As they heard the child's sincere words, even Lu Chongshan and Yan Ruyi were suddenly tongue-tied.
Lu Jingli was so touched that he was about to cry. He murmured, "Father, Mother, I didn't want to say anything, but sometimes your lines of thought are too stubborn, especially Father's. Why do you always have to view others with prejudiced lenses? Even though I can understand that once bitten, twice shy, but you can't paint everyone with the same brush, can you?"
"You punk, keep quiet. What do you know?!" Lu Chongshan scolded his son, then he looked at Lu Tingxiao. "Tingxiao, come out with me for a while!"
Lu Jingli immediately gave his brother a reassuring look.
Lu Tingxiao stroked Little Treasure's forehead, then he said to Ning Xi, "I'm going out for a moment."
"Mmm."
In the empty corridor.
Lu Chongshan's face was covered with dark clouds. "Tingxiao, are you like Jingli? Do you think I'm stubborn and unreasonable?"
Lu Tingxiao grunted, "Mmm."
Lu Chongshan was speechless. He was so enraged that he almost could not catch his breath.
"Father, all your worries, prejudice, and dissatisfaction with Ning Xi is just because you are worried at such a critical period. If I make one wrong move, it'll cause the destruction of the entire Lu family," said Lu Tingxiao.
In reality, Lu Chongshan and Yan Ruyi had previously been much warmer towards Ning Xi, but because of this incident, their attitudes had returned to the previous nerve-wracking times, thus, settling this matter was the root of the problem.
Lu Chongshan's expression softened. "At long last, you still have some rationality."
"Within seven days, I'll settle everything," promised Lu Tingxiao.
"Seven days?" Lu Chongshan almost laughed out of anger. Even if he had always been proud of this son, to handle that huge a monster with such a deep background was being a little overconfident.
"Put aside whether you'll be able to achieve your promise or not. Even if everything is settled, how are you going to explain today's incident? How are you going to prove that she didn't poison Little Treasure? I've just asked Xing Wu to check. There're surveillance cameras at home and in school. In this period of time, there were no suspicious persons who had been in contact with Little Treasure's meal. The only person who could have done anything was her!
"I don't need to go into how an environment affects a person. You understand that too, so I won't even mention how growing up in barren hills and wild rivers would've affected her. The Ning family was willing to keep the foster daughter rather than acknowledge her back then. They even sent her far away abroad. Aren't you a little suspicious at all? Apart from the fact that she wasn't presentable, was there possibly an even more unbearable truth behind?
"More and more of such things are emerging in the circle. How many hedonistic sons of rich parents were sent abroad just to conceal the embarrassment? How can I feel at ease in letting her be Little Treasure's mother or the future head lady of our Lu family when she comes from such a background? Just on the basis of that dispensable bloodline with the Zhuang family? Can you be sure of her moral character that she won't hurt Little Treasure?"
Lu Chongshan cared most about these things and today's incident had clearly triggered his initially weak nerves again, causing all of his repressed dissatisfaction and worries to burst out again.
Lu Tingxiao enunciated word for word, "Firstly, I'll fulfill my promise. Secondly, when that happens, I'll tell you the truth about everything too. Thirdly, as for your concern about Xiao Xi's character, time will tell and you've always rejected and repelled trying to get to know her. Simply based on your so-called 'speculation', how would you know how she's really like?"
Lu Chongshan pinched his brows and did not say anything. Moments later, he said, "Okay, since you say I'm prejudiced, then I'll give her a chance!"