Looking down, she saw the little maid beside her and fiercely pinched the little maid’s arm.
The little maid felt incredibly unlucky, having accidentally stumbled upon such a scandal. Being so young, she was already trembling with fear, trying hard to keep her head down to avoid being noticed by others.
Her arm hurt from being pinched, but she dared not make a sound, afraid that Mrs. Lai, in order to silence her, would sell her off immediately.
Only Mrs. Lai treated the maids poorly in the Ye family, and she also scolded the workers for no reason.
The workers were there for the money, and where could they go without putting up with some abuse? It was the same no matter where they went to work.
The Ye family offered good conditions; whether it was leftovers from the master’s table, or meals specially prepared for them by the chef, the food was always relatively good.
It was the girl’s father who could not stand by and watch any longer. Mrs. Lai might have a bad temper, but she couldn’t behave in his house.
In the interest of negotiations to get the money sooner and secure his daughter’s future, her father’s eyes shifted as he said, "Brother-in-law, my son can’t be mistaken; think about it carefully. After you slept in my son’s room, did you not get out of bed?"
The girl’s father had always called him brother-in-law. They were of a similar age, but after all, he was a cousin by marriage.
But now by adding the words "relative by marriage," it implied that there would be another layer to their relationship in the future, a truly in-law relationship.
"You’re all lying, it must have been you who deliberately sent my husband to this temptress’s room, you ungrateful wretches! I even favored you before, but I was so blind!" At this moment, Mrs. Lai was not only scolding the girl, but her entire family.
Hongji’s father... what exactly happened?
As the man across asked this, Hongji’s father, who had just put on his coat, stopped putting on his shoes and began to recall the scenes after he got drunk.
He remembered this brother seemed a little too enthusiastic today. He had always been enthusiastic in the past, but he never invited him home for a drink. He would just eat at another house and leave, always freeloading.
Could it be that today’s incident was premeditated?
He looked again with a skeptical gaze at the family in front of him.
"Husband, they must have deliberately set you up. You must not be confused!"
Mrs. Lai’s earlier fury now turned into fear as she felt the danger of someone stealing her husband, threatening to snatch away all her wealth and status. She began to cry afraid.
However, her tears on that aged face, compared with the pitiful weeping of a young girl, made any man who saw them tend to sympathize with the younger party.
"Wuuu, I’m done for, I was just asleep, when suddenly I was..."
Hongji’s father... The girl’s voice trembled with tears and a trace of resentment, and the man who had been harboring doubts just a moment ago became uncertain.
"Could it be that I really entered the wrong room?"
"Brother-in-law, relative by marriage, think carefully. After you got drunk and slept in my son’s bed, did you get up?"
After the girl’s father spoke, her mother added, "Oh dear, my poor daughter, you were having a good nap, and then how could you..."
The girl’s family members began to back her up, each one accusing Hongji’s father in turn.
"It must have been you, this temptress, who did it!"
Seeing the relatives banding together against her husband, leaving him speechless, Mrs. Lai understood the danger of being maligned, and she became frantic and angry.
But she was one against many, and her usual authoritative presence seemed diminished before so many voices!
She was desperately holding her own, firstly, because this was another family’s home, and regardless of whether they were wrong, it was her husband at fault for sleeping in a girl’s room.
Another point was her usually reticent husband, who now seemed to be defending that temptress, leaving her to face this crowd alone.
The girl’s family... Of course, the family members responded with words supporting their relative, saying that a relative mistaking the room had nothing to do with them, but with things as they were, a resolution was needed, right?
"What resolution? This shameless temptress, this lowlife, how do you want to resolve it? Are you trying to extortion money?"
Mrs. Lai, though no genius, had figured out that this family, for the sake of money and for the daughter to marry into their house, had stooped to such despicable tactics.
She had only heard of such vile tactics being used by wealthy families before.
She would never have imagined that just as their family had come into a bit of money, they would be faced with such a scandal.
Mrs. Lai felt that they should not have come to her parental home today. Not coming would have been better; then such an incident would not have occurred. But it was too late for regrets now.
She wondered if her parental family was aware of this incident and if they were involved, would she hold a grudge and refuse to return to her parental home?