CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 43: STANDING UP FOR MOTHER

Gao Guoqiang sighed heavily, unable to handle his own mother. Every time he mentioned Old Lady Gao, she would start crying, making a scene, threatening to hang herself, even acting as if she’d die without him. Gao Guoqiang truly didn’t know how to deal with Old Lady Gao.

She could not be beaten, nor scolded, and merely talking to Old Lady Gao was useless.

"There’s no need for you to go, I’ll go." Saying this, Gao Jiaxing ignored the objections of Gao Guoqiang and Zheng Xianghong, and strode towards the He Family home.

"Jiaxing, what brings you here?" He Hongjun, sitting at his doorstep smoking a dry pipe, asked as he saw Gao Jiaxing approaching.

"Uncle, are you aware of the incident today with aunt inciting grandma to beat my mom?" Gao Jiaxing looked at He Hongjun.

Previously, He Hongjun had turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to Li Shengmei’s issues, but now faced with Gao Jiaxing’s blunt question, He Hongjun really couldn’t pretend to be unaware, let alone deny that the matter had spread throughout the village.

"Just focus on your studies. Don’t meddle in the adults’ affairs," He Hongjun said.

Seeing He Hongjun react this way, Gao Jiaxing became angry. If it weren’t for He Hongjun’s indulgence, how could there be a lawless Li Shenghong in the production team.

His dad might not have the capabilities of He Hongjun, and it was fine when Jiaxing was young, but now that he had grown up, if they still hoped to bully his mom, Gao Jiaxing wouldn’t stand for it.

"Auntie has been obsessing over my dad all day long, always talking to him whenever she catches him and finding fault with my mom, is it because she thinks she can be with my dad if my mom and he can’t get along?"

Gao Jiaxing’s words were ruthless. Wasn’t this indirectly implying that Li Shengmei was planning to make He Hongjun wear a cuckold’s hat?

He Hongjun’s face turned red then pale, not sure if he was angry at Gao Jiaxing’s lack of restraint or at Li Shengmei and Gao Guoqiang.

Just then, Li Shengmei rushed back. Hearing that Gao Jiaxing had come over, she hurried back only to run into Gao Guoqiang, who had also come.

"Brat, what nonsense are you spouting?" Li Shengmei charged in, furiously scolding Gao Jiaxing.

"I should be asking you, inciting grandma to find trouble with my mom all day, not wanting to see my family do well, not wanting to see my mom happy. You’re uncomfortable inside when you see my dad treating my mom well, aren’t you? You’re a mother of several kids, and who knows, you might be a grandmother by next year, can’t you have some shame? Do you think the people in the production team are joking about my mom? Seeing her beaten by grandma, they are watching not for amusement, but out of sympathy for my mom, but for you, it’s definitely a joke. You, Li Shengmei, have been coveting someone else’s husband for years, shamelessly throwing yourself at someone who doesn’t want you..."

"Jiaxing," Gao Guoqiang, listening more and more appalled, hurriedly interjected to stop him.

"You brat, it’s your mom who’s shameless. She couldn’t find a husband, so she went after someone else’s man," Li Shengmei shrieked in reply, her true feelings laid bare by Gao Jiaxing, her embarrassment imaginable.

"See? You think my mom has stolen ’your’ man. In your heart, is my dad ’your’ man?" At this point, Gao Jiaxing looked as if he relished the chaos, intentionally saying this in front of He Hongjun and Gao Guoqiang.

Never mind He Hongjun’s expression, Gao Guoqiang had already raised his voice in protest, "Jiaxing, what are you babbling about?"

"Dad, you don’t protect mom when she’s beaten, fine, but don’t stop me when I’m settling her scores. For years, I’ve watched her badmouth mom in front of grandma ever since I was little. Dad, you’ve put up with it, mom too, but I can’t," Gao Jiaxing could not manage Old Lady Gao, but that didn’t mean he would tolerate Li Shengmei.

"Guoqiang, take Jiaxing back home," He Hongjun said.

Li Shengmei, however, didn’t accept He Hongjun’s attempt to mediate, feeling Gao Jiaxing needed to be taught a lesson today. She rounded on Gao Guoqiang, "Gao Guoqiang, look at this, this is the son Zheng Xianghong bore for you..."

"What do you mean, what about the son my mom gave birth to for my mom? Did you also give birth to a son for my dad?"

As soon as Gao Jiaxing’s words fell, He Hongjun’s and Gao Guoqiang’s faces twitched violently, and Li Shenghong shrieked and lunged at Gao Jiaxing, claws out, as if she was going to tear him to shreds.

"I hit a nerve, didn’t I? If people in the military found out Brother Gangzi and Bingzi had a shameless mom like you, I’d like to see how they could face anyone in the military," Gao Jiaxing threatened, dodging Li Shengmei as well.

When Li Shengmei heard it had to do with her sons’ futures, she paused, but as she did, a slap struck her face.

"You hit me." Li Shengmei looked at He Hongjun in disbelief. "You actually hit me, I... ."

Li Shengmei never expected this slap; He Hongjun had always been submissive towards her, even if she was harsh to Zheng Xianghong, He Hongjun never said a word against her, yet now he had hit her.

"This time you really did do wrong, no matter what, you should not have been stirring up trouble between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law," He Hongjun said, then looked towards Gao Guoqiang, "Take Jiaxing home, this will not happen again."

Gao Guoqiang grunted, pulling Gao Jiaxing out of the He Family home, by now the door was crowded with onlookers.

Father and son had walked quite a distance when Gao Jiaxing shook off Gao Guoqiang, not wanting to deal with him.

Gao Guoqiang said, "Your uncle saved me back in the day."

Gao Jiaxing was out of words, "Grandma is your mother, Uncle saved you years ago, Li Shengmei is the wife Grandma arranged for you, so my mom deserves to be bullied, right? Did you see her face, all bruised?"

Sighing, Gao Guoqiang expressed his regret, "I wronged your mother."

Gao Jiaxing walked away, not wanting to hear any of it. He had heard enough for years, it was all meaningless now. But today’s dispute, Li Shengmei getting slapped by He Hongjun, had achieved Gao Jiaxing’s goal.

If He Hongjun had continued to play Mr. Nice Guy, still speaking for Li Shengmei, Gao Jiaxing would not have spoken so bluntly today, touching on what He Hongjun was sensitive about, that slap might never have come down.

Back at the He family, Li Shengmei had caused a scene, she angrily pushed He Hongjun, who was already leaning on a cane, and due to her push, he fell straight to the ground.

He Hongjun sat up immediately, his face darkened.

Li Shengmei’s heart tightened, feeling somewhat guilty; she hadn’t anticipated He Hongjun would fall, and immediately spoke louder, "He Hongjun, I can’t take this anymore, I can’t live like this."

He Hongjun looked at her coldly, "If you want to leave, leave, the He Family can’t keep you."

"What do you mean?" Li Shengmei glared at He Hongjun.

He Hongjun said, "Today you’ve disgraced us completely."

"How is that my fault? I was telling the truth. Who knew your little aunt would be so impulsive? She has been unhappy with Zheng Xianghong for a long time now. She’s the one who hit her daughter-in-law, can that be blamed on me? It’s Zheng Xianghong’s fault for not being filial," Li Shengmei refused to admit it was her fault.

He Hongjun listened to the noise outside the wall, frowned, propped himself up with his cane, and said to Li Shengmei, "Get inside the house."