"Mom, are you thinking about how lively Han Jun's wedding was today?" Han Tao placed a cup of jujube and longan tea in front of Luo Hongjuan.

Luo Hongjuan nodded. "Yes. You don't have a father, and Qiqi doesn't have parents. The scene at your wedding won't be as grand as Han Jun's." They didn't have many relatives to begin with, and even if they did, Luo Hongjuan figured, given the temperaments of her son and daughter-in-law, they wouldn't invite too many guests, which would make the wedding feel a bit sparse.

"Qiqi and I have discussed it. Since we don't have many relatives—just you, Mom, and a few people from Qiqi's aunt's side—we'll just find a scenic spot, get married there, and treat you all to a vacation." Han Tao remembered Wang Qiqi once mentioning that the Maldives would be a nice place for a wedding. Han Tao thought that was a great idea; after all, it would only be a few friends and relatives, and with his current means, covering round-trip airfare and accommodation wouldn't be an issue. "Mom, a wedding isn't about how many people attend. Qiqi and I want a warm, intimate ceremony. Look at Han Jun's wedding—it was practically a cocktail party, and his father-in-law, ugh." By the end, many people were drunk, and the ensuing shameful displays disgusted Han Tao. "I don't want Qiqi's and my wedding to end up like that. Do you, Mom?"

Luo Hongjuan thought back to the chaotic scene at the end of today's banquet and sighed. "You're right. Do whatever you want for your wedding." Her son was grown and had his own ideas, and Qiqi was someone you had to accommodate. Luo Hongjuan understood Qiqi well.

Wang Qiqi brought out the foot bath basin and poured in the hot water, signaling Han Tao that he could start bathing his mother's feet. Luo Hongjuan initially didn't want to, feeling it would waste time, but after the first time, she had grown fond of the ritual, sometimes soaking her feet for half an hour even when home alone. Especially in winter, soaking her feet made her feel warm all the way to her bones when she finally got into bed. Seeing her mother-in-law embrace foot-soaking, Wang Qiqi would sometimes add medicinal herbs to the water. "Oh, right, I overheard someone from the Ding family today saying that the child inside Ding Meina's belly will take the Ding surname." Honestly, Wang Qiqi was quite surprised too.

"What? Taking the Ding surname?" Luo Hongjuan exclaimed, then lowered her voice when she realized she had spoken too loudly. "Even though the Ding family is wealthy, Han Jun didn't marry into their family, did he?"

Han Tao was first surprised, then chuckled. "Didn't they say the Han family paid a huge bride price to bring this daughter-in-law in?" If the child took the Ding surname, wouldn't that be practically equivalent to Han Jun marrying in? "How could the Han family agree? By the standard arrangement, Han Jun would be the one marrying in, so how could the Ding family have the nerve to demand a bride price?" If Han Jun were marrying into the family, the Ding family should have given the Han family a bride price.

But that wasn't the main point. "I'm the one who married in. The old woman thinks that since there's Han Jun anyway, but if Han Jun is also de facto marrying in..." Han Tao couldn't imagine if the old woman would be furious if, with two grandsons in the family, neither next-generation child carried the Han name. "She'll probably lose sleep trying to figure out how to confess to the ancestors."

Luo Hongjuan shot a look at Han Tao, who was clearly gloating, then turned to Wang Qiqi and asked, "Who else was present when such a big thing was mentioned?" If the Ding family relatives dared to announce it at the wedding banquet, even in a secluded corner, the news would spread. Luo Hongjuan couldn't fathom the Ding family being so careless. If they really intended for Ding Meina's child to take the Ding surname, they should have held that card until after the birth. Announcing it now, what if it reached Xue Hong's ears? Moreover, she was more concerned about something else: "Did anyone notice you at the time?" Luo Hongjuan knew Xue Hong too well; she was never wrong. If someone had seen Wang Qiqi there, Xue Hong would absolutely twist it into Qiqi being jealous and fabricating an unreliable excuse to tarnish her daughter-in-law's reputation.

Wang Qiqi thought for a moment. "There should have been someone, but I didn't recognize them. I left by taking a different path." While this news seemed normal to Wang Qiqi, in the eyes of the Han family, it meant the Ding family was pushing things too far, and she didn't want to get dragged into the mess. "But perhaps the Ding family is just saying that to save face. Today, they clearly married their daughter out; they wouldn't do something so unreasonable." If the terms were agreed upon beforehand that Han Jun was marrying in, there would be no issue.

Han Tao, however, thought the news Wang Qiqi heard was genuine. "The Ding family is rich, and their daughter and son-in-law are clearly useless. It’s perfectly normal for the old man Ding to want to groom his grandson to take over. Besides, he's invested so much effort and property into this child; wanting the child to take the Ding name is understandable. If it were me, I'd agree too. Didn't Xue Hong say the Ding family has tens of millions in assets? The child can always change his surname later." Han Tao was currently focused on whether Xue Hong was involved. He didn't think Han Ximing would agree; he was a dutiful son and wouldn't make such a major decision without consulting the old Mrs. Han. The most likely scenario was that Han Jun and his mother had agreed to it privately.

