After tidying everything up and arranging to return for the third seven-day mourning period, Tian Jing's family of over a dozen people left in two seven-seater cars.
Li Weili, Li Weiyu, and Chen An went first to the Northern Province for handover, then to the capital for another handover, which would take time.
Li Weibo accompanied his wife back to see her mother. The couple then left with Li Weili.
The Li family's quadrangle courtyard was empty.
Damai watched the departing seven-seater cars with tear-filled eyes. It was over, a harmonious and loving family, dispersed.
Li Min took the key to the old Chen family courtyard. Seeing Zhou Chengbina and Xiaomai standing at the entrance, she turned away coldly, pretending not to see them.
Xiaomai grinned at Li Min, "Auntie, Yu Lin has probably been taken by his grandmother to play somewhere again. The gate is locked. Do you have the key?"
Li Min frowned, glancing at Zhou Chengbina, who was secretly bowing to her behind Xiaomai.
Zhou Chengbina pointed to his head, then to Xiaomai's head.
Li Min stared at Xiaomai's smile in surprise. Was she crazy?
"Auntie, open the door."
Xiaomai urged Li Min, "I still need to get Yu Lin's clothes to wash."
As soon as Li Min opened the courtyard gate, Xiaomai pulled Zhou Chengbina inside, "Hurry, hurry, if mother-in-law comes back and sees us entering without permission, she'll surely pout."
"Huh? Why is it empty? Mom? Dad? Yu Lin?"
Seeing the empty main hall, Xiaomai searched anxiously, "Chengbina, where did Dad and Mom go? Where is Yu Lin?"
"Xiaomai."
Zhou Chengbina stopped his anxious wife and coaxed her, "They took Yu Lin to the county town to live for a while. They said to give us time and space to conceive."
"That's right!"
Xiaomai clapped her hands, "I remember. Do we really want a second child? Will you be removed from your post?"
"No."
Zhou Chengbina, with red eyes, coaxed her, "There are many unplanned births in Kushan. I've already prepared the fines. We'll have another daughter, okay?"
"A daughter?"
Xiaomai frowned, "Daughters aren't good. We're not considered handsome, so she definitely won't be as pretty as Xuanxuan. Let's have a son instead."
Zhou Chengbina nodded, "Okay, we'll have a son. Let's go home."
"Mm."
Xiaomai agreed and waved goodbye to Li Min, "Auntie, we're going home."
Li Min was not in the mood to tidy the old courtyard. She ran to find her elder brother and sister-in-law.
Ouyang Meihua sighed inwardly.
The fact that Yu Lin had caused their mother's death was an unsolvable knot in the hearts of all the Li family members.
No matter what happened to Xiaomai, no matter what happened to Yu Lin and Yu Fei, this knot would always remain.
Li Liguo felt the most guilt. If he hadn't brought his two daughters back to the Li family, their mother wouldn't have met such an end...
Looking at her husband, who had fallen into grief again, Ouyang Meihua gestured to Li Min, signaling her to go outside to talk.
In the courtyard, Ouyang Meihua said, "Don't tell your elder brother about Xiaomai's situation anymore. These days, he hasn't slept. After the third seven-day mourning period, we'll leave."
Li Min nodded, "I've also packed my bags. I never thought I'd leave Kushan to live... Alas! I'm going back."
Looking at her sister-in-law's slightly hunched back, Ouyang Meihua rubbed her eyes sadly. The good times were gone forever...
At the specialized training team.
After settling in, Tian Jing personally removed the gauze from her granddaughter's face.
Busy with her mother-in-law's funeral during these past few days, she hadn't forgotten her granddaughter's injury. The next day, she had her granddaughter discharged from the hospital, explaining to the hospital that she was taking her granddaughter to the capital for treatment...
On her delicate and beautiful face, unless one looked closely, it was difficult to see the faint white healing marks.
Tian Jing asked her granddaughter, who was looking in the mirror, "How is it compared to your dream?"
"Much better."
Li Sixuan nodded, "Now, there are almost no traces. However, I'll still wrap it with gauze for now. I'll also wear a mask in the future, claiming I'm disfigured. I don't want my appearance to be coveted anymore."
