Lao Tzu is Ji Gong

Upon hearing this, Li Xiuyuan flicked Xu Yulian's forehead and said indifferently, "What are you thinking? I would never reveal such a thing."

Having said that, he felt a little disdainful. Although he was ruthless, he would not speak recklessly about women.

"That's good!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yulian breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon seeing this, Li Xiuyuan chuckled and said, "Yulian, you're thinking too optimistically. Given the temper of that person from the Dong family, you're definitely not going to have an easy time. I'm afraid you'll be kicked out within a few days. I'm just giving you a heads-up."

As he spoke, he thought to himself that once the old lady of the Dong family made her move, he could take advantage of the situation and Xu Yulian would have an excuse.

"Probably not!"

Xu Yulian murmured, but she herself didn't have much confidence.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiuyuan couldn't help but shake his head. Xu Yulian was good in every way, but sometimes she just thought of everything in a more idealistic way.

"Yu Lian..."

"Jade Lotus!"

Suddenly, a distant call could be heard; someone was calling Xu Yulian's name.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yulian wondered to herself who was calling her. With that thought in mind, she looked into the distance.

A man dressed in purple was walking towards them. When he saw Xu Yulian there, he ran over with great joy.

However, upon seeing Li Xiuyuan dressed in black, her face turned cold. She had thought she could take advantage of the situation, but seeing another man with Xu Yulian, she was naturally very unhappy.

"Yu Zhong, what brings you here?"

Xu Yulian asked in surprise, because this person was her neighbor. She knew him because he had a good relationship with her husband.

Chapter 357 On the Way Home

Upon hearing Xu Yulian's words, Yu Zhong repeatedly asked, "Yulian, what are you doing here?"

As he spoke, he looked warily at Li Xiuyuan, and for some reason had a feeling that this person in front of him was not easy to get along with.

“I…I!”

Upon hearing this, Xu Yulian was speechless for a moment. She couldn't very well say that she had been fighting with someone and that's why she was still here!

"Oh dear! Stop talking! Yulian, is your mother-in-law going to hang herself?"

As he spoke, Yu Zhong recounted the situation of the Dong family. When he had just left the village, Dong's mother-in-law saw her son chasing after Xu Yulian, so she pretended to hang herself in an attempt to get her son to come back.

"What? Mother-in-law, how could she do such a foolish thing? No, I have to go back and stop her."

As she spoke, Xu Yulian felt anxious and hurried home.

Upon seeing this, Li Xiuyuan smiled and said, "Yulian, don't worry. Even if Granny Dong is upset, it's too late for you to go now. Besides, the fact that Yu Zhong is standing here proves that he is alright."

As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed Xu Yulian.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yulian suddenly realized, "Yes! If my mother-in-law really hanged herself, even if I rushed back, it would probably be too late. And since Yu Zhong is still staying quietly, it seems nothing serious has happened."

Xu Yulian finally calmed down, and then she realized that Li Xiuyuan had been holding her hand, but he quietly let go of her.

Upon seeing this scene, Yu Zhong felt extremely jealous. He had always thought Xu Yulian was pure and innocent, but he never expected that a man could hold her hand without any problems.

If Yu Zhong knew that the two of them had even had that kind of relationship, he probably wouldn't be able to accept it even more!

Yu Zhong pressed further, "Yu Lian, who is this young master?"

As he spoke, he was filled with curiosity and wanted to find out Li Xiuyuan's background so he could figure out what he might do in the future.

If it were an ordinary person, they would naturally not attract Yu Zhong's attention, but if they posed a threat to his existence, he would definitely eliminate them without hesitation.

After hearing Yu Zhong's words, Li Xiuyuan replied calmly before Xu Yulian could speak, "I am just a passerby on my journey. When I saw Miss Xu contemplating suicide, I intervened and saved her."

As he spoke, a smile crept onto his lips. Looking into Yu Zhong's eager gaze, he thought to himself, "This guy has always had designs on Xu Yulian."

In the original novel, Yu Zhong played a significant role in why the matriarch of the Dong family would drive Xu Yulian out of the house. He was also attracted by Xu Yulian's beauty and wanted her to leave the Xu family so that he could then take advantage of her.

Unfortunately, this guy was overthinking things. Even if Xu Yulian left the Dong family, she wouldn't fall for him.

Only someone like Li Xiuyuan, who forcefully and domineeringly took her, could leave a deep impression on Xu Yulian's heart.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yulian let out a muffled groan and replied, "Yes, it was indeed Young Master Wutian who saved me. If he hadn't come out from there, I'm afraid I would only be a corpse now."

After saying that, she secretly cursed in her heart, "This bad guy did save me, but he didn't mean any harm."

As for what happened next, Li Xiuyuan naturally wouldn't say it outright, but Yu Zhong was kept in the dark at the moment.

"Oh! I see. I thank you on behalf of my good brother Dong Zhongqing."

Seeing the two exchanging glances, Yu Zhong felt even more furious, but unfortunately, he was no one to Xu Yulian.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiuyuan couldn't help but laugh and said, "It's alright, I'm happy to do this kind of thing."

