be too much for them. Sooner or later, they’ll grow to hate their own parents."

"...Hearing you say that makes me feel so much better." Yu Xiuying realized he was right, and a smile, the first in many days, spread across her face. "You always have a plan."

Stroking Yu Xiuying’s graying hair, Lin Kangshun sighed with a rare show of emotion. "I’ve wronged you in the past. At the time, I just thought, our son isn’t much of a looker, and yet he managed to marry a daughter-in-law as beautiful as a fairy. If we had treated her poorly, why would she have stayed? I was doing it for our son, so you had to suffer all these years. After all, not everyone is like you. Not only are you beautiful, but you’re also virtuous. You didn’t care that I wasn’t handsome and devoted yourself to building a life with me when I had nothing."

"That’s only because you’ve always treated me so well. What does it matter if a man isn’t handsome or rich? All a woman really wants in life is to be treated well by her husband." Yu Xiuying’s eyes reddened.

"Yes, but unfortunately, not many women think like you. Don’t be sad anymore; things haven’t hit rock bottom yet. When our son gets out in a few years, he won’t be that old. Our family is well-off, so I’m sure we can find him another good wife. This time, we won’t look for someone so beautiful. As long as she can give us a grandchild, whether it’s a boy or a girl, it will be fine as long as they carry the Lin family’s bloodline," Lin Kangshun said with a serious expression.

"Mm." Yu Xiuying began to sob. ’It was easy for him to say, but her wonderful son had met with such a disaster. Even if he remarried and she eventually held a grandchild in her arms, she doubted the knot of bitterness in her heart would ever truly go away.’

"Don’t cry. You think I’m going to let them off that easily? Hmph. They say a leopard can’t change its spots. If that woman could cheat once, she can do it a second time. When that happens, you just wait and see the good show I have planned." Lin Kangshun smiled, but there was a strange chill in his expression that made one’s heart grow cold.

He stood up. "Alright, we should pay the Gu Family a visit. But before that, we’ll stop by that woman’s family home. I didn’t say a word when I sent her back. I’m betting she didn’t dare tell them the truth, so her family is probably racking their brains trying to figure things out. Every single one of them, old and young, has a job I arranged. I brought them here from the countryside, got them urban residency, and this is how their daughter repays our family? Hmph. Is the Lin family’s goodwill so easy to take?"

’He’d like to see what happens then... with her new in-laws being the way they are and her own family hating her guts. When she’s cornered from all sides, will she regret her choices? How will she possibly go on?’

"Are you going to get her family fired from their jobs?" Yu Xiuying felt a surge of excitement as her husband laid out his grand blueprint for revenge. After all their years together, she knew he was a calculating man who always followed through on his word.

It was just like years ago when he’d promised to make everyone envy her. He had achieved it in just ten years.

"Just losing their jobs? Wouldn’t that be letting them off too easy? After all the things they’ve done over the years... Since our son is behind bars, someone from the Tao family should go in and keep him company, don’t you think? Did they really expect to just continue living their carefree lives outside?" Lin Kangshun scoffed, thinking of his son’s audacious brother-in-law. "Don’t you worry about it. There’s no rush. We’ll let them enjoy their freedom for a little while longer."

’There are so many ways to make money, but some people just have a death wish, choosing the one place they absolutely shouldn’t to make a move. In the past, out of respect for their family connection, he had covered for the man, merely transferring him from that critical post...’

Yu Xiuying paused, then realized her husband had an ace up his sleeve. She nodded and broke into a grin of pure satisfaction. In her mind, her husband wasn’t being vicious at all. She only felt that the more miserable that woman’s life became, the better. It was the only way to soothe the knot of frustration in her own heart.

--

「The Tao Family Home.」

Lin Jia Bao was playing by the entrance when he saw Mrs. Tao walking back in the distance, a vegetable basket slung over her arm. His eyes lit up. He shot to his feet and trotted over to meet her, his gaze glued to her basket. "Grandma, where’s my meat patty? Give it to me!"

Before she left, his grandma had promised to bring one back just for him—his sister and cousins wouldn’t get any. So he had been carefully timing it, waiting at the entrance just for her. After waiting for what felt like forever, he was overjoyed to finally see her.

"Get out of here! Stop bothering me. What meat patty? There’s no meat patty for you! Just look at you, already fat as a pig and still wanting to eat? Do you think meat patties are free? Your mother has been living here with you two for days and hasn’t given me a single cent for food, yet I’m supposed to wait on you hand and foot? You really think you’re still the little Crown Prince?" Mrs. Tao shoved Lin Jia Bao away and snapped viciously.

Lin Jia Bao was stunned.

’Before she left, Grandma had been hugging him, calling him her little sweetheart. How could she come back a completely different person and call him a pig?’

’How was he fat like a pig? His other grandma and grandpa always said that a good appetite was a blessing and that little kids were cuter when they were a bit plump.’ The more he thought about it, the more wronged he felt. He opened his mouth and let out a loud wail. WAAAH! ’He missed his grandpa and grandma! He wanted to go home!’

Mrs. Tao didn’t spare him a single glance and kept walking. The sound of her grandson’s heartbroken wails didn’t even make her pause. Instead, it reminded her of the gossip she’d heard earlier, and her mood soured even more. She spat on the ground. "Little bastard," she muttered. "What a jinx."

Not long after Mrs. Tao went inside, Tao Jiaren’s younger brother, Tao Junhao, returned on his bicycle. He was startled to see his nephew crying at the entrance and quickly stopped in front of him, making a show of rolling up his sleeves. "Hey now, Jia Bao, why are you crying? Tell your uncle who bullied you, and I’ll go teach them a lesson."

"Grandma promised to bring me a meat patty, but she went back on her word and called me a pig," Lin Jia Bao sobbed, wiping away his tears.

"Uh..."

Tao Junhao was at a loss for words. He couldn’t help but curse his mother internally. ’So shortsighted. So what if his sister and her kids have been staying for a few days and their in-laws didn’t show up with a bunch of gifts? It’s obviously because his brother-in-law is in trouble. The Lins have other things on their mind right now.’

’His mother wasn’t thinking. Even though his brother-in-law was in trouble, the man’s father was still firmly in power. He and his own wife still worked under Mr. Lin. Was it really necessary to start treating the man’s grandson this way already?’

He chuckled dryly. "Your grandma was just teasing you, just playing a little joke. I bet she forgot to buy it and got embarrassed, so she took it out on you. Real men don’t cry over little things like this. Come on, hop on the bike. Uncle will take you to buy a meat patty."

"Really? You’re the best, Uncle!" The moment he heard he was getting a meat patty, Lin Jia Bao’s tears vanished, replaced by a smile. He scrambled onto the rear rack of Tao Junhao’s bicycle and sat down.

"Hold on tight, here we go—!" Tao Junhao called out with a laugh. With a push of his foot, the bicycle shot forward, drawing a mix of surprised gasps and happy laughter from Lin Jia Bao.