Lu Fangliang’s mind went blank as he sat down numbly.

He hadn't seen Kang for some time as he wasn't able to find him. It wasn’t until he heard that Kang and his family passed away in a fire did he and some of his other friends help out with the funeral.

Lu Fangliang only got to his senses after a long time and mumbled, “Is this Kang? Uncle, what happened?”

“He was killed and beheaded. They personally sent his head over to me. I’m still keeping this with me, so I could always use it as a warning to the younger generation like you. Be a man of low profile. Otherwise, you will suffer a great loss sooner or later!”

“Uncle, what on earth happened?”

“You don't need to know anything more about it. That matter has nothing to do with you. All I want you to know is that you and Kang have offended the same person!”

These few words scared Lu Fangliang out of his wits! Speechless, his mouth was wide open as he looked at Mr. Gou.

Mr. Gou ignored him and continued to murmur to himself, “Your life is better than Kang's. I vouched for you with my own life and begged them to spare both you and your daughter’s lives. But you’ll still have to pay the price.”

Lu Fangliang flung himself to his knees as he sobbed and begged, “Uncle, don't make things difficult for my daughter. Come at me instead! Please don't hurt my daughter! Uncle, please help me!”

After saying that, he kowtowed to Mr. Gou a few times!

Mr. Gou didn’t help him up and sighed, “Fangliang, I have done my best to beg for mercy on your behalf. With just a snap of their fingers, I would lose my life, too. I can’t help you any further!”

“Uncle, I didn’t do anything wrong. I've always listened to you and was never involved in any affairs. I've always done my business legally. So who on earth have I offended?”

“Silly boy, haven't you come to your senses by now? Let me ask you. Were you trying to woo Miss Lin from the Lin Family?”

“Miss Lin from the Lin Family? Who is that? Jiaxue’s teacher Miss Lin?”

“That's right. Both you and your daughter teamed up to ruin her marriage. So she wants both of you dead! This is called paying someone back in their own coin!”

Lu Fangliang was completely dumbfounded. He didn't expect that civilized and soft-spoken woman to be a demon that could kill someone easily without hesitation. The two impressions didn't match up at all!

No. No. Mr. Gou must be joking. How could that beautiful, gentle woman be associated with such cruelty?

Seeing his disbelief, Mr. Gou explained, “Don't be fooled by her appearance. Her real identity is Miss Lin of the Lin family from the South Seas. I’m sure you’ve heard of her family before and should more or less know how her family settles things. How can she, as the head of the Lin Family, be a good person?”

Lu Fangliang's heart was filled with mixed feelings. So she was actually such an eminent figure. No wonder she had such a powerful aura! Now he knew why fifty-eight million was not worth mentioning for her at all.

With cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, Lu Fangliang said, “Uncle, I've been wronged! Since when did my daughter and I offend her in any way?”

“How do you still have the guts to say that you weren't at fault at all?” Mr. Gou struck the ground with his cane furiously, “Haven't you heard of the saying that it's better to tear down ten temples than to destroy a marriage? You knew very well that she is a married woman. Yet you still set her up for your own interests in her. This is where you're at fault! What else do you expect?”

“I didn't know, uncle. No harm, no foul! We didn't know her true identity. It was totally unintentional.”

"Sigh!" Mr. Gou let out a long sigh, “In that case, you think your fault was not in ruining someone's marriage, but in being unable to identify her true identity?”

“I…”

“My boy, if she wasn't Miss Lin from the Lin Family, would it still be right for you to ruin her marriage? Would it still be right for you to take another man's wife for yours? If you still insist that you aren't at fault, you'll pay for it sooner or later!”

Lu Fangliang kowtowed once again and cried, “Uncle, I know what I did wrong now. Please save me and my daughter. I'm begging you!”

“You fool! Jiaxue is still young and doesn't know any better. You should've set an example as a father. How can you drag your daughter along with you to do something like this? You are guilty as hell!”

Mr. Gou struck his cane strongly once more. Lu Fangliang sobbed profusely and was begging for help profusely.

“I've helped to spare the lives of you and your daughter. But alas, punishment is inevitable! You must still pay the price for what you've done!”

“Sure. No problem at all. I can compensate for as much money as they want. I'll make sure Miss Lin is happy with it!”

“Miss Lin has such a huge family background. She wouldn't bat an eye at that sum of money. You ruined her family and what she wanted was both you and your daughter's lives! This matter can't be settled with money. You must pay the price. Do you understand what I mean?”

Lu Fangliang slumped to the side. Leaning against the chair, his expression was full of remorse and self-recrimination. Although he was not involved in the same field as his uncle, he knew the unspoken rules very well. If something cannot be settled by cash, it could only mean something else. And it must be a body part.

Suddenly, he thought of his daughter and shivered violently. He said eagerly, “Okay, I accept the punishment. Please, Uncle. Help me beg Miss Lin and ask her to let my daughter go. Come at me instead! I'm the one at fault. And I'm willing to take the blow!”

“That's impossible. Miss Lin was already merciful enough to spare your lives. I'm afraid that if I beg her again, it might backfire and cause you your life instead!”

