13 Mingke Street

Chapter 66 Protecting

"You doing this is not appropriate."Upon hearing Dis's words, Karen shrugged and said:"I think it's possible to consider it from a family perspective, but there is one problem. Aunt and Chris don't know the differences between our family and others, maybe just that our living conditions are better.They don't know that the phrase 'go die' is not just something said in anger, but can actually be carried out. The most important thing is that after it's carried out, we can do it without any burden or impact."

Dis took a sip of tea and said, "Do you know why I asked your uncle to involve you more in the family business after you recovered from your illness?""Isn't it because you needed more help?" Karen asked."It's not difficult to find workers for handling corpses, after all, the salary is high and it's not tiring," Dis replied.Karen nodded.Dis put down his teacup and Karen stood up to refill it for him. After sitting back down, Karen answered, "Grandfather, you wanted me to understand the limits and respect of life through the funeral business, so that I wouldn't become reckless after gaining some power.""Haha."Dis laughed, chatting with an intelligent grandson was truly enjoyable.

"I understand what you mean, Grandpa. I have always been true to my heart, and I have also gradually understood the moral standards in your heart. I will not overstep my boundaries, and I have great respect for rules.But the problem is, Aunt and Chris are our family, but I am also their family. The relationship between family members is always mutual.We are not pitying a poor mother and daughter, nor are we disgusted by a man who abandons his wife and child and shows no gratitude. We are not ashamed of him coming back and playing the emotional card after becoming poor.It's just because of Parker, his actions and behavior have hurt Winnie's father...you, and also hurt Chris's brother...me.So, I feel I have a legitimate reason to give corresponding feedback for the harm I have suffered.If a passerby breaks the rose I planted in the garden, I still have to go up and argue with them. If they speak rudely, I might even have to fight them;Moreover, they are family?This is my thought, and my narrative.""The judge will not accept your argument.""Order is all that matters." Karen pointed to her chest, "I am talking about my own sense of order."

"But still feel inappropriate." Dis reiterated.Then, Dis took out an envelope that had been written long ago from the desk and placed it in front of Karen. Karen reached out and took it. It was a document similar to a law enforcement order, not issued by a father, but by a judge from the Order of the God of Order in Luo Jia City."Yes, Grandpa, I blame myself."It is taboo to use demons to attack ordinary people;But if the demons have an organization and a law enforcement certificate, it is legal, and it is to maintain the authority of the Order of the God of Order.Karen picked up the envelope, got up, and prepared to go out.When opening the door,Dis asked, "So, did you come in just to praise your aunt for the sweater she knitted for me?"Karen turned around, smiled at Dis, and patted the envelope in the palm of her hand.I came to take it away, because I know you must have prepared it a long time ago.

Both grandfather and grandson laughed."By the way, tomorrow is your aunt's birthday.""I know, grandpa. It's not easy for Aunt Mary to be in our family. She has sacrificed a lot."Not only did Uncle Mason fall from Wall Street to Mink Street, but Aunt Mary also stood by him.Also, whether it was from the memories of the previous "Karen" or from my own observations in the past few months, I feel that Aunt Mary is an amazing wife, mother, and elder.And, Karen understood the meaning behind Di's words;Just like how she reminded Di before, "You only have five days left, not counting today";So, Di decided to lift his hand and send Parker to heaven, whom he had disliked for a long time."I will prepare well," Karen said."Will it be rushed?" Di asked.

"No, after all, Aunt is not a stranger, she is a family member.""Okay, thank you for your hard work.""This is what I should do."...Second floor,Bedroom.Uncle Mason was lying there with the bedside lamp on, reading the Financial Times.Aunt Mary had finished bathing, changed into her pajamas, and got into bed.Seeing her husband still reading this kind of newspaper, her brows subconsciously furrowed, but she quickly took a deep breath and cleared away the negative emotions, not wanting to show any trace of it on her face."Are your eyes tired from reading such small print?"

Aunt Mary took the initiative to hug Uncle Mason's head and began to gently massage his temples.Uncle Mason flicked the newspaper with his hand, rolled it up, and threw it aside."I'm not really unwilling, of course, there is still some unwillingness, but I never thought of going back. I just wanted to read this newspaper.""I know." Aunt Mary pressed her face against her husband's head. "I know you have been feeling guilty and upset."Uncle Mason held Aunt Mary's hand and kissed it twice on his lips."I hope I can give you and the children a better life. I'm sorry, I don't have enough ability.""Our life now is already good. Being a mortician is not bad either. We don't have to endure many judgmental looks. Although some of the deceased still have their eyes open, it's not uncomfortable or unpleasant. After spending time with them, I find them quite lovely. Every time a funeral starts and I see the clients I have prepared lying peacefully in the coffin, I feel like what I do is really meaningful."

