Divorced at fifty, I embarked on my path to success.

Chapter 354 Suspicion

"Where's Zizi? Why can't I get through to her on the phone?" Chen Yue asked anxiously.

Chen Yue was worried about her daughter, who hadn't shown any signs of pregnancy for two days. She made some of her favorite snacks and planned to send them to her.

I tried calling her, but she never answered, and eventually she just turned off her phone.

She then called Sun Chengzhi to inquire.

"Oh, Mom, it's nothing. Zizi has been sleeping a lot these past few days. She just fell asleep after eating." Sun Chengzhi answered the phone in the hospital corridor, and then, afraid that Chen Yue would hear the surrounding noise, he hurriedly went through the emergency exit. "Mom, don't worry, I'm with her."

"That's good," Chen Yue breathed a sigh of relief. "I've made some food, I'll bring it over to you later."

"No! No! Mom, no need!" Sun Chengzhi hurriedly refused, "We're going out in a bit!"

"Where are you going?" Chen Yue asked in confusion. "Zizi is experiencing severe morning sickness during this period, which is the most uncomfortable time. She should just take a walk in the neighborhood and not go too far. It's not good for the baby if she gets tired."

“Yes, yes! Mom, we…” Sun Chengzhi’s mind raced as he searched for an excuse, “Oh, right, Mom, Zizi wants to go back to my hometown for a visit. I’m all ready, we’ll be leaving in a little while.”

"Huh? Why did you suddenly decide to go back to your hometown?" Chen Yue had heard Mei Zi mention before that there were photos of Sun Chengzhi's parents in their old house, and she really wanted to see them. "Is Zi Zi's health up to it now?"

“Sigh, I’ve tried to persuade her,” Sun Chengzhi sighed helplessly. “Mom, you know Zizi’s temper. Once she thinks about it, she has to go right away and can’t wait at all. I had no choice but to take leave and take her back home. Please don’t come over; we might have already left by then.”

Chen Yue hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Then I'll come over when you come back tomorrow night."

"Not necessarily! It depends on Zizi's mood. If she's happy, we can stay there for a few more days." Sun Chengzhi hurriedly stopped her. "Mom, don't worry, I'm here. I won't let anything happen to Zizi. I'll have her call you when she wakes up. Or, we can call you when we get back to our hometown."

"Alright," Chen Yue instructed, "Be careful on the road, and don't let Zizi get too tired, or it might upset the baby."

"Okay, don't worry, Mom!" Sun Chengzhi hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief.

He'd have to appease Mei Zi properly later, lest she complain. Sun Chengzhi's eyes darkened.

……

After a seven-day lay in state, Xu Yanping was finally buried in a grand funeral.

Yue Jiangting then asked Yue Guangzhi to call Mei Yusheng, but Mei Yusheng wouldn't even answer the phone.

Yue Guangzhi was afraid that she would get annoyed and block him too, so he wisely called her once and then stopped.

He noticed that Sun Chengzhi's face was a little swollen and asked curiously, "What happened? Who hit you?"

Sun Chengzhi blushed and dodged, "No, no one hit me..."

Yue Guangzhi glanced at him and smiled, "You didn't get beaten up by Mei Zi, did you? Dude, you've spoiled Mei Zi too much. She's become unruly. Women need to be disciplined, don't let her take advantage of you."

"Brother Yue, do you dare to discipline your sister-in-law?" Sun Chengzhi said with a smile.

Yue Guangzhi paused for a moment, then chuckled awkwardly, "Of course! Your sister-in-law is a rare woman who knows her place and is very sensible. She never meddles in other people's business and doesn't say much."

"Brother Yue is truly blessed to have found such a wonderful woman!" Sun Chengzhi praised at the opportune moment.

Yue Guangzhi proudly raised his eyebrows, but fearing that others would see his smug expression and scold him, he quickly put on a look of utter despair.

Sun Chengzhi sneered as he read it.

After the funeral, Yue Jiangting breathed a sigh of relief, lay down on the sofa, and closed his eyes to rest.

