Chương 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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Chương 29: An Unfortunate Death

Ming Fangsu had killed herself by cutting her wrist. Everyone blamed Lu Jinhai for it, as they believed that Ming Fangsu's reason for suicide was the heartbreak. Even elder Lu and Lu Jinhai thought the same and blamed themselves for the tragedy.

After watching his precious daughter in that state, elder Ming lost his rationality. He confronted and blamed Lu Jinhai for his daughter's suicide and broke all relations with the Lu family. He even cut all the business relations with Lu Corporation and declared that Ming Group would never associate with Lu corporation or share any relationship with the Lu Family in the future. Almost three decades were about to pass, but the hatred in elder Ming's heart didn't lessen a bit.

What exactly happened at that time was only known to elder Ming's daughter-in-law Zhang Jie and the old servant in the mansion, Nanny Yun. Everyone remained unaware of the devastating truth that was hidden by these two women—a truth that had separated two friends forever.

———-

After some time, Zhang Jie stopped crying and Nanny Yun passed her a glass of water. Hearing footsteps from the living room, Zhang Jie dried her eyes with a paper napkin and resumed eating, pretending to be okay.

"Mother, why are you having breakfast alone? Where are the others?" The words were said by Zhang Jie's son, Ming Rusheng.

As Ming Rusheng walked towards the dining table, he noticed his mother's swollen eyes and red nose.

"Why do I feel like the atmosphere is quite hot today?" Ming Rusheng commented.

"It's summer, so it's quite obvious to feel the heat," Zhang Jei said as she continued eating, avoiding to look at her son.

Ming Rusheng stepped towards his mother and picked up the invitation card on the table. "So this is why the temperature is rising this morning. This Lu family again." He sighed.

"Don't pay attention to unnecessary things. Sit down and have your breakfast." Zhang Jei's voice was high pitched.

"Why are you being scolded by mother early morning, brother Rusheng? What did you do to make her angry?"

That was Zhang Jie's daughter and Ming Rusheng's younger sister, Ming Lan, who came for breakfast too.

"The credit goes to the Lu family," Ming Rusheng replied as he filled his dish with food.

"What happened? And really, Mom, why does our family hate them? What exactly happened?" Ming Lan asked. as she sat in the chair beside her brother.

Zhang Jie ignored her daughter's questions and continued eating.

"Don't ask. I've tried to get an answer to only be ignored and silenced," Ming Rusheng commented as he observed his mother being unusually silent.

Still, there was no reaction from their mother's side so he moved his sight to his sister and added, "Though I don't know the reason, I too hate Lu family."

"Why?" Ming Lan asked.

"I don't know. I think hatred for the Lu family runs in our blood," Ming Rusheng replied.

"But I don't feel like that. I saw Lu Lian and Lu Bao every day in school, and those two are really nice," Ming Lan commented offhandedly.

"Just stay away from them. I especially hate their brother since I was in school. That arrogant and ignorant Lu Qiang." His voice was filled with hatred.

"Huh?" She looked at her brother with a questioning look.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing! I think, he is quite ni…ce and good loo…k...ing too," Ming Lan mumbled, but her brother could hear it, nonetheless.

"Don't forget, we are just allowed to hate them but not to fall in love with them," Ming Rusheng warned.

"W-when did I do something like that? Why are you angry?" Her eyes filled with guilt. In reality, she was slightly scared, too.

"I am just pre-empting the negative." He looked straight into her eyes, warning her.

The look in her brother's eyes scared her further. She didn't argue and continued to eat with her head lowered down.

Zhang Jie was immersed in her thoughts to pay attention to what these two were talking about, but she had heard her son's words about hating the Lu family, which made her angry.

"What happened in the past is none of your business. That's a matter between elders. You, youngsters, need not concern yourself with it. Understood?" Warning, Zhang Jei left the dining table without finishing her breakfast.

They could just stare at their angry mother's retreating back, and neither could speak further. They knew that the matter years ago must have scarred the family to the point that nobody wanted to mention it in front of them. They silently ate their breakfast, still thinking about their mother's strange behavior.

Ming Rusheng and Lu Qiang were in the same school, but Ming Rusheng was a senior of Lu Qiang. Ming Rusheng hated Lu Qiang since their high school days. Why? Even Ming Rusheng himself didn't know the reason. It might be because of the bitter relationship between their families. He just knew that something happened in the past that affected his family, and the Lu family had something to do with it.

Ming Lan was an innocent girl who was not interested in the past. She knew as little as her brother. She was familiar with the two girls from the Lu family and thought of them as good people, to be around, but she stopped herself from being friends with the girls because of the family conflicts. It was obvious that she had a crush on Lu Qiang, but she could never bring up the matter in front of her family being scared of her elder brother's reaction and hatred towards Lu Qiang.

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