Chapter 17: You Don't Deserve It

Madam Tang rushed to the study, where Father Tang was just about to reveal Tang Wanqiu's origin.

"Mr. Tang, Xiaxia is feeling unwell, she's calling for you!"

Madam Tang blurted out anxiously. Father Tang was taken aback for a moment; wasn't it Madam Tang who always took care of their daughter's discomforts? Why was she calling for him?

However, remembering the words he was about to say, he nodded and left the room.

Once Father Tang had left, Madam Tang closed the door of the study and turned to Tang Wanqiu with a questioning look.

"Wanqiu, just because we dote on your sister, you would snatch her wedding away from her?"

Her eyes were filled with fury, and if previously she had wanted to maintain a semblance of calm, she was truly angry now.

Tang Wanqiu looked at Madam Tang in fear, more afraid of this mother than her father, after all, she might go crazy and hurt her.

"No, I didn't snatch anything, Brother Mingcheng and I are in love."

She truly believed this even now.

Madam Tang scoffed coldly, "Fine, you and he are still in love. When did it start?"

If emotions could materialize, one could probably see a lioness baring her fangs, ready to tear everything apart, staring down her prey.

She did not like Tang Wanqiu, not just because this child had taken the name of her own child, preventing her from mourning that child openly, but also because this girl was the child of the woman to whom her husband had once been betrothed.

It was that melodramatic.

That year, she lost a child, and Tang Chuxia was so ill, she was in a daze. When her husband brought Tang Wanqiu before her, she had rejected the idea crazily, but the rest of the family pressured her to agree.

From then on, she despised the child.

At the end of the day, she was rational enough not to blame Tang Wanqiu, but she ultimately could not face a child with such an awkward identity every day. She wasn't that noble, unable to treat someone else's child as if they were her own.

That was why the incident happened where Tang Wanqiu was taken away by her mother-in-law, and she agreed to not show any abnormal behavior on the surface, but she would never visit the child on her own initiative.

She couldn't do it.

Just seeing Tang Wanqiu reminded her of her daughter who died young.

So, she transferred all that guilt onto Tang Chuxia, raising her to be naive, carefree, and simple in nature.

She was a good mother, but definitely not a good stepmother.

It was probably this sharp contrast that made Tang Wanqiu hate Madam Tang so much.

Now, for the first time, mother and daughter had torn through the surface harmony for a direct confrontation.

Tang Wanqiu clenched her palms so tightly that her fingernails dug into her skin as she stared at Madam Tang; her lips were bitten until they bled, but she couldn't even feel the pain.

After a long while, she finally said, "It started a long time ago!"

Madam Tang was stunned; she had not expected this answer.

"How could that be? You've only been back for a month!"

Tang Wanqiu let out a cold laugh, "Brother Mingcheng and I met three years ago, and he said back then that he liked me!"

Madam Tang was truly furious; she had not expected the Hu family's boy to have changed his heart for so long. How much hurt had that caused her Xiaxia?

No wonder Xiaxia was suffering so much. Since Tang Wanqiu had been brought back, what had her Xiaxia been going through?

She thought of her daughter, who had not been seriously ill for many years, but in the past month had fallen ill repeatedly and even fