I Got Rich in Period Fiction
Chapter 306: Mom, Do You Regret It Now?

Chapter 306: Chapter 306: Mom, Do You Regret It Now?

"Qiao Qingyu, don’t go too far. No matter what, I’m still my mom’s daughter. If you send my dad to jail, my mom will hate you too."

"You see, don’t you get it? You know everything. You know that no matter what you do to your mom, she won’t harm you. And you’re also aware that your mom has feelings for your dad, that even if your dad is heartless and unfaithful, she wouldn’t accuse him of messing around with other men and women."

Li Bo’s complexion turned even uglier, pale as death without a hint of color.

"Qiao Qingyu, don’t talk nonsense, my dad...didn’t mess around with other men and women..."

"You’re not a child anymore. You’re an adult, so of course you know better than I do whether it happened or not. But I don’t care, nor will I ask, because it’s none of my business."

At this point, Qiao Qingyu paused for a moment, suppressing the irritation in her heart as she said, "That’s why I won’t meddle in your family’s private matters."

"If that’s the case, then why do you ignore me, why are you so cold to me?"

"Just because I don’t meddle with your family’s affairs doesn’t mean I approve of you as a person, do you understand?"

"What’s wrong with me? I strive for progress, I work hard at my studies," Li Bo said, clearly aggrieved.

"But your moral character is seriously low, your values are extremely twisted. Li Bo, I don’t like to be friends with someone like you. So, can we just leave each other alone?"

Li Bo clenched her teeth, her face a terrible sight. She had come intending to repair their relationship, but never expected Qiao Qingyu to treat her this way.

"Li Bo, if you are a decent person, don’t take out the frustration on your mother just because of what I said today. I think that woman, no matter what wrong she did in the past, is truly getting her comeuppance now!"

Li Bo’s face changed dramatically. For some reason, those words suddenly struck hard at her heart, making her feel not just uncomfortable, but truly awful.

"Li Bo, rest assured, I, Qiao Qingyu, am an open and upright person. I won’t stop you from striving to improve just because you have a bad character. Just pretend you don’t know me, okay?"

"No, it’s not okay. Because of this, Liu Hong and Liu Min don’t really interact with me, and you ignore me too. The other two are just opportunists, and now they’ve all isolated me. I’m not happy, I’m uncomfortable."

Qiao Qingyu’s smile was extremely cold, her voice merciless, "Each person is an independent individual. Everyone is responsible for themselves. What do your happiness or discomfort have to do with me?"

Having said that, Qiao Qingyu turned and walked away, without any hesitation or dragging her feet.

Li Bo stood there, her hands clenched tightly, carefully recalling everything, why did Qiao Qingyu always speak up for her own mother?

Love is so pure, so beautiful.

And it is also sacred and luminous.

If there’s no longer love, why stay together? Why continue to torment each other?

If that’s the case, then what was women’s liberation for? Doesn’t it lose all its meaning?

As Li Bo felt baffled, she was even more filled with defiance.

...

On Saturday night, she went home, where Aunt Shao had already prepared a table full of food, smiling and waiting for her return. Dad was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper, and Shao Hui said with a laugh, "I’ve already taken the food to your mom’s room. Go wash your hands and come eat. Everything prepared is what you like, oh, and there’s lion’s head meatballs too."

Shao Hui spoke softly again, "I stood in line all morning to buy this, our state-run restaurant makes the best Lion’s Head meatballs."

Under normal circumstances, Li Bo would have sat down at the table without a word and feasted, but not today. She put down her schoolbag and, without washing her hands, pushed open the door to the room where her mother was staying.

The room was gloomy and dark, and an unpleasant smell hit her as she entered.

There was a plate of cold dishes and rice on the table nearby.

Her mother was lying in bed under a thick quilt, only her head and graying hair showing.

Her eyes were closed. Li Bo turned on the light, and the room instantly brightened. Lan Ju slowly opened her eyes and saw her daughter had returned. A flicker of joy appeared in her eyes, but then it faded away, and she closed her eyes once more.

Li Bo stood in front of the bed and suddenly asked, "Mom, do you have any regrets now?"

Lan Ju slowly opened her eyes with a hint of surprise in her hoarse voice, "Xiao Bo, what do you mean by that?"

"Do you regret using despicable means to marry my dad back then?"

Lan Ju’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile, "I’ve told you I didn’t use any despicable means. Why don’t you believe me?"

"But you were just a village girl, and my dad was a college graduate from the city. Grandpa and Grandma were both former officials, and he was already engaged to my Aunt Shao. Because of you, their engagement ended."

At this moment, Li Chengming, who had heard the commotion, stood at the door and scolded in a low voice, "Xiao Bo, how many times do I have to tell you? The past is our adults’ business, it has nothing to do with you, stop asking and mentioning it."

Li Bo suddenly turned her head, "Dad, how can I not ask, how can I not talk about it? How else can we make sense of what’s going on in our family now?"

Shao Hui suddenly froze, staring at Li Bo in disbelief. All these years, this child had shown no concern for her mother in her heart.

Why was she saying such things now, as if to seek justice for her mother?

Truly heartless and ungrateful, just as one might expect of a step-child.

She hung her head quietly, looking very wronged.

Li Chengming felt a pang of heartache when he saw her, reprimanding his daughter, "What nonsense are you talking about? What’s wrong with our family now? I’m busy working every day, you’re still in school, and your mom doesn’t have her own family. Your Aunt Shao even took leave to take care of her, you should be grateful."

Li Bo opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say, because she felt that what her father said didn’t seem wrong. It sounded reasonable.

Lan Ju, lying on the bed, turned her head away and stopped looking at the man in the doorway, the one she had loved for a lifetime but could never have.

She really regretted.

But she knew her health was failing and didn’t know how much longer she would live. She couldn’t let Li Chengming’s image be tarnished, so she took all the blame upon herself.

She was all alone, with no one left in her maternal family. She had no job, no income, everyone said she was weak and incompetent, and she admitted it.

As long as her daughter was all right, she could take anything.

Seeing that Li Bo didn’t speak, Li Chengming let out a sigh of relief and pointed to the dining room outside, "Your Aunt Shao has cooked a table full of dishes, go eat."

Li Bo turned and glanced at the cold meal, then said in a low voice, "Mom can’t recover in this environment. Give my room to Mom, after all, I’m not always here."

A look of embarrassment flashed across Li Chengming’s face as he looked at the woman lying on the bed, who looked like an old woman, and his eyes were full of disgust.