Chapter 464: He Yan Divorced
Three days later, Lu Sheng went to An Mu Village early in the morning.
Before leaving, she even instructed Lan Yi to help her take care of the vegetable field.
Lan Yi had been following her recently and had developed a certain interest in growing vegetables.
Hence, for the past two days, he would run to the vegetable field for no reason.
Lu Sheng even joked that she wanted to build a bamboo house at the vegetable field and let him move there.
She did not expect him to think that this was a good idea. Last night, he asked Lu Sheng where bamboo could be found. Lu Sheng did not take too much notice and pointed to the bamboo forest at Qingshui River.
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After Lu Sheng reached An Mu Village, she spoke to Mdm Zhao for a while before going to He Hu’s house to find He Yan.
Ever since He Yan returned to the He family, she had not gone out much. Most of the time, she was doing embroidery work.
When Lu Sheng arrived, He Yan was sitting in the courtyard embroidering. Her expression was very serious, as if she did not notice her arrival.
“Sister Yaner.”
She smiled and shouted.
He Yan looked up. When she saw that it was her, she hurriedly placed everything back into the basket.
“Lu Sheng, why are you here?”
She patted the stool beside her and smiled. “Quick, take a seat.”
“I had a dream yesterday. I dreamed that the Zhao family agreed to a divorce, so I came over to take a look today.”
He Yan sighed softly. “If only it were as you dreamed.”
Initially, she still had some expectations for Zhao Xian. In the end, he suddenly came over and said that he wanted to take a concubine. Her last bit of anticipation disappeared.
Now, she did not think too much about anything else. She only wanted to get out of the misery of the Zhao family.
Lu Sheng smiled and said, “My dream has always been accurate. Perhaps the Zhao family will come soon.”
He Yan smiled bitterly. “I hope so.”
For the past few days, the Zhao family did not come over to create trouble. Perhaps they were busy finding concubines for Zhao Xian.
She stood up and said, “I steamed rice cake in the kitchen. It should be cooked now. Sit down first. I’ll get some for you to try.”
Lu Sheng nodded. “Okay.”
It was only nine in the morning and the Zhao family would probably arrive at noon.
He Yan brought out a plate of rice cake quickly. Lu Sheng stood up to wash her hands before taking a piece to try.
She had to admit that He Yan’s hands were quite nimble and the food she made was delicious.
The rice cake was seasoned and tasted good. It wasn’t greasy.
“Brother Ran should be nineteen this year, right?” He Yan smiled at Lu Sheng and asked, “Does he have a sweetheart?”
Although He Yan was younger than Lu Ran, perhaps because she had married before, her tone sounded like an elder concerned about a junior’s marriage.
Lu Sheng was amused by her own feelings.
“What are you laughing at?”
Seeing her suddenly chuckle, He Yan looked at her suspiciously.
“Nothing.”
Lu Sheng shook her head slightly. “I’m not sure about Brother Ran’s matters, and I don’t dare to ask.”
Lu Ran had always had his own views. He would tell anyone what he wanted to say even without asking.
On the contrary, he would not tell anyone anything that he did not want to say.
Hence, Lu Sheng would never ask too much about Lu Ran’s private affairs.
“You have to ask when you get back. No one is worried about you anymore. The most worrisome people in our family now are Brother Ran and Uncle Lai.”
He Yan smiled and said, “Every time the other grandma comes over to play, she would mention them to my grandma. Uncle Lai has been spoken about many times, but they don’t dare to say anything about Brother Ran.”
“Really?”
Lu Sheng’s eyebrow raised.
She realized that everyone seemed to be afraid of Lu Ran. Perhaps it was because he usually did not smile.
“Actually, my brother listens to his elders very much. If the two grandmas want to know about him, get Uncle to ask directly. I guarantee that he will answer all the questions.”
Compared to He Qin and He Lai, Lu Ran was inexplicably more restrained in front of He Zhang. He also listened to He Zhang humbly.
“Really?” He Yan chuckled. “It seems like not only is everyone afraid of my father, but even Brother Ran is as well.”
He Zhang and Lu Ran had similar personalities. Sometimes, he was even more boring than Lu Ran.
Hence, everyone would feel an inexplicable fear towards them.
Lu Sheng smiled and suddenly realized that there was an additional tree in the courtyard.
The fruits on the tree made her eyes shone.
“Where did that tree come from? Why didn’t I see it when I came here previously?”
He Yan looked over and said with a smile, “Xiaodong went up the mountain with the children in the village two days ago. He said that it was pretty, so he dug it up and planted it.”
“The mountain?”
Lu Sheng was elated. “Are there a lot of these?”
“Yes.”
He Yan looked at her suspiciously. “It’s all over the mountain. Why?”
