She Lost Memory Before the Divorce

Chapter 72: Chapter 0072: Look
 

As soon as Han Yongmei spoke, Gu Xiaoman almost couldn’t help herself. If it weren’t for Mu Lan giving her a meaningful look, she probably would have wanted to pounce on her mother-in-law and bite her a few times.

“Mom, you’re right. I really should reflect on myself.”

Gu Xiaoman glared, what kind of nonsense was this? What did she have to reflect on?

Han Yongmei was quite pleased with herself, and a slight smile appeared on her face, proud that the authority of a mother-in-law was quite useful. However, Mu Lan’s next sentence left her speechless.

“Reflect on what unforgivable sins I’ve committed, to make you come over so late and criticize me just because you heard a few words from someone else.”

“You…”

“You are an elder, and as the younger, I naturally should respect you, but right is right, and wrong is wrong. We can’t just call a deer a horse, can we?”

“You dare to talk back to me?”

“I’m not talking back. I’m just presenting facts and reasoning with you. It’s taken quite an effort for Shen Zichu to erase the records for the sake of privacy, yet somehow, the word still reached your ears. It shows how much effort the person spreading these words must have put into it.”

Mu Lan was usually quiet and unobtrusive, but she was far from thoughtless. Huo Tingxiao always acted meticulously. He hadn’t even called the police over such a big incident, fearing to startle the snake.

She had only been hospitalized for one day, and Han Yongmei had already received the news. If it wasn’t someone stirring up trouble on purpose, Mu Lan would hardly believe it.

“Are you trying to settle scores with me?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Ɲονǥ0.сօ

Han Yongmei put on a stern face, visibly upset.

She was now in a position where neither her husband nor her son could control her, and even the formerly compliant daughter-in-law seemed to have transformed into someone else. She felt like a complete failure in her role as the Huo family’s leading daughter-in-law.

“Let me tell you, Mu Lan, don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking in your heart. You’re putting on this pretense, hoping to make Tingxiao feel sorry for you, to be infatuated with you.

Don’t think that playing weak will win over a man’s heart. My son has lofty ambitions. You dream of capturing his heart with trivial affections. Think again!

From now on, find fewer excuses to cling to him!”

Mu Lan was genuinely about to laugh in anger because of her words.

How had she become the cause of all disasters? It was clearly Huo Tingxiao who insisted on clinging to her. Could this aunty please get her facts straight?

“Mom, it’s not Mu Lan clinging to me, it’s me insisting on accompanying her.”

Suddenly, the door to the hospital room was opened, and Huo Tingxiao stood emotionless at the entrance, radiating a cold demeanor. Han Yongmei was surprised. What was he doing here at this time?

“Tingxiao, why have you come at this time? You should rest well and not delay—”

“Are you still trying to reach into the affairs of my company?”

Not expecting Huo Tingxiao to be so blunt, Han Yongmei’s face turned white. Their relationship as mother and son had never been close, but there were others present, and this attitude was a bit too much.

“Tingxiao, there are outsiders here. I didn’t want to say much.

But you’ve been out of line recently!”

Gu Xiaoman wished she could turn transparent. She truly didn’t want to watch this kind of wealthy family drama.

Mu Lan also noticed her best friend’s awkwardness and looked up at Huo Tingxiao and said:

“Huo Tingxiao, send Xiaoman home.”

“Lanlan…”

“I’m fine. Go home.”

With her lips pursed, Gu Xiaoman didn’t want to make things difficult for her, so she left first.

Only three people remained in the hospital room, apart from the different setting, it was quite similar to the previous incident at Maple Forest Garden.

“Is it auntie again?”

Huo Tingxiao’s single sentence left Han Yongmei speechless for quite a while.

Mu Lan secretly admired Huo Tingxiao, thinking, how precise can he get?

“I already gave enough face over last time’s incident, yet she dares to gossip here again?”

Mu Lan glanced at Huo Tingxiao and shook her head, not wanting him to be too aggressive. But Huo Tingxiao pretended not to see and spoke even more unpleasantly.

“Grandfather hasn’t even reached out yet, and here you are, rushing into things.”

“You… I’m your mother, shouldn’t I care about you?”

Han Yongmei felt rather guilty saying this because, from childhood, she had hardly ever been involved in Huo Tingxiao’s life.

“You know to care now? A person who started reading ‘The Thirty-Six Stratagems’ at three and studied ‘The Strategies of the Warring States’ and ‘The Art of War’ by Sun Tzu at five, I don’t remember you caring about anything.”

Strangely, his tone made Mu Lan feel a wave of discomfort inside, thinking about how she was still playing horse riding and mock battles with her father at the age of three, while he was already being groomed as an heir. Everyone envied him for being the Huo Family heir, everyone said Huo Tingxiao was the pride of heaven, but who knew what he had actually been through?

To appear noble in the eyes of others, one must suffer in silence. Now that he had become a person of high stature, he must have endured the hardships that come with it.

“Are you trying to start an argument over past issues? Tingxiao, isn’t everything I’ve done these years for the sake of your future? Back then, so many ladies of high society wanted to marry you, but you insisted on choosing her. Though I wasn’t satisfied, I agreed.

If she had just kept to her place, that would have been fine. Look at what you’ve become recently because of her? I didn’t want to say it earlier in front of others.”

Thinking back to the matter Huo Qitang mentioned during dinner… she couldn’t help but feel angry.

Mu Lan heard the hidden meaning in Han Yongmei’s words; since her mother-in-law couldn’t help coming to look for her late at night, it must be that Huo Qitang didn’t just say a few words without much thought. So she spoke up:

“Then speak your mind now.”

“Are you sure you want me to say it?”

Han Yongmei looked as though she had Mu Lan by the handles.

“Of course, it’s better to speak frankly face to face, so as to avoid any confusion, wouldn’t you agree?”

Mu Lan, with an appearance of someone who has nothing to hide, made Han Yongmei drop her reservations. She took out her phone and showed a photo that Huo Qitang had previously taken in secret.

“Fine, I want to see how you’ll explain this.

Who is the man in this photo being intimate with you?”

Intimate behavior?

Mu Lan and Huo Tingxiao both looked at the phone screen with different expressions.

It was indeed from the time she accompanied Lin Yize to select jewelry. It seemed someone had just taken a photo from any angle and started making up stories based on the image.

Looking calmly at Han Yongmei, Mu Lan explained in detail:

“He is my senior from school and also the representative of the company collaborating with Huo Tingxiao this time. That day, I bumped into him after delivering lunch to Huo Tingxiao. I went to Yumuben to help my senior pick a birthday gift for his mother, that’s all.”

Clearly, this explanation didn’t satisfy Han Yongmei.

“Do you think I would believe that? If he needed to buy a gift, why would he specifically ask you? Are you more professional than the sales staff? Look at how intimate you two appear in the photo!

Mu Lan, don’t forget, you’re a daughter-in-law of the Huo Family. Every action you take represents the Huo Family. Any scandal you cause not only reflects badly on the Huo Family but also tarnishes the Huo Family’s reputation!”

The more Han Yongmei spoke, the uglier Mu Lan’s expression became.

Originally, she just thought this mother-in-law was somewhat traditional in thought, but now she realized she was practically a relic of feudalism from the Qing Dynasty. What was this all about?

It was just a photo of them together, but she talked as if it was as serious as having an intimate photo of her and Lin Yize.

“So you mean to say that I can’t have any male presence around me? I can’t have any dealings with another man?”

Clearly, Mu Lan was truly angry now, and the tone of her voice had also dropped several degrees colder.