The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 742 - 704: I’ve Come to Take You Home (Part 4)
Liu Nan made a request that infringed on a man’s dignity, and when Father Liu found out, he scolded him on the spot.
Liu Nan said it casually in a fit of anger, moreover, Lu Yanbin hasn’t agreed to it yet, has he?
After muttering, he looked at Lu Yanbin, "Anyway, I don’t care, you must find a way to apologize to my sister so she can go home with you, otherwise..."
Father Liu kicked him to the side and said to Lu Yanbin: "It was my daughter’s lack of understanding that caused trouble for the Young Master. I will immediately bring her down to follow you home."
He turned back and glared at Liu Nan, "Where is your sister?"
Liu Nan, feeling aggrieved, refused to say.
Father Liu’s expression darkened.
Lu Yanbin said, "Please don’t bother with this matter, Father-in-law. I will personally bring Shuyuan back."
Then, he looked at Liu Nan, "I can’t kneel three times and knock my head to the ground, but I am willing to carry thorns on my back as an apology."
Liu Nan knew he had asked for too much.
A man’s knees are sacred to heaven above and parents below; no man would kneel three times for a woman in this world, much less when his sister is not an Empress or Princess, but just a daughter from an ordinary family. In the high mansion of the Duke, if she made a mistake and was punished to death by her husband’s family, her family would have no room to appeal.
Therefore, when he heard Lu Yanbin say he was willing to carry thorns as an apology, Liu Nan was deeply shocked internally.
Even Father Liu was stunned.
Lu Yanbin did not delay.
He had searched for her for so long, his mind nearly collapsing, unable to endure any more accidents or setbacks.
He cut a small bundle of thorns, stripped off his outer robe, wearing only a white inner garment, tied the thorns on his back, and followed Liu Nan to the foot of Ping Mountain where Mrs. Xiao Liu was.
It turned out she was indeed at a family temple, but not the Lu Family’s, rather the Liu Family’s.
Lu Yanbin looked up, Ping Mountain wasn’t very high, but his back was injured, and the thorns were tied too tightly; after just a few steps, the thorns’ barbs tore through his thin garment and pierced into the nearly scabbed wounds.
Liu Nan was beside him, and seeing him out of breath after only a few steps, he glanced back to find blood already seeping from Lu Yanbin’s back.
Pressing his lips together, Liu Nan said, "I’m not forcing you, if you’re not willing, you can stop now."
Lu Yanbin wiped the sweat off his forehead and replied with only three words, "Keep moving."
Thus, Liu Nan accompanied him climbing up.
Throughout, Lu Yanbin paused countless times due to the pain from tearing old wounds, but eventually managed to reach the mountaintop; the originally white inner garment was dyed a shocking crimson.
When Mrs. Xiao Liu was informed someone was looking for her and ran out, she saw this scene.
Lu Yanbin stood with thorns on his back outside the family temple door, his face pale in the blazing sun; when Liu Nan helped remove the thorns, they were covered in blood.
He seemed numb, only looking at her with a weak gaze, "Shuyuan, I’ve come to take you home."
After saying this, he closed his eyes and fainted.
Seeing his back covered in bloody wounds, Mrs. Xiao Liu’s face turned pale, and tears instantly welled up.
...
When Lu Yanbin woke up, he was lying on a couch in the Liu Family’s temple room; his back was already treated with medicine, causing less pain than during the climb, yet he was still unable to move.
He heard voices outside but couldn’t even turn his head to look.
The door creaked open, and the Liu siblings entered.
Liu Nan stood beside him, while Mrs. Xiao Liu stayed far away, occasionally peeking timidly at him.
Liu Nan asked him, "How are you feeling?"
Lu Yanbin’s eyes flickered slightly, his face twitched fiercely as he feebly replied, "Pain, it hurts so much..."
After speaking, he glanced at Mrs. Xiao Liu’s reaction.
Mrs. Xiao Liu lowered her head, twisting her fingers, looking very conflicted.
Lu Yanbin cried out again in pain.
Mrs. Xiao Liu, startled, looked up at him, meeting Lu Yanbin’s gaze directly; she dodged slightly and stammered, "Young... Young Master, how are you?"
"It hurts," Lu Yanbin replied.
Seeing Lu Yanbin’s half-dead state, he didn’t seem capable of harming anyone, and Liu Nan felt compelled to leave the space to the two of them.
Mrs. Xiao Liu still stood in place, unmoving.
Lu Yanbin said, "I’m thirsty, Shuyuan, pour me a cup of water."
Mrs. Xiao Liu recovered her senses, approached the table to pour a cup of warm water, and brought it over; Lu Yanbin did not take it, maintaining his position on the bed, he reached out and hugged her waist.
Mrs. Xiao Liu stiffened, her wrist faltering, spilling some warm water on top of his head.
Lu Yanbin pressed his cheek against her abdomen and asked, "Did it hurt more when the child was lost?"
Mrs. Xiao Liu did not answer, becoming completely rigid, his actions and response too shocking.
Getting no answer, he lifted his head and met her stunned, rigid face; he propped himself further along to embrace her more tightly, "Shuyuan, I’ve searched for you for so long; come home with me, okay?"
Mrs. Xiao Liu moved her lips.
"The child is gone, so it’s gone; if you come back with me, you can have as many children as you want in the future," he said.
Mrs. Xiao Liu did not know whether to believe him, but when she saw him faint outside the temple door, saw his blood and wounds, she couldn’t deny she felt sad.
"Shuyuan..." Lu Yanbin took the cup from her hand, drank a few sips of water before placing it aside, and holding her hand, sincerely said, "Before I was perfunctory, but today I’m earnest. I know I was wrong; I shouldn’t have treated you like that then. Can you give me a chance to make amends?"
Mrs. Xiao Liu’s eyes reddened, "Then will you hit me anymore?"
The request was heartrending.
"I won’t hit," Lu Yanbin placed her palm against his cheek, "I searched for you for so long to bring you back as Young Madam."
"Will you force me to drink again?" Mrs. Xiao Liu asked.
"Let you force me to drink, how about that?"
Mrs. Xiao Liu did not speak; she knew she couldn’t divorce, nor escape the Lu Family’s influence, yet still felt uneasy.
Lu Yanbin said, "Your little brother-in-law said I need to kneel three times and knock my head from the mountain foot for you to forgive me. So I think it’s real, I’ll go now."
As he spoke, he motioned to get off the couch.
"Young Master." Mrs. Xiao Liu hurriedly supported him, "I’m not..."
His sudden change caused her to start speaking incoherently.
"Then you’ve forgiven me, agreed to come back with me?"
Before she could respond, Lu Yanbin added, "Shuyuan, I can’t be without you; the Lu Family can’t be without you either."
Mrs. Xiao Liu’s eyes warmed again.
Seeing her moved, Lu Yanbin complained, "During these days without you, Father made me manage the household affairs, and each mistake, he beat me. Look at my back with so many wounds, and you don’t even feel sorry for me."
Mrs. Xiao Liu bent over, carefully checking the wounds, frowning, "Does it still hurt?"
"If you come back with me, it won’t hurt anymore."
