Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

The only reason he personally handled this matter was because of Su Wanqing. Otherwise, he would have tied her up and sent her to the regimental headquarters to write a report long ago; why would he be standing here trying to smooth things over?

Grandpa Gu was so angry that he was blinded by rage, his mind filled with thoughts of "family misfortune" and "shame," completely forgetting that Zhou's mother was his mother-in-law. Aunt Wen was only focused on wiping away her tears, feeling sorry for her son and angry at his lack of ambition, and didn't even think about that.

Reminded by Liu Shuqing, Aunt Wen shuddered and pinched her husband hard. "You old fool, can't you speak properly? I don't care if you discipline your son, but if this gets out and ruins Xiao Su's reputation, I'll never forgive you!"

Grandpa Gu finally calmed down from his anger.

What kindness had Su Wanqing shown them? She helped improve the cowshed, delivered grain during the autumn harvest, and even saved his grandson's life. No matter how stubborn or old-fashioned he was, he still understood the principle that a life-saving grace is greater than heaven.

His tone immediately softened, and he sounded a little awkward: "I was senile just now and spoke without thinking. Since they are Dr. Su's family, it's fine to talk about it. Secretary Liu, please do whatever you can to minimize the impact and don't ruin Dr. Su's reputation."

He paused, then continued, "You know our situation. The old couple are living in a cowshed with their grandson; our family background is bad, we can barely take care of ourselves, let alone others. It all depends on what Dr. Su says. If they want to get married, fine, I'll pretend I don't have this son. We won't acknowledge them as family. If they don't, then arrest Gu Yuan if you need to, sentence him if you need to, and compensate him if you need to!"

This means he's completely washing his hands of the matter; he'll do whatever he wants. Marriage is fine, but he won't acknowledge the daughter-in-law, and he won't even acknowledge his son.

Grandpa Gu bowed his head, but he held firm to his bottom line—his biggest concession was to ignore everything and pretend he had never had this son.

Gu Yuan looked at his father with surprise, then at Su Wanqing, his eyes filled with disbelief. He had been hiding in the village for more than half a year, so he had naturally heard about Su Wanqing's deeds. But he never expected that she had so much influence that even his own father, who was usually so stubborn, would give her some face.

Although his father still doesn't acknowledge it, at least he's not objecting anymore. Once this matter is over, he can try to persuade his father for another year or two, using both gentle and firm approaches, and maybe his father will relent.

Wait a minute—Gui Xiang is Dr. Su's mother-in-law, so wouldn't he become Dr. Su's father-in-law? And wouldn't that mean they'd have another son?

He couldn't help but take another look at Gui Xiang's son, Zhou Yanshen. With sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, he had a dignified and imposing presence. Standing there, he was like a pine tree. He had a resemblance to Gui Xiang in his features and was indeed quite handsome.

He liked this son who was only a little over ten years younger than him. Even if his father disowned him, he could still become a live-in son-in-law. After all, what kind of storms hadn't Gu Yuan weathered in his life?

Liu Shuqing was satisfied with Old Master Gu's attitude, then cautiously asked Su Wanqing and Zhou Yanshen, "You two have seen the situation; it is indeed quite complicated. Your uncle is right, this matter needs to be discussed. What do you think?"

To be honest, Liu Shuqing herself didn't approve of Gu Yuan and Zhou's mother's relationship. One was in his thirties, and the other was in her forties, a significant age gap. Not only that, Old Master Gu disapproved of the woman's age, saying she was almost a grandmother; Uncle Ding disliked the man's family background, calling him a penniless gigolo with a six-year-old son. The two were simply not a good match, and neither family was satisfied.

Su Wanqing thoroughly enjoyed the gossip along the way, but she really needed to think carefully about whether she would have an extra father in the future.

To be fair, Aunt Wen and Grandpa Gu are both good people. Next year, once they're exonerated and return to the city, they'll be big shots. But if Zhou's mother really marries Gu Yuan, Grandpa Gu will definitely disown his son. Wouldn't Gu Yuan have to live with Zhou's mother from now on?

Su Wanqing's head throbbed at the thought. Having Zhou's mother, that troublesome woman, was already bad enough; she was always putting on airs and nitpicking. Now, with a father-in-law whose true nature was impossible to fathom… she feared her days would never be peaceful.

She glanced at Gu Zhixing; the boy had been unusually calm since he entered, without a trace of the panic a child should have. A six-year-old standing there like a little adult—his reaction was far too abnormal.

If Gu Zhixing is added to the mix, wouldn't she have another stepbrother?

Forget all that nonsense, whether Zhou's mother and Gu Yuan get married or not is actually unimportant. As long as it doesn't affect her and Zhou Yanshen. After returning to the city, she doesn't plan to live with Zhou's mother; she'll live with whoever she wants.

But in order to maintain her good image, Su Wanqing still considerately pulled Zhou Yanshen along, looking obedient and sensible: "Yanshen, what do you think about this? After all, you are the one involved, and your opinion is the most important."

She wouldn't be foolish enough to interfere in her mother-in-law's marriage. Regardless of the outcome, if anything happened later, she would be held responsible.

Zhou Yan took a deep breath, gripped Su Wanqing's hand tightly, and looked at her slightly protruding belly.

He raised his head, looked at Zhou's mother, and said calmly, "Mother, Wanqing is pregnant, with her third child. I have to focus all my energy on taking care of her and the baby, and I don't have the energy to deal with anything else. As a junior, I have no right to interfere in your affairs."

"If you are getting married, you will have your own family and support system, and you will no longer need us. In order not to affect Wanqing and the child's future life, and to avoid conflicts between the two families, please forgive me for not being able to continue living under the same roof with you."

"Of course, if you don't get married, we'll continue as before, living our lives the same way."

Su Wanqing's eyes lit up, and she secretly cheered! Zhou Yanshen's words were well-chosen; he had fulfilled his duty while clearly defining the boundaries. She had long wanted to kick Zhou's mother out and live her own life, but Zhou's mother was, after all, her mother-in-law, and she couldn't say it outright. Now, if Zhou's mother could go with someone else, that would be perfect—it would be fine in the countryside, but once she returned to the city to have the baby, it would be inconvenient to get involved again.

Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother's face immediately lit up with a smile. "I don't want to take care of your child! I've long since grown tired of living with you two—you two shake the bed every night, keeping me up at night. It's better if we don't live together anymore. I'll stay with Gu Yuan, it'll be peaceful and quiet!"

Zhou Yanshen's expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard anything.

Su Wanqing's lips twitched—this Zhou's mother is really something, how could she say such a thing in public?

Uncle Ding glared at his sister, thinking she was completely out of her mind. She didn't even care about her own son's child? Didn't she realize that if she didn't care about her grandson now, who would care for her when she got old?