CHAPTER 547: CHAPTER 542: SCHEMING BETWEEN MOTHER-IN-LAW AND DAUGHTER-IN-LAW (THIRD CHAPTER)

Zhou Yunmei glanced at her and casually replied, "Nothing much, just said she’s going out to work and leaving the child with me to look after."

Upon hearing this, Xu He frowned and exclaimed, "Her kid is to be left here? How much is she paying per month? She better not be expecting you to do it for free."

"What’s it to you, do you have a problem with that?" Zhou Yunmei was intending to keep Luo Cuilan’s money for herself and didn’t want to tell Xu He and the others, to avoid them getting ideas about the money. She shot Xu He a sideways glance, purposefully looking for an argument,

"And you two have been staying at home for so long, being supported by me and the old man. Now you want to manage my home?"

"Do as you please." Xu He thought she still had to ask Zhou Yunmei for a favor and, irrespective of whether Luo Cuilan paid or not, she wouldn’t contribute to household expenses anyway. So she let Zhou Yunmei have her way and remarked, "Just don’t forget what’s important."

Speaking of important matters, Zhou Yunmei fell silent for a moment then had an idea, "Look, I’ve just thought of something. With Hong Lan’s engagement coming up, I’m definitely going to the provincial city. Why don’t you come with me? We can arrange everything there."

To the provincial city?

Xu He felt there were fewer people she knew there, so it might be easier to get things done. She immediately agreed, "Sure."

When nighttime arrived, Luo Dashan and Luo Zhiming came back from their work outside. Zhou Yunmei then brought up Luo Honglan’s upcoming engagement.

Seeing that she knew, Luo Dashan simply laid out the details, but he firmly refused to let her accompany them to the provincial city, regardless of how Zhou Yunmei pleaded with him.

Finally, Zhou Yunmei said everything she could, asserting that she only wanted to go to the city to check out her daughter’s in-laws and promised not to cause any trouble, assuring she would come back as soon as her daughter’s affair was settled.

But this time, Luo Dashan was resolute, as if his heart was made of iron. No matter how Zhou Yunmei cried or pleaded nicely, he just would not agree, and he wouldn’t even tell her the exact date they planned to go to the provincial city.

Luo Dashan had promised Luo Zhiyong that he would never let Zhou Yunmei disturb their lives again. The family’s troubles had already caused his son to divorce; he couldn’t let Zhou Yunmei go to the city and risk his son’s job as well.

Seeing Luo Dashan’s firm stance, Zhou Yunmei sat in her room and cried for several hours. But Luo Dashan was very patient; while Zhou Yunmei cried, he slept soundly on the kang, completely ignoring her.

Out of options, Zhou Yunmei grievously cried and went to Luo Zhiming’s room to discuss strategies, regardless of it being late at night.

Late at night, Luo Zhiming had just been intimate with Xu He and was now sleeping soundly. The sound of Zhou Yunmei knocking annoyingly on the door startled him awake.

After he opened the door, he shouted at Zhou Yunmei impatiently, "What are you crying for? If you can’t go, then don’t. Luo Honglan doesn’t even acknowledge you. Even if you did go, you wouldn’t gain anything. Besides, if you really wanted to go, you know where to go. Just go directly to Fang Pingying’s house to find Luo Honglan. Why do you need Dad to take you?"

Zhou Yunmei was startled by Luo Zhiming’s shouting but, after snapping out of it, she started punching Luo Zhiming and cursed, "You heartless wretch, do you think I really care about going to the provincial city? I’m doing this all for you..."

Luo Zhiming glared at her, pushing her away, "Doing what for me?"

"I..."

Worried that Zhou Yunmei would blurt out the plan to conceive Luo Zhiyong’s child, Xu He promptly interrupted, "Enough, Mom, stop arguing. If you wake Dad up, there will just be more trouble at home."

After saying this, Xu He shot Zhou Yunmei a knowing look, "Mom, just stay over at Hong Lan’s place tonight, and you can discuss going to the provincial city calmly with Dad later."

Zhou Yunmei was still confused and muttered to herself, "Discuss what? As if I could change whatever your dad says."

Xu He rolled her eyes impatiently and inwardly cursed Zhou Yunmei for being a fool.

On the surface, though, she deliberately softened her tone, "But you have to go this time."

"That..." Zhou Yunmei was finally catching on. She gave Xu He a glance, then looked at Luo Zhiming, somewhat puzzled about Xu He’s intentions, but she cleverly chose not to ask.

Seeing this, Xu He gave her another meaningful look, then helped her up by the hand, "Go to sleep. I’ll take you there to rest. Dad isn’t leaving tomorrow anyway, we still have time to think of a plan."

Once the two of them went to the room where Luo Honglan stayed, Xu He closed the door, and Zhou Yunmei frowned, "What are you doing? Why wouldn’t let me clarify things with Zhiming?"

"Clarify what?" Xu He replied irritably, "Do you want to say that you’re going to put me in Luo Zhiyong’s bed to have Luo Zhiming’s child?"

Zhou Yunmei saw nothing wrong with it, "He knows about it, doesn’t he? And he didn’t disagree."

"It’s one thing to say it, but who knows if he’ll regret it when it comes to doing it." Xu He had been intimate with Luo Zhiming, and she could tell he was unwilling. If it came down to it, he might change his mind, so she decided to simply keep Luo Zhiming in the dark this time, with her and Zhou Yunmei working together inside and out to get it done,

"We’ll keep him out of the loop. Later, we’ll just say the child is his, and even if he doesn’t believe it, there’s no other way, unless he can actually have children himself."

Zhou Yunmei thought about it, feeling that would be fine. After the deed was done, they could just claim it was Zhiming’s child; he wouldn’t really be disgusted by it.

For the Luo Family, in the end, it was still their descendant, and it didn’t matter whose it really was.

So she agreed, "That works. Men always have their reservations about these things; let’s just not tell him."

Hearing this, Xu He nodded, "Right, so this time when we go to the provincial city, we’ll just tell Luo Zhiming that on the surface, we’re going for Hong Lan’s engagement, but in reality, we’re going to ask Fang Pingying for money. Tell him not to mention it to Dad."

Zhou Yunmei immediately nodded; this excuse would indeed be flawless in Luo Zhiming’s eyes, and he certainly wouldn’t suspect a thing.

But then, she started to worry again, "But now the difficulty isn’t with Zhiming, it’s with the old man. If he won’t let me go to the provincial city, how can I go?"

Hearing this, Xu He, who had long had a plan in mind, slightly curled her lips, "If he won’t let us go, we’ll just find a way to go."

"How?"

"As long as you find out from Dad the exact date of Hong Lan’s engagement when he plans to go to the provincial city, I’ll handle the rest. I’ll make sure he openly allows us to go," Xu He said, with the corner of her mouth revealing a complex and slightly ferocious smile, as if she had already figured out how to deal with Luo Dashan.

Zhou Yunmei didn’t know what Xu He was planning, but the fleeting ferocity on Xu He’s face made her heart skip a beat, sensing that it couldn’t be anything good.