novelburst
Chapter 573: 573: This is Returning Kindness with Ingratitude
Chapter 573: 573: This is Returning Kindness with Ingratitude
Chapter 573: Chapter 573: This is Returning Kindness with Ingratitude
Ling Mingrui left the room with a group of people, and the space inside suddenly felt much emptier, even the air seemed fresher.
After the crowd had departed, Ling Jinhua signaled Luo Ziling to help him up.
As Luo Ziling was helping him up, Ling Ruonan stuffed two pillows behind Ling Jinhua, allowing the old man to sit upright.
“How is your grandfather doing?” asked Ling Jinhua, and then he sighed, “In the blink of an eye, twenty years have passed, and I haven’t seen your grandfather in twenty years. Back then, it was your grandfather who saved my life.”
Hearing Ling Jinhua say that his life had been saved by Luo Liansheng, Luo Ziling immediately felt irritated, especially after the impoliteness of those Ling Family members earlier, so he couldn’t help but retort rudely, “Unfortunately, my grandfather saved Great Grandfather’s life, only to end up living in seclusion in a small village in the Northwest for twenty years.”
Luo Ziling actually dared to mock Ling Jinhua to his face, and Ling Ruonan was instantly alarmed, quickly scolding Luo Ziling with a stern face, “Ziling, how can you speak to Great Grandfather like that?”
“I’m simply telling the truth,” retorted Luo Ziling, a bit angrily, “My grandfather saved Great Grandfather’s life, but this was the outcome for him, which is too unfair for us. Who knows, history might just repeat itself.”
Ling Jinhua was also shocked, but he didn’t show it and just watched Luo Ziling with an amused expression.
Ling Ruonan was truly annoyed at Luo Ziling’s backtalk.
After finally seeing Ling Jinhua looking at Luo Ziling with a different light, Ling Ruonan had already envisioned a positive outcome, but she hadn’t expected Luo Ziling to lose his temper and blame Ling Jinhua.
Looking over the entire Ling Family, there was not a single person who dared to gesture and speak to Ling Jinhua with such an attitude.
No one dared to challenge the old man’s authority; in the Ling Family, his word was law. He enjoyed similar authority even on a national level.
Ling Ruonan couldn’t have dreamed that Luo Ziling would be so haughty as to reproach Ling Jinhua over the events of the past. After shooting Luo Ziling an angry glance, she quickly explained, “Ziling, regarding the situation back then, if it hadn’t been for your Great Grandfather showing leniency towards your father, things would have been much worse.”
Luo Ziling understood what Ling Ruonan was scolding him for, but he had no intention of letting it go.
Since he had already lost his composure, he might as well take it to the end.
Of course, Luo Ziling was indeed angered; his grandfather had saved Ling Jinhua’s life, and yet they had the heart to let his grandfather take him to live so far away.
Looking at the map, the place they had stayed in was practically at the ‘tail’ of Huaxia’s rooster.
In ancient times, that place was where people were exiled thousands of miles away, such a heavy punishment it was!
Today, he conducted a treatment for Ling Jinhua, and the treatment went quite well, giving him confidence in what he said.
Besides, he feared that he might meet the same fate as his grandfather, curing Ling Jinhua’s illness only to be calculated against by the Ling Family once again.
“Great Grandfather, Mom, I don’t think so,” Luo Ziling stubbornly turned his head and said to Ling Jinhua, “Great Grandfather, I believe that my dad and my mom didn’t do anything wrong back then. It’s perfectly normal for a man and a woman to be attracted to each other and fall in love. It was you who forced them to elope, not their own wish. What right did Yang Yunfeng have to stop them? And to chase after them in his carriage? When Yang Yunfeng was chasing them, he threatened my parents’ lives. Why shouldn’t they fight back? Were they just supposed to let themselves be slaughtered? Now, they even want to take their revenge on me. I came to Yanjing to study, and they actually wanted to leave me for dead. They’ve attacked me multiple times. Am I supposed to just accept my fate and not resist?”
Luo Ziling, despite the warning looks and verbal interruptions from Ling Ruonan, spoke indignant and filled with righteous anger, “I simply can’t let myself be slaughtered. If someone wants my life, I will take theirs. I completely understand my parents’ decisions and their retaliation back then. Yang Yunfeng’s death is his own doing. Afterwards, you, with your power, forced our family apart, each to a different end of the earth. Is there anything more cruel than this?”
“Luo Ziling, shut up,” Ling Ruonan was shocked by Luo Ziling’s audacity; her heart sank, and she looked at him angrily, demanding that he stop talking immediately.
But Luo Ziling didn’t care, and after defiantly glancing at her several times, he came over, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and spoke to Ling Jinhua very emotionally, “My mom has had such a hard time these years. Knowing that her husband and son are still alive but unable to see them. Why should they be punished like this? Just because they broke your arranged marriage? Just because Yang Yunfeng’s self-inflicted death enraged you, you had to punish us like this? I think, my grandfather must be regretting the things he helped you do back then.”
“Nannan, don’t talk anymore,” Ling Ruonan felt a bit helpless, unable to believe her son could be as stubborn as he was, completely like his father. Her heart was deeply saddened, and she felt wronged, wanting to burst into tears. But all she could do was to scold Luo Ziling and tell him to stop talking.
“Nannan, let him speak. The grievances in one’s heart will only feel better when spoken out,” Ling Jinhua’s reaction surprised Ling Ruonan. He didn’t seem to mind and told Ling Ruonan not to stop Luo Ziling from speaking, even jokingly adding, “It has been many years since anyone has lost their temper in front of me. Experiencing it today is not bad.”
Ling Ruonan had no choice but to stay silent, and Luo Ziling, with fewer concerns, spoke more confidently.
“The ancient practice of marriage alliances, sacrificing a woman’s lifetime of happiness for peace and national interest, is an act of cowardice. Since when should the nation’s interest require one woman to bear? Men haven’t died out. It’s the same with family clans. If the men in a family are outstanding, they can completely rely on their own efforts to achieve success and revitalize their family wealth. Why is it necessary to rely on marriage alliances with women to gain benefits? No matter how you think, at least I believe that seeking benefits for the family in the way of arranged marriages is a display of cowardice and incompetence on the part of the men in that family.”
Having reached this point, Luo Ziling calmed down a bit and wasn’t as aggressive as before.
“No matter what kind of status and compensation you gave my mother afterwards, the harm you’ve caused to our family of three is irreparable. My mother spent her most youthful and beautiful years living like a widow, and I spent the beginning of my childhood, adolescence, and youth accompanied only by my grandfather. Thankfully, my grandfather is healthy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have even had someone who raised me.”
“Nannan, don’t talk anymore,” Ling Ruonan finally couldn’t hold back and covered her face, crying. The words of Luo Ziling touched the softest part of her heart, invoking endless pain, so much so that she couldn’t control her emotions and broke down in front of Ling Jinhua.
But Luo Ziling didn’t stop there, continuing stubbornly, “My grandfather saved your life, yet you made our Luo Family live like this, ongoing for over twenty years. You think you’re being benevolent, giving us great benefits as we each struggle to survive apart. It’s laughable. This is repaying kindness with malice!”
However, at that moment, Ling Ruonan, her hands full of tears, covered Luo Ziling’s mouth, preventing him from continuing.