After the Zhu family arrived with great fanfare, other relatives and old friends of the Hua family began to make moves one after another.
But most of them sent stewards. The person Wu had been waiting for from her mother's side also came. He was her second brother Wu Zerui, who was not valued at home and had not entered the official career.
Seeing his sister's pale face, Wu Zerui sighed, "Dad is very likely to make further progress. Now is a critical moment and no one in the family dares to be careless. It's not that Dad and Mom don't love you, Haitang, don't blame them. If Dad can really make further progress, he can help you and your children more in the future. Even if you really want to take the children back to live with your mother, it is not impossible."
"I won't go back."
"Third sister..."
"I won't go back." Wu raised her head, her eyes red but without tears, "Now you can sever ties with the Hua family because Dad wants to take a further step, but you may also abandon me for various reasons in the future. I am already Hua Wu, I understand all this, but second brother, you also have to understand me."
Mrs. Wu's voice was hoarse. "To put it bluntly, the Wu family gave up their daughter, me, for their own wealth and future. If they could give me up the first time, they can give me up the second time. I must be so sorry for my mother's teachings to still hope that my parents can really take me home."
"Third sister, you're overthinking. It's not that serious."
"We all know whether there is one or not, second brother, you can go back."
"Third sister..."
"You weren't planning on staying here to help me anyway, were you?"
Wu Zerui's face changed in a state of confusion, he felt a little embarrassed and a little guilty. What the third sister said was straightforward and she was not wrong, otherwise he would not have come.
"Go back and tell mother that I also hope that my mother's family will be well. From now on, we should stop contacting each other. The Hua family will not lack food and clothing for me, and I will always be able to survive."
Wu Zerui didn't say much in the end. He just said take care and left. He was just a messenger and couldn't make any decisions. But seeing his sister, whom he loved since childhood, fall into such a state, how could he not feel heartbroken.
But when interests are involved, everything changes.
Wu covered her mouth and cried uncontrollably. She understood everything, but no one cared about her sadness.
Hua Zhi stood not far away and watched with an indifferent expression. When there was no movement from the Wu family, she had a clue in her heart. If someone who truly loved her daughter, like her grandmother, had come at dawn, she would not have delayed until now.
It is true that a funeral made her see all kinds of things in the world and the fickleness of human nature.
Probably, everyone thought that the Hua family was doomed to fall.
"Miss, someone from the Song family is here."
Hua Zhi turned and left, and asked after she was far away, "Who's here?"
Bao Xia gritted her teeth and said, "Only my cousin came."
Hua Zhi paused and continued walking towards the mourning hall.
Hua Jing's eldest son was named Song Chenghao. He was eighteen years old, and he always had a smile on his face when he met everyone. He was very eloquent and was once very much loved by Old Madam Hua. However, Hua Zhi always avoided him. It was clear that this man was born with a cold-hearted look and he never smiled.
At this time, Song Chenghao burned incense, kowtowed, and wanted to find someone to talk to, but at a glance, they were all naive children, with a look of contempt. The Hua family really came to an end.
"Who is in charge of the family now?"
Because of Hua Jing's matter, no one in the Hua family likes him now, but ignoring people is not the rule of the Hua family. Hua Bailin was about to answer a few words reluctantly when his eldest sister's voice came from outside the mourning hall.
"It's me."
Song Chengwu turned around and looked at her, frowning, "Cousin?"
Hua Zhi approached and said, "If you want to observe mourning, I will have someone bring you mourning clothes."
"No." Song Chenghao felt that he rejected it too quickly, and explained with his hands covering his mouth and coughing: "Cousin, you don't know, I have had a cold for several days. If I hadn't been unable to get out of bed, I wouldn't have waited until today to come here. I am willing to keep vigil for my grandmother, but I am afraid that it will cause trouble to the Hua family."
What a good reason, what a timely illness. Hua Zhi stepped over him, knelt on the futon, tore up some paper money and put it into the brazier, "Then please go back and take good care of yourself, the thought is more important than the form."
Song Chenghao was stunned and didn't understand what she meant. He wanted to ask more but was afraid that she would directly bring up some moral principles and ask him to keep vigil, so he simply changed the subject, "Is it my cousin who is in charge of the Hua family now?"
"Just tell me what you have to say, cousin."
"Then let me tell you, why didn't my mother come to the funeral hall to keep vigil, but let her stay outside in the snow and ice?"
"I have nothing to say." Hua Zhi patted her hands that were stained with paper scraps and looked back at him, "Cousin, go ask her."
Song Chenghao frowned, wondering if there was something he didn't know. Thinking of this, he turned around and walked towards the door.
Hua Bolin gritted her teeth in hatred, "He actually just left like this! Grandma loved him so much when she was alive, he...he..."
"The person who loved him is no longer here, and he can no longer get any benefits from the Hua family." Hua Zhi glanced at Butler Xu, who understood and called his youngest son over to give him a few instructions. Xu Ying then ran to the door.
In the shed, the haggard Hua Jing no longer sat by the fire wrapped in the quilt. She stood up and stared at the movement at the gate. When she saw her son coming out, her eyes lit up, "Hao'er..."
Song Chenghao sat down on the only stool by the fire and asked bluntly, "What happened? Don't try to fool me. The Hua family wouldn't have such an attitude if they didn't have the confidence."
Hua Jing was furious when her son rebuked her, but she still held it back. From her son's words, she understood that Hua Zhi really didn't say anything as she expected. She felt relieved and wiped her eyes and said, "What can happen to the Hua family now? I just want to mourn for your grandmother sincerely. You have seen how good your grandmother is to your mother. Don't you think this is wrong?"
This reason is reasonable, but Song Chenghao always feels that it is not that simple. He looked at his mother suspiciously for a few times, and felt that it might be true. With his mother's temper, if the Hua family really made things difficult for her, she would definitely make a big fuss in the Hua family!
Seeing that her son was calmed down, Hua Jing asked about family matters, "Why didn't your father come? Where are your brothers and sisters?"
"I haven't seen my father for the past two days. Grandma said he went back to the ancestral home. My younger brother and sister were kept at home by my grandmother. She said it was freezing cold and they would not go out."
Although Hua Jing didn't want her children to suffer, she felt that it was not right to hear such words from the old woman. She was about to give her eldest son some instructions when he said, "It's cold outside. I'll go back first. You should continue to observe mourning. I'll come over on the day of the burial."
"..." Hua Jing looked in disbelief as her eldest son put on his cloak and got into the carriage. He didn't ask her if she was cold, didn't show any concern, let alone stay with her. When he, a young man, said he was cold, did he ever think about the fact that his mother was nearly 40 years old!
Hua Jing shuddered and hugged herself with her hands, feeling cold from the inside out.
She looked up at the lintel of the Hua family's door, and in a trance she seemed to see her younger self walking out of the gate, followed by her three younger brothers, who called her the eldest sister one by one.
But how did it become like this
Xu Ying was standing behind the shed. She heard the conversation between the mother and son clearly and repeated it word for word.
Hua Zhi listened and went to burn some more paper for her grandmother. Just wait and see, no one does wrong without paying the price, so don't feel sorry for her.
PS: Kong Kong has been updating twice a day, why are there still people urging me to update twice a day? Don't worry, I will never whitewash myself.