"No way. If Xue Hong actually agreed to that, your grandmother would curse her to death," Luo Hongjuan thought, wondering if Xue Hong truly had the audacity, but then again, that woman would do anything for money.

"So what if she gets cursed to death? As long as there's money to take," Han Tao admitted that although he hadn't interacted much with Xue Hong, he knew she was motivated by wealth. "Just like Qiqi's uncle, but now the question is whether the person present was a member of the Han family. If it was, then things will get really interesting."

Wang Qiqi didn't find Han Tao's speculation amusing. "What if this blows up? Do you think we'll be spared?" Wang Qiqi didn't believe that old shrew would let her and Han Tao off the hook. "If she isn't coming to cry about how outrageous her grandson handled things, she’ll be crying about the Han family line ending."

Wang Qiqi and Han Tao both hoped the Han family would have a row, but they certainly didn't want it to erupt during the New Year—first, because it was inauspicious, and second, because Han Jun's affairs had nothing to do with them. Fortunately, a few days after the wedding, they hadn't received any calls from the Han family's old residence, which brought them a measure of relief.

Although Luo Hongjuan was fed up with the Han family, she still managed to send some New Year's goods to the old lady before the year ended. When she returned, she smiled brightly at Wang Qiqi and Han Tao, who were engrossed in playing on the computer at home. "Do you know where Han Jun and the others went?"

"To the in-laws'?" Han Tao figured it was almost New Year's, and with Ding Meina heavily pregnant, where could they go for fun in the freezing weather?

"They didn't go traveling, did they?" Wang Qiqi guessed.

"They went to Thailand," Luo Hongjuan said. After holding the old lady and others at the Han family home to complain at length about her grandson's wife's lack of propriety, Luo Hongjuan drew one conclusion: "It seems they took all the cash gifts given by their relatives for the trip." Those were the funds Xue Hong had been counting on to pay off her loan sharks. Now, even the money set aside for debt repayment had been used by the daughter-in-law for a vacation.

"To Thailand?" Wang Qiqi and Han Tao were stunned. They exchanged a look, their minds sharing a single thought: Ding Meina couldn't possibly know the Han family's financial situation, but Han Jun certainly should. Alright, even if he didn't know, the issue was: "Isn't Ding Meina pregnant? Can she handle such a long flight?" What if something went wrong on the plane or during the trip?

"Exactly. Didn't you say Ding Meina's condition wasn't stable after the pregnancy?" Wang Qiqi was shocked. What kind of mother let this happen? If she didn't know she was pregnant, traveling might be excusable, but knowingly traveling while pregnant and unstable—Wang Qiqi found this hard to accept. "If the Han family won't intervene, shouldn't the Ding family step in?"

"The Ding family only just found out their young couple left," Luo Hongjuan found the situation quite amusing. "The Ding family thought they were staying at the Han residence, and the Han family thought the Ding family knew they were traveling because Ding Meina said her parents paid for the tour package."

Han Tao and Wang Qiqi felt that one truly shouldn't apply common sense to judge the intelligence of the Han family. Did they really not bother to call the Ding family to ask why they would book an overseas trip for the young couple, and why the couple hadn't been in daily contact with her parents, simply because the Ding family had money? "It’s a good thing they're traveling, broadening their horizons," Han Tao finally said. "It's just that the money for the loan sharks is a bit precarious." Having borrowed from relatives and now having taken out loans with interest, Han Tao was sure that if the relatives found out Xue Hong had resorted to loan sharks, they would immediately demand repayment, completely ignoring the need to prioritize paying off the high-interest debt first.

"Xue Hong is worried sick now. If you compare her from the wedding day to how she is today, she looks years older," Luo Hongjuan felt Xue Hong deserved it; hadn't she always boasted about being rich? Well, now she was a rich person's mother-in-law. "Besides, she has a wealthy daughter-in-law; her in-laws can just give her some money to clear the debts."

"Would she be willing to give money?" Han Tao thought, judging by Ding Meina's expression, she didn't seem like a generous person. If she were willing to offer money, why would she accept the red envelopes from relatives? Those envelopes were usually meant for the elders. "Mom, try to stay out of their affairs from now on. I think, even setting aside the issue of the child's surname, they'll have plenty of arguments over money in the future."

Luo Hongjuan agreed with that logic. "For this wedding, Xue Hong said she borrowed a hundred thousand in outside debt, not even counting the loan shark money. Just thinking about it gives me a headache." That figure startled Luo Hongjuan. Of course, she didn't know if it was true, but it didn't concern her. Didn't they have a house? They could just sell the house, and the money would be there. (To be continued)