Chapter 126: Where Did This Evil Aunt Come From?

  Lin Xuan Yu smiled warmly and looked at her lively appearance, unable to help but stop in his tracks, using his hand to push up the old flower-shaped glasses on the bridge of his nose:

  "Hmm, Little Zhao, indeed age spares no one. The young people who just started their careers back then have all grown into this state now."

  Honghong, shall we stand here and take a look for a while or go straight to the back and say goodbye to Old Man Longevity first?

  "Of course we'll go visit Old Man Shou first, hehe, let's go, perhaps Shu Yu is already waiting anxiously."

  Xiang Hong gazed longingly at the host on stage, regretting not bringing a notebook, otherwise she could have asked for the famous host's signature.

  "It's really good to have power and influence, just looking at this lineup, I feel like I'm watching a movie."

  The red sand was not enough to make her eyes busy, she walked with Lin Xuan Yu, looking around at the people standing in groups of three or five in the large courtyard, the men were majestic and imposing, while the women were all beautiful and resplendent.

  She looked down at the warm and festive clothes on her body, feeling extremely grateful and thankful to that person who could make her feel the joy of wearing new clothes so easily.

  As expected, as soon as she and Lin Xuan Yu walked out of the radiation circle above Wanhechi, someone came over to greet Lin Xuan Yu: "Lin is in good spirits, this must be your granddaughter, how come we've never seen her before?"

  Lin Xuan Yu nodded with a smile all over his face: "Hehe, it's my granddaughter, bring her over to play and broaden her horizons."

  As he walked away, someone else called out:

  "Mr. Lin, how can you always look so young? Just look at your spirit and posture, it's enviable!"

  "Haha, yes, since Old Man Song turned sixty and started celebrating his longevity, it's been thirty years now. I think you're just a bit grayer, but to us younger folks, it's unbearable!"

  "Sir, do you have an anti-aging secret recipe?"

  ……

  Lin Xuanyu smiled reservedly: "There's a secret recipe that you wouldn't be interested in, look at this title getting higher and higher. The best anti-aging medicine for men is power, looking at your spirited and energetic appearance, the complexion is so good, don't come to disturb this old man."

  "Haha, Old Lin, I've found that whenever I talk to you, I never have the upper hand;

  Your family business is big enough, and your descendants are all over the world. How come you've never invited us to your birthday banquet until now?

  Qing Shou also wants to be like Song Lao Tai Ye, with children and grandchildren filling the hall, a complete family reunion. It's only meaningful that way. Like me, I have wealth and reputation, but my family is scattered all over the place. As long as they're not reunited, celebrating birthdays is like throwing daggers at my heart, it's unbearable.

  "Oh, Old Lin has been searching for so many years, and we've all helped spread the word whenever we could. How come there's still no news?"

  A chubby guy asked with concern on his face.

  Lin Lao and Yan smiled and said, "There's news like that too. Every time it's a flurry of excitement flying over, then tears streaming back down. Once I've gathered all the family together, I'll naturally send out invitations to celebrate with you."

  "Hehe, we're all waiting for your wedding invitation. Since heaven has destined us to be a family, there will definitely be a chance for the whole family to reunite again. Just be patient and look for it."

  Someone comforted Old Lin.

  A group of people were chatting when Song Jingzhu, dressed in a bright military uniform and wearing military boots, walked over with a loud clomping sound and saluted Lin Lao with a fist.

  "Mr. Lin, my father has been thinking about you for a long time and specially asked me to come and welcome you."

  Lin Xuan Yu nodded and said to the people beside him: "Everyone, let's go in first."

  Song Jingzhu also made a fist and smiled at those people: "Thank you all for your face, please take a look at the program first and have some fun."

  Having said that, he took Lin Xuan Yu's arm on the other side and walked towards the main hall.

  "I say, Song family's eldest son, don't hold onto me like this, you're so big and strong, aren't you bullying an old man?" Lin Xuan Yu said as he shook his arm and easily broke free from Song Jing Zhu's iron-like grip.

  "Haha, I used all my strength, but you easily broke free. Indeed, you're getting stronger with age, impressive!"

