Chapter 27: Wounds Of The Past
Lu Feng's love for Lu Lijun was so extreme that sometimes it created big problems and Lu Qiang had to clean up the mess.
In the initial days of Lu Lijun's primary schooling, a few kids from the school bullied him. One day, when Lu Lijun came back home, he was upset but didn't tell anyone what happened. He just spent his time sitting inside the Gazebo as it was his favorite place to spend time whenever he faced any kind of trouble. At that time, Lu Qiang was out of the country.
When Lu Feng reached home in the evening, he couldn't see this little lad at home, so he went to look for him in the garden. He knew where he could find Lu Lijun. When he saw Lu Lijun sitting quietly in the Gazebo, he understood something was wrong with him and asked him what happened?
Other than Lu Qiang, Lu Lijun was close to Lu Feng and would share everything with him. After a few moments of hesitation, he finally revealed what had happened in school.
Lu Feng thought bullying was normal at the start of school, and it would be over soon, but when he saw the scratches on Lu Lijun's hands and bruises on his legs, he couldn't control his fury.
He took out all the information about the kids who bullied his brother and went to their houses. Lu Feng destroyed their property and threatened the parents with worse damage if their kid bullied his little brother again.
He even went to Lu Lijun's school and threatened the teacher with their jobs- if his brother were hurt, they would lose their jobs. Knowing how powerful the Lu family was, they tried their best not to let such a thing happen again. The news spread throughout the school, and nobody dared to bully him again.
Lu Qiang confronted Lu Feng when he came back to China and found out about the incident. He made sure to compensate the families who had received damage because of it.
There were various such incidents over time, and Lu Qiang would come forward every time to clean up the mess. Lu Feng always listened to everything Lu Qiang said about the younger brother and whenever Lu Qiang confronted him. He thought that their ways of loving Lu Lijun were different. As Lu Lijun grew up, these things stopped.
——-
Late at night, elder Lu's bedroom.
Elder Lu, his wife Zhao Shuang, and their two sons were talking about something serious.
"Did you send an invitation to the Ming family?" Elder Lu asked Lu Jinhai, carrying a serious expression on his face.
"Yes, father!" Lu Jinhai replied.
"Do you think they will attend our family event?" Zhao Shuang asked.
Giving out a deep sigh, Elder replied, "I don't think so. It has been 28 years, and Ming Shihong still hasn't forgiven us."
"What happened back then is all my fault," said Lu Jinhai, feeling sad to see his father upset.
"Brother! It was not your fault. What happened at that time was unfortunate, but don't blame yourself for that." Lu Chen consoled his brother.
Nodding, elder Lu spoke, "Lu Chen is right. That was not your fault. Who could have thought that child will take such an extreme step?" Pausing for a while, the elder mumbled with a sad tone, "Ming Fangsu! Such a lovely girl. What a tragic end for a beautiful soul!"
Lu Jinhai added, "You are right, father. Even I never thought she could do something like that."
"We can't change the past but can't we start over again with them?" Zhao Shuang asked.
"I want to, but I know my friend Ming Shihong very well. He won't see my face ever again. I am waiting for the day when this hatred will disappear, and we will be together just like we were in the past. But after all these years it looks like it's just my wishful thinking," Elder Lu said, his voice sad and eyes were moist.
Nobody said anything because no words were enough to heal the wounds of the past.
————-
Next morning at Ming Mansion.
Elder Ming Shihong was having breakfast with his son Ming Yusheng and his daughter-in-law Zhang Jie.
"Father, Lu family sent us an invitation card of the celebration of Elder Lu's wedding anniversary," Zhang Jei said while passing the card to her husband, Ming Yusheng.
Hearing the Lu family's name, the elder Ming's face turned red with anger, and he exclaimed, "Throw it in the trash or burn it."
"But father, elder Lu was your very special friend in the past. So many years have passed. We should forget everything and move forward," Zhang Jei suggested that only angered the two men.
"Enough!" Ming Yusheng stopped his wife after witnessing his father's anger.
Ming Shihong got furious at her words and said, "How dare you say such a thing. Did you forget what they did to my Ming Fangsu?"
"Forgive her father. She didn't mean that." Ming Yusheng tried to calm down his father, but it was late.
"Then what does she mean? They killed my daughter, and she is asking me to forgive the people stained with my daughter's blood." Elder Ming was burning with anger as he continued. "When one day I die, don't bother to call those bastards Lu Huan and his son Lu Jinhai to my funeral. If they come, throw them out immediately. I won't forgive them even after my death."
