"Xuan Hui! I did not raise you to talk to me this way!" Yang Lina said imposingly as she rose from her seat. "And why are you being so defensive? I merely wanted to have a good talk with her. Can’t I even do that?"

  "Mother, please…… Qin Fei is tired. It’s late and we have-"

  "Hui, it’s not like you don’t know. Our Yang family is prestigious because of our military background. We have a reputation to uphold. I always knew that nothing good can come from the Tang family. Stupidity also runs in that family. What happened at the party tonight proves my point. You should have controlled your wife better and not let her embarrass our family!" she lectured as she approached her son.

  "Do you know why your paternal grandfather had insisted that you marry that Qin Jinghua in the past? Although Qin Jinghua was an illegitimate child, at least she didn’t have a complicated family background. Her background is clean unlike a certain someone. No matter how I look at it, choosing Qin Jinghua would have been the lesser of two evils. For someone who was proud to be related to a family of criminals, how good can she be?"

  By now Yang Lina was already standing in front of Xuan Hui. Her tall frame made her look even more imposing. "Let this be a warning. This will be the last time that I will tolerate this kind of embarrassing behaviour from your wife. Don’t blame me for being heartless when I say that if something like this happens again, you can say goodbye to this marriage. That child in her tummy should be her priority instead of some petty scheming." Yang Lina then pushed Xuan Hui away from Qin Fei.

  "And you, stupid woman," she said authoritatively, making Qin Fei shiver. "You are pregnant with my grandchild and yet you acted carelessly. You lost control, in front of so many people and for what? Your pride? Hmph! Your pride is going to be your downfall one day! Do not make me repeat myself, I WILL NOT tolerate you involving my grandchild in your schemes. Act out of line again, I will kick you out of this family and not even your husband can save you."

  "Are we clear?" Yang Lina said, her gaze was focused on Qin Fei. "Answer me," she commanded, in a stern tone.

  "Yes…… Yes, Mother. It will not happen again," Qin Fei said, swallowing a mouthful of saliva. At this moment, Qin Fei was fighting back her tears which were threatening to fall. Yang Lina was really scary when she is angry.

  When Yang Lina saw how shaken Qin Fei was that she was trembling, her lips turn up into a smile. She had to let the girl know her place in the family. "Oh right……That fashion brand that you are working on, postpone all your plans for now. Since you are about to give birth, you should stay at home and take care of your pregnancy." After saying her piece, Yang Lina turned around and walked away from Qin Fei, towards the chair that she was sitting on earlier.

  "But Mother…… I……"

  "But what?" Yang Lina stopped walking and turned her head slightly so that she could see Qin Fei from her peripheral vision. "Do you have something to say?"

  "I…… No I…… I will do as you say," Qin Fei stuttered before she lowered her head and gritted her teeth, feeling aggrieved. Ever since she was young, everyone treated her like a princess and she was never berated. It was not until she married into the Xuan family that this became a common occurrence. But because she loved Xuan Hui, she silently endured Yang Lina’s harsh treatment for years now.

  Yang Lina was the reason why Qin Fei became so insecure in her marriage. After all, Yang Lina always made it seem like Qin Fei could be easily replaced. She never gave Qin Fei the assurance that every daughter-in-law seek from their mother-in-law.

  On the other hand, Qin Fei was also the type of person who would blame her misfortunes on others. Qin Fei blamed Lily for her intentionally provoking her. How could it be her fault? Who wouldn’t react after being provoked? She just reacting like any normal human would.

  Back at her seat with her legs crossed and sipping her coffee, Yang Lina added, "Also…… it is rather chaotic in the Tang family right now. So it’s better that you stay away from them. I expect you to cut off all communication with them. You are someone related to the Tang family and I don’t want the Yang family to be implicated. I don’t want the media to make any unfounded speculations that the Yang family has been protecting the Tang family."

  "I understand Mother," Qin Fei answered immediately. Yang Lina actually had a point.

  As the Tang family was part of the upper class society in Hong Kong, the media was all over Tang Wei Dong and his illegal use of drugs. After all, it was very newsworthy. The authorities would definitely investigate further and the media would also dig deeper into the Tang family.

  It was only a matter of time that the media discover that Qin Fei, the list actress who was also in the news recently, was actually related to both the Tang and Yang family.

  Everybody knows that the media thrived on selling sensational news and it didn’t matter if the news was just based on assumptions and speculations.

  On the matter of Tang Wei Dong’s drug use, people would naturally be suspicious that this probably wasn’t his first time taking drugs. After all, drugs were addictive and Tang Wei Dong could have been a habitual drug user.

  But this was Tang Wei Dong’s first brush with the law. Does it mean that someone had been protecting Tang Wei Dong all this while? It wouldn’t be farfetch for people to speculate that the Yang family, a prestigious military family in Mainland China might have been protecting the Tang family, because of Qin Fei.

  At the end of the day, such assumptions and speculations doesn’t bode well for the Yang family.

  "Good. Now go to your room. I want to talk to my son in private." Qin Fei nodded like an obedient daughter-in-law. Qin Fei was already used to being bossed and ordered around by Yang Lina. Even though Xuan Hui would try to defend her at the beginning, he would still cower in front of his mother in the end. Xuan Hui didn’t have the courage to stand against his mother all the way to the end.

  Even so, Qin Fei never once complained against Yang Lina’s treatment. From the start, she knew that Yang Lina was not going to be easy to get along with. But she loved Xuan Hui and couldn’t live without him. No one forced her to marry Xuan Hui, it was her choice. She was already resigned to Yang Lina’s treatment of her. But Qin Fei still held out some hope that Xuan Hui would be able to protect her.

  A single tear made its way down her cheeks as she climbed up the stairs and made her way to her room. Xuan Hui might have spoiled her and given her everything that she wanted, but he still could not stand up against his mother. For some reason, Qin Fei always feared that Xuan Hui would abandon her one day because of his mother’s orders. This thinking even made her even more paranoid of what is to come.

  Qin Fei slowly opened the door of their room and sat on the couch near their king sized bed. She then stroke her tummy as tears continued to pour down her cheeks. Now, Yang Lina told her to abandon the Tang family and she easily agreed to appease her mother-in-law. What if Yang Lina would demand for her to abandon her own mother? Would she do it too?

  And was it really worth it? Is everything even worth it?

  Editor: Swaning