dognovel Chapter 57: Father and Mother Li instructed their children not to leave home.
Chapter 57: Father and Mother Li instructed their children not to leave home.
In reality, Li Tingxue had another ulterior motive in asking her mother-in-law to accompany her back to her parents' home. She hoped to use her mother-in-law's abilities to help examine her own family and see if there were any people behaving strangely or harboring ulterior motives.
After all, that's her maternal home, inhabited by her blood relatives and close family members. She wouldn't want them to be harmed in any way; you can raise them all safely.
The next morning, as soon as the sun shone on the earth, Shen Xiuyan hurriedly returned to his residence after finishing the morning court session.
Nowadays, whenever he finishes his duties at court, he goes straight home and refuses all invitations to social events or other activities.
Because so much has happened, he felt that it was too dangerous outside. He wanted to go home to find his mother, and naturally, he didn't let his wife and daughter go back to her parents' home with him. He chose to accompany them back.
After they had all settled in, they boarded the carriage with Xiao Le'an, and the wheels rolled forward, slowly heading towards Li Tingxue's maternal home.
Since her mother-in-law had already granted her request yesterday, she immediately sent a servant back to the Li residence to tell her parents that she would be taking her mother-in-law home with her today.
At this moment, inside the Li residence, Mr. and Mrs. Li were on high alert, their faces solemn as they summoned all the servants and ordered them to gather in their courtyard.
They were solemnly instructed to wait patiently for the eldest daughter and her mother-in-law to return, and a tense atmosphere permeated the entire Li family mansion.
When Li Muxue heard her parents say, "She can't leave the house today," her anger flared instantly. Her face flushed red with rage, she put her hands on her hips and shouted:
"Father, Mother, you've really gone too far! I made plans with my best friends a few days ago to go out and have fun together today. How could you stop me like this and make me break my promise?"
The father replied sternly, "No, you can go any day you want, but absolutely not today! No discussion!"
Upon hearing this, Li Muxue became even more furious, stamping her feet and shouting:
"Oh dear! What's going on? Just because my older sister is back, are you going to keep me stuck at home? You guys are being so unreasonable!"
Does this mean that the whole family has to wait on us like we're welcoming an emperor back to the palace every time my older sister comes home? What kind of twisted logic is this? Why should I have to suffer this injustice?
As she spoke, she pouted, revealing an extremely dissatisfied expression.
At this moment, Li's mother couldn't help but glare at her fiercely and warned sternly, "Shut up, don't talk nonsense! If you dare to disobey and sneak out to play..."
"Then I'll not only immediately stop your entire six-month salary, but I'll also lock you up for a whole month. You'll be in for a world of hurt then. You can try me if you don't believe me!"
After uttering these harsh words, Madam Li quickly turned around and sternly ordered the maids and servants in the room who were responsible for taking care of Li Muxue:
"Listen up, all of you! You'd better keep a close eye on the Second Miss! Don't let her step out of the Li residence even half a step!"
"Then all of you who serve the Second Miss, each of you shall receive twenty strokes of the cane, and none of you shall escape punishment!"
Mother Li's words were too harsh. If they were given twenty strokes of the cane, wouldn't their buttocks be bruised and battered?
The servants in the room were immediately terrified and knelt down, nodding repeatedly to promise to keep a close eye on the second young lady.
Mother Li nodded in satisfaction, glanced at her unconvinced youngest daughter, and said with a slight headache:
"Alright, not only will your eldest sister be back later, but her mother-in-law, that old lady Hou, will also be visiting our Li family with your sister. Don't be impolite in front of her and embarrass the Li family, understand?"
"Haven't you always wanted a dress made of pink brocade? If you behave well today, I'll make one for you, and I'll also give you that gold butterfly openwork pink and green hairpin, how about that?"
Li's mother was clearly giving a stern warning followed by a sweet treat.
Upon hearing her mother's words, Li Muxue immediately stopped making a fuss. Especially when she heard her mother mention that her older sister and mother-in-law were coming, her eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly in agreement. She would stay home obediently and wait for her older sister to return.
Father Li watched his wife scold their daughter and dared not speak up for his youngest daughter. Ever since his mother-in-law's words, he had not dared to speak loudly in front of Mother Li. He believed that the more he said, the more mistakes he would make, and the less he said, the better. After all, he was inferior to her!
As soon as the carriage stopped at the entrance of the Li residence, Jiang Mianmian took Xiao Le'an from her. She didn't trust anyone else, not even her granddaughter's biological mother, Li Tingxue. She felt that she could only feel at ease when Le'an was in her arms.
When she met Mr. and Mrs. Li, she only gave them a polite smile, but that was all.
However, when Jiang Mianmian stepped into the reception room, she did not see the legendary biological daughter of Li Xingzhou, and she felt a little regretful.
According to Li's mother, her granddaughter was unwell and unable to come to see guests. Hearing this explanation, Jiang Mianmian expressed her understanding.
What was even more unexpected was that even the adopted son whom Li Xingzhou had taken in, who was the one who would kill him, was nowhere to be seen. This situation really surprised and astonished her. She had originally wanted to investigate their past.
It wasn't that Mr. and Mrs. Li didn't want their granddaughter to meet Jiang Mianmian; it was because the child had already been completely brainwashed by the so-called "Ji Wanru."
If she were to come out and meet people, that adopted troublemaker would surely follow her.
Thinking of this, Mr. and Mrs. Li would be filled with worry, fearing that when their mother-in-law "discussed" some important matters later, that treacherous villain would find out, thus causing unnecessary trouble or even disaster.
After careful consideration, the two decided that it was best not to let the two children show up.
Just then, Li's mother suddenly realized that her youngest son had also disappeared without a trace.
This instantly caused a sharp pain in her chest, and anger surged within her. She glared fiercely at her father, who was sitting beside her, and asked through gritted teeth in a low voice:
"What exactly happened? Where's Fourth Brother? Where did that kid go? Didn't I tell you clearly that you had to keep a close eye on him? Didn't you hear what I said?"
Now that her eldest sister and brother-in-law are here, and even her mother-in-law has come to visit us in person, how could he not show up to greet the guests on such an important occasion?
Father Li was quite surprised, because just now, the third son was doing well, and the fourth son was also here doing well. How could they have disappeared in the blink of an eye?
He was even more furious. He had just given those two dead children countless instructions.
Why did something have to go wrong at such a crucial moment? It's infuriating!
Old Master Li gritted his teeth inwardly: "You little brat, once your mother-in-law leaves, I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!"
Just as Li's father was getting angry about this, suddenly, a familiar voice came from afar: "Father, Mother, come and see who's here!"
It turned out that the voice belonged to the fourth son of the Li family, a clear and bright voice that broke the atmosphere in the reception room.