Chapter 22: Son-in-Law, You Have to Acknowledge It

If it had been Fang Yuan, she definitely would not have understood what those words meant, but Lu Chuan was sharp and had fairly high emotional intelligence. He truly understood what Fang Yuan’s mother meant.

He had to show his attitude. Otherwise, the Lu family would definitely be the one at fault. As for the mess left behind by the troublesome Lu Feng, even if Lu Er minded it, he had to swallow it.

This matter could not be glossed over. Lu Er said, “It would be a lie to say I don’t feel wronged. After all, this marriage was never something I expected. But I’m not blaming Fang Yuan. It was my elder brother who handled things improperly and dragged both Fang Yuan and me into this. Deep down, I do feel somewhat uncomfortable about it.”

Fang Dalen frowned. So the boy was blaming the family. This kid was not very broad-minded. Not much of a man. Then again, Lu Feng really was a piece of work. He had even dragged his own brother’s marriage into the mess. It was understandable.

Wang Cuixiang thought to herself that if he did not resent it at all, that would be far too fake.

Then Lu Er continued, “Mom, I understand what you’re worried about. Don’t worry. Fang Yuan did nothing wrong, and there was never any special relationship between Fang Yuan and my elder brother. I understand that clearly in my heart.”

If he had immediately claimed that he did not mind at all, Wang Cuixiang would not have believed him. Speaking this way at least showed that the boy had seriously thought things through. Not bad. He just looked a little frail. “What do you do at home? How old are you?”

Lu Chuan said, “Under normal circumstances, I would be starting university this September. Right now I don’t have any particular plans. I’m twenty-one this year.”

Fang Dalen immediately sprang up from his stool. “A student? A university student?”

The news had exceeded his expectations.

Then he could no longer sit still. Fang Dalen began pacing circles around the courtyard.

Why did this matter suddenly feel so difficult to handle?

As expected, Wang Cuixiang was the one who could take charge. “So what if he’s a student? Students still have to marry wives and live their lives. What are you getting excited about? If you can’t sit still, go wander outside.”

Only then did Fang Dalen stop shouting.

He sat down obediently, though his gaze toward his daughter remained conflicted.

Wang Cuixiang turned and spoke gently to Lu Chuan. “What do your parents say about this marriage?”

Lu Chuan replied, “My parents really like Fang Yuan. They’re very fond of her. As long as Fang Yuan is willing, the three brothers in our family were all available for her to choose from.”

Privately, he comforted himself that he was the one she had chosen.

It felt as though his family had gained a bit of an advantage.

Only then did Wang Cuixiang nod in satisfaction.

At least the prospective in-laws had the right attitude.

She looked at her daughter, then at the son-in-law she had gained for free. If the Lu family had not been at fault first, her daughter would never have landed a son-in-law like this. She sighed inwardly. Although the boy was somewhat frail, he had good features and a sweet tongue. He was clearly clever. If this marriage worked out, her daughter would not be at a disadvantage.

But that did not necessarily mean it was a good thing.

Her daughter was straightforward and simple-minded. In the future, she might not be able to keep a husband like this under control. Her assessment of Lu Er was that he would not be easy to handle.

If the son-in-law was willing to indulge her daughter, that would be fine. But if one day he became impossible to manage, what would her daughter do?

A clever son-in-law gave his mother-in-law a headache.

Facing his future mother-in-law, Lu Chuan was feeling quite a bit of pressure himself.

His palms were sweating.

Meanwhile, Fang Dalen directly took Fang Yuan outside and discussed things with her.

“How about we forget it? Dad can find you someone better. He’s a student.”

To Fang Dalen, educated people were figures to be looked up to.

Snatching one away from his studies did not seem right.

It was not appropriate to ruin a student’s future.

Fang Yuan said, “Why forget it? He may be a little unworthy of me, but at least he’s presentable. Otherwise I’d be laughed to death. If word gets out that someone stole my man, how embarrassing would that be for me, Fang Yuan?”