Lu Sheng’s agitated expression made her feel that this was a huge treasure.
“Cousin, let’s go up the mountain after noon.”
When she made crayfish previously, she kept saying that there were no peppercorns and she could not make Mala food.
She did not expect to find peppercorns here.
“Okay. Coincidentally, I haven’t been up the mountain for a long time.”
Although she did not know why Lu Sheng would only go after noon, He Yan agreed.
“Don’t you eat this here?”
Lu Sheng asked softly.
He Yan shook her head. “That thing is numb and spicy. It’s not delicious at all.”
The food that the people in Huang Yang Town ate seemed to be bland.
“Lu Sheng, do you like this?”
Lu Sheng shook her head. “I don’t like it, but it’s a good thing.”
He Yan shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
When they were young, they were greedy. They insisted on tasting the food that adults forbade them to eat.
She had tried this before. The taste was indescribable.
“Cousin is here!”
He Dong walked in with his books.
Lu Sheng smiled and nodded. “Cousin.”
He Yan frowned. “Why did you come back instead of studying?”
“The teacher had some urgent matters to attend to, so he asked us to come back early.”
When He Yan heard that, her expression softened.
He Dong returned to his room and placed the books away before walking out.
Seeing the rice cake on the table, he reached out to take a piece. As he ate, he asked Lu Sheng, “I heard from Father that Cousin is very busy recently. Why are you free to come over today?”
Everyone in the He family had heard that Lu Sheng was busy farming.
That was why He Dong was puzzled when he saw her.
“Your cousin can come over whenever she wants. Don’t bother yourself with girls’ affairs.”
He Yan glanced at him helplessly. “Father said that he’ll send you to town soon to study at Uncle’s school. When I’m free tomorrow, I’ll buy some cloth and tailor some new clothes for you.”
He Dong nodded. “Okay.”
Lu Sheng looked at the two of them and her lips curved upwards.
Although the siblings were only a year apart, He Yan was more mature than He Dong, possibly because of their mother’s early death.
In other words, when He Yan was six to seven months old, Mdm Yan was pregnant with He Dong. No wonder Mdm Yan fell ill.
During this period, her body had not even recovered properly. Her uncle was too unrestrained.
Thankfully, He Zhang did not know what Lu Sheng was thinking. Otherwise, he would have died from embarrassment.
“Why didn’t I see Grandpa, Grandma, and the rest today?”
“They went to town early in the morning. My father came back yesterday and said that everyone likes the sour bamboo shoots you made. There are a lot of guests now. When Grandpa and Grandma heard that, they went over early in the morning to help.”
After hearing He Yan’s words, Lu Sheng suddenly felt that it was indeed time for the Lu family’s restaurant to expand.
As everyone was not around and there were only the three of them, everyone ate the remaining rice cakes to fill their stomachs and skipped lunch.
Seeing that it was already noon and the Zhao family was not here yet, Lu Sheng could not help but frown.
“Since you don’t have to go to the private school today, come up the mountain with us later.”
He Yan told He Dong.
“Why do you want to go up the mountain?” He Dong looked puzzled.
“Your cousin wants to go. We can collect some firewood as well. There’s not much left at home.”
“Oh, alright.”
As soon as He Dong finished speaking, Lu Sheng saw a horse carriage stop outside the door. Her lips curled up immediately.
Indeed, after a while, an elderly woman and a man in his twenties alighted from the carriage.
When He Dong and He Yan saw who it was, their expressions changed.
“Why are you here again?”
Before He Yan could speak, He Dong had already stood up and spoke rudely.
Perhaps because he had been ‘haunted by ghosts’ recently, Zhao Xian had bruises under his eyes.
Lu Sheng looked up at the two of them indifferently.
“Ah Xian is still your brother-in-law. What’s with your attitude?”
Seeing He Dong’s attitude, Mdm Mao was very unhappy.
“Ha—I don’t acknowledge him as my brother-in-law.”
“If you don’t want to admit it, so be it. Anyway, from today onwards, he’s no longer your brother-in-law.”
Mdm Mao looked coldly at He Yan. “He Yan, where’s your father? Ask him to come back. We have something to discuss with him.”
Even if they agreed to a divorce, she had to earn a fortune from the He family.
She was unwilling to let He Yan, the ‘God of Fortune,’ go home so easily.
He Dong stood in front of He Yan and said coldly, “If there’s anything, tell me directly. You don’t have to tell my father.”
He Yan patted He Dong twice, hinting for him to back off.
Although He Dong was unwilling, he did not rebuke his sister. He reluctantly moved to the side.
“If you have anything to say, tell me directly.”
In the past, she gave in to Mdm Mao because she was her mother-in-law and an elder.
In the He family, her father had taught her to respect her elders and obey filial piety.