  Song Jingzhu steadied himself, his slightly disheveled figure having been pushed open by him. His hands hurriedly rubbed the joints of his arms, he didn't want to be injured by Lin Lao's sudden movement.

  Lin Xuan Yu lightly smiled: "You use this move every year, your technique doesn't change at all. Are you trying to test my skills or check if your strength has increased?"

  "You're wronging me, I saw the little girl holding onto you, and you looked like you were enjoying it. Isn't this because you also want to get close to her? Sang Hong, do you think Old Lin is biased? I was trying to help him up, but he almost dislocated my arm."

  Xiang Hong giggled and said, "How is it possible to connect this with being biased? You're here to welcome guests, just now the force you used, if it were on anyone else except for him, I reckon they would have been lifted off the ground already. I won't say that you're taking advantage of your height to bully our master, but you actually dare to ask me to comment on what's fair?"

  "Master, Master? When did this little girl become Lao Lin's apprentice? And you, Lao Lin, what were you thinking? When did you take on this clever-tongued apprentice without even inviting us to a celebratory feast?"

  Song Jingzhu was somewhat surprised, this Lin Lao at his age, actually condescended to accept this little girl as an apprentice. Connecting it to what Song Dahai had said about the blood relationship between these two, he took a closer look and found that their facial features did indeed resemble each other a bit. Sang Hong's mother, Lin Qingran, he had only seen her a few times when she was seven or eight years old, and had long since forgotten any impression of her.

  "Uncle, it's better if you don't say anything more. This deadbeat apprentice of mine has finally managed to get close to his master's heart. Don't go around spreading rumors, wait until I make a name for myself and then I'll formally become your disciple. At that time, I'll send out invitations for the ceremony and invite you all to attend."

  Xiang Hong stuck out her tongue and laughed.

  Her words made both of them burst out laughing.

  "By the way, Sang Hong, I heard from Shu Yu that you two returned to A City together. How's your mother's health recovering? If not, please ask her to come to B City for medical treatment, our experts are top-notch."

  Song Jingzhu asked with concern.

  "Thank you, Auntie, for your concern. My mom's heart bypass surgery recovery is going very well. She can now often go downstairs to chat with the neighbors and take care of herself. This time when I went home, she was even able to enter the kitchen to boil water and cook meals."

  Xianghong thought of her mother's body getting better day by day and felt very happy.

  Lin Xuan Yu took a deep breath: "When the weather warms up, please ask your mom to come to B city specifically for a visit. I really want to see both of you again. It's not easy to raise such an obedient girl like you."

  Xiang Hong listened to Lin Xuan Yu praising her, and somewhat embarrassedly said: "Actually I'm very naughty, Master don't praise me anymore, wait until I pass the three months special training period of the special forces, can earn more allowance, will specially rent a house for them, let them live in B city."

  Song Jingzhu burst out laughing and said: "Are you waiting for your allowance? You really can talk, with so many houses in our family, just mention it to Shuyue and he'll arrange it, why bother waiting for that allowance?"

  Lin Xuan Yu also smiled and said: "My place has many rooms, it's another empty one, it's so desolate. If you don't mind, bring your dad and mom to live with me."

  Xiang Hong shook her head and said, "This won't do, it's a matter of principle. As a young girl, I've always been thick-skinned and used to scrounging around for food and drink wherever I go. If I were to bring my dad and mom to your place too, I'd be too ashamed. Besides, Shu Yu and I aren't even in that kind of relationship yet, and I don't want to add pressure on him."

  Song Jingzhu and Lin Xuanyu exchanged a surprised glance, finding this little girl quite interesting, so they both smiled, cheering her on, hoping she would earn her allowance soon and be filial to the elderly couple.

  Xiang Hong suddenly thought of something, and smiled at Song Jingzhu: "This time when we go back home, Shu Yu and I have prepared six-color gifts to visit your old mother together. We will tell her that you miss her very much, don't forget about you this wandering son in a foreign land, and bless you well. When you return there, you will go see her."

  Song Jingzhu laughed loudly and said: "You're a girl who keeps her promises, great, thank you! I was wondering why everything has been going smoothly lately, it turns out that you've also contacted Lao Gan Ma. Ha ha, I'll remember to go see her."