Zhang Jie wanted to say something but couldn't say anything as elder Ming Shihong got up and left the dining table in a hurry.
"Why did you even bring up Lu Family? Don't you know how much father hates them? How can you forget what they did to my sister? Even I'll never forgive them," said Ming Yusheng.
"What happened back then was not completely their fault."
"It was only their fault, and that's the truth. Never forget it," Ming Yusheng said and left the dining table as well.
Chapter 28: Hiding A Devastating Truth
When the elder Ming and his son Ming Yusheng left the dining table, tears rolled down from Zhang Jie's eyes. Picking up the invitation card from the dining table, she looked in the direction of the door through which her father-in-law and husband left.
"I can't forget the truth even if I try a thousand times. Nobody knows the truth except for me. If both of you come to know it, I fear that you won't be able to handle it." Zhang Jei cried as she sat on the chair.
"Madam, don't cry," said Nanny Yun.
Nanny Yun had seen everything that happened in the dining room and came to Zhang Jie to console her. Nanny Yun was one old lady who served the Ming family since she was young and was close to Zhang Jie. Other than Zhang Jie, she was the only one who knew the truth of what caused the death of Ming Fangsu.
"Nanny Yun, what should I do? I am living with a huge burden on my chest. I did it to protect father, and I couldn't break the promise I made to Ming Fangsu. If it weren't for him, Ming Fangsu would be with us today. Why did he do that?" Zhang Jei's sobs grew harder.
Nanny Yun held her hand and said, "You did well. Elder master and young master should never know the truth, otherwise, nobody knows what will happen."
"I know, but I am afraid. Lord Buddha will never forgive me for my sin. I have kept two friends apart by hiding the truth from them. In the future, I will have to pay the price." Zhang Jei's tears showed her guilt and fear.
"Nothing will happen. It was Ming Fangsu's last wish to hide the truth, so don't blame yourself. It was necessary to protect this family from getting scattered," Nanny Yun said, patting the woman's head with motherly affection.
"I wasn't able to seek justice for her death because of my selfishness. It is why I am living in hell. Why did she make me promise? I can't die in peace with this burden." Zhang Jei said as she held Nanny Yun's hand tightly.
Ming Fangsu was the only daughter of Ming Shihong. She committed suicide the day after Lu Jinhai's wedding, twenty-eight years ago.
Elder Lu Huan and elder Ming Shihong were the best friends in the past. They were more like brothers than friends.
When Lu Jinhai came to the capital to fulfill his dreams, the elder Ming supported him with all his might as elder Ming was already a very successful businessman with a successfully established company.
Elder Ming treated Lu Jinhai as his son and guided him in his path of success. Lu Jinhai even stayed at his home until he arranged the place for himself to stay.
During Lu Jinhai's stay at the elder Ming's residence, he became a very good friend with his son Ming Yusheng and his daughter Ming Fangsu. Ming Yusheng was a few years older than Lu Jinhai, but they were like buddies and shared everything.
Lu Jinhai treated Ming Fangsu as his younger sister, just like Ming Yusheng did, but Ming Fangsu started to think of him as a man. Everyone was delighted to find out her intentions as they liked Lu Jinhai.
When Ming Fangsu confessed her love to Lu Jinhai, he told her he considered her as a younger sister and he already had someone he loved and would marry her soon.
Ming Fangsu was heartbroken, but she understood Lu Jinhai. She was a beautiful soul. Even though she was hurt by the rejection, she was happy for Lu Jinhai. The others grieved at the lost chance but understood that the matters of the heart can't be forced.
On the day of Lu Jinhai's wedding, the entire Ming family was present. Elder Ming was as happy as he was at his own son's wedding.
Though Ming Fangsu was hurt, she kept up appearances and showed only happiness on her face. She returned home early, excusing herself by saying that she didn't feel well.
Everything was good until the next morning when Ming Fangsu wasn't present at the dining table. Elder Ming asked the servant to call Ming Fangsu for the breakfast.
When the servant went to Ming Fangsu's room and knocked on the door, she got no reply. So, the servant entered the room but couldn't find Ming Fangsu there.
Thinking Ming Fangsu might be in the bathroom, the servant went towards the bathroom and was about to knock when she saw the door was slightly opened. She called for Ming Fangsu, but the other didn't reply. From the bathroom, she could hear the sound of overflowing water so she pushed the door open, feeling worried.
Entering inside, the servant saw the woman lying in the bathtub; the water dyed red. The servant screamed involuntarily and called the woman's name to no avail, but the other didn't reply. She could guess what had happened and ran outside to inform everyone.
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