This was also the reason why she had been tolerating Mdm Mao for so many years. It was because she could not disobey her father.
However, she suddenly felt that not all elders were worthy of being respected by their juniors.
Although she had not been beaten up all these years in the Zhao family, she had been scolded a lot. The words that Mdm Mao scolded her made her feel worse than being beaten up directly.
Mdm Mao found a place to sit down and even casually took some leftover rice cakes from the few of them. As she ate, she said, “I have nothing to say to you. Ask your father to come back.”
Zhao Xian was in the wrong. He stood at the side and did not speak.
In addition to not eating well and sleeping well the past few days, he was exhausted and looked sickly.
He Yan smiled coldly. “If you don’t want to talk, go back. My father won’t be coming back soon.”
Lu Sheng’s eyes darted around. She stared at Zhao Xian for a while before suddenly screaming. Then, she hid behind He Yan and mumbled while trembling, “Ghost! There’s a ghost behind him!”
He Dong and He Yan looked suspiciously at Zhao Xian. They realized that he was also standing at his original spot with a terrified expression.
Mdm Mao’s expression changed. She glared at Lu Sheng and said, “Where did this wild girl come from? What nonsense are you saying? It’s broad daylight. Where did this ghost come from?”
“I… I really saw it! It’s standing behind cousin-in-law.”
Lu Sheng’s face was pale and her forehead started to sweat.
“Mother, let’s settle this quickly and go home.”
Zhao Xian felt a chill run down his spine. As he spoke to Mdm Mao with a trembling voice, his face was filled with fear.
“Let’s… wait a while more.”
If she left just like that, wouldn’t her plan fail?
“Mother, if you’re not leaving, I’ll go back myself.”
Zhao Xian had been tortured for a few days and was already terrified. Seeing Lu Sheng’s reaction, he believed the priest even more.
“That ghost said… that if you still dare to take advantage of the He family, it’ll make everyone in the Zhao family die from an illness.”
Lu Sheng stuck her head out and glanced at Zhao Xian before retreating back to He Yan’s back in fear.
When He Yan and He Dong heard that, they subconsciously retreated, wanting to distance themselves from Zhao Xian.
“Mother!”
Seeing Mdm Mao’s hesitation, Zhao Xian could not help but shout.
Mdm Mao stood up reluctantly and said to He Yan, “We came here today to tell you that our Zhao family doesn’t want you anymore.”
“No, that can’t be done!”
Lu Sheng said in horror, “That ghost said it has to be a peaceful divorce.”
When Mdm Mao heard that, she gritted her teeth and said, “Peaceful divorce!”
She looked at He Yan and said, “We’ll go to the government office now.”
He Yan glanced at Zhao Xian and nodded. “Alright!”
Lu Sheng said in a low voice, “I rode a carriage here. Take my carriage.”
He Yan told He Dong to wait at home while she and Lu Sheng went to He Qin’s house to get the carriage.
Duan Xiang wanted to keep the two of them for a meal, but was rejected.
Lu Sheng rode with He Yan to the government office with Mdm Mao and Zhao Xian.
When Mdm Mao arrived outside the government office, she glanced arrogantly at Lu Sheng and He Yan.
“I have a nephew who’s a constable here. I advise you not to play any tricks.”
He Yan smiled coldly. “Don’t worry, I can’t be happier.”
The He family had proposed a divorce. Now that her wish had been fulfilled, how could she play any tricks?
Mdm Mao said this just to boast to them that she had people of her own in the government office.
Mdm Mao snorted coldly and led the absent-minded Zhao Xian in.
Lu Sheng lowered her eyes and smiled faintly. Then, she followed He Yan.
“Lu…”
When Constable Wang saw Lu Sheng, he was about to call her when she shook her head, hinting for him not to.
Constable Wang scratched his head in confusion. He could only stop talking and watch Lu Sheng and a lady walk past them.
“Oh, Xiaojing. Are you going out to do something?”
Mdm Mao greeted a small constable with a smile.
“Cousin, Brother Xian.”
The constable nodded at the duo.
“I still have some matters to attend to. I won’t say anything more.”
After saying that, the constable left with the group.
Mdm Mao turned her head proudly and scanned the two of them disdainfully.
After entering the government office, Lu Sheng did not follow He Yan in anymore. Instead, she casually found a place outside to sit and wait.
Most of the officials knew Lu Sheng. Seeing her sitting there, they did not disturb her.
He Yan and Mdm Mao went in for fifteen minutes before they finally came out.
“How was it?”
Lu Sheng stood up and asked He Yan.
He Yan nodded. “It’s all done.”
Lu Sheng smiled. “That’s good.”
“Son, let’s go. Mother will bring you to eat good food.”
Mdm Mao frowned coldly at the two of them before leaving with Zhao Xian.