Chapter 406 - 406 Stepmother's Vicious Heart
406 Stepmother’s Vicious Heart
Seeing Li Ze’en and the others, the laughter in the living room stopped.
Madam’s gaze lingered on Ze’en and Qiao An. Then, Ze’en’s stepmother suddenly said acidly, “Yo, I was wondering where Ze’en went early in the morning. So she went to look for Qiao An? Ze’en, these things you have must have been bought for you by Qiao An, right?”
She glanced at the brand of Ze’en’s shopping bag and said with jealousy, “No wonder you don’t treat me well as your stepmother. It turns out that you despise the things I bought for you for being unpresentable. Sigh, but you can’t blame me. It’s all because of your father. He earns little money.”
Huo Xiaoran, who had locked the car and followed closely behind, heard the woman’s words and looked disgusted. “Alright, no one will think you’re mute if you don’t speak.”
Then, he warned her sternly, “If you dare to talk to my wife sarcastically again and make her unhappy, I promise I’ll let you come in vertically and get out of this door horizontally.”
The woman relied on Li Tingfeng’s high spirits during this period of time to show off in the Li family. She stood up and walked up to Huo Xiaoran. “Xiaoran, I know you wield a lot of power, but in the Li family, an adopted son like you shouldn’t interfere too much, right?”
Huo Xiaoran scolded in a low voice, “Get lost. Don’t show off in front of me.”
The woman’s face darkened and paled.
Huo Xiaoran said to Qiao An, “I’m going to see Old Master. Wait for me for a moment.”
Qiao An nodded.
Li Ze’en and Qiao An walked to the coffee table and found an empty seat.
Madam’s gaze landed on Ze’en’s face with a hint of condemnation. She probably felt that she was so poor that she had no ambition and took the initiative to beg Qiao An to give her charity.
Ze’en looked grim.
Qiao An took the initiative to help her. “Madam, Xiaoran asked me to buy these things for Ze’en.”
Madam’s expression relaxed slightly.
However, she asked curiously, “Ze’en, why did you go to your uncle?”
Ze’en’s mouth twitched, not knowing how to answer.
It was Qiao An who explained, “She asked Xiaoran to find her a job and said that she can do it no matter how hard or tiring it is. She just wanted to earn a living.”
Qiao An deliberately made Ze’en sound especially miserable. Madam’s pity for Ze’en rose. Instead of blaming her, her heart ached for her.
“Aye, Qiao An, Ze’en’s grown up and sensible. If you can help her, please do so. I thank you on behalf of her parents,” Madam said.
Ze’en looked at Qiao An in amazement. With a few words, Qiao An changed Madam’s attitude. Was she a mind reader?
Qiao An glanced at Ze’en and said, “Madam, you know that I’ve always been at odds with Ze’en. If she hadn’t taken the initiative to beg my Xiaoran, who then entrusted me to take good care of Ze’en, I wouldn’t have bothered to do so.”
Madam believed that Ze’en and Qiao An’s relationship wasn’t as good as they thought. Such an unloved Ze’en made Madam’s heart ache even more.
Madam took the initiative to plead for Ze’en. “Qiao An, Ze’en was insensible when she was young and offended you. But now, seeing that she’s much more sensible, please help her if you can.”
Qiao An said, “Since Madam has spoken, how can I not do her the favor?”
Ze’en’s lips curved slightly. She was convinced of Qiao An’s sincerity. From now on, Qiao An could help her openly. And Madam had to be grateful to Qiao An for giving her respect.
The mistress was probably afraid that Ze’en would gain power and deliberately tried to sow discord between Ze’en and Qiao An. She said, “Yo, Qiao An, you’re really magnanimous. I heard that Ze’en never treated you well in the past, but now you’re helping her. Qiao An, you’re indeed kind-hearted.”
She was openly praising Qiao An as the Virgin Mary, but she was secretly reminding Qiao An that Ze’en wasn’t worth her help.
Qiao An said, “That’s right. She used to be my sister-in-law. She treated me as her equal and did respect me a little. But now that I’m her aunt, she treats me as her elder. Naturally, she respects me a lot more. I don’t hold a grudge.”
The woman failed to sow discord and said sourly, “Ze’en, since you’ve found a job now, can you move out of the Li family? After all, you’re not young anymore. You should learn to take charge, right?”
Her blatant expulsion of Ze’en stunned the entire room.
Madam’s face immediately darkened. “What do you mean? You can’t bear to see Ze’en doing well, right? Ze’en doesn’t have a boyfriend, and the Li family is her home. Where else can she go?”
The woman quickly tried to smooth things over. “Aiya, Mom, you misunderstood my good intentions. Since I’m her stepmother, I have to take on the responsibility of educating her, right? This child is already in her twenties. Many girls are already mothers at this age. However, Ze’en is staying at home like a little girl. This is not a long-term solution.”
“When the time comes, Ze’en will not be independent. You’ll only blame me for not teaching her well as a stepmother,” the woman said with an aggrieved twitch.
Madam said, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. You can’t wait to chase Ze’en and her family out of the Li family, leaving only your family here. Only then would you feel comfortable.”
Ze’en lowered her head, looking pitiful and helpless.
“Since my stepmother can’t tolerate me, I’ll move out today.”
Madam said, “Then where are you staying?”
Ze’en said nothing. Clearly, she hadn’t thought about where she was going at all.
Madam said, “You’re not allowed to go anywhere.”
Her stepmother said, “Mom, your grandson will be back soon. The house is getting crowded.”
At the mention of the grandson she had never met, Madam hesitated for a moment. This was because she had long heard from Li Tingfeng that not only was his illegitimate son handsome, but his character was good and he did well academically. He was also humble and polite.
In addition, this mistress had praised her son in front of Madam every day recently. This made Madam, who favored boys over girls, inexplicably like this grandson.
If she had to choose between her grandson and Ze’en, Madam would definitely be in a difficult position.
Ze’en also saw the hint. Knowing that the old lady loved her grandson, Ze’en’s heart ached inexplicably.
She wanted to leave, but when she thought of her motive for returning to the Li family, she could only stay here.
At this moment, Qiao An said fairly, “Your son is not young anymore. He’s a boy and it’s safe for him to live outside. Ze’en is a weak girl. It’s not safe for her to live outside. What do you think? Third Sister-in-law?”