Chapter 807: The Conflict at the Mourning Hall

Xu Shaochen was baffled by the overly enthusiastic behavior of his future mother-in-law.

“What do you mean by you’re done?” “What do you mean by you’re tired out?” “What do you mean by having a drink of water to catch your breath?” All this chatter left the bashful young man feeling incredibly awkward.

“Cough cough! What nonsense are you spouting? If you can’t speak properly, just keep your mouth shut,” Li Tianming coughed violently and gave his wife a stern glare.

Li’s mother realized she had said something inappropriate and felt very embarrassed.

“Uncle Li, Auntie, I’ll be heading off now. Xiao Ya is fine, I’ve managed to comfort her,” Xu Shaochen said with a wry smile, then quickly left the Li family home.

“Look at what you’ve done, you scared him off! Can’t you control your tongue?” Li Tianming said, exasperated.

“You’re sleeping on the sofa tonight!” Li’s mother shot back coldly.

Li Tianming immediately backed down, putting on a fawning smile. “Come on, my dear wife, I was hoping to try for another son tonight.”

“Try for another son? You’re out of your mind! You should be hoping your daughter gives you a grandson soon, or who knows, he might grow tired of her and leave without warning.”

Li’s mother responded angrily. After all, her enthusiasm towards Xu Shaochen was for her daughter’s sake.

Li Tianming frowned. “That can’t be. Xiao Xu isn’t that type of person.”

“Oh really? I did a bit of digging into what Xu Shaochen has been up to in Jiangzhou. Guess what I found?” Li’s mother said with a sarcastic smile.

“What did you find?” Li Tianming asked, curious.

Without saying a word, Li’s mother pulled a stack of photos from her bag and tossed them on the table.

As Li Tianming looked at the photos, he gasped. “Wow! What stunning women! Where did you get these photos?”

The women in the pictures were Mei Liangxinying, Song Xinran, Liu Rushuang, Liu Ruxu, Xie Wei, Zhou Sixian, Du Ruyan, Zhao Qingyu, and Linda.

“These are all the closest women to your good son-in-law. He sure is impressive—he’s keeping them all so harmonious. Two of them are even pregnant,” Li’s mother said calmly, her worry for her daughter’s future apparent.

Li Tianming couldn’t help but be impressed. If he had been this capable in his younger years, maybe he wouldn’t have had to watch his wife scare off all his mistresses.

“What are you thinking about? Are you thinking about those vixens again?” Li’s mother’s expression turned sour, her gaze becoming sharp.

“Of course not! My dear wife, even if I wanted to, I couldn’t anymore. I use all my energy on you now,” Li Tianming quickly denied, then declared righteously, “What I’m thinking is how shameless Xu Shaochen is! How could he be so unfaithful? This is simply outrageous!”

Yes, I’ll have to have a chat with him someday for some advice, Li Tianming thought to himself. After all, shouldn’t he, in his prime, be able to afford supporting a few university students?

“Outrageous or not, it doesn’t matter. You have no control over him. But at least, these women, though beautiful, aren’t from families that could match Xu,” Li’s mother said.

“That’s why we need Xiao Ya to get pregnant with his child soon. They need to get married quickly. Otherwise, things could change.”

Li’s mother might come across as gentle, but she wasn’t naive. That’s why she had Li Tianming completely under her control.

“But whether Xiao Ya gets pregnant or not isn’t something we can decide,” Li Tianming said with a bitter smile. After all, he wasn’t the god of fertility.

Li’s mother glared at him. “Are you dumb? It’s just a matter of probabilities. He’s young and full of energy. You get them to spend two or three times a day together, and by the end of the month, she’ll definitely be pregnant.”

Li Tianming shuddered. If that were to happen, Xiao Ya might not get pregnant in a month, but Xu Shaochen would probably be skin and bones by then.

Back in the day, Li’s wife had used the same tactic to keep him from fooling around. Now, he couldn’t even appreciate a beauty without feeling utterly powerless.

Being a man is really tough.

“So, we need to find excuses to have him visit here more often. Get him to stay the night,” Li’s mother continued, completely unaware of the troubled look on her husband’s face.

…………

The next day.

In the morning.

Xu Shaochen, dressed in a black suit, and Xie Wei, wearing a black dress adorned with a bouquet of flowers at her chest, arrived at the Chen family to pay their respects to Old Master Chen.

Upon arrival, there were already hundreds of people at the Chen Family Residence. At least three to four hundred people, if not more.

And there were still streams of people arriving. The parking lot was completely full, with cars starting to park alongside the street.

Naturally, no traffic officer was silly enough to come and issue parking tickets at a time like this.

“Young Master Xu, Miss Xie, please this way,” one of the Chen family members, recognizing the two, respectfully ushered them to the mourning hall.

In the hall, Old Master Chen’s portrait was prominently displayed in the center, showing him in his military uniform, looking imposing.

Chen Ju knelt nearby, bowing to each person who came forward to pay their respects.

Xu Shaochen and Xie Wei paid their respects by offering incense to Old Master Chen.

“First bow.”

“Second bow.”

“Third bow.”

“The family members now give their return bow.”

“Please accept my condolences,” Xu Shaochen said, trying to comfort Chen Ju, whose eyes were red from crying.

Birth, aging, sickness, and death—these are things no one can escape.

Suddenly, there was the sound of chaotic footsteps from outside, and a large group of people came approaching.

“Su Tianwen from the Su Family has come to pay respects to Old Master Chen.”

Though they were here to pay respects, the members of the Su Family wore smiles, walking and talking loudly in stark contrast to the somber atmosphere.

Everyone from the Chen family turned grim, their eyes locking onto this unwelcome group.

The other guests who had come to mourn also stepped aside, fully aware that the Su Family had bad intentions.

After all, the whole of Jingcheng knew about the longstanding feud between the Chen and Su families. It had all started between Old Master Chen and the patriarch of the Su Family, who had passed away earlier.

Though the Chen family wanted to kick the Su Family out, they couldn’t, not when they had come under the guise of paying respects.

“Ah, Old Master Chen. You left us too soon to witness the day your Chen family falls into ruin,” Su Tianwen said coldly at Old Master Chen’s portrait.

“How dare you! Su Tianwen, you’re not welcome here! Take your Su Family dogs and leave, now!” Chen Gu’s eyes blazed with fury as he shouted at Su Tianwen.

“Oh, Little Brother Chen, I’m only here to pay my respects to Old Master Chen. Is there a problem with that?” Su Tianwen responded with a mocking smile, his tone light and casual.

“You’re not worthy!” Chen Gu replied icily.

Su Tianwen smirked and turned to Su Zhaoming beside him. “Zhaoming, play something cheerful. Let’s send Old Master Chen off with laughter and joy.”