Free Web NovelChapter 253: Chapter 253: Formal Lawsuit
That’s right, Grandma Cui’s family had been completely in the dark.
Cui Yun had told her that someone was pursuing her and would be coming to propose marriage.
But she was too shy to say much, so she had only given Grandma Cui a heads-up.
Neither Grandma Cui nor the rest of the family knew Mo Jianjun’s name, so when Tang Yuanxiao came to propose, they assumed he was the one.
Later, after Cui Yun died giving birth to Little Tang Mo, she was overcome with grief, but she never had the slightest suspicion. ƒrēewebnovel.com
All these years had passed. Who could have imagined the truth would suddenly come out like this?
Upon hearing the news, Grandma Cui was completely stunned.
And after the shock wore off, she collapsed.
Because of her collapse, Grandma Cui’s visit to the hospital was delayed by a day.
She arrived shortly after Tang Yuanxiao had left, just as Su Li was finishing up with the documents in the folder.
"Su Li..." Grandma Cui appeared at the doorway, half-supported and half-carried by Cui Yun’s younger sister, Cui Jiaren. She barely managed to say the name before tears streamed down her aged face.
"Aunt Cui," Su Li said, rushing to help her.
"How is Little Mo? Little Mo..." Grandma Cui shuffled toward the hospital bed.
"He just fell asleep... oh, he’s awake now." Seeing Little Tang Mo open his eyes, Su Li quickly said, "Little Mo, look who’s here!"
"Grandma’s here to see you." Together, Su Li and Cui Jiaren helped the old woman to a seat by the bed.
With a trembling hand, Grandma Cui reached out to touch Little Tang Mo’s face. "How did you get so thin... Oh, Little Mo..."
She grasped his hand, sobbing uncontrollably.
Little Tang Mo didn’t pull his hand away, but he furrowed his brow and refused to look at her.
"Mom, don’t cry. You’ll scare Little Mo," Cui Jiaren said, turning to Su Li with an apologetic smile as she tried to comfort her mother.
Grandma Cui nodded, doing her best to stifle her sobs.
"Little Mo, do you remember your Auntie Jiaren?" Cui Jiaren asked softly.
Little Tang Mo didn’t react much.
While he had always known about Grandma Cui, he hadn’t been in the Imperial City for long and had only seen Cui Jiaren a few times. They weren’t very familiar.
He was a bit closer to Grandma Cui, who had looked after him for a few days before.
Cui Jiaren tried saying a few more things to Little Tang Mo, but he remained unresponsive.
"He’s not feeling well right now, so he isn’t very responsive to people," Su Li explained from the side, stroking his head.
"Little Mo, Grandma and Auntie Jiaren are here to see you. Aren’t you happy? How about you sit up and have some water?"
Hearing Su Li’s voice, Little Tang Mo finally showed a flicker of a reaction.
He still didn’t speak, but he sat up and obediently drank some water.
"He’s still closer to you..." Watching from the side, Grandma Cui felt a complicated mix of emotions.
Since they had arrived around lunchtime, Grandma Cui and Cui Jiaren had brought lunch with them.
The group ate together in the hospital room.
After the meal, Grandma Cui’s energy began to wane.
"Mom, why don’t you lie down on the bed and rest for a while?" Cui Jiaren urged her mother.
Not wanting to leave just yet, Grandma Cui agreed and lay down.
Because Little Tang Mo’s IV drip had been interrupted earlier by Tang Yuanxiao, Su Li had a nurse start a new one after they finished eating.
Before long, both Grandma Cui and Little Tang Mo had drifted off to sleep.
The room grew quiet. Cui Jiaren and Su Li went to the doorway to speak in low voices.
"My mom wore out her body when she was young, so her health was never great. Then my dad had his accident, and my sister... Her health got even worse. After her last illness, her mind became even weaker. She’s always forgetting things..."
Cui Jiaren looked at her mother and sighed deeply. "A friend of mine told me to take her to the hospital for a check-up, but Mom never wants to go."
