But she said:
“Van Than, he’s your biological father. How could you not believe him? He’s so pitiful…”
See? That’s what a man-crazy mind looks like.
It never occurred to her that if even his own child blamed him, then maybe there really was something wrong with him.
Instead, she thought that if even his own daughter didn’t believe him, then that man must truly be pitiful.
After that, I didn’t dare bad-mouth my father in front of her anymore.
Not because I was afraid of being called unfilial.
I was just afraid she’d become even more blindly devoted to my father.
2
When my father’s “canary” showed up at our door, pointed to her belly, and announced that she was carrying the Lu family’s firstborn son, I was having afternoon tea with Aunt Vuong.
Her eyesight was clearly poor. She saw me sitting with an older woman and assumed Aunt Vuong was my mother.
She looked me up and down, her gaze full of contempt.
Then she clicked her tongue twice, apparently deciding that my father’s wife was indeed a frumpy, aging, unattractive old hag.
“Ma’am, your husband and I are true love. Take a good look in the mirror and step aside already, will you? You’re surrounded by money—do you even know how to spend it? What good does clinging to the title of first wife do you?”
Aunt Vuong was so furious at her arrogance she could hardly stand it.
The woman who paid Aunt Vuong’s salary was Viên Lộ Dao—my stepmother.
Who did this woman think she was?
Aunt Vuong jumped to her feet and pointed at the canary, cursing her out:
“You shameless, rotten woman! Your mother must’ve seen you had nothing worth having when you were born and wanted to drown you in the toilet!”
“You’re a mistress, not some royal ancestor! And you have the nerve to come to the main house and make trouble! You’re too stupid to be a mistress, and now you want to take the wife’s place? I despise you!”
“The baby you give birth to will be just like you, with no anus—garbage!”
Aunt Vuong never held back when she cursed. She used whatever filthy insult came to mind.
The canary’s face turned purple with rage, and her whole body shook. She pointed at Aunt Vuong, stammering, “You… you… you…” but couldn’t get another word out.
“You shrew! No wonder Mr. Lu wants nothing to do with you!”
“I’m carrying the Lu family’s firstborn son, while all you could manage was one daughter. Do you really think a daughter can inherit that enormous fortune? Does that even make sense to you?”
“Since time immemorial, sons have inherited the family wealth. I’m giving the Lu family a crown prince. Shouldn’t you be welcoming me into the family in a sedan chair carried by eight men?”
“For all these years, you haven’t managed to have a single son. Aren’t you ashamed before the ancestors of the Lu family?”
Aunt Vuong was truly seeing red. She couldn’t stand the mistress coming all the way to the main house and acting superior.
She lunged at the woman, grabbed her hair, slapped her several times, and clawed at her meticulously cared-for face.
“Did you somehow miss nine years of compulsory education? I’m an old woman, and I’m still less superstitious than you, a college graduate!”
“Good heavens! I had five sons, and even I wouldn’t act as high and mighty as you!”
Aunt Vuong had five sons because she’d wanted a daughter, but she ended up having one boy after another.
She couldn’t afford to raise them all, so she gave up.
The canary obviously had no idea what Aunt Vuong meant. She just screamed at her to let go.
Just then, Lục Hoa Thịnh hurried home.
He immediately pulled the canary away.
The canary saw him and burst into tears as if he’d come to save her life. She flung herself into his arms and cried out, “Honey!”
“Honey… sob… it hurts… the baby hurts…”
As she spoke, she clutched her belly.
Lục Hoa Thịnh shot Aunt Vuong a deeply displeased look, but since she worked for Viên Lộ Dao, he didn’t dare do anything to her.
He was also afraid that if he angered Aunt Vuong, she’d report him, which would only hurt his own interests.