“Uncle, this matter has nothing to do with Jiaxue. I forced her to do everything. Miss Lin is Jiaxue's godmother. Please beg her to let Jiaxue go for the sake of this relationship of theirs. I am willing to take all the blame alone!”

“Silly child. How could she have kidnapped Jiaxue if she had that thought in mind? It's not right for you to mention that incident again. You'll have no choice but to accept whatever happens!”

Lu Fangliang sat down on the floor like a deflated ball and bowed his head in silence.

After a long time, he asked sadly, “What does she want from me?”

“Leave you with a pair of hands for you to look after your daughter for the rest of your life. Is that alright?” Mr. Gou asked gently.

Lu Fangliang nodded sadly. "Alright!"

Mr. Gou let out a long sigh and clapped his hands. After some time, the butler walked in with a man in black.

The man in black bowed towards Mr. Gou who nodded and turned his head.

The man in black walked silently towards Lu Fangliang and pinned him to the ground. Finding the spot on his spine, he held it with the tip of his fist and twisted it hard. With a crack, Lu Fangliang let out a miserable scream and passed out.

The man in black bowed to Mr. Gou once again and turned to leave without looking back.

After sending the man away, the butler returned to the room once again. He inspected Lu Fangliang's injuries before leaning towards Mr. Gou and asked in a low voice, “Mr. Gou, do you need me to take him to the hospital?”

Mr. Gou shook his head and ordered softly, “Find him a place to settle down temporarily. Don't allow him to meet anyone else. Once he's reunited with his daughter, arrange for them to leave the country as soon as possible. Let him treat his injuries abroad!”

The butler nodded and asked for Lu Fangliang to be carried out.

Mr Gou stayed awake in the private room for the whole night, quietly waiting for news.

The next morning, Mrs. Hong gave him a call. All she did was mentioning an address before hanging up.

Mr. Gou sent someone to locate the address immediately. In the afternoon, the butler walked quickly into the private room and reported, “Mr. Gou, the child has been found and is physically unharmed. It's just that…”

“What's wrong?”

“The Lin Family is so ruthless. They locked the little girl up alone in a haunted house for three days. Pity her! That child is doomed for life. She's not in her right mind anymore due to the fright!”

Bowing his head, Mr. Gou sighed sadly and ordered, “This is her fate. No one else can be blamed. Do as I ordered before and arrange for them to leave as soon as possible!”

......

Time flies and a few days passed in the blink of an eye. Lin Wan went back and forth from the hospital to her house. She had to take care of her in-laws at home, and had to be in the hospital with her ex-husband at the same time.

Li Mu had not been home for several days. It was perfectly normal for the old couple to ask why. The reason given by Lin Wan was that he was on an urgent business trip. The old couple did not suspect anything as they knew the nature of their son's work. Urgent business trips were a regular occurrence so there was nothing to worry about.

The old couple moving in was a relief for Lin Wan. Li Mu's parents were both hard working people. Hence they always took the initiative to complete most of the household chores, which made Lin Wan feel very embarrassed.

The family adapted fairly quickly into their new lifestyle. The older couple were sensible people who knew their boundaries and never did anything annoying.

Lin Wan, on the other hand, is a virtuous daughter-in-law who knows her way around and makes her in-laws unable to pick out any faults.

Actually, they could get along pretty well because no one in this family was poorly off. Hence there were no financial conflicts.

In fact, many family conflicts are caused by money. This includes the rich, but not as much as the poor. Some people are so poor that they have no wits left and could only depend on evil tricks and traps. 

In order to take care of Li Mu, Mrs. Hong and Lin Wan exchanged shifts regularly. When one was at home, the other would be at the hospital. And there would always be someone at either side. 

However, Lin Wan strictly did not allow outsiders to help Li Mu when he didn't have his clothes on. This included Mrs. Hong, not to mention He Xiaoyu.

She may not have realized it herself, but she was becoming more and more possessive of her ex-husband, and was on the verge of being obsessed with him. She saw him as her personal possession entirely and must not be touched by anyone else.

He Xiaoyu was furious about this. But there was nothing she could do. She couldn't fight or argue with Lin Wan, as she did not want to disturb Li Mu with his recovery. Nor did she dare to complain to the old couple. All she could do was to endure in anger.

This day, Mrs. Hong came over to look for Lin Wan and the latter left the ward together with her. Only then did He Xiaoyu have the chance to complain to Li Mu.

“Li Mu, what is your relationship with Lin Wan now? And who am I to you?”

Li Mu did not dare to look at her and hesitated for a moment before persuading silently, “Xiaoyu, let's get back to what we were before. There are some things you don't know. And there's really no need for you to keep insisting on our relationship anymore!”

He Xiaoyu froze and took a long time to get back to her senses. She then asked hurriedly, “Li Mu, what happened? What did she tell you? And why did you change your mind?”

Li Mu replied honestly, “She explained everything to me. We were wrong about her. It's true that she was at fault but she had her own reasons. And she wasn't stepping on the borderline like how we assumed her to be. Hence, I have forgiven her already!”