Choosing concubines, this was insider jargon in certain circles, often appearing in the mouths of ill-educated young masters of wealthy families, or those idle and dissipated people addicted to gambling and vices.
They would collect all kinds of beautiful women, of various ages, types, and degrees of beauty, like ancient emperors choosing those they were satisfied with, creating a decadent scene.
Lu Yanhua looked at the phone Lu Lingchuan had pushed over to him, the screen displaying the information Lu Lingchuan's people had gathered recently.
He looked up, gazing at his son in surprise: "These are all..."
Lu Lingchuan nodded: "If there's no mistake, yes."
"..." Lu Yanhua's hand holding the phone trembled: "Those beasts! Absolutely despicable..."
His daughter was not the first victim. Before her, there were so many innocent people targeted by those two demons.
Just thinking that it was because of them that his daughter couldn't bear the pain and chose to end her life, Lu Yanhua was filled with hatred!
His precious daughter was afraid of pain from a young age. When she was learning to walk and fell, she would cry and rush into his embrace.
Such a child, afraid of pain, yet in the end chose such a painful way to leave this world...
Lu Yanhua struggled to control himself, but his eyes still turned slightly red: "These things have been covered up for so long without breaking out, those two beasts must have spent a lot of money and effort to silence the victims. Will they speak out?"
Lu Lingchuan's gaze darkened, replying: "I'll go on a business trip in a couple of days."
To meet those victims in person.
The more evidence and testimony against Wang Yong and Yang Hao's misdeeds they could gather, and the more victims they could find, the better. They could unite and appeal again!
When the wall collapsed, everyone would push it down. With solid material evidence and testimony all laid out, as long as they could confirm Wang Yong and Yang Hao were utterly depraved, applying for the death penalty would be a breeze.
"Good, good." Lu Yanhua nodded repeatedly.
They needed to find the evidence and testimony as soon as possible, so those two beasts could pay the price early, avenging his daughter. His wife would be overjoyed to know.
With the matter weighing most heavily on his mind resolved, his wife could focus on recovering from her illness...
Lu Yanhua felt happy, his face showing a smile.
He stood up: "Aunt Xu went grocery shopping. Your mother is still resting, I don't know when she'll wake up. You go keep her company."
Pausing, Lu Yanhua continued: "I heard yesterday that eating more oranges, cantaloupes and such can help the kidneys expel harmful substances released by cancer cells, replenish fluid loss, increase hydration, and reduce chemotherapy's toxic side effects. There's no good fruit near the hospital, so I need to drive to the high-end supermarket myself and see if I can find the freshest, best fruit."
"I was going to wait for Aunt Xu to return before going, but since you're here now, I'll go get them right away so your mother can eat them when she wakes up."
"Okay."
Lu Yanhua had received good news, so he was in a good mood and hurried to buy fruit for his wife.
Lu Lingchuan left the rest area and headed back to the ward.
As he passed the nurses' station, a nurse saw Lu Lingchuan and immediately called out: "Mr. Lu!"
Lu Lingchuan paused, glancing at the ward door: "Has she left?"
"Not yet." The nurse said, "Assistant Shen went in a while ago."
"Mm." Lu Lingchuan responded lightly, "Keep your mouths shut, and you won't be shortchanged."
Leaving those words, Lu Lingchuan entered the ward.
"..." The nurse watched his retreating figure, her gaze puzzled.
She knew the young, handsome man was the elder son of the hospitalized Mrs. Lu, and despite his young age, he was a successful businessman, even the CEO of a company! He had ties with their hospital's director.
A couple of days ago, all the nurses at their station received a notice that they could not casually discuss matters in private while on duty. Additionally, when Lu's family members weren't in the ward and Assistant Shen happened to visit, they were to tell Shen that besides the resting Mrs. Lu, no one else was in the room, and they couldn't tell Shen who had given these instructions.
Although she didn't understand the significance of this, since the director had increased their salaries, they could only follow orders.
Lu Lingchuan gently pushed open the door, his leather shoes making no sound on the floor.
He walked to the bedroom doorway before stopping, the bedroom door slightly ajar, leaving a sizeable gap.
Because Li Mingshi was sleeping, the room's curtains were drawn, with only the bedside lamp illuminated.
Lu Lingchuan stood at the doorway, observing the scene inside.
Shen Nian had tied her hair into a ponytail, looking much more energetic.
On the bedside table was a basin, the water inside still steaming. Shen Nian dipped the white towel into it, letting the towel soak in the hot water, then wringing out the excess water.
Li Mingshi was extremely weak after completing chemotherapy and sleeping soundly.
Shen Nian carefully raised her hand and began wiping it with the towel, then took the other hand and started wiping that as well.
After chemotherapy, Li Mingshi couldn't bathe for a couple of days, and Shen Nian knew she liked cleanliness, so she used the towel to wipe her down, which would make her much more comfortable.
When Shen Nian worked, she was meticulous and attentive.
All these years, Li Mingshi had never emerged from the pain of losing her daughter, and because she couldn't move on, she refused to see Shen Nian. Whenever she saw Shen Nian, she couldn't help but think of Lu Lingrui, and then she would be overwhelmed with anguish.
The painful emotions were difficult to control, and many times the words she said were particularly harsh. She couldn't help but resent Shen Nian, resenting her for being a bad child, resenting her for not taking Lu Lingrui with her when she ran away...
No matter how much Li Mingshi resented her, Shen Nian never argued back, allowing her to vent her resentment.
Pain accumulated in the heart, and over time it would become an illness of the heart that needed to be released.
Her parents passed away early. After meeting Lu Lingrui and being with Lu Lingchuan, Li Mingshi treated her like her own daughter, and although their mother-daughter relationship was brief, it was a rare sweetness in her memory of past suffering.
A debt must be repaid, fair and square. Since she owed Li Mingshi emotionally, she would naturally have to repay it bit by bit.
And that also meant... fulfilling filial piety on behalf of Lu Lingrui.
Lu Lingchuan said nothing, observing Shen Nian caring for Li Mingshi like an outsider viewing from a third-person perspective.
If not for what had happened back then, the scene would undoubtedly be even more heartwarming than it was now.
Even after being diagnosed with cancer, the five of them, or rather six, would have stood together to overcome the illness.
A shattered plate, no matter how carefully glued back together piece by piece, could never conceal the cracks.
It could never return to its former state.
After wiping Li Mingshi down, Shen Nian placed the towel back into the basin.
She sat on the chair beside the bed, gazing at Li Mingshi's haggard appearance.
Sitting there, studying her so intently.
Over these years, Li Mingshi had become haggard, the elegance and grace she once possessed now nowhere to be seen.
Shen Nian couldn't help but recall Mrs. Xiao's face, a woman who lived in a world coated with honey and sweetness, as the saying goes.
The Li Mingshi of the past and Mrs. Xiao were identical.
But now...
Shen Nian grasped Li Mingshi's hand, softly saying: "Rest assured, I will use my life... to make them pay the price."
[I'll be going out for a meal, so I'm posting today's update early. By the way, who among you hasn't rated the book yet? Go leave a five-star review, okay? That 6.7 rating really threw me off... Also, please write more book reviews too, I love you all.]