"Is it serious?" Su Li asked.
Cui Jiaren paused for a moment. "What?"
"The forgetfulness, is it serious?" Su Li clarified.
She was particularly sensitive to this. Due to old habits, whenever she heard about an elderly person being forgetful, her mind immediately jumped to Alzheimer’s disease.
Cui Jiaren nodded. "A little. She’s always been a bit like that, but it was manageable. It’s gotten much worse recently. I’m worried she’s developing some kind of senile dementia." frёeωebɳovel.com
"It would be best to see a doctor as soon as possible," Su Li advised.
Su Li knew that Grandma Cui’s mental state had declined after she was infected with dengue fever. She had thought it had improved recently, but now it seemed to be even worse.
"Yeah." Cui Jiaren nodded, then gave Su Li an embarrassed smile.
"I’m so sorry. This is the first time we’ve met, and here I am, telling you all this."
She had taken over Grandma Cui’s job as an accountant. Between work and caring for her mother, the pressure was already immense. Hearing this news so suddenly had thrown her into a panic.
Her mother had fainted yesterday and only woke up this morning. Then they came here and saw Little Tang Mo in this state...
Looking at Su Li, Cui Jiaren found herself confiding all of this without even realizing it.
’Even though I’m older than her,’ Cui Jiaren thought, wiping her face.
"Su Li, are the rumors true?"
Su Li pursed her lips. "Very likely. But it’s also a fifty-fifty situation."
Cui Jiaren let out a breath. "I thought about it yesterday. Little Mo is my sister’s child. I... We, the Cui family, will raise him."
After what Mrs. Tang did, and with Tang Yuanxiao not being Little Tang Mo’s biological father, Cui Jiaren had no intention of leaving the child with him.
Both Grandma Cui and Cui Jiaren wanted to take Little Tang Mo in and raise him themselves.
As his biological grandmother and aunt, their claim to raise him would be the least controversial from any perspective.
But ideals are one thing, and reality is often cruel.
Grandma Cui was old, her health was deteriorating, and her memory loss made it difficult for her to even care for herself. She was completely unfit to raise Little Tang Mo.
Of her two sons, the elder one already had four children and was also caring for the paralyzed Grandpa Cui at home. The pressure was already immense; there was no way he could take in Little Tang Mo.
The younger son’s family had only two children, but his wife was a formidable woman and refused to accept Little Tang Mo.
The younger son was afraid of his wife, and she called all the shots at home.
As for Cui Jiaren, she had the desire, but she was already engaged. Even if she wanted to raise him, it was completely unrealistic. Her fiancé’s family wouldn’t agree to it either.
Her only other option was to break off her engagement, become a spinster, and spend her life looking after her mother and Little Tang Mo.
But how could Grandma Cui allow that? She couldn’t choose between her children. She had already lost Cui Yun; she couldn’t let her younger daughter’s life be ruined as well.
Little Tang Mo’s circumstances were special, and this would be true whether he was well or not.
He was so bright—skipping to the third grade at age six, called a little genius by his teachers. His future was destined to be different.
He wasn’t the kind of child you could just feed and clothe. To raise him like that would be to hold him back.
But to nurture him properly? That would require a great deal of energy and money, things they couldn’t possibly afford.
There was far too much for Grandma Cui to consider.
The more she thought about it, the heavier her heart grew, and the more unrealistic it all seemed.
After Grandma Cui went home that day, she tossed and turned all night. When she returned to the hospital the next day, she was at a loss for words when facing Su Li.
"Su Li, what’s going to happen to Little Mo?"
Grandma Cui found it difficult to speak. Seeing her expression, Su Li took her hand.
"Aunt Cui, Little Mo will get better. I want to raise him. I will raise him."
Grandma Cui looked into Su Li’s clear, sincere eyes, overwhelmed with both shame and gratitude, and burst into tears.
After Grandma Cui left, Su Li went with her lawyer to submit the prepared documents to the court, formally suing Mrs. Tang for child abuse and attempted murder.
