Although he was said to love money, he was not so blind as to fail to see the truth. Xu Xiao'e said she was grateful, but in her heart, she must have hated him to the bone. The large sum of money she brought today was surely meant to embarrass him.
"I never knew Father to be a man who didn't love money," Xu Xiao'e sighed, shaking her head. Then, as if remembering something, she gave Shen Cheng a knowing smile. "I get it. Father is thinking of your eldest daughter, Shen Xiaoyan, isn't he? After all, she's living like a young lady now, with servants at her beck and call, doing even better than I am."
"What exactly do you want today? If you don't get to the point, you can leave," Shen Cheng's face darkened, and he spoke to Xu Xiao'e in an unfriendly tone.
"I came to thank Father and Mother, of course. Without you, where would I be today..."
"Enough. Get out now," Shen Cheng said, slamming his hand on the kang table. He stood up and walked towards the door.
"Shen Xiaoyan isn't your daughter, is she?"
Shen Cheng paused by the door, then turned around swiftly, looking at Xu Xiao'e in surprise.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Shen Cheng frowned and roared.
"Shen Xiaoyan isn't your daughter, and neither is Shen Xiaoming," Xu Xiao'e stated as a fact, not as a question, but with utter confidence.
Shen Cheng's face became complex. He seemed to recall some unpleasant memories, feeling a pang of anger, and then, perhaps some pleasant ones, a touch of happiness.
But in the next moment, his face returned to its usual calm. "Stop talking such nonsense and leave."
Xu Xiao'e pursed her lips and smiled. "Heh, if I weren't sure, do you think I'd be spouting such words here? Someone told me that when you brought Zhen Shi home, Shen Xiaoyan's mother, Zhen Shi was already pregnant."
She paused, took a sip of tea from the cup on the table, and continued. "I'm actually more curious about how Shen Xiaoming came about. Rumor has it, he's not your son either."
Shen Cheng stared intently at Xu Xiao'e, as if he wanted to devour her alive, but he remained silent.
Madame Xu, who had been listening from the side, was stunned. After a long while, she reacted and said to Xu Xiao'e disbelievingly, "Xiao'e, you can't just say such things. As for Shen Xiaoyan, fine. But Shen Xiaoming was born seven years after Zhen Shi married your father. If he's not your father's child, then..."
"Silence," Shen Cheng roared, cutting off Madame Xu's words.
Madame Xu was startled by Shen Cheng's sudden outburst, and the infant in her arms began to cry.
Madame Xu gently patted her younger daughter's back, coaxing her in a low voice until she stopped crying. Then, she glared at Shen Cheng and said, "Why are you yelling? She's your daughter. You're yelling at us, your wife and daughter, for the sake of a woman who's been dead for so long. Have you no conscience?"
Seeing his youngest daughter cry, Shen Cheng felt a pang of heartache and regretted his loud voice. However, hearing Madame Xu's words, a surge of anger instantly welled up in his chest.
"You shut up."
Madame Xu was never one to back down easily, nor was she a woman easily intimidated by men, especially when she knew she was in the right.
Under these circumstances, Shen Cheng's attitude was like a lit fuse, instantly igniting her temper.
"Why are you yelling at me? Huh? You couldn't manage things yourself, so you found some foolishly beautiful woman from who-knows-where and took her in, even with another man's child. And you let her give birth to that little bastard. After years of marriage, you let her have another bastard. Why don't you go yell at her? Why are you taking it out on me, on your own daughter?"
Madame Xu unleashed a torrent of curses without even pausing for breath, leaving Shen Cheng speechless.
Xu Xiao'e sat on the kang, watching Shen Cheng and Madame Xu argue. She showed no desire to intervene. On the contrary, her eyes gleamed with excitement, as if she wished Shen Cheng and Madame Xu would truly fight.
Perhaps feeling he was in the wrong, or perhaps not wanting to dwell on the matter, Shen Cheng stopped arguing with Madame Xu and fixed his gaze on Xu Xiao'e. "Where did you hear all this?"
Xu Xiao'e chuckled, her eyebrows arching upwards. "That's none of your concern. I didn't come here for confirmation today, only to inform you."
"Inform me of what?"
"I've already arranged for someone to spread the word. I want to see if Shen Xiaoyan and her brother will still have the face to live here, knowing their mother is like this. Hmph..."
Xu Xiao'e's lips curled into a mocking smile.
With a mother who cheated, and being a bastard whose father is unknown, will Shen Xiaoyan have the face to live on?
It's likely not just her; Shen Xiaoming, and her three little ones will also bear this stigma, never able to escape it their entire lives.
As for Zheng Wei, if he's smart, he'll divorce Shen Xiaoyan. If he's stubborn, then he shouldn't blame her.
Seeing the calculation in Xu Xiao'e's eyes, Shen Cheng immediately said, "You can't do this."
Xu Xiao'e cast a sidelong glance at Shen Cheng and burst into laughter, her laughter sharp and piercing, scaring the infant in Madame Xu's arms into crying again.
After Xu Xiao'e finished laughing, she said fiercely, "Why can't I? She made me live a life worse than death. Why should she live happily and prosperously?"
Madame Xu also panicked. She didn't care what happened to Shen Xiaoyan and her brother, but if this matter got out, Shen Cheng would lose face.
After all, his wife had cheated on him, twice, and he had raised those two little bastards afterwards.
If this got out, how would Shen Cheng be able to hold his head up? Even their own family would be the subject of gossip.
"Xiao'e, we can just keep this to ourselves. Don't spread it around," Madame Xu quickly said to Xu Xiao'e.
Xu Xiao'e looked at Madame Xu with a mocking smile. "Why? Don't you hate Shen Xiaoyan and her brother the most? Won't you be happy to see them ruined?"
Madame Xu hesitated for a moment, then said, "I want to see them suffer, but this involves your father, and our entire family. If this gets out, your younger brothers' wives will have trouble finding good marriages later on."
"What does that have to do with me?" Xu Xiao'e yelled furiously, her voice filled with anger and despair, her expression bordering on madness. "What does your being well off have to do with me? I only care that Shen Xiaoyan suffers."
"You... how can you say that? You ungrateful wretch," Madame Xu trembled with anger. Was this still the daughter she had raised for over ten years?
"How should I say it? Mother, what do you want me to say? My current situation is all your fault, and this man's fault."
Saying this, Xu Xiao'e pointed at Shen Cheng and shouted.
Madame Xu looked at the expression on Xu Xiao'e's face, and her heart shivered. She steadied herself and said, "Xiao'e, aren't you living quite well now? You have food and clothes, people serving you, and you live in a big house. Isn't that better than staying at home? Besides, you're the eldest now, and still young. You have many good years ahead of you, a lifetime of wealth to enjoy. What are you still dissatisfied with?"
"You know I'm young? I'm only 17 this year. What kind of lives are other girls of 17 living? And what kind of life am I living? Other couples are happy, with children all around. What about me?"
"Aren't you doing quite well too?" Madame Xu said with a smile, though her tone was strained, and her expression evasive.
"Well?" Xu Xiao'e laughed, a laugh filled with helplessness and sorrow. "You think this kind of life is good?" Madame Xu was so intimidated by Xu Xiao'e's gaze that she couldn't speak and could only hide her head behind the infant in her arms, not daring to look at Xu Xiao'e.
Xu Xiao'e then looked at Shen Cheng, who remained silent. "What about you? My dear father, you doted on me for so many years, yet when I needed you, you married me off to an old man who could be my grandfather. Do you also think that was being good to me?"