Tian Jing agreed, "It's a good way to test Mai Xingyang."
Li Sixuan was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "Grandma, I only feel gratitude towards Mai Xingyang, not love. But I know that only power can protect my beauty. If I have to choose someone, I will only consider Mai Xingyang."
Tian Jing rubbed her granddaughter's head, "Don't think too much. If there's no feeling, don't force yourself. Grandma can protect you. When Grandma is gone, your uncle will also protect you."
"Mm."
Li Sixuan smiled through tears, "I won't be foolish anymore."
...
The day before the third seven-day mourning period, Tian Jing and Li Zhengguo returned with their children and grandchildren.
After more than ten days away, the quadrangle courtyard looked a little desolate.
As the Li family tidied the rooms, Sister-in-law Niu came to find Tian Jing.
"Tiantian, are you not coming back anymore?"
Tian Jing beckoned Sister-in-law Niu to sit in the living room, "Occasionally. If you need anything, call me. I'll help if I can."
Sister-in-law Niu nodded. Her family's affairs were trivial. Her second sibling's family, because of the incident with Xiao Shan and Xiao Jiang, had caused her maiden family to lose money, and all contact had been severed.
Xiao Shan and Xiao Jiang had won the lawsuit to protect their reputation, but it had still had a significant impact. They had failed their college entrance exams and were now working as laborers.
She hoped her family could live in harmony and avoid any more trouble.
She hadn't expected to need to ask Tian Jing for help until today:
"Xiaomai has gone mad, do you know?"
Tian Jing was stunned for a moment, then shook her head, "This is probably the best outcome for her."
"Alas!"
Sister-in-law Niu sighed, "Every day she searches for Yu Lin in the village, only remembering Yu Lin as a child, not Yu Fei."
"Chengbina follows her every day, accompanying her. Who knows how long he can endure?"
Tian Jing remained silent.
She doesn't remember Yu Fei?
Perhaps, she shouldn't have advised Xiaomai to have a second child. At least, Yu Lin would have no one to instigate him...
"Grandma, Grandma."
Xiaomai ran in. She first rushed into the kitchen, but seeing no one there, she ran into the living room and complained to Tian Jing, "Little Aunt, where did you and Little Uncle go? I couldn't find you anywhere."
"Grandma isn't home either, Grandpa and Grandma aren't home, and Yu Lin isn't home. It's very strange."
As she spoke, Xiaomai scratched her already messy hair.
Tian Jing looked at Zhou Chengbina behind Xiaomai, "Take her to see."
Zhou Chengbina's gaze fell on his wife, who had a smiling face, "I'd rather she be like this."
Tian Jing said calmly, "Your lives have decades ahead. You'll get tired. By then, it will be too late."
Zhou Chengbina shook his head, "It's better to be physically tired than mentally tired. If she were lucid, she would definitely divorce me. Where could she go after a divorce?"
"In this state, she has no burdens and no pain. It's best."
"Little Aunt."
Xiaomai, seeing Tian Jing ignore her, grabbed Tian Jing's wrist and shook it, "Where did Grandma go?"
Looking at her relatively clean hands on her wrist, Tian Jing's gaze shifted to Xiaomai's eyes, "Your Grandma has gone to a very far place, and she will never come back. Don't look for her. Go home with Chengbina."
"Very far?"
Xiaomai scratched her head, "Farther than the capital?"
"Yes!"
Tian Jing nodded, "So far that there's no way back. Go home."
Xiaomai looked at Zhou Chengbina. Zhou Chengbina extended his hand to her, "Let's go home and cook."
"Okay."
Xiaomai hesitated for a moment, then let go of Tian Jing and placed her hand in Zhou Chengbina's.
Watching the backs of the couple as they left, Sister-in-law Niu sighed, "He seems good now, but who knows how long he can keep this up? He's not alone."
Tian Jing just shook her head and said nothing. Xiaomai's current state meant Zhou Chengbina was the primary guardian, followed by her parents. It had nothing to do with her.