This blatant, unadorned protection...
The man in front of me feels like a drifting cloud, elegant and detached, not lingering in the world for a moment, but his figure somehow appears tall and strong in my eyes.
It's downright... an imposing aura...
"Old man, your apprentice bullied me, wuwuwu… I don't want to live anymore!! A junior has climbed over my head." The old crone threw herself into Lin Huan's arms, pulling out the pack of tissues Zhang Che had given her and wiping away tears while sobbing.
Lin Huan subconsciously reaches out to steady the old woman's form and sighed, "Zhang Che simply doesn't like that you favor boys over girls. Nowadays, there is gender equality—having a son or a daughter is the same. You shouldn't have been so harsh to Wanwan."
"How is it the same? As a woman, who doesn't hope that what they give birth to is a son."
The old crone looks indignant and cries even harder, "When I gave birth to Lin Xiangnan, your dead parents... how did they... how they disliked me… you've forgotten..."
That is true, some families in the Yue region do place special importance on male succession.
If a daughter is born, they treat the daughter-in-law harshly.
I was originally appalled by the old crone's bias, but now I feel a sense of helplessness and sourness...
"That being said, your son is useless now, even a male heir is of no use!"
At this point in the conversation, Lin Huan neither agreed nor disagreed with the old woman.
The old crone stamped her feet repeatedly, "Useless he may be, but he is still your son!! He is the only direct line of descent in the Lin Family, useless or not, you need to accept him, need to put up with him."
"If he is useless, then he is no son of mine." Lin Huan flung his sleeves, his expression dark and uncompromising.
Immediately, the old crone rushed towards a pillar like a rhino, and slammed her head against it, "Lin Huan... you scumbag... you have such a cruel heart, you don't love me anymore, wuwuwu… my life is so miserable... I'm going to die, I don't want to live...."
My position was right next to the pillar, so I immediately gauged the height and cushioned with the palm of my hand, "Grandma, are you okay, did you not hurt yourself?"
"Dead girl, who allowed you to call me grandma, I do not acknowledge you." The old crone had a fiery temper; she hit the pillar too hard, and even though she didn't hurt her head, she was still dazed.
Her trembling form swayed, nearly unable to stand.
I lifted my other hand to steady the old crone's balance and handed her over to Lin Huan's arms, "I'm sorry, elder, it was a slip of the tongue just now, it won't happen again next time, please calm your anger. Getting angry is bad for your health; don't hurt yourself."
"Old man, I feel so wronged, can't you... let our son go?" The old crone didn't want to give me even a glance of attention, turning instead to bury her head on Lin Huan's shoulder and asked tearfully.
Lin Huan was quite resolute on the matter of dealing with Lin Gang, "It won't do. Apart from the shameful things he did to Wanwan, he has also offended Qing Li this time."
Lin Gang had offended Qing Li.
I couldn't help but prick up my ears to listen, eager to find out what Lin Gang had done to offend Qing Li.
Zhang Che had mentioned it as well.
After Qing Li was rescued from a suicide attempt in the attic, she lost control and furiously scolded Lin Gang.
"Qing Li..." The old crone became distracted for a moment, then soon mourned again, "Old man, we're at this age now, the big account is ruined, is there still time to work on a small account?"
"It should be too late, cough~" Lin Huan, ever since the old woman appeared, the dignity of the Sect Master had long collapsed into nothing and now he gave a stiff, light cough to cover up his embarrassment, "Alright, go back to Lvzhong Mountain, and stop having all these fanciful thoughts."
Ever since Lin Huan brought up Lin Gang offending Qing Li, the old crone seemed to have given up her determination to rescue her son, and at that moment she sniffled and nodded like a confused young girl.
The old crone, assisted by two young girls who entered from the door, left the Lin Family.
Later I came to know that grandma's name was Yan Hua.
She didn't live with grandpa and resided in Lvzhong Mountain to the west.