Chapter 1682 - 1677: Mr. Mu Shifts His Target

Mrs. Lin finished explaining everything and went back grinning.

By the time she returned, the doctor had already examined Mr. Mu.

Mr. Mu had come to; although he didn’t throw a big tantrum, he seemed to have aged a lot in that instant.

Old Mrs. Mu was waiting by the bed, and in the room were Mu Shuangshuang, Mrs. Lin, Mu Dajiang, and Qin Xianglan.

Only Mu Dade was absent.

Now that the masks were off, Mu Dade no longer bothered to pretend to be filial.

In this family, whoever wanted to leave, he wouldn’t stop them!

"You all go out. Shuangshuang stays." Mr. Mu suddenly said.

"Huh? Dad, you’re sick, how come you’re chasing us out? And besides, Shuangshuang belongs to Old Third’s branch now, you want her to stay..." Mrs. Lin was afraid the old man would hand his money over to Mu Shuangshuang, so she spoke up anxiously.

Mr. Mu glared at Mrs. Lin. "Don’t worry, I won’t give the family’s money to Shuangshuang."

Mrs. Lin, whose secret was exposed, flushed in her wrinkled face.

She put on a fake show and said, "Dad, what are you talking about! In this family, it’s your word that counts. If you say you want to give the money to Shuang, I wouldn’t say a thing!"

"Get out!"

Mr. Mu roared.

Mrs. Lin was startled by his look, hunched her shoulders, and hurriedly fled outside.

"Old woman, you go out too." Mr. Mu said.

Although Old Mrs. Mu had her complaints, since the man had said he wouldn’t give money to Mu Shuangshuang, she no longer had any reason to panic.

When only Mu Shuangshuang was left in the room, Mr. Mu struggled, trying to sit up.

"Shuang, I’m sorry... In the past, it was me as your grandpa who was wrong. I’m apologizing to you."

"Grandpa..." Mu Shuangshuang lightly steadied Mr. Mu, and to his apology, she showed no reaction at all.

Mr. Mu truly owed the third branch.

He owed every single person in the third branch.

This apology, she had every right to accept.

Not only her; the others should accept this apology too.

But accepting an apology doesn’t mean forgiving.

"Shuang, in the past Grandpa misjudged people, thought your eldest uncle was a filial man. Who knew... who knew he was a wolf, and dragged our Old Mu Family into this state.

The fourth branch even lost their son. Grandpa has failed you all, wuu wuu..." As he spoke, Mr. Mu began to cry.

At his age, to cry like that really was moving.

But Mu Shuangshuang was someone who had come through gunfire and bullets to get where she was; how could she possibly forgive easily just because someone cried out an apology?

Wouldn’t all the suffering and torment the fourth branch went through become for nothing?

Moreover, from Mr. Mu’s words, she kept feeling there was something behind them.

"Grandpa, is there something else you want to say to me?" Mu Shuangshuang asked directly.

Mr. Mu froze; he hadn’t expected his little scheme to be seen through so easily.

That was indeed the case.

After circling around such a big loop, Mr. Mu finally realized the only ones he could rely on were the third branch and the fourth branch.

The second branch had always been lazy and greedy.

Once the eldest stopped supporting him and his wife, they would definitely kick them away without hesitation.

The Fifth was even worse; he hadn’t married yet, and even if he did, his wife wouldn’t necessarily be easy to deal with.

The fourth branch had the heart, but after all, they’d just lost a son, and with such poor conditions, even if they wanted to support him and his wife in their old age, they probably didn’t have the means.

Only Old Third—Old Third had a house in the county, a tavern in town.

He had farmland in the village; following Old Third, at least there would be food to eat.

When they got old, they could still come back to the village.

So he had to mend ties with the third branch; even if the eldest was unreliable, he’d still have Old Third. "Shuangshuang... since you’ve asked, Grandpa won’t hide it anymore. I want... I want the third branch to come back." Mr. Mu said.

"Back then the split was because your eldest uncle wanted to sell you, and your father was bedridden. Now all these difficulties are gone, the third branch... should also return to the clan." Mr. Mu said.

Well, damn.

When Mu Shuangshuang heard Mr. Mu’s words, she almost burst out laughing.

This guy’s calculations were really something—once the eldest branch couldn’t be relied on, he came to rope in the third branch.

And what reason did he use?

Returning to the clan?

As if the third branch splitting off had been betraying master and ancestors, betraying their forebears.

That was a huge burden, and the third branch was not going to carry it.

"Grandpa, this isn’t something I can decide by myself. I have to go back and ask my father." Mu Shuangshuang said.

"Shuang, are you still holding it against Grandpa?" Mr. Mu suddenly asked.

"Why would Grandpa ask that?" Mu Shuangshuang said.

"It’s always been you calling the shots in the third branch. If you... if you agree to the third branch coming back, then it’s settled, isn’t it?" Mr. Mu said.

"Grandpa, it’s true I used to call the shots. But a while ago, we changed the rules at home. Big matters and small ones are decided by vote.

My father, my mother, Little Zhi, Xiao Han, plus Fengzi and Yuanbao, and me—seven of us in total. The minority obeys the majority."

Mu Shuangshuang said.

When Mr. Mu heard this, his already ugly expression grew even uglier.

The minority obeys the majority?

This was clearly shirking.

But right now, he had no choice but to rely on the granddaughter in front of him.

Mr. Mu sighed and stayed silent for a long time.

Seeing that the old man still wasn’t speaking, Mu Shuangshuang said, "Grandpa, I’ve been out long enough; I should go back."

Mr. Mu forced himself to perk up and said to Mu Shuangshuang, "Grandpa’s sick, so I won’t see you off. When you have time, come over and hang around more. Bring Little Zhi and your parents along too, alright?"

Mr. Mu’s tone was very soft when he said this.

There was even a hint of pleading in it.

Mu Shuangshuang nodded and left Mr. Mu’s room.

She went straight to the main hall and found the place where she’d put her clothes, only to discover that the clothes she’d bought were gone.

She barely needed to think; Mu Shuangshuang headed straight for the second branch’s room.

Inside, Mrs. Lin was holding one of the outfits Mu Shuangshuang had bought, unable to stop admiring it.

That pleated skirt was the one Mrs. Jin had taken a fancy to, the orange one with a very proper cut.

When Mu Shuangshuang pushed the door open, Mrs. Lin jumped in fright; seeing it was Mu Shuangshuang, she hurriedly hid the clothes behind her back.

"Shuangshuang, what brings you here?" Mrs. Lin asked, looking unnatural.

"Second Aunt, hand over the clothes." Mu Shuangshuang said.

"What clothes? I don’t know what you’re talking about." Mrs. Lin said shamelessly.

"Second Aunt, I’m not blind. When I opened the door, I saw the clothes in your hands." Mu Shuangshuang rolled her eyes and said directly.

Only then did Mrs. Lin soften her stance.

"Shuang, that outfit was the one you bought?" Mrs. Lin asked with a fawning smile.

"What do you mean by that, Second Aunt?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.

"N... nothing, I just wanted to ask where you bought it." Mrs. Lin said.

"Red House. Second Aunt, can you give me back the clothes now? And the other few outfits as well." Mu Shuangshuang said.

"Shuangshuang, I really like that outfit. How about... you give it to Second Aunt?"