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Chapter 64
After another round of pleasantries, the Old Master finally learned about the punishment An Jingzhi had prepared for An Meiyun. He didn't say anything, just said to Liu Father, "If Grandpa Wen Qing still believes in this old man, let me take care of this matter, what do you think?"
"If Elder An is willing to stand up for Wen Qing, then I can rest assured as her grandfather." Without a second thought, Liu Father immediately stood up, "It's not our place to meddle in the An family affairs, so we'll take our leave first."
After saying that, he signaled to his family and also instructed Liu Ling, "My daughter, take Wen Qing back to your room to rest, don't go to work these next few days, just keep the child company as much as possible."
Liu Ling nodded. Then the Old Master said, "Wen Qing's mother should stay too. You are our An family's eldest grandson's wife, you have the right to participate in family affairs, not to mention this matter concerns Wen Qing, you have more right to speak than anyone."
The Old Master's obvious show of support put Liu Father and Liu Mother's minds further at ease. Even Liu Brother and Sister-in-law had nothing more to say.
After the Liu family left, An Zhiren and An ZhiXian came out, "Grandpa, Grandma, Mom and Dad, we're going to work now."
"Wait a moment, it won't make a difference." The Old Master said, then added, "Have ZhiAng, ZhiXia and Meiyun come in too. With the family in this state, we're more of a spectacle than when your grandfather decided to sell our ancestral home to the country to donate an airplane."
The last sentence was addressed to An Jingzhi, and made An Jingzhi feel deeply ashamed.
The Old Master was advanced in years and rarely involved himself in matters anymore. As the head of household, he had failed to run the family properly, resulting in the current circumstances.
Only at this moment did he realize how right the Old Master had been to insist that Meiyun leave the family.
Whereas his own indecision had led to the current consequences. Compared to the Old Master and the previous Master, he was truly unworthy of being the An family patriarch.
When everyone had gathered, An Meiyun also appeared before their eyes.
At this time, her clothes were torn and disheveled, much of her hair pulled out, her cheeks badly swollen.
But in front of the Old Master and Old Madam, not even Zhou Nan dared show concern for her, let alone the rest of the family.
An Meiyun knelt with a thud, a sincere, solemn kowtow, "Grandpa, Granny, I really didn't mean to push Wen Qing, please give me another chance!"
The Old Master remained composed, never casting his gaze upon her. Rather, he scanned the room and said, "Our family raised Meiyun for 18 years. It's said that adoptive love is not as great as birth love, but setting aside anything else, our family can be said to have been benevolent and righteous to her these 18 years. I don't expect she remembers any kindness from the family. Since she is dissatisfied with my arrangements and married in secret, the family will also respect her actions. The wedding will proceed tomorrow, Jingzhi and wife will see her properly out of our An family door..."
An Meiyun was overjoyed, thinking the old geezer finally showed some humanity, but then the Old Master continued, "After sending her out, you two should have no more worries, right? When transferring her household registration, have her change back to her own surname. Now that ZhiXia has returned, you two should focus more on your own daughter rather than always treating someone else's daughter as a treasure. No matter how excessive the Gao couple was, they did no wrong by her, on the contrary, to enable her to live well, they both sacrificed themselves. After all, they gave birth to her and gave her life. Letting her change back to her birth surname now is right, so she can fulfill her filial duty to her birth parents."
"Dad..."
Zhou Nan looked pleadingly, but didn't get so much as a glance from the Old Master.
The Old Madam still took the other children into consideration, leaving Meiyun some face, "The Zhou Village side will send someone over too, right? Tonight I'll come over again, it's been so many years since I've seen your mother-in-law, so we can take this chance to have a good long chat."
After all, times had changed. As a mother-in-law, there were some things she could not say directly, but Zhou Granny as the birth mother could properly teach her daughter, lest she keep doing inappropriate things.
Zhou Nan understood the implication, and dared say no more.
In the years since her marriage, apart from being sent back to the Zhou family for a period of time at the beginning when the An family situation was turbulent, to protect her and the child in her belly, these years she had lived too smoothly, to the point of forgetting how formidable this mother-in-law could be.
When the An family had still been a prestigious household, the Old Madam's mother-in-law had passed early, and she was the mistress of the household, overseeing over a hundred people, plus the An family's vast household and business.
Her remark about chatting with Zhou Granny was of course not a real chat, but seeing that she could not condone Zhou Nan's actions, she would have the birth mother properly discipline her daughter, lest she keep doing inappropriate things.
An Meiyun was frightened out of her wits, begging and pleading for mercy.
She knew better than anyone that although Lin Hao had some affection for her, if she really became Gao Meiyun and had no ties to the An family, there was no way he would marry her.
The current circumstances were only achieved by her using some tricks to force his hand. This had already displeased him somewhat. If he further found out she had severed ties with the An family, her future days...
An Meiyun dared not imagine further, and at the same time regretted losing her temper earlier.
She had only accidentally injured the little whelp a bit, but it had brought the An family together against her instead. Recalling Zhou Nan's claims of feeling sorry for her these past few days, it was truly ironic.
Unfortunately, once the Old Master and Old Madam made a decision, it was unquestionable by the family.
The Old Master and Old Madam were in no hurry, waiting until An Meiyun had cried enough and collapsed in despair on the ground before speaking again, "Does anyone still have objections to my decision?"
"I don't," An ZhiAng was the first to speak.
An ZhiRen and An ZhiXian exchanged glances, "We defer to Grandpa."
Liu Ling's stand was even more obvious, hugging her child as she bowed to the Old Master and Old Madam, "Thank you Grandpa and Granny for standing up for us mother and child."
ZhiXia smiled, "I'm even more... eager for it to happen."
The Old Master's gaze fixed unwaveringly on An Jingzhi, leaving him no choice but to nod, "We husband and wife have no objections."
Zhou Nan didn't even have a chance to express her opinion before An Jingzhi spoke for her. Of course, her opinion was unimportant to the Old Master and Old Madam anyway.
After everyone had stated their stances, those who had work to do left for work. Liu Ling had An ZhiQing help ask a colleague to cover her class when he passed by the elementary school on his way.
It was a simple, hardworking era where labor was honored, and taking leave was not so easy, especially as a teacher, her taking leave would delay the students' classes.
No one saw the flash of resentment in An Meiyun's eyes as she still knelt in the living room, glaring fiercely at their retreating backs.
When ZhiXia looked over, she hid her resentment again, pitifully begging, "Sister ZhiXia, I know you don't like me, but I never meant to harm you. Please help plead for me, Grandpa and Granny dote on you, they will definitely listen to you..."