To My Dear Mr. Huo

As Liu Tongjia listened to Li Qianxue’s words, she stepped forward to speak. Huo Mingguang quickly held her back and took her in the direction of Huo Yangxiu.

“Uncle and aunt, I’m sorry. I’m just keeping Tongjia company to see a friend so that we’re not back too late. Please don’t mind us.”

“We’re all family here. There’s no need to be so cordial.”

Huo Yangyuan often mixed in official circles, so it was natural for him to want to remain blameless.

“Yeah, have a seat.”

Huo Yangxiu also responded and motioned to the couple to sit down. However, even after Old Master Li and Li Qianxue had greeted the two of them from their end, they still hadn’t sat down.

Old Master Li looked amused, and Old Master Huo stood up and gestured for both of them to sit down.

“Come, brother Yongfeng, come and sit here.”

Old Master Li looked pale and sat down with Li Qianxue. Except for Huo Yangxiu and Huo Yangyuan, the rest of them who were present were all from the same generation as Li Qianxue.

After Huo Jinyao had introduced himself, everyone took turns saying hello. From start to end, Li Qianxue had a steady smile on her face as if making sure that the expression she’d had when she entered the door was a mistake.

This side of Li Qianxue was naturally very approachable in the eyes of the other relatives in the Huo family. Having seen this other side of her, Su Qingsang, who was sitting next to Li Qianxue, made sure to interact with her from time to time.

To Huo Yangxiu and Huo Yangyuan, their in-laws seemed impressive indeed. However, Huo Mingliang and Huo Mingmei had always known that Su Qingsang was an illegitimate child. They suspected that the scene playing out in front of them was just pretense.

Huo Mingmei glanced at her own elder brother and found that Liu Tongjia’s face looked very unpleasant. Li Qianxue’s eyes didn’t reflect much kindness, either.

After thinking about it, she seemed to understand what was going on; Su Qingsang was nothing but an illegitimate daughter. Li Qianxue and Old Master Li must have come to take advantage of the Huo family’s influence.

Uncle and aunt didn’t know the details of the inside story, but Liu Tongjia knew everything.

Huo Mingmei felt like she had unlocked the key for the answer to all of this, so when she looked at Su Qingsang, she regarded her with great suspicion.

“Is my eldest daughter-in-law called Qingsang? Look at me, I can’t even remember her name.”

Just through her opening sentence, she had disparaged Su Qingsang, and also successfully invited some private gossip in the living room. People who were engaged in small circles of conversation all set their eyes on Su Qingsang at the same time.

Su Qingsang didn’t answer but glanced at Huo Mingmei. Her eyes were clear, and it showed that she did not take any provocations from other people to heart.

“Qingsang, Did I just hear you call the lady next to you ‘mom’?”

“Yes,” Su Qingsang said, as courteous as ever and quite calm. “This is my mother.”

“But why was it that I heard from Huo Jinyao that your mother was someone else?”

It had been said that there was an affair involved, but in reality, everyone knew that Su Qingsang was an illegitimate daughter.

Huo Mingmei’s eyes lightened, and her tone was placid. She asked, “How is it now that you’re calling her ‘mom’ again?”

The sarcastic and pointed tone she used made Su Qingsang and Li Qianxue frown at the same time.

Huo Jinyao, who was sitting aside, became quite serious, his eyes turning icy.

“I have explained this matter to Old Master Huo before. Qingsang was mistaken for another baby by the hospital after she was born. I later learned that Qingsang was my biological daughter. Qingsang and I have since acknowledged each other as mother and daughter, so it is only natural that she now calls me mom. ”

Li Qianxue said all this with a straight face, and although other people didn’t think to believe much of it, they were unlikely to question this claim at that time.

It was only Liu Tongjia, who had been sitting a little far from Li Qianxue, who became a little cold. She pursed her lips in mockery.

Huo Mingguang looked at his wife, squeezed her arm, and gave her a reassuring look.

“Oh, someone made a mistake, and then later, when you realized it, you acknowledged each other?” Huo Mingmei was dragging out the issue. Her face suddenly seemed to show a sense of understanding. She said, “You realized that you were mother and daughter right after Su Qingsang married Jinyao. The timing of your reunion was just right. That must have felt good.”

She laughed sarcastically a couple of times and glanced at the other people present. “This was discovered no sooner or later than at the exact period when Jinyao married her. What a great discovery!”

The people who were there were smart enough. After Huo Mingmei spoke her piece, who could have misunderstood what she was trying to say?

It simply meant that the Li family recognized this illegitimate lady as their biological daughter because they saw that this humble little girl had worked her way up in the Huo family.

Old Master Li’s face sunk at Huo Mingmei’s words, but he was more senior than Huo Mingmei so it was naturally impossible for him to lower his status to start an argument with her.

Su Qingsang did not look good either, and her lips moved as she opened her mouth. The back of her hand was immediately held down by Li Qianxue.

“And this is–” Li Qianxue squeezed her hand to keep her from speaking, but her gorgeous eyes were still staring straight at Huo Mingmei’s face.

Huo Jinyao had already introduced her earlier, but Li Qianxue made it seem like she had forgotten.

“I’m Jinyao’s aunt,” Huo Mingmei said. Huo Mingmei knew that this move was quite deliberate, and her face became even more unpleasant.

“Oh, so you are just his aunt. I thought you were Jinyao’s mother,” said Li Qianxue, smiling. She kept her piece short.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I didn’t mean anything specifically. After all, Jinyao’s mother hasn’t even said anything yet. You spoke first, so I just thought I’d ask.”

