Chapter 1175: Don

Xiao Mu looked up at her eldest daughter: "When you were pregnant with Junjun, you ate plenty of things that girl sent over—why is it suddenly too presumptuous when it comes to me? Look at the way you're talking—I'm your mother, and this is your own younger brother, the one who'll support you in the future."

Xia Qiu didn't want to ruin her mother's mood right now, so she didn't argue further, deciding instead to talk to her father later—this kind of thinking of her mother's simply couldn't be allowed.

Liu Chuxue sending things was a favor; not sending them was her duty—there was no room for taking it for granted.

Liu Chuxue had no idea what her mother was thinking; by now they were already on the train, having entered the waiting area early and thus avoiding the crowd at the station.

When passengers boarded after ticket inspection, they would have all their luggage stowed away.

Liu Chuxue had been up all night, exhausted, and since Wan Qing kept fidgeting, constantly seeking attention, she simply closed her eyes and slept, determined to ignore everything.

Beijing

When the phone in the Qi family's living room rang, Qi Mu was busy in the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron: "Hello, who's this?"

The housekeeper had taken the day off, so she had to cook lunch herself; though the housekeeper had prepped the ingredients, it still left her flustered, so her tone when answering the phone wasn't pleasant.

From the other end came Qi Shufang's voice, trembling with tears: "Mom, it's me, Shufang."

Qi Mu heard her voice and immediately asked: "Shufang, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Hearing her mother ask, Qi Shufang felt even more wronged: "Mom, I want to come back to Beijing—I can't stay here anymore."

Qi Mu, hearing this, looked up sharply toward the upstairs: "Don't cry yet—what exactly happened? Tell me first."

She didn't want her daughter to stay away, but the old man would never agree to let her return; even if she doted on her daughter, she still had to consider her two younger sons.

The old man's resources already favored the second branch, Xiuyan—if she acted recklessly now, he'd grow even more partial to the second branch; her two sons were still young, and she had no choice but to think of them.

Qi Shufang recounted only what she could say: "Mom, He Weilin's former in-laws are determined to send me to prison—I'm terrified."

She knew her daughter's nature best: "Tell me the truth—did you really harbor feelings you shouldn't have?"

Qi Shufang swallowed hard, exhausted from defending herself: "I didn't."

Qi Mu saw her daughter still refusing to tell the truth: "After all that happened, your grandfather already gave his order—how much effort did I put in to get you out of the farm? How can you not appreciate it?"

Qi Shufang hadn't expected her mother to blame her instead of comforting her: "Mom, what's the point of saying this now?"

At that moment, the old Qi patriarch entered the door: "What's that smell?"

Qi Mu, hearing this, remembered the stew on the stove: "Oh no, my dish!"

Without another thought, she dropped the phone and rushed toward the kitchen.

The half-prepared dish the housekeeper had left had burned, but luckily the old patriarch returned in time to salvage it.

She frantically scooped out the food, only then remembering her daughter's call.

She was just thinking of going out to hang up the phone and call her daughter back later, so the old patriarch wouldn't discover they were still in contact and scold her, thereby implicating her husband and two sons.

But she hadn't expected that when she stepped out of the kitchen, she saw the old patriarch had already picked up the phone—she turned pale with shock.