Chapter 350 - 347: Sister Fang

Chapter 350: Chapter 347: Sister Fang

After a lively breakfast, Li Xiu had someone drive him to run some errands.

Seeing the two children looking expectantly out the window, Sister Fang’s heart softened. She said to Zhou Lian, "Let’s have a couple of people take them out to play. It’s a rare opportunity. Once we’re back in the Capital City, they’ll have to catch up on schoolwork and will have even less time to go out and play."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Lian looked at the two children pressed against the window, smiled, and nodded. It really was a rare chance, so it was best not to keep them cooped up. She just said, "Sister, one person to watch them is enough. Two grown men with two children, isn’t that a bit..."

Before she could finish, Sister Fang shot her a glare. Zhou Lian rubbed her nose and didn’t dare say another word. ’Sister Fang seems a bit testy today,’ she thought. ’What’s wrong with her? Is it that time of the month?’

While Zhou Lian’s mind was wandering, Sister Fang had already arranged for two men to take Li Xianglin and Li Xiangrui out.

Grandma Li observed the situation, her eyes darkening slightly. She asked Zhou Lian softly, "Fang has quite a temper, doesn’t she?"

"Not at all, Grandma. She’s just especially devoted to the two children. Forget Jin Chen and me. I remember one time, their mentors punished Yanyan for playing around and not finishing his homework. Yanyan had so much extra work that he was up until midnight finishing it. I still remember how the next day, Sister Fang went to talk to the mentors, and for a whole week after, she cooked all the dishes they disliked the most!" Zhou Lian explained with a laugh. This ’sister’ of hers was just as fiercely protective of her young as Li Xiu.

Nodding, Grandma Li let out a sigh and said, "I can see that. She is very good to the two of them."

"Mhm, she’s raised both children since they were little. They’re the apple of her eye, so she’s very protective!" Zhou Lian said with a small smile.

Glancing at Zhou Lian, Grandma Li asked softly, "Has it been hard for you all these years in the Capital City?"

"Hard or not, it depends on how you look at it. But it’s been okay. It’s all in the past now, and Jin Chen and I have finally managed to get on our feet!" Zhou Lian said dismissively. ’Hard? How could it not have been hard? Back when we started in the Capital City, we had no one to turn to. We had a child, I had to go to school, and Li Xiu had to take care of the baby while trying to find every possible way to make money so his wife and child could live a good life. How could that not have been difficult!’

’But Li Xiu was the one who shouldered it all. Later, he ran into an old acquaintance of his master’s and ended up involved with the Imperial Palace. The networking and balancing act required for all that must have taken a huge toll on him. Then there was taking in Ping’an—a kindhearted but naive and proud young master. How much effort did Li Xiu have to pour into molding him into the man he is today? And in the corporation, even with Wang Dongfang and Li Bao holding down the fort, what major decision doesn’t require Li Xiu’s personal approval!’

’Then there were the relatives back home. He couldn’t favor one over the other; he had to treat everyone equally. How much brainpower did Li Xiu have to use just to navigate all that without anyone feeling slighted? On top of that, there’s the current situation in the Capital City. Even though Ping Jing has stepped in, everyone knows Li Xiu is still the one pulling the strings. How could he not be exhausted and overworked?’

Hearing Zhou Lian’s dismissive tone, Grandma Li breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that it wasn’t too hard. Otherwise, her heart would have ached for them!

"Not hard? Who was it that was so mentally and physically exhausted they ran a fever of nearly forty degrees? Who was it that was so drained they needed medication! I swear, you’re the type to forget the pain once the wound has healed!" Standing at the door, Sister Fang had overheard Zhou Lian and was practically seething. "You two are both so maddening! You do everything and say nothing, so how is anyone supposed to know what you’ve sacrificed and how hard you’ve worked!"

After hearing what Sister Fang said, Grandma Li was stunned. "What’s going on? What do you mean, ’mentally and physically exhausted’? And ’drained’?"

Glancing at Zhou Lian, who had lowered her head and wasn’t speaking, Grandma Li stared at Sister Fang and said, "She won’t talk. Fang, you tell me!"

"Grandma, you have no idea how maddening those two are. They never say anything. To be fair, even if they did, others couldn’t help much. Grandma, the doctor said Li Xiu has been overexerting himself mentally. He’s still so young, and you know how he always reports the good news but never the bad, shouldering everything himself. The doctor said that burning himself out like this at such a young age... it might affect his lifespan!" As she spoke, Sister Fang started to shed tears.

Zhou Lian stared blankly at Sister Fang. ’I don’t remember the doctor saying that,’ she thought. ’He just said Li Xiu was overthinking things and needed more ’brain food,’ otherwise he might go bald! How did that turn into ’burning himself out’ and ’affecting his lifespan’ in Sister Fang’s version!’

’And now Sister Fang is crying? But what is she crying about? I remember coming home and telling her to stew some nourishing herbal soups for Li Xiu’s brain. That’s all it was, right? How did it become this whole drama?’ Zhou Lian looked at her, baffled and confused.

"How could this be! How could this be! He’s only in his thirties!" Grandma Li said in disbelief. How could it affect his lifespan! Her grandson was still so young!

Wiping her face, Sister Fang patted Grandma Li’s hand and said, "Grandma, don’t panic, don’t panic! He’s taking medicine to help! We caught it early, so we can treat it properly!"

"Right, right, right, he needs to take his medicine and get proper treatment. No, he has to rest!" Grandma Li said anxiously.

Sister Fang agreed softly, "You’re right, Grandma. But how can he rest? There are so many people depending on him. If he stops, what will happen to all of us who follow him?"

’Something’s not right.’ Zhou Lian gave Sister Fang a deep look before lowering her head. ’Sister Fang is doing this on purpose, deliberately exaggerating everything Li Xiu has done. But why would she scare Grandma Li like this? Wait, Sister Fang is never one to act without thinking. In fact, she’s always incredibly tactful. What is she trying to achieve by doing this?’

’Zhou Lian was certain Sister Fang wouldn’t do this for no reason. There had to be a motive. So why would she exaggerate Li Xiu’s hardships so dramatically? And to his own grandmother, no less. Although most people in the Capital City said that Sister Fang could run half the Li household, she almost never interfered in the affairs of the Li family or the Zhou family. The one exception was when Mrs. Zhou tried to lecture Zhou Lian while Li Xiu was away. Sister Fang overheard and directly shielded Zhou Lian from her mother. That was the only time Sister Fang had ever gotten involved!’

’Aside from their own family of four, there were so many people coming and going, living in the courtyard house and the garden residence, but Sister Fang never concerned herself with them. Her sense of propriety was so well-honed that even the Eldest Young Madam of the Ping Family praised her, saying Sister Fang knew her place and acted with perfect discretion!’

Grandma Li looked at Sister Fang, completely flustered, and asked, "Then what do we do? What did the doctor say?"

"What can we do but endure? The doctor told him to rest, too. But Grandma, if he rests... well, the two children and Xiao Lian would be fine. Xiao Lian has her own career, she’s quite accomplished now with her own company, and her mentors are there for the children, so that’s not a problem. But what about the entire Li family? Li Bao can’t carry the weight. Li Guo hasn’t even graduated yet, and besides, he doesn’t have the right personality for it. Then there’s Li Bo at home, but Li Bo is still just a kid!"

"Grandma, what do you expect him to do? Grandma, with these eleven younger siblings at home, do you really think he can rest until he’s arranged everything for them?" Sister Fang said, her voice choked with emotion.