  Three people chatted and walked into the living room, where they saw a row of old men with varying builds sitting on the sofa, each looking very pleased. Song Dajun wore a red satin embroidered longevity character Tang suit, sitting in the main seat, his white hair like snow against the red background, his chubby cheeks even more rosy. He looked at the three people walking in and nodded with a smile.

  "Dad, I've brought Lin Lao over, you old brothers can catch up." Song Jingzhu said from the side.

  Xiang Hong stepped forward, facing Song Daiyou and bowed: "Grandfather, I wish you happiness as vast as the East Sea and longevity as great as Mount Nan. Saying that, she respectfully presented a carefully wrapped gift, a Duan inkstone, which Song Shuyu had helped her choose.

  Song Da nodded slightly, Song Jingzhu went over to take it and held it in his hand.

  Song Dàyǒu said: "Sāng Hóng ah, you can come here to join in the fun, Grandpa will be overjoyed, what kind of birthday gift did you bring?"

  "For a birthday gift, I didn't bring any traditional longevity gifts. This inkstone was something that I and Shu Ye found together at the antique market. He said you'd definitely like it if you saw it."

  Xiang Hong smiled cleverly.

  "Really? Open it and let me see, her words are making my heart itch."

  Song Dàyǒu waved his hand at his son, indicating for him to open the gift.

  The elderly people around were somewhat surprised, what a big deal was this Song old man making, actually going to see a small girl send a birthday gift, this little girl's face is so thick.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, this little girl is our family's Xiao San Shu Yu's girlfriend, named Sang Hong. She is a student at Jingzhu School this year and has become an outstanding female special forces soldier through her strength in the special forces selection competition. Hong, give everyone a greeting."

  Song Dàyǒu opened his mouth and introduced Sang Hong to his old friend.

  "Hello, grandfathers! I'm Sang Hong. Thank you for coming to Grandfather's birthday banquet. I hope that when it's your turn to celebrate your birthdays, Shu Yu and I will be able to accompany Grandfather to join in the celebration and share a cup of longevity wine with you."

  Everyone listened to her speak with a heroic spirit of a soldier, and they all smiled and nodded in agreement, saying that Old Song was doubly blessed.

  Song Dàyǒu accepted the magnifying glass handed over by his bodyguard with respect, and accepted the inkstone brought out by his son with yellow fine cotton cloth.

  The inkstone is about 50 cm long, 70 cm wide and 8 cm thick. The stone quality is fine, warm and moist, dense and solid. Half of it presents a treasure blue color, like the clear autumn sky, with a slight change to cyan grey at the tail of the inkstone, where there are several layers of halo and a black eye that shines brightly.

  Song Dàyǒu held a magnifying glass in one hand and shone a strong light with a small flashlight in the other, looking at the stone eye bit by bit, moving it slightly, and looked very interested.

  A bat in relief was carved on the stone eye beforehand, with smooth brushstrokes and vivid appearance.

  Everyone gazed at the ancient inkstone under the strong light, and even if they didn't understand it, they could see that the inkstone was smooth and glossy, with a very good appearance.

  "It's really fortunate to have met a connoisseur like you, but this inkstone is too perfect, it's unbelievable that someone could find something like this in that place."

  Song Da turned off the flashlight and muttered to himself.

  "Hehe, Dad, such a beautiful thing, you like to write and draw, why must you give it a fixed nature? This is the children's heartfelt intention."

  Song Jingzhu looked at his spaced-out old dad with a mixture of laughter and tears, reminding him that everyone was watching.

  Song Dàyǒu came back to his senses and chuckled: "Alas, when I see something I like, I won't be able to put my mind at ease until I figure it out. You don't know how rare this thing is, it's a treasure that can be encountered but not sought after. This stone eye combined with the carving skills, is called 'Good Fortune Before One's Eyes'. Where would such a clever thing come from? It's unthinkable that Shū Yù could see through it at a glance."

  Everyone also burst out laughing and waited to see how he would get out of this situation.

  As expected, Song Daiyu raised his head and asked Sang Hong: "Where's Shu Ye? Why didn't he come with you?"

