Ice and Fire

Chapter 19 She Got Slapped Again

Half an hour later, the butler hurriedly walked into the living room. Seeing him come back, Lucia

stepped forward, seized his arm and asked,"Who is it? Have you found out? What's the reason behind

it?"

The butler glanced at Lucia but did not say a word. He walked to Andrew, looked into his eyes, and

said,"I've found out."

"Then why not speak it out?" said Andrew.

"Because, because..." said the butler hesitatingly. He seemed a bit worried, with his eyes darting

towards Andrew from time to time.

"Say it." Andrew commanded him.

"The person who cancelled Mr. Ye's application for governorship was...was Jackson," said the butler.

He then looked at Andrew, afraid that he would be angry.

"What? Jackson?" Andrew couldn't believe his ears. John was Jackson's nephew. Why would Jackson

damage John's future?

"What...what did you say?" Lucia was a little frightened. She asked,"You mean Jackson gave the

order?"

The butler looked at Lucia and nodded. He was sure of the answer. At first, he also couldn't believe it

when he got the news. But he had confirmed the report several times before coming back to tell

Andrew.

Lucia became even more agitated. She hastily walked to Andrew and said,"Grandpa, how could it be

Jackson? John is his nephew. Why would he do this?"

Lucia couldn't make sense of it.

Andrew was also lost in thought. What was Jackson, his beloved grandson, up to? Why would he go

against his nephew? If he was just having fun, it was okay. But he knew what kind of person his

grandson was. He was a person who always stood by his word. But why did he do it this time?

After a while, Lucia suddenly said,"I get it. It must be because of Cherry."

What Lucia said confused Andrew even more. What on earth was going on?

Lucia continued,"All this has been done by Cherry. She is a flirt. She had once seduced John, but she

then left him and married Jackson. It must be her who has turned Jackson against his nephew.

Grandpa, I'm sure Cherry is to blame."

Lucia's hatred for Cherry increased by the moment. What a shameless woman she was! Lucia hadn't

objected to her marriage with Jackson, but she hadn't imagined that Cherry would use him against

John. She must be tired of living!

Andrew was still lost in thought. He couldn't understand why his grandson would give an order that

damages John's future. What Lucia said made sense, and he was convinced by it, since he really

couldn't find any other reason that would explain what had happened.

At that moment, Andrew saw Derek in the courtyard. What was this bloke doing, coming back to the

quarters at this time?

"Derek," shouted Andrew.

Derek, standing in the courtyard, heard him. He looked into the window and saw Andrew. In a happy

voice, he hastily greeted,"How are you, Grandpa Andrew?"

"Come over. I have something to ask you." commanded Andrew.

"Yes," replied Derek. He was a bit confused, and wondered what Andrew would ask him, since Jackson

was not home.

With these doubt on his mind, Derek timidly entered the Chu home.

After walking into the living room, Derek saw Lucia and Edwin. He greeted them politely.

Lucia took no notice of him. Currently, the matter of her son was the most important issue, and she was

not in the mood to acknowledge greetings.

Edwin gently nodded his head in response to Derek.

Then Derek went near Andrew and respectfully said,"Grandpa, do you have anything to ask me?"

"Why have you come back alone? Where is Jackson?" asked Andrew.

"Oh, I came back to take something and I will be gone soon. Jackson is still at the barracks. He has

been a bit busy recently, and he won't be coming back for some time," replied Derek, politely. He saw

the stiffness on Andrew's face, so he guessed that he was not in a good mood.

Andrew nodded. Before he could speak, Lucia interjected and asked Derek,"Derek, tell me, was Cherry

the woman behind Jackson, who got him to give the order to cancel John's application for

governorship?"

Hearing this, Derek understood what had happened. Lucia and Edwin were at the Chu residence

because John's application for governorship had been cancelled. It seemed that everyone had already

heard about it.

Derek didn't answer her, but looked at Andrew. Like Jackson, he could afford not to take notice of Lucia

and Edwin, but he couldn't ignore Andrew. After all, he was the elder of the Chu Clan.

"Answer Lucia's question." Commanded Andrew. He also wanted to know what was going on. And

Derek had to know it.