Her sarcasm showed that she was calling Huo Mingmei out for being unnecessarily nosy. Huo Mingmei was annoyed by what Li Qianxue had said. Her face was flushed as she stared at Li Qianxue’s face.

“Why? Can’t I even ask a question? I’ve seen plenty of people your kind. Isn’t it because of the Huo family’s influence? For the money, even an illegitimate daughter can be welcomed into the family. You’re not even afraid of losing face.”

Everyone present was watching this intense scene unfold. Huo Yifan and the other youngsters perked up in excitement.

“Mingmei,” Old Master Huo said, unable to listen to this anymore. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Did I say something wrong?” asked Huo Mingmei as she glanced back at Old Master Huo. “Our family says not to interfere with our children’s freedom of choice in marriage, but having such in-laws is really–”

Although the next few words were not spoken, everyone had clearly understood what she intended to say.

“I don’t think there is anything to be embarrassed about.” Li Qianxue saw that Huo Jinyao wanted to speak, but she spoke first with a steady voice. “If I know who my daughter is but don’t acknowledge her, then I’ll lose face. As for you, when you say that one would acknowledge a daughter for the power–people say that if Buddha resides in their hearts, all they see will be Buddha. If there is a demon in their hearts, then everything they see will contain evil. I am guessing that this lady must be the kind of person who will claim an illegitimate daughter just for the sake of power? ”

“What did you say?” During all these years, when had Huo Mingmei ever been at the receiving end of such sarcasm? She immediately stood up.

“Wise words do not require repeating.” Even though Li Qianxue was sitting, she did not lose the momentum in her comebacks. “Considering your age, your ears must be starting to lose its keenness. You might need to get your hearing checked in due time. ”

Generally, one would keep a low profile when they were in another person’s home, but Huo Mingmei’s words and accusations were too dreadful to listen to.

If she didn’t help her daughter come off completely innocent, how could Su Qingsang ever gain a foothold in the Huo family and hold her head high in the future?

Huo Mingmei’s husband Wei Nantian had been silent the whole time. However, he understood now that his wife could no longer take advantage of this situation. He pulled Huo Mingmei’s arm beside him and signaled to her to stop talking.

Huo Mingmei shook his hand away. She was so angry that her chest was heaving. She turned around and looked at Old Master Huo. “Dad, are you going to just sit aside and watch someone bully your daughter?”

Old Master Huo didn’t speak, and Li Qianxue smiled. She asked, “why would I bully you? It’s really interesting that you ask your parents for help when something happens, just like a little child. My son Yuxin is 17 years old, and I don’t see him doing anything like this.”

This meant that Huo Mingmei was not comparable to even a little child.

Huo Mingmei nodded again and again. “Okay, good good. Have you really come to meet the in-laws? This seems like a meeting to start a feud instead.”

“Mingmei, take a seat now.” Old Master Huo looked at Huo Mingmei with eyes full of disapproval. “Sit down,” he ordered.

Huo Mingmei continued to stand still, so Wei Nantian dragged her a little harder, tugging on her body to make her sit down.

Old Master Huo cleared his throat and looked at Li Qianxue uncomfortably. “Sorry. Mingmei grew up spoiled from a young age and doesn’t know her place sometimes. She has spouted some rubbish at the spur of a moment without thinking, but I hope that my in-laws will not take it to heart.”

Who was talking nonsense? Huo Mingmei had wanted to make another attack when she heard this, but Wei Nantian pressed her shoulder and whispered something close to her ear. Only then did she turn her head and look away.

“Of course not,” said Li Qianxue lovingly as she turned her head and looked at Su Qingsang. “At the very beginning, when Jinyao’s aunt said these things, we just listened, but Qingsang is a good child. She is a little clumsy with words at times, however, and would not know how to speak up. All the more so that I needed to say a few words as a mother. I hope Old Master Huo will not take this the wrong way either.”

“We’re all a family from now on. Now, why would I take it the wrong way?” Old Master Huo spoke quite beautifully considering the circumstances.

Turning his face to address Old Master Li he said, “brother Yongfeng, what would you say to that?”

“Of course, this is only natural.” Old Master Li looked at the circle of people and understood it all. He quite agreed with what his daughter just said and did.

However, there was still a faint sense of worry in his heart. He was worried about Su Qingsang facing such a big family in the future, along with the fact that her mother-in-law would not be so easy to get along with.

Huo Yangyuan, who was listening but had not spoken till now, agreed.

“Yes, yes, that’s right. As one family, we don’t speak about two houses as if they are separate. We are all going to be in one house in the future. The fact that we can meet our children’s in-laws is also fated. There is nothing untoward we should feel about that.”

As soon as he spoke, Huo Yangxiu also chimed in. The oldest of the generations had spoken out, and the remaining progenies couldn’t say anything to oppose them.

The meaning behind Old Master Huo’s statements was too apparent. Even if the next generation did have other opinions about this in their hearts, they had to force themselves to swallow it back.

Now that this matter seemed to be subsiding, the people in the living room would not dare bring it up again.

Only Liu Tongjia continued to look at Li Qianxue, her eyes full of ridicule. Even Su Qingsang could feel the effect of the look that she was giving. Needless to say, anyone else in the room could.

When they were going out for lunch at noon, she let Li Qianxue and Old Master Li get into her car first.

As soon as she got into the car, she couldn’t help but ask Li Qianxue what she had wanted.

“Mom, you didn’t look very good when you came in through the door just now. Did something happen?”