Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 590 - 580 Old Man Li

Upon arriving upstairs, Shen Yunfang ushered her father-in-law and eldest brother-in-law into the living room to sit, boiled some water, poured them each a cup of hot water, and then went into the kitchen to start cooking.

Li’s father wanted to ask about his son’s condition but couldn’t find a chance.

Shen Yunfang cooked rapidly; in less than an hour, the meal was ready. She hurriedly arranged for them to eat, and after a quick clean-up, she carried a big bag filled with food and led the two men out, picked up Pangpang and Manman, and the group took the bus to the hospital.

Upon entering the ward, Shen Yunfang specifically glanced at the bed near the door to see if it was still unoccupied, and feeling relieved, she thought that tonight she would finally be able to get some good sleep.

When Li Hongjun saw his father and older brother following his wife into the room, he wasn’t surprised; he had expected them.

"Dad, Big Brother, you’re here," he said, sitting up with the help of his wife and greeting them.

"Ah, Hongjun, where did you get injured, and how serious is it?" Li’s father was distressed about his second son’s condition, worried to see that even getting out of bed required assistance.

However, since Li Hongjun was admitted to the hospital, he had been wearing the hospital’s patient gown, with its wide trousers and shirt concealing all the patched-up areas on his body, so it wasn’t immediately obvious to others where he was injured.

"Hongjun was injured by a bomb; the surgery removed more than twenty shrapnel pieces from his body," Shen Yunfang briefed them about Li Hongjun’s not-too-lethal injuries, leaving it to them to imagine the severity.

Li’s father and Li Hongxing both gasped. Bombed? Over twenty pieces of shrapnel removed in surgery? The fact that he was still standing was truly a stroke of fortune for the Li family.

"Ah, you and your resolute ways, going to the battlefield is a big deal – how come you didn’t say a word to the family? And your wife, just lets you fool around, keeping us in the dark. It’s been hard on us," Li’s father complained, pulling out his rolled tobacco, preparing to smoke a couple of puffs. Smoking was his habit when he was troubled.

Shen Yunfang, who was setting the food on the table, quickly stopped him, "Dad, you can’t smoke in the hospital ward; if you want to smoke, you have to go to the corridor." In truth, there was no anti-smoking regulation in the hospital yet, but with her husband still injured and the children there, she couldn’t allow the group to inhale secondhand smoke.

Li’s father’s cigarette, already on its way to his mouth, paused and then was put away, as he muttered to himself about how formidable his daughter-in-law was – he hadn’t noticed it before.

"Dad, won’t you have something to eat?" Shen Yunfang had laid out the meal and served rice for Li Hongjun and the children, "Pangpang, Manman, stop playing. Come, wash your hands with Mom, we’re going to eat."

"We’re already full; don’t worry about us, you eat, you eat," Li’s father quickly said, realizing why his daughter-in-law had not eaten at home; it was so that she could have a meal with her son in the hospital.

Shen Yunfang took the kids to wash their hands and also soaked a towel. Returning, she wiped Li Hongjun’s hands, and the family gathered around to eat their meal.

Naturally, Li Hongjun also had to make conversation with Li’s father, as leaving him out would be somewhat awkward.

After dinner, the family of four finished their meal, and Shen Yunfang took the two children to wash the dishes, leaving the space for the three generations of Li Family men.

Old man Li, seeing his daughter-in-law walk away with his grandson and granddaughter, hurriedly said to his second son, "Hongjun, did your wife tell you about your mom and your brother?"

"She did," Li Hongjun responded with a cold tone when his dad mentioned those two people.

"That’s good, that’s good. Hongjun, what do you think we should do about your mom’s situation?" Old man Li was out of options, having thought of every possible solution but finding no one who could save his wife and son. Of the children in his family, it was the second son who had the ability. He was hoping that the second son could find some connections and exert some influence to rescue the family members.

Li Hongjun frowned, "Dad, I heard from Yunfang that my mom and Li Hongqi were involved in fraud at the university and have broken the law. As family members, we have no way to intervene now, and we cannot lift a finger. Everything must be left to the state’s judgment." Doing something wrong necessitates punishment; it’s a principle everyone must abide by. Otherwise, if everyone thought like old man Li, then what would be the point of having laws in our country?

Old man Li hadn’t expected his second son to speak so heartlessly, "But, but they’re your mom and your brother!"

How could the second son speak so callously? Now his own mother and brother were the ones who had been arrested.

"Dad, the prince breaks the law and suffers with the common people, let alone that I’m just a soldier without any significant influence. My mother and Li Hongqi have violated the law and must be subject to legal punishment," Li Hongjun sighed.

Old man Li was stunned into silence while Li Hongxing, seeing his father like this, couldn’t bear it and tried to persuade, "Hongjun, our mother is so old; if she goes to prison, how can she withstand it?"

"Yeah, she’s old and can’t take it. If only we had known this earlier, why did we ever start?" Li Hongjun added to his older brother’s words with a sigh.

Li Hongxing, who was never good at speaking, was lost for words and stayed quiet after that.

Suddenly, the hospital room fell silent, and no one spoke.

It took quite a while for old man Li to finally let out a tired sigh, "Hongjun, I know you have great grievances with your mom and brother because of your wife. I also know that your mom and brother did some things that were excessive. But however wrong they may have been, they are still your kin, your blood relatives, that’s your mother, your birth mother who raised you since you were little. If you wash your hands off them now, people will say you have lost your conscience."

Li Hongjun didn’t speak, his face expressionless, but his clenched fists betrayed his inner turmoil.

"Dad, let’s talk about our business, and leave Yunfang out of it. When she and I got married, it was a match arranged by you. Now to say that because I married her, all this happened, is unfair to Yunfang," Li Hongjun stated firmly. He could endure personal grievances, but he couldn’t stand by and watch as his wife was subtly blamed by his father, nor did he want to endure it.

If he didn’t stand up for his own wife, who else would speak justice for her? Besides, he truly believed marrying Yunfang was the right decision. Without her, how could he have such a happy home and two lovely children? He had fulfilled his filial duty toward his parents back home, and that should suffice. What else did they expect him to do? How could he demand something of someone else’s child that he couldn’t achieve himself?

Old man Li heard his son refuting him for his daughter-in-law’s sake, and his frown grew even tighter, "I know your wife is good, but wouldn’t your mother and brother have avoided arrest if it weren’t for your wife?" he accused bitterly.