"Grandpa, I really don't know about this matter. I haven't been with Jackson recently and have no idea

what is going on." Derek was not ready to tell the truth, because he was scared more of Jackson than

Andrew. Moreover, as Jackson's buddy, he would certainly stand together with Jackson, even in front of

Andrew.

"You are so close to him, how could you not know what he did?" said Andrew. He didn't believe what

Derek had said and he knew that Derek was partial towards Jackson. However, now was the time for

solving the problem, and not for arguing about personal loyalty.

Andrew then said, seriously,"Do you want me to have his wife, my granddaughter-in-law, to come here

and answer me?

Derek dared not speak. Without Jackson's permission, he dared not say anything. What if something

unfortunate happened? He could not bear the responsibility.

After a while, seeing that Derek was not going to answer, Andrew turned his head to the butler and

said,"Go ask my granddaughter-in-law to come here. I will ask her in person."

"Yes," said the butler and left.

Derek could tell that the end result was not going to be good. He must tell Jackson about this, or

something bad would happen. Looking at the stiffness on Andrew's face and the rage on Lucia's face,

Derek clearly knew that something unfortunate was bound to happen if Cherry came here.

He quietly took out his phone and sent three messages in a row to Jackson, telling him to come back

soon or something bad would happen in his family.

An hour later, a car stopped in the courtyard. The butler got out of the car and opened the door for

Cherry. Then Cherry got off.

When Cherry entered the living room, she was frightened when she saw the people who had gathered

there. What had happened? Why were Lucia and Edwin here? And Derek was also here. What about

Jackson? Was he also here? Where was he?

Cherry controlled her curiosity and walked forward politely to greet Andrew,"How are you, grandpa?"

Andrew looked at Cherry and nodded. His granddaughter-in-law was still so tender.

"Cherry, I want to ask you something," said Andrew.

"Please just ask, grandpa," said Cherry.

"Did you ask Jackson to cancel John's application for governorship?" Andrew asked, bluntly.

"What?" It was obvious that Cherry was surprised by the news. She had no idea what had happened.

And when this had happened. She knew nothing at all about it.

Lucia was irritated when she saw Cherry's reaction. She walked in front of Cherry and said,"Stop

pretending to be so virtuous! If it were not for you, why would Jackson take such an action against

John, his nephew? Do you think you have nothing to be afraid of with Jackson backing you up?"

Cherry helplessly shook her head and said,"I really don't know what you are talking about. Are you

saying that John's application for governorship was cancelled and I asked Jackson to do it?"

Cherry was confused. She was still at work when she was asked by the butler to come to the Chu

residence. She hadn't expected this to happen. Had she provoked someone?

"Cherry Shen, don't talk nonsense! You must admit what you have done," Lucia reprimanded her. It

was obvious that every word she said was humiliating Cherry.

"I have done nothing. What should I admit?" Cherry was also agitated. She couldn't bear this fabricated

charge against her.

"You have done nothing?" Lucia retorted. With that, she slapped Cherry on her face.

Cherry had never imagined that Lucia would slap her, and she was not prepared for it. She fell down on

the floor.

"What are you doing?" Derek said, sternly. Lucia had gone too far by slapping Cherry in front him and

Andrew.

"Stop it!" shouted Andrew. Lucia was scared and backed off several steps.

Looking at Cherry sprawled on the floor, Andrew was pained. She was the wife of his beloved

grandson. How could Lucia slap her, even if she was mad at her?

"Grandpa, this woman is shameless. She dared not to admit what she did. If today she can destroy

John's future, tomorrow she could kill him. She is too awful and I can't let her get away with this," said

Lucia. Looking at Cherry on the floor, she wanted to hit her again.

Derek knew what Lucia was thinking of, so he immediately stepped forward to stand in front of Lucia

and stop her from hitting Cherry. Since Jackson was not here, he must protect his wife on his behalf.

Suddenly, the sound of a car braking loudly came from the courtyard. Everyone, including Andrew,

Derek and Lucia looked outside.

When they saw Jackson hastily get out of the car, Lucia couldn't help but shiver.

Derek felt relieved. Jackson was finally home. Derek had been almost overwhelmed by the situation

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Nothing changed on Andrew's face. He just thought that since his grandson was back, this matter could

certainly be resolved.