The Traitor (6)

Xiu Ling rocked Lin Xi who was sleeping soundly in her lap. There were so many things on the woman's mind lately that she had not been catching on the events of the world. She did not know of the latest scandal that surrounded her best friend. It was the reason why Xiu Ling had not called to ask about her friend yet. She simply had too many things to deal with on her own plate.

Xiu Ling lowered her head to looking at her sleeping son. The young boy's facial features had started to settle in. The curves and lines on his face had gotten more pronounced. As the days went by, Xiu Ling had the impression that Lin Xi looked more and more like his father, which was not such a bad thing. Despite his personality flaw, Xiu Ling had to admit that Lin Kang was undeniably a good looking man. She was glad that her son would have her father's good genes at least in terms of looks.

Xiu Ling really did not know how she was going to face her husband. The man had not breathed a single word with regards to his indecent proposition towards Joann. Xiu Ling assumed it was because he did not care about her enough to give her an explanation.

After all, the man had proven many times before how much of an unfeeling person he could be.

Little did Xiu Ling know, Lin Kang actually desperately wanted to explain the situation to her but he did not know how. Apology was not something that was in the man's vocabulary. After all, he needn't apologize to anyone in his life before and he had not come across anyone worth explaining himself towards. In other words, he did not know how to begin.

Therefore, he carried on like nothing was out of the ordinary, like nothing had happened. The lack of explanation irked Xiu Ling and it did nothing to help his case.

If only there was something or someone who could help him communicate his thoughts to his wife without the trouble of needing him to voice them out...

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to Lin Xi's bedroom. One of the maids pushed the door and told Xiu Ling, "Young miss, the madam wishes to see you. She is waiting for you in the dining room."

"Okay, thank you for the information," Xiu Ling replied. The maid nodded and returned to her work.

As Xiu Ling placed Lin Xi back into his crib, she wondered what this could be about. Ever since the incident with the sprained ankle, even though Mrs. Lin had not technically warmed up to Xiu Ling, at least her mother-in-law had stopped finding trouble with her.

Xiu Ling wondered what her mother-in-law wanted to talk to her about. It was rare for Mrs. Lin to summon her like this. Even though things were not as icy as before, Xiu Ling could not help but worry as she went down the stairs to the dining room.

Mrs. Lin was seated at the dining table alone. The helpers probably had been asked to vacate the room because the maids that normally bustled in the nearby kitchen were nowhere to be seen.

An item that sat on the table immediately caught Xiu Ling's attention. She could recognize it at first glance as the picture frame that was from her mother-in-law's bedroom. Xiu Ling's brows creased with contemplation. Why would Mrs. Lin bring that with her?

"Xiu Ling, you're here. Take a seat." Mrs. Lin noticed her daughter-in-law's entrance and waved at the empty seat across from her.

Xiu Ling nodded in response and moved to oblige.

After she was seated, Mrs. Lin began, "Xiu Ling, I called you here because I wished to talk to you about something that I forgot to finish last time. Remember you asked me about the vanity table in my bedroom before?"

Xiu Ling nodded cautiously, she was unsure where her mother-in-law was going with this. Mrs. Lin had explained aplenty about that vanity table last time so Xiu Ling wondered what else was left unsaid. Could there be more family history that she did not know about? Was this going to be another look into the history of Lin family?

Either way, she was going to find out soon enough. Xiu Ling sat there patiently waiting for Mrs. Lin to pick up the thread of conversation.

"Xiu Ling, I'm sure by now you have noticed I do not share an amiable relationship with my mother-in-law. Our relationship was frosty at best," Mrs. Lin admitted with no preamble. The declaration shocked Xiu Ling but not the content. Her mother-in-law was right, she had deduced as much from the way Mrs. Lin spoke of her mother-in-law. There was definitely no love lost there.

Xiu Ling though was cautious to admit to that knowledge. She was afraid this might be another set-up by Mrs. Lin.

Mrs. Lin looked at her and smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not ashamed of that fact. I know they say to not speak ill of the dead but Lin Kang's grandmother can be quite an abrasive person to be around. While I am afraid of others knowing this since they might think less of me but I don't mind sharing my history at this family with you."

Xiu Ling was surprised by what Mrs. Lin had said, because this meant Mrs. Lin saw Xiu Ling as someone close enough that she could share this secret with.

"Some things are easier to understand between women," Mrs. Lin added.

Xiu Ling nodded even though she still had no idea why her mother-in-law would suddenly bring this up, but at least this did not look like it was going to be a lecture or a confrontation.

"Anyway, I digress." Mrs. Lin realized she had wandered too far from her original topic of conversation, which was the vanity table. "When my mother-in-law passed away, I ordered the men to have all of her things donated or burned."