"Also, you see Mina and Lunt, living at home suits them quite well.Before, we were all busy and it was really difficult to find time to take care of the children's growth, but now they are in front of us every day.Although the father is a bit strict, our family has a good moral code, and I believe Mina and Lunt will have good character when they grow up."Uncle Mason reached out and hugged his wife's waist, took a deep breath, and said:"Darling, I know you are comforting me, I am really grateful for fate for letting me meet you in this lifetime.""Me too, because you have always been a good husband."The two hugged each other, feeling the warmth from each other's bodies.After a long time,Uncle Mason suddenly asked, "By the way, our household supplies have been running low in the past month.""It's because the funds in our family's public account are tight."

"It shouldn't be like this. Although buying a crematorium and a new hearse cost a lot of money, we both contributed our share. Even though business hasn't been great lately, we still managed to do a few B-grade packages which brought in a good profit. The money in the company account doesn't need to be distributed immediately, so why does it suddenly feel so tight?""Because Winnie and I were discussing taking out some money from the company account. We were even calculating the expenses last night.""Hmm, what for?""For Karen.""Karen, what's going on?""Karen and Miss Eunice.""But isn't it great? Miss Eunice is a perfect match for our nephew."Mason was very confident about his nephew."But Miss Eunice is from Vienna."

"What happened to the Wien people?""She is from the Wien nobility. She and her mother came back to visit and stayed on Rhein Street. I wanted to talk to my father about Karen and Miss Eunice's future arrangements, but his answer was always the same:Let them develop freely.""Huh, did father really say that?"Uncle Mason finally realized that something was not right. His father had always valued this grandson and even spoiled him a bit.After all, Karen's parents were no longer around, so it was only natural for him to receive more attention and support from the family.Now that Karen was already in a relationship and the other party's mother had also visited the house, according to customs, things had already entered the next stage after dating.As a grandfather who loved this grandson almost to the extreme, how could he suddenly stop caring?"Moreover, when Miss Eunice and her mother came to our house to visit, father specifically asked us to take Mina and the others to the amusement park, even though it was raining," Aunt Mary said. "I feel like father doesn't want us to be too involved in Karen's relationship, so this points to one possibility."Uncle Mason immediately widened his eyes and exclaimed, "Father wants Karen to go to Wien?"

"So, Winnie and I were thinking, if Karen really goes back to Vienna with Miss Eunice, we need to raise some money immediately to exchange for Lyle. The housing prices in York City are not cheap, but at least we should prepare a smaller apartment for Karen, right?Whether Karen will live in the lady's estate is one thing, but how can he not have his own house in York City?If there is a fight or disagreement between the two sides, Karen may not even have a place to go, after all, he is a man.""I will ask my father tomorrow, no, I will ask him now, what exactly is his idea, does he really want Karen to go to Vienna!"Uncle Mason got up and put on his slippers."Ah, what are you going to do, is there any room for you to intervene in father's decision?""No, I have to go, I just can't stand it!My brother is gone, how can we let Karen go to Vienna!Our Inmerleis family can't fall to this level!""Then you can ask father's thoughts tomorrow, it's too late now, he may have already rested."

"No, if he's not in the study, I'll go to the bedroom to find him. Even if he's asleep, I have to wake him up. Because I didn't know before, but now I do, and I can't allow myself to play dumb.Mary, do you know? I'm really scared. I'm afraid that father only decided to send Karen away because we came back, so that I could inherit the family business.""Slap!"Mason slapped himself."How could I do such a thing? If that's the case, do I even deserve to be called 'uncle' by Karen?""Father... wouldn't think like that. He's always been a fair person.""But I can't allow this to happen, absolutely not. This house, this funeral home, belongs to Karen!Back then, father called the three of us siblings and asked us seriously who was willing to inherit the funeral home.Winnie and I both refused. We longed for the outside world. We grew up in the Inverleith Funeral Home and we were tired of it!We felt that if we continued to work in this industry after growing up, it would be a waste of our youth, a waste of our lives, and a waste of our existence!"

After my brother saw that both Winnie and I refused, he chose to inherit the funeral home. At that time, Winnie and I were both young and naive. We only thought that if my brother agreed to inherit the family business, we would be free. Otherwise, we were afraid that our father would come and forcibly choose one of us. But in reality, my brother gave the power of choice to Winnie and me, and he fulfilled his brotherly and sisterly duties. After I started working, before I met you, my first investment in stocks was actually given to me by my brother, a considerable sum of money. Where did Winnie get so much money to help that piece of s**t, Parker, open a factory? It was also given by my brother. So, my brother chose to stay and continue managing the family business for us, but at the same time, he had already divided all the family assets between Winnie and me. And now, my brother's only son has to be sent to Vienna. Mary, I'm sorry.

