Chapter 90: Testing the Waters

“Grandma, a leg injury is no small matter. It takes a hundred days for muscle and bone to heal, so you should stay in the hospital and rest properly.”

A faint pattern of wrinkles gathered at Cao Xiuhua’s smile. “All right, all right. I’ll listen to my granddaughter-in-law.”

At the mention of that title, Qin Miaoyu said no more, and simply sat quietly while the grandmother and grandson spoke.

Before long, there was a knock at the ward door. Qin Miaoyu went to open it, only to find Old Master Lu standing outside.

“Grandfather, you’re here,” she greeted him.

He answered with a cool, indifferent sound and stepped into the room.

The moment Cao Xiuhua saw who had come, the smile on her face vanished.

“What are you doing here?”

“Coming to see you, of course. Xiao Wang, bring the things in.”

The man addressed as Xiao Wang by Old Master Lu came in from the doorway, carrying expensive fruit and tonic supplements in both hands.

“No need. Take them back at once!”

Cao Xiuhua did not want them, but Old Master Lu cut her off before she could finish.

“Keep them and take good care of yourself. Look how worried Qianan is—he brought his granddaughter-in-law to see you right away. If I hadn’t ordered him a few days ago to bring his granddaughter-in-law home for me to meet, I still wouldn’t have had the chance to see this low-key granddaughter-in-law of mine in person. For a moment, I even thought he’d found someone to fool this old man.”

Hearing this, Cao Xiuhua felt a small swell of pride that her grandson valued her, his grandmother, even more. “That’s only because you’ve done nothing but unlikable things. Qianan has already brought Miaoyu to see me twice!”

“Twice? The first time was at your birthday party two years ago, wasn’t it? That’s an awfully long gap. I urged him repeatedly to bring her back for a visit, but he wouldn’t agree, always saying you were traveling.”

“Grandfather, isn’t it normal for young people to like traveling? I didn’t have time to keep Miaoyu company, so she had to go on her own. Besides, she’s a painter. Getting out and about more often helps inspire her.”

The moment Lu Qianan heard Old Master Lu’s words, his alertness sharpened.

“Yes, you old fossil, what do you know? Just stay home and live out your old-fashioned ideas. What business is it of yours if my granddaughter-in-law travels a little longer?”

Hearing Cao Xiuhua’s completely unshaken tone, Old Master Lu immediately wondered if he had been too suspicious.

His grandson had always been close to his grandmother, and whatever he was willing to say to anyone, he was even more willing to say to her. If there were truly some other matter behind this, Cao Xiuhua ought to know something about it.

But given the present situation, either Cao Xiuhua was unaware as well, or he was simply overthinking it.

Lu Qianan saw that Old Master Lu still looked uneasy and felt something was off. He walked over to Qin Miaoyu, gave her a subtle look, and took her hand.

Qin Miaoyu understood his glance and did not resist.

Cao Xiuhua naturally saw the intimate gesture between the two, and the anxiety in her heart finally eased.

Though her grandson had kept insisting all along that things between them were fine, he had been reluctant to bring his granddaughter-in-law to see her, so she had carried a faint worry. Now, seeing the two of them like this, she felt reassured.

With her mind at ease regarding her grandson, she could turn to other matters.

“Old Lu, hurry along. You make me irritated just by standing there.”

She waved him off carelessly.

Old Master Lu no longer had the mind to probe into the matter of his grandson and granddaughter-in-law. Looking at Cao Xiuhua, he said, “A friend comes to see you and you won’t even allow it?”

“A friend is a friend. Between the two of us, I think it would be best if we never crossed paths again until the day we die. Wasn’t that what you used to say?”

One sentence from Cao Xiuhua drained the courage from Old Master Lu to remain there. He beckoned to Xiao Wang and let him support him.

“You’re already this old, and if you’ve injured your bones, then stay in the hospital and recuperate properly. Otherwise, I’ll have Fuling arrange for a private doctor to look after you.”

With that, before Cao Xiuhua could respond, he leaned on Xiao Wang and headed out of the ward.

Lu Qianan asked Qin Miaoyu to stay and keep his grandmother company, then left the ward himself and caught up with Old Master Lu.

“Grandfather, since Grandma doesn’t want to see you, you should stop circling in front of her all the time. It doesn’t do your own mood any good either.”

From the old grievances Lu Qianan knew of, if this man had not been his grandfather, one who had always been good to him, he would have had only one thing to say: serve him right.

Old Master Lu bristled. “She’s the one with the temper. I didn’t even do anything, and she’s made such a scene for all these years!”

As Lu Qianan listened, a trace of irritability flashed through his eyes.

“You really did nothing? I’ve heard that you’ve been secretly supporting the two members of the Li family all these years.”

Old Master Lu had not expected even his grandson to know about this. A faint awkwardness appeared on his face, but he still defended himself.

“Back then, I did owe her something. She was forced by her family to marry into the Li family, and these years have not been easy for her there. That’s why I looked after her and her son a bit more.”

A bit more? If it were truly only a little, that would be one thing, but his grandfather had clearly gone far beyond that. Rumors had long been circulating in the circle that the second son of the Li family was in fact his grandfather’s son, and that second son had even begun using the Lu family name…

If they had kept their heads down and behaved, that would have been one thing. After all, his grandmother no longer felt anything for his grandfather. But now they were still acting in the Lu family’s name, which showed plain ambition. If they had not yet overstepped too far, he would already have taken action.

Thinking of this, he could not help glancing at Old Master Lu. “Perhaps you really did mean it as nothing more than a little care, but others may not see it that way.”

By the time Lu Qianan returned to the ward, his expression was already normal.

Cao Xiuhua kept them for a while longer, chatting with them, and then sent them away.

On the way back, Qin Miaoyu asked Lu Qianan, “Grandma shouldn’t have noticed anything, should she?”

Lu Qianan thought back to what had just happened. “Grandma probably didn’t notice anything, but Grandfather must have grown suspicious beforehand, which is why he brought up what I said before about you traveling.”

Qin Miaoyu did not understand the connection.

“If Grandfather had only come to visit Grandma, he would usually just say a few words and leave. He knows full well that Grandma can’t bear to look at him now. But just now he deliberately brought up that matter, which means he wanted to sound Grandma out and see if she knew something. He probably thinks Grandma knows some inside story.”

If the old man had not asked a couple of extra questions, he would not have discovered anything at all.

Lu Qianan dropped Qin Miaoyu off at the company. Before she got out of the car, he said, “We don’t know what’s going on with Grandfather, so later I may need you to cooperate.”

Qin Miaoyu was silent for a moment, then nodded.

Just as she was about to step out, a man standing by the car greeted Lu Qianan warmly.

“Qianan, it’s been a long time.”

Qin Miaoyu looked over. The man was middle-aged, not unattractive, though far from handsome, and a little on the heavy side.

Then she turned to Lu Qianan, only to find that he now carried a cold, heavy stillness about him.

Then she heard him say in an icy voice, “And you are?”