Chapter 153: The Will

Su Zheng frowned as he took in the sight inside the storage room.

Following closely behind, Chen Muxue switched on the lights from memory. When she caught sight of the figure lying on the folding camp bed in the corner, her mind went blank and she let out a sharp cry of shock.

"Grandma! Grandma, why are you here? Grandma, wake up! Muxue is here to see you!"

With that, she stumbled forward, rushing to the side of the camp bed.

Su Zheng followed behind, his brow furrowed deeply at the miserable scene before them.

The camp bed was merely covered with a mildewed and blackened cotton mattress, and the elderly woman lying upon it was none other than Old Mrs. Chen.

At this moment, Old Mrs. Chen's complexion was ashen and sallow, her lips covered entirely in blisters. Her aged eyes were tightly shut, and her entire body trembled unconsciously. She was breathing heavily, taking in far more air than she let out!

At this rate, had they arrived even a little later, the old woman might have breathed her last breath altogether...

"Mom!..."

Chen Jianguo and his wife rushed in shortly after. Seeing Old Mrs. Chen, who had changed so drastically in such a short time that she was almost unrecognizable, they cried out in anguish, their faces filled with heartache and anxiety.

They hurried forward, clasping the old woman's ice-cold hands, hardly believing that this was real.

How could this be?

Although advanced in age, the old woman had always enjoyed robust health. Above all, even if she had fallen ill, how could she possibly have been kept in such a filthy, dilapidated place?!

"Chen Xiong! You bastard! Mom always doted on you so much, and this is how you treat our mother? Are you even human?!"

In a rare outburst of fury, Chen Jianguo stared at his mother's miserable state, feeling as though his heart were bleeding. He roared uncontrollably, and had Lü Hongmei not held him back, he would have rushed right out to fight Chen Xiong to the death!

"Dad! Save Grandma first, we can deal with everything else later!"

Chen Muxue's voice was cold and clear. Filled with extraordinary anger at this moment, she had the urge to march right up and slap that eldest uncle of hers twice across the face!

"Su Zheng, I beg you, no matter what, please save Grandma, okay? I know Grandma hasn't been good to you in the past, but for my sake, please save her!"

Chen Muxue turned around, pleading sincerely with Su Zheng.

Su Zheng waved a hand. "Muxue, I'm not that petty. Even if you hadn't said anything, I would have stepped in. Turn on all the lights first. I need to examine her condition—hurry!"

Hearing this, Chen Muxue did not dare to delay, hurriedly rushing to the wall to switch on every single light.

With a calm expression, Su Zheng reached out to feel the pulse at the old woman's neck, then checked her pulse at the wrist before speaking in a calm tone:

"Rest assured, the old lady is merely suffering from extreme exhaustion and does not have any serious underlying illness. However, because she has gone without food for many days, coupled with an excessive buildup of melancholy, she will need me to regulate her condition with acupuncture. After a few more days of rest, she will recover!"

"That's wonderful! Su Zheng, everything depends on you this time!"

Chen Jianguo breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, casting a grateful look toward Su Zheng.

The storage room was hardly a suitable environment for acupuncture. With Chen Jianguo personally carrying the old woman on his back, the group returned to the front hall, found a clean room, and gently laid her down on the bed.

"Go and prepare a box of silver needles for me, along with some hot water. Make it fast!"

Su Zheng said calmly while massaging the old woman's limbs.

Not daring to waste a single second, Chen Jianguo and his wife hurried out of the room.

They quickly returned with a box of silver needles and had the servants deliver a basin of hot water.

As soon as he stepped back inside, Chen Jianguo said bitterly:

"Hmph! One of them got away, but it doesn't matter. I've already locked that father and son pair up. Once Mother's health is restored, we'll let her deal with them!"

Su Zheng said nothing, merely offering a faint smile.

As for Chen Xiong and Chen Peng, father and son, he had not intended to deal with them ruthlessly. Otherwise, given everything the pair had done, Su Zheng would have wiped them out long ago!

Picking up a silver needle, Su Zheng fell silent for a brief moment before beginning the procedure.

This was the first time Chen Jianguo and his wife had ever witnessed Su Zheng performing acupuncture. Watching his dazzling, skillful technique, they gradually became mesmerized.

Afterward, the couple exchanged glances, both harboring a trace of shock.

This good-for-nothing son-in-law seemed to possess genuine talent in medicine after all. Just by reading a few medical books, he had actually mastered acupuncture!

Yet they still harbored lingering anxieties, terrified that Su Zheng's acupuncture might prove ineffective, and eagerly yearned for the old woman to wake up as soon as possible.

Twenty minutes or so passed by. Su Zheng withdrew the silver needles one by one, then motioned for Chen Muxue to moisten a towel with hot water and apply a warm compress to the old woman's forehead.

Another ten minutes elapsed. Under the hopeful gazes of Chen Jianguo and his wife, Old Mrs. Chen finally showed signs of movement.

"Uh... Where... Where am I?"

"Mom! You're awake!"

"Grandma..."

Chen Jianguo, his wife, and Chen Muxue hurried to the bedside, looking at the emaciated old woman with heartache as they called out softly.

"Jianguo? Muxue? Why... why are you here?"

For a moment, Old Mrs. Chen had not fully regained her bearings, asking weakly with a dazed expression.

"Mom, tonight we..."

Chen Jianguo quickly began to explain in a gentle voice, holding his mother's icy hand with profound anguish in his heart.

"Good! Good! Excellent!"

The old woman repeated the word three times while tremblingly reaching down beneath the cotton mattress on the bed.

"Mom, don't move around yet, let me get it for you."

Chen Jianguo quickly pressed down on the old woman's hand, helping her retrieve an envelope from beneath the blackened cotton bedding.

"What is this..."

He was filled with deep suspicion, failing to understand what the old woman meant by this.

"My will... Alas... This old woman was blind. Muxue, my good granddaughter, you've suffered these past few years..."

Making a difficult turn of her head, Old Mrs. Chen looked at Chen Muxue with genuine sincerity, murmuring with profound remorse.

"Grandma, don't get too excited. Nursing your health back is more important than anything else. No matter how much I've suffered... it's nothing compared to the suffering you've endured!"

Tears welled up in Chen Muxue's eyes as she spoke emotionally.

The old woman's words stirred her heart with a mix of agitation and heartache. Looking at the frail, bone-thin elder, her chest felt as though it were stuffed with cotton, making it difficult to breathe.

"Right, we can look at the will later. Mom, your health is paramount right now. We will respect whatever decision you've made; no matter how the will is written, we won't have any objections."

Chen Jianguo also spoke earnestly at this moment.

Hearing this, tears spilled over the corners of the old woman's eyes. Ever since she fell ill, she had been consumed by intense regret.

In stark contrast to the attitude of Chen Jianguo's family now, just a few days after she took to her bed with illness, Chen Xiong's family had bared their true colors!

First came the cold remarks, followed by the confiscation of her cell phone and all tools for communicating with the outside world. Then they restricted her personal freedom, locking her inside the room every single day and forbidding her from stepping outside.

Even worse, although the old woman had fallen ill out of anger, had she been promptly treated at a hospital, she likely would have recovered swiftly. However, Chen Xiong showed zero enthusiasm in that regard; the doctors he brought in were either utterly incompetent or self-proclaimed quacks from parts unknown, and the medicines prescribed were completely ineffective, causing the old woman's physical condition to deteriorate day by day.

During the final stretch, she had fallen unconscious for periods of time every single day due to sheer weakness, inflicting severe damage upon her body.