Hearing this, the brothers all scratched their heads in unison.

The synchronized movement made it obvious that they were worried.

If this brother-in-law did not work out, how would they ever find the next one? Fang Yuan’s standards seemed rather high.

Fang Dalen truly had not expected his daughter to be this confident.

A university student, yet she still thought he was not good enough for her.

He certainly did not dare say such things himself.

Fang Dalen said, “Dad’s youngest daughter is definitely excellent in every way, but this student just isn’t suitable. Our family, your father pushed all of you brothers and sisters to study as hard as possible, yet not one of you made it. We’re still a bit below scholarly families. Maybe we should forget it.”

Fang Yuan said, “What scholarly family? Their family produced a morally rotten Lu Feng, didn’t they? None of the sons or daughters in our family are morally rotten. We’re much better than they are.”

Fang Dalen felt his daughter had a point.

At least their family had never produced someone like Lu Feng.

“That’s true, but the son-in-law is educated, isn’t he?”

Fang Yuan said, “And now that educated man has become your son-in-law. Perfect timing to improve our family’s standing. From now on we’ll have an educated person in the family too. It wasn’t easy for me to get married. This marriage counts, and you have to acknowledge it.”

The last part was spoken with particular seriousness.

Fang Dalen said, “You child, you child. Why won’t you listen? I’m telling you, studying is good, but educated people have a lot of schemes. Our family can’t outplay them. Back in the township, plenty of educated men abandoned their wives and ran away.”

Fang Yuan nodded. “Then why do you keep holding them in such high regard? Since they’re such awful people, he’s a perfect match for me.”

Wuhu thought to himself, You really don’t have to put yourself down just to preserve this marriage.

Fang Dalen had given up trying to reason things out with his daughter.

Still, the son-in-law was not bad.

It was just that he always felt weak-kneed around educated people.

In the future, he feared he would not be able to put on the proper airs of a father-in-law.

Fang Dalen sighed. “If I ever need to stand up for you in the future, how am I supposed to go about it?”

Fang Yuan answered boldly, “The same way you’d deal with anyone else. Are you supposed to spoil him just because he’s educated and let your daughter suffer?”

She said it with such carefree confidence.

There was not the slightest sign of tenderness toward him.

Inside the house, Lu Er heard only that one sentence.

His heart turned cold.

The position of an educated person in this family seemed rather unusual.

Neither high nor low.

Wang Cuixiang said, “As long as your parents can accept it, that’s good. Back when Fang Yuan was engaged to your family, we chose you because we valued your parents’ character. Honestly, there wasn’t much difference between you and your elder brother. Neither Fang Yuan’s father nor I looked very carefully, and Fang Yuan herself barely looked at him more than a few times.”

This was her way of cleaning up after things for her daughter.

She was worried the son-in-law might carry a grudge in his heart later.

Lu Er wanted to say that his mother-in-law was worrying unnecessarily.

He had personally witnessed how Fang Yuan had exchanged Lu Feng for 350 yuan.

If anyone had trouble accepting things, it would be because he feared Fang Yuan might one day exchange him for money too.

It had nothing to do with Lu Feng.

Of course, he could not actually say that.

Otherwise things would still feel rather awkward.

He had to admit that he was not particularly broad-minded.

Wang Cuixiang was attentive and concerned about her daughter’s future living situation. “By the way, what’s the situation in your family now?”

She was worried that things would become awkward if her daughter kept getting entangled with Lu Feng.

Lu Er glanced at his future mother-in-law and answered honestly. “Last night, Fang Yuan took charge and divided our family property.”

Wang Cuixiang could hardly keep a straight face.

Her daughter really was capable.

“What exactly was that child doing?”

Then she immediately broke into a smile.

“Son-in-law, what should Mom call you?”

With that single sentence, the major deed her daughter had committed was completely brushed aside.

Lu Chuan finally understood.

No matter how easygoing his mother-in-law seemed, she was still his wife’s mother.