  "She told me to be responsible for inviting my master, and he's waiting for me here, how come you haven't seen him?" San Hong was also puzzled, how did it come to this critical moment, this person actually started hiding and seeking, what kind of trickery is this?

  "Dad, Shu Yu came here early this morning. He went through all the procedures with the master of ceremonies very patiently to make sure everything was in order. Then he said he had a small matter to attend to and would be back soon."

  Song Jingzhu saw that he was a bit unwilling to give up, so he told him that it was not necessary to be in such a hurry.

  "Alright, he's back. I must remind him to ask how he got this treasure. Alright, put it away." Song Dai heard that and handed the inkstone back, letting him keep it safe.

  "Alright, Honghong, Grandpa really likes the gift you gave him. Now let your aunt take you to where the ladies are and play with your sisters-in-law. There are only old men here, I'm afraid you'll get bored."

  Song Dàyǒu instructed his son.

  Xiang Hong bid farewell to everyone and followed Song Jingzhu to a large living room on the other side.

  "Uncle, can I not go there? I want to watch the performance." Xiang Hong said softly as she hesitated outside the hall.

  Song Jingzhu stopped in confusion and stared at Sang Hong, who was walking with his head down: "What's wrong? Were you scared by your future mother-in-law?"

  "I thought about all the people in the hall, and there were only a few familiar faces, so I felt a bit awkward."

  "It doesn't matter if they are unfamiliar, just don't mind them. This is our home, go in and greet your mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, then everyone can go watch the show together, isn't that more lively?"

  Why don't you go take a look, they're worried about getting in touch with you. Now that Shu Yu is not here, you can just pretend to be him for now. Among those women, there are quite a few who are worried about introducing girlfriends to Shu Yu. If you go, it's best to extinguish their thoughts early on."

  Song Jingzhu couldn't help but laugh after listening to her, and then thought that the group of women would be enough to deal with a student like Sang Hong. However, she was going to marry into this family, so sooner or later she would have to get used to it.

  He conscientiously brought Sang Hong to the main hall and handed her over to Zhang Yunping.

  Zhang Yunping looked at Sang Hong and nodded in satisfaction: "This red skirt is very eye-catching."

  "Brother Song helped me match it." Sang Hong coaxed her with a smile.

  "My goodness, this kid is quite something! This outfit almost made me unrecognizable, indeed clothes make the man and gold makes the Buddha!" Zhang Yunping heard this and couldn't help but smile with pride.

  "Thank you, Auntie, for buying me these clothes. If it weren't for these clothes holding up the bottom line, it would be hard to match with anything and look good." Xiang Hong said, smiling from ear to ear as she looked at her future mother-in-law, only picking out pleasant things to say.

  In the living room, Song's two twin brothers were playing games. Song Jiaju was defeated as soon as he started and could only watch his two brothers play enthusiastically with a tacit understanding. He felt extremely bored and depressed, so he rolled his small eyes to look at the big women in the living room, thinking about when his lovely little aunt would arrive.

  The crowd in the living room is roughly divided into four cliques, each occupying a corner of the sofa.

  They are respectively good friends received by Auntie, people who can talk in their own circle received by Elder and Younger Sisters, and then there is a largest circle of young people.

  "Come on, Auntie wants you to meet a few people," Zhang Yunping said, pulling her hand and leading her into the largest circle of women.

  "Come, come, let me introduce you to some important people. This is your aunt, who has been living abroad for many years." Zhang Yunping said as she walked into the circle and pointed to a woman in her forties sitting at the center of the circle, introducing her to Sang Hong.

  That group of chattering girls looked over at Zhang Yunping and came over to talk, and couldn't help but look at Sang Hong, who was being pulled along by the hand, speculating about her identity.

  Xiang Hong looked at a group of beautiful and elegant women, almost dazzling her eyes. She followed Zhang Yunping's hint, quickly focusing her attention, and suddenly spotted the woman in her 40s sitting in the center - next to her was a proud girl - that... that wasn't supermodel Ye Feng, who else could it be?