I ran through the scenes of the past few days in my mind and was convinced that there were no major mistakes. The grand funeral made everyone praise him as a filial son, and they all remarked that it was no wonder his business was so successful; it was the blessing that filial piety brought him.

After hearing it so many times, he himself came to believe it, and the slight guilt he felt for Xu Yanping's lonely death vanished.

The only thing that bothered him was Mei Yusheng's attitude.

Although she came to pay her respects, it seemed as if she was making a final farewell, not only to Xu Yanping, but also to him.

This was not what he had imagined.

The Mei Yusheng he knew was very soft-hearted, especially unable to bear the death of the elderly.

He wanted to use Xu Yanping's funeral to get closer to her, at least to make her stop avoiding him like the plague.

But in reality, Mei Yusheng didn't even care about her son anymore.

Yue Jiangting rubbed his furrowed brows and sighed silently. There was still a long way to go to reverse the plum rains.

But he wouldn't give up; in his mind, there were no such words as "give up" or "admit defeat."

"Brother Jiang Ting, go lie down on the bed and rest for a while, I'll give you a massage!"

Han Caiyu's soft voice reached his ears, as sweet and charming as ever, but Yue Jiangting felt no longer any of his past romantic thoughts; instead, he felt irritated.

"What have you been doing hiding at home these past few days?" He suddenly opened his eyes, glaring at Han Caiyu. "That's your mother-in-law! You didn't take care of her when she was alive, and now you haven't even attended her funeral?"

Han Caiyu glanced at him guiltily, then pouted aggrievedly, "Do you think I don't want to go? I've been so dizzy these past few days that I can't even get out of bed! I feel like my mother-in-law just doesn't like me and is deliberately making things difficult for me! I'm really scared. If I go once and this happens, I'm afraid if I go a few more times, my mother-in-law will drag me along to keep her company."

"Nonsense!" Yue Jiangting sat up abruptly and was startled when he saw Han Caiyu's face.

Han Caiyu seemed to have aged twenty years in an instant. Her face looked like a dried-out orange peel, loose, wrinkled, and drooping. Dark circles hung down to her mouth, and her eyes had lost their former sparkle, becoming cloudy and dull. Her hair, perhaps due to lack of care, was frizzy, dry, and disheveled, covering her forehead.

A chill ran through Yue Jiangting's heart. Could it really be his mother's ghost tormenting Han Caiyu?

Otherwise, how could she have aged so much in just one week that he could hardly recognize her?

The image of Mei Yusheng's elegant and beautiful figure appeared before my eyes. In comparison, Han Caiyu looked so old that it was unbearable to look at her.

A look of disgust flashed in Yue Jiangting's eyes as he sneered, "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. You're so afraid of my mother, did you do something wrong to her before?"

"No, no! I didn't!" Han Caiyu waved her hands repeatedly. Her hands, which were usually so well-maintained, now looked like the withered branches of a sycamore tree in late autumn. Beneath her thin, cicada-wing-like skin, there were winding, bluish-purple veins. "It's because my mother-in-law doesn't like me. She always compares me to Mei Yusheng. No matter what I do, she's never satisfied. Brother Jiang Ting, you know, ever since my mother-in-law lost her senses, she's been constantly muttering Mei Yusheng's name."

"She just doesn't like me. When Mei Yusheng was around, she didn't like Mei Yusheng but liked me. But after I married you, she started to dislike me again."

Han Caiyu's eyes darted around, observing Yue Jiangting's expression, feeling wronged and wanting to cry. She also wanted to be beautiful, but these past few nights, every time she closed her eyes, she would see Xu Yanping lunging at her with her claws outstretched, grabbing her neck. Several times she couldn't breathe, thinking she was going to die in her dream and never wake up again.

"Brother Jiang Ting, I feel something's wrong. My mother-in-law keeps bothering me. Could you please find a master to take a look at her?" Han Caiyu said timidly.

"What are you looking at?" Yue Jiangting glared. "There are no ghosts! Besides, even if there were, that's my mother. Do you think I'd send someone to catch her?"