As he spoke, he thought to himself, "Sleeping with the other man's wife and having someone thank me on his behalf—it's probably quite a joke to say that out loud!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Yulian gave Li Xiuyuan a resentful look and asked indifferently, "By the way, where is Zhongqing? Has he gone home?"

As she spoke, she wondered, "Since I ran away from home, didn't the other person know to come looking for me?"

If Dong Zhongqing had come out to look for me, perhaps this wouldn't have happened!

After thinking about this, Xu Yulian couldn't help but feel a little resentful towards Dong Zhongqing, but she knew in her heart that in the end, she was the one who had made a big mistake.

“Zhongqing had come out, but when he heard that his mother was going to hang herself, he immediately ran back.”

As he spoke, Yu Zhong chuckled inwardly. If the other party could persevere, they could bring Xu Yulian back. But Dong Zhongqing was just too filial.

Even though he knew that the old lady was trying to trick him into going back, he was still afraid that something might happen to her.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yulian felt a slight disappointment. It seemed that in Dong Zhongqing's heart, her mother-in-law was more important, and she herself was not worth seeking.

Thinking of this, Xu Yulian felt a little resentful, but she still went back without hesitation.

Xu Yulian said, "Thank you for saving my life, Young Master Wutian. I have some matters to attend to at home, so I will have to go back now."

With that, she prepared to say goodbye to Li Xiuyuan.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiuyuan understood perfectly that Xu Yulian didn't want him to go to the Dong family to avoid embarrassment. After all, given what she had done, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to be with Li Xiuyuan again, let alone face Dong Zhongqing and his mother.

Li Xiuyuan replied calmly, "Alright, Miss Xu, take care on your journey."

As he spoke, he waved his hand and did not chase after them. After all, the Dong family's territory was theirs, and he could not act rashly, so he would naturally suffer indignities.

Rather than doing that, Li Xiuyuan might as well stay outside and wait for Dong Zhongqing and his son to drive Xu Yulian out of the house, then he could take advantage of the situation and enter the house.

After saying goodbye, Xu Yulian hurried home, naturally accompanied by someone named Yu Zhong, who was truly persistent in pursuing her.

Li Xiuyuan thought to himself, "It seems I need to find an opportunity to get rid of this guy."

Chapter 358 The Young Master of the Dong Family

Li Xiuyuan was thinking about these things, while Xu Yulian returned to the Dong family. After all, she was still a daughter-in-law of the Dong family. Although she felt a little ashamed for what she had done, she still had to go back.

Upon returning to the Dong family home, Xu Yulian saw a row of houses. The Dong family was considered to have moderate assets. Although they weren't extremely wealthy, they had enough money for themselves.

Xu Yulian entered the courtyard and saw a man walking out of the kitchen. He was wearing a blue robe, was thin, and had a dignified appearance; he was her husband.

When Dong Zhongqing saw his wife appear, he exclaimed in surprise, "Yulian, you're finally back!"

As he spoke, he ran over eagerly.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yulian glanced at Dong Zhongqing with resentment. He knew she had run away, yet he remained indifferent and didn't even bother to go and look for her.

In reality, Dong Zhongqing did go out. In the original story, he encountered Guangliang and Biqing, but Li Xiuyuan appeared at this time.

Yu Zhong ran out again and explained that Old Madam Dong was going to hang herself. Dong Zhongqing returned home again, still somewhat concerned about Xu Yulian.

Xu Yulian nodded and replied, "Mm!"

As she spoke, she lowered her head, but when she met her husband's gaze, she didn't know how to face him. After all, her body was no longer pure, and she had even had that kind of thing with someone else.

Xu Yulian swallowed her resentment. She saw that her husband was holding a plate with a small bowl on it, and a faint smell of medicine was coming from it.

Xu Yulian pressed on, "Zhongqing, what's the deal with this medicine? Is someone sick?"

As she spoke, her curiosity got the better of her, and in order to stop Dong Zhongqing from asking about her trip, she quickly changed the subject.

"Oh! Mother isn't feeling well, this is medicine I specially brewed for her."

As he spoke, Dong Zhongqing thought of his elderly mother lying on the bed, and hurried inside to bring her the medicine and feed it to her.

"Ah! Mother is ill, what happened?"

After saying this, Xu Yulian felt anxious. Although her mother-in-law was mean and treated her very badly, Xu Yulian did not complain at all.

"Thank goodness, I didn't die of anger because of you."

Just then, a voice came from inside, and a pale-faced woman walked out. She was furious!

The son originally intended to brew medicine for himself, but after seeing his wife, he forgot all about it. No wonder some people say: "Once you have a wife, you forget your mother!"

This statement proved to be true, and upon seeing Xu Yulian, Old Madam Dong naturally did not give her a pleasant look.

Firstly, Xu Yulian had not given birth to a child in the past five years, which was a source of great distress for her. Secondly, the Xu family was not well-off, and it was only because of the marriage arranged since childhood that she was able to have children.

Furthermore, given Dong Zhongqing's insistence on marrying Xu Yulian, it's likely that Old Madam Dong would not agree at all.

"Mother-in-law, how could you say that? How could your daughter-in-law wish for your death!"

As she spoke, tears welled up in Xu Yulian's eyes, unaware of what she had done to upset her mother-in-law again.