  She was wearing a thin, crimson-flowered blouse with a stiff collar that made her neck look long and slender. Below it was a silver-gray long skirt, revealing a pair of short boots in the same color. The striking colors actually made her stand out, and among all the women in the hall, not one had an outfit that clashed with hers.

  "Shout, Honghong, call Auntie." Zhang Yunping saw that Shan Hong suddenly lost her spirit in an instant, and her words had fallen to the ground for a long time without any response.

  Song Yanru looked at Sang Hong but didn't even glance at her, only staring at Ye Feng with wide eyes in shock, extremely displeased in her heart.

  Song Dàyǒu has three brothers in total, and among the three families, she is the only girl. Whenever she visits any of their homes, it's always a grand occasion. This time, she specially returned from abroad to celebrate her uncle's birthday, but rarely has anyone seen a girl like Sang Hong who doesn't know how to show respect.

  "Wow - sister-in-law, what's going on here? I've only been away for three to five years, where did you get such a big niece from?"

  "Aunt, you're really good at joking. All my nieces are like you, but this girl looks like she's never seen the world before. Where does she have even a little bit of resemblance to you? You must be thinking too much about your niece and gone crazy."

  Ye Qian smiled mockingly at Sang Hong, the sound of her laughter and implication making Sang Hong suddenly feel ashamed and humiliated. In a flash of distraction, she was actually ridiculed by this shameless woman like this.

  "Ah, Ye Yaotou is right, Er Sao, whose daughter is this? Could it be that she was introduced by a matchmaker and has her eyes on our family's little San'er?" Song Yanru heard the voice and smiled lightly.

  The girls around her giggled and looked at Sang Hong with sympathetic eyes, wondering how she was so unlucky to be teased by these two extraordinary women as soon as she appeared.

  Zhang Yunping also did not expect that these two people would be so unpleasant to Sang Hong as soon as they met, and for a moment she even forgot to introduce Sang Hong.

  Isn't this the legendary "first shot"?!

  Xiang Hong knew she was now in a isolated and helpless situation, she really wanted to say a few cold words to pierce their hearts, but thinking that this was a birthday banquet, everyone came with joy, there was no need to make the guests lose face.

  He smiled patiently and turned a deaf ear to the two women's bickering, instead saying to Zhang Yunping:

  "Auntie, Jiaju and them are playing over there. It's been a few days since I've seen them, I miss them so much. You stay here and chat with the guests, I'll go take a look at them."

  Xiang Hong didn't have the heart to continue talking with these women who were hiding knives in their words, so she decided to take a step back and withdraw.

  Song Yanru looked at Sang Hong, not seeing a hint of a smile, and didn't even bother to greet her. This made him believe Ye Feng's words even more - this country bumpkin was the girlfriend that Song Shu Yun's parents had arranged for him. He felt even less inclined to be friendly towards Sang Hong now. Moreover, she had never considered Zhang Yunping as a rival in his eyes, and at this moment, he didn't see any intention of her defending Sang Hong either. Her words were even more cutting:

  "Hey, Second Sister-in-law, she calls you Auntie? What kind of address is this? Could it be that Ye Yatou still has some insight, and this inexperienced little girl is a young nanny?"

  "What are you doing bringing a little babysitter in front of me? What do you mean? How can you bring anyone over for me to meet?"

  Zhang Yunping has been with Sang Hong for the past few days and has already taken her as his daughter-in-law, so how could he bear to let her suffer from outsiders' malicious intentions?

  But after all these years of being pampered, her mouth had become clumsy. Moreover, since she married into the Song family, this vicious young lady had always suppressed her, so she was immediately enraged, her head spinning and her face turning pale, but she didn't know how to retort.

  Xiang Hong had already turned to leave, but when she heard this old woman speaking to her future mother-in-law in a condescending tone, daring to treat her like a young maid, she thought: Is this the legendary cheap person, or is it someone who doesn't know how to show respect?

  She immediately turned back with a smile, took two steps forward, held Zhang Yunping's arm, and affectionately shook her hand, speaking clearly and endearingly:

  "Mom - what's wrong with you? You've got me mixed up with some aunt or something!"

  "Where did this wicked aunt come from? Didn't my dad only have two brothers? When and where did such an old sister pop out?"