"Even if I have to take you all and sleep on the streets, I cannot let this happen!Why did Winnie and I choose freedom in the first place and leave our brother behind?And now, when we come back with broken wings, we have to fight for our brother's son's inheritance?"Hearing Mason's words, Aunt Mary let go of her husband's hand."When our father promised us shares in the family business to better run the funeral home, I shouldn't have agreed. Winnie and I came back to work and find a place to stay. We have no right to claim shares, this inheritance belongs to Karen.I'm going to talk to our father and get some answers!"Uncle Mason walked out of the bedroom and went to the third floor. He knocked on the study door."Come in."Uncle Mason took a deep breath and opened the door, walking in.After about fifteen minutes, he came out.

Uncle Mason walked out of the study...."Karen, come out for a moment.""Okay."Karen followed her uncle down the stairs to the first floor.Only one light was on in the first floor, on the northwest side where the sofa and coffee table were placed.Aunt Winnie was already sitting there, wiping her reddened eyes and pouring coffee.

"Aunt, what's wrong with you?" Karen asked as she approached, "It's not worth getting angry over someone like that, really."Karen thought her aunt was still upset about what happened with Parker during the day, but now Parker was probably repenting in heaven and Alfred would soon come back to report.But Karen didn't want to tell her aunt and Chris about this, so she just let that guy leave in an unexpected way.In fact, Karen misunderstood.The reason why Aunt Winnie was wiping her tears was because she had just been scolded by her own younger brother, Uncle Mason.Uncle Mason yelled at her directly:"It's understandable that Mary didn't tell me, she's not an Inmores, she would definitely think more about Mina, Lunt, and this family.""What about you? Since you already noticed, why didn't you tell me proactively?""Have you forgotten that you changed your last name back to Inmores when you married into the family?""Is this how we honor our deceased brother?"

Under Uncle Mason's questioning, Aunt Winnie did not argue and just wiped her tears."Sit." Uncle Mason pointed to the sofa.Karen felt the atmosphere was strange and sat down.Uncle Mason also sat down and looked at Karen, asking seriously:"Karen, tell me honestly, will you go to Vienna with Miss Eunice?"Karen was stunned for a moment, but still nodded and said, "I should.""Is it voluntary? Your grandfather said you volunteered.""Grandfather is right, I volunteered. He asked for my opinion several times and I chose to go to Vienna."Uncle Mason became anxious and said directly, "What is the reason? This is your home, Karen, this is your home, this house, this funeral home, it all belongs to you and only you.Stay here, grow up a little more... no, you don't even need to grow up, right now."

Uncle Mason looked at Aunt Winnie, and Aunt Winnie took out a piece of paper that she had just finished writing in front of her."Karen, your aunt and I will withdraw all of our shares, including Mary's, from this family and this industry. It's all yours."Karen felt like she already understood what was going on. There was a warm feeling flowing in her heart.Really, she had seen too many relatives who would completely tear apart their faces for money and interests. It was rare to see someone who could still hold onto their true self in the face of money. Karen pushed the paper back to Uncle Mason and Aunt Winnie, smiling and saying, "Uncle, Aunt, I really want to go to Vienna.""Believe me, being a son-in-law in someone else's family will not be easy, especially for someone like you who has a lot of self-respect and pride," Uncle Mason said."That's not it," Karen explained. "Uncle, I want to go out and see the world. It's not fair that you were allowed to wander and experience things when you were young, but now that I'm here, I'm not even allowed to go out and see for myself.""That's not the same thing!" Uncle Mason argued."It is the same thing," Karen walked behind Uncle Mason and Aunt Winnie, reaching out and hugging their shoulders. "I heard Grandpa say..."

Actually, I heard it from Pu'er."Uncle and aunt's relationship with my father was very good back then.""Your father was a great brother." Mason said."Yes." Aunt Winnie said."Back then, both uncle and aunt went out to explore the world, but then they came back home because this has always been your uncle and aunt's home. No matter when you come back, the doors will always be open for you.I am the same.If I don't do well in Vienna, or if I can't end up with Miss Eunice, I can come back.Just like uncle and aunt did, because I know this will always be my home. Once I come back, my uncle, aunt, and aunt-in-law, as well as my cousins, will welcome me home unconditionally.So, what's the point of signing this? Without shares, will my uncle and aunt not recognize me as their nephew anymore?

With shares, am I no longer your nephew?We are family,These things,Cannot separate us, nor become a barrier between us."Under Karen's persuasion, Uncle Mason finally stopped insisting on signing the share transfer agreement;Karen pushed Uncle and Aunt upstairs, asking them to rest early.When Karen returned to the third floor, she saw Dias standing at the stairs."Mason came to see me, he even wanted to argue with me, which rarely happened before.""Uncle was a bit too excited." Karen said.Dias spoke up:

"So, from the past to the present, having such a family, I am very proud."Karen nodded and said:"I am also proud, from now on, I can protect such a family."