"Wuu wuu, Auntie, I didn’t mean to wrong you!"
As the girl cried, she wiped her tears pitifully and looked at her relatives; she was afraid of Mrs. Lai and wanted to resolve the issue quickly. The longer it dragged on, the more likely her reputation would worsen.
Before, the family had discussed it, and while she did it, her family also helped, determined to keep it from outsiders. Even if the Old Master didn’t marry her, she would not be at a disadvantage and could still choose to marry someone else.
Hongji’s father... his extended hand paused, his heart reluctant to harm this niece in name.
The girl had no idea that things had come to this point, and that the other party had to marry her whether they liked it or not, or otherwise she’d report them to the authorities.
Her family thought, why would commoners like them care about losing face, when people with money cared more about their reputation?
They also saw the look of a father protecting his daughter on Hongji’s father’s face. As a man, it was clear that this wealthy Old Master had taken the bait.
The girl’s father asked with feigned surprise, "Brother-in-law, weren’t you supposed to be helped to my youngest son’s room to rest? How did you end up in my daughter’s room?"
"Uncle, I clearly gave up the room for you, I couldn’t nap, so I went outside instead,"
"What happened here?"
Hongji’s father’s hands paused while dressing; he was dizzy at the time, and although he had slept a bit after his drunkenness, his head still ached, and he truly had no memory of what happened while drunk.
If, according to the other party, he was clearly asleep in a boy’s room, how did he end up in the eldest daughter’s room?
"What happened? I don’t know either! I was drunk at the time and have no remembrance of what happened after that!"
"Wah wah wah," the girl cried even louder.
Mrs. Lai spoke irritably, "It must have been them who moved you here, it must be this little demon trying to ensnare you. Husband, don’t you see? They’re all in this together to trap us!"
"Auntie, we are relatives, and originally, my father invited Uncle over for a drink to bring our families closer. When Uncle got drunk, we all helped him to my little brother’s bed. As for how he ended up here, that’s something Uncle needs to explain."
"My dear brother-in-law, I too was drunk, and it was my wife who helped me to bed. I had no clue what was happening until I heard a scream and rushed over."
The girl’s father acted as if he was innocent. While it was true that he was drunk, he was not unaware of what had happened.
"Wuu wuu wuu," the girl cried again.
"Why cry? You temptress, I don’t believe it was my husband who did this. It must be you, unable to find a husband, trying to secure one. My son didn’t want you, and now you’ve set your sights on my husband."
At this moment, the girl pitifully glanced at Hongji’s father and cried even more bitterly. She knew she couldn’t outshout Mrs. Lai, so she could only look at the man before her with a pitiful expression, hoping he would protect her.
The girl’s tactic worked well, for Hongji’s father had always protected Mrs. Lai and his own daughter, indifferent to the daughter born to his son, his affection reserved only for the grandson.
In an ordinary household, this would be unreasonable, and it was their marital secret, holding onto a shocking secret. The couple agreed not to tell their daughter or son, intending to take this secret to the grave.
All that mattered was that their son’s offspring were their descendants.
But now, it was different. The girl before him was as fresh as a flower, and it was possible for her to bear him a true son.
He thought, if he had a son of his own, his son could rival his eldest for the inheritance once he grew up.
At this thought, he felt that if he took a concubine, he would have to negotiate with his son to give him a portion of the wealth.
Mrs. Lai, who always believed her husband was on her side, had not anticipated that he was already considering having a son with this woman and challenging their elder son for the inheritance.
Would she burst a blood vessel if she knew? Even if it was her husband’s biological son, it wasn’t hers.
Mrs. Lai now faced a crisis, regretting her independent decision to take a concubine for her son, not foreseeing that in trying to scheme against her son, she had trapped herself!
"Stop arguing, what kind of decorum is this with all this noise? Can arguing solve the problem? Do you want everyone outside to know?"
"But..." Mrs. Lai, scolded by her husband, felt wronged. She couldn’t hit him and could only look hatefully at her niece with her eyes.