Pei Xiuyuan could not accept the punishment. He frowned. He was thinking hard of ways to change his grandmother’s mind.
She could only get up when Grandfather forgives her? Grandfather had passed away years ago. How could he forgive her? Jump out of the coffin? How long would it take for the punishment to end?
So…
“Grandmother…” When Pei Xiuyuan was picking his words he saw the old lady holding her chest. She looked like she was in pain. He hurried forward to help her up. “What’s wrong, Grandmother?”
The old lady was in too much pain to say a single word. The vase was her most precious treasure, her longtime companion. The more she thought about losing it forever, the angrier she was and her chest pain got even worse. Sweat was pouring from her forehead.
“Quick! Get a doctor!” Pei Xiuyuan shouted.
Lu Man felt guilty when she saw what happened. Why was she so clumsy? Damn it!
The family doctor came and decided to stay overnight to take care of the old lady just in case. He might be needed for emergencies since the old lady had some illnesses due to her old age.
Pei Zichen and Wang Yunxi did not expect that things would turn out this bad, especially Pei Zichen. He panicked and held his aunt’s hand. He was very scared that bad things would happen to Great-grandmother. She was in pain and this was all their fault!
Wang Yunxi felt the same but she tried not to show it. “Don’t worry. Grandmother will be fine.”
She could only say that to calm him and herself down.
Watching the doctors performing first aid procedures to Great-grandmother, Pei Zichen bit his lower lip. He regretted it now! He was so full of regret that he felt like there were bugs biting his whole body.
He did not expect this at all! He had never wanted to make his great-grandmother this sad! If he knew it, he would not have done it in the first place!
Pei Zichen was just an innocent six-year-old boy. All he knew was that Great-grandmother loved the vase, just like how he liked his toys. He did not know what the vase meant to her. So he thought she would just feel sad just the same way as what he felt when his favorite toy was broken. That was why he had agreed to his aunt to carry out the plan when Wang Yunxi suggested it. He did not even hesitate when he agreed to it because he had never thought about the consequences before it happened.
Fortunately, it was a minor chest pain. The old lady’s condition was stable after the treatment.
“Young Master, the old lady needs to rest. She should not get emotional for now or she will get another…” The family doctor did not finish his words but everyone understood clearly.
“Yes,” Pei Xiuyuan replied.
After the doctor left, Pei XIuyuan wanted to help the old lady to go back to her room. “Grandmother, let me bring you to your room to rest.”
The old lady opened her eyes and ordered, “Make her… kneel at the shrine now…”
Pei Xiuyuan paused. Then he gave an order. “Butler, bring the young mistress to the shrine.”
Even though he was unwilling to do this, he could not do anything for her now.
The butler reacted immediately. “Please follow me, Young Mistress.”
Lu Man looked at Pei Xiuyuan apologetically and left with the butler.
Mu Yunhai looked at Lu Man who was leaving. He wanted to help her but he knew he could not. In this household, he had no power.
One day! One day, he would be powerful enough to turn things over!
Pei Zichen wanted to follow his father when he saw him leaving with his great-grandmother in his arms. Before he could, Wang Yunxi pulled him to her side.
“What do you think you are doing?”
“I want to look after her.”
“Grandmother is fine now. Go to your room and sleep,” Wang Yunxi ordered.
“But I am worried. I…”
“Are you thinking of telling your father that we were the ones who did this?” Wang Yunxi was not stupid. And she knew her nephew well. He would be regretting right now and wanting to confess to his father.
In fact, that was what he had planned to do. He bit his lower lip but did not say anything.
“Xiao Chen, let me tell you this. You cannot say it now! Think of all the sacrifices we have made to make this happen! If you confess now, nothing would happen to the evil lady and we would be the ones to take the blame! Also, the pain that Grandmother has gone through would mean nothing! By the way, it is not like she is going to get better immediately if you confess now, all the hard work would be wasted. It is not worth it!”
Pei Zichen knew her reasons, but he still thought that he had done wrong this time. “Aunt, we were wrong. We should not make something that Great-grandmother loves into a weapon to harm the evil lady.”
He thought they should admit their mistakes and apologize if they had done something wrong.
Wang Yunxi knew they had gone too far this time. But she did not want to admit the mistake and she could not! “Xiao Chen, are you trying to make your great-grandmother and your father dislike you? If you want that to happen, go ahead and confess.”
Pei Zichen hesitated. No! He did not want his father to hate him!
“Your father is bewitched by that bad lady now. If you let him know that she was framed, he will only love her more! And you! You will be the target of his anger! He will punish you, hate you, and when they have their own child, you will be forgotten, abandoned!”
Wang Yunxi knew his nephew. She made use of his fear to control him.
Pei Zichen did not dare to do anything now when he heard her words.
“Xiao Chen…” She was trying to say more but Pei Zichen was too scared to hear it anymore.
“Don’t say anything!”
“Alright, you think about it yourself.” Wang Yunxi was sure that he would not confess now, so she let him go.
The living room was soon empty. Everyone had their own things to settle. The only person left was Pei Zichen. He stood there, clenching his small fists. He was thinking hard before making his decision.
He was not a bad boy. He was just afraid of losing his father. He did not want to have a stepmother. He just did not want to be abandoned.
Although his father promised him to love him forever, he was still scared that it might happen.
His aunt was right, too. His father would love him less when the woman was with him. Now that his father had given her so much of his love, things might get worse in the future.
Pei Zichen used to have a bad preconception about having a stepmother. And when Wang Yunxi wanted to make him her ally to chase Lu Man away, she tried all sorts of ways to infuse him with the ideas that all stepmothers were evil. She had also read him a lot of stories about stepmothers abusing their step children. With all he had experienced before, his preconception became worse.
Pei Xiuyuan left the room after Grandmother was sound asleep. He saw his son standing at the door when he got out. “Xiao Chen, why are you here?”
“I am worried about Great-grandmother…” He had been standing at the door since he left the living room.
Pei Xiuyuan bent over and touched his head. “Your great-grandmother is fine now. Don’t you worry. Let’s go to bed.”
“Is she really?”
“Yes.”
“I am sorry, Dad…” Pei Zichen felt better when he knew that Great-grandmother was fine now. But he felt even more sorry when his father was being so nice to him.
“Why are you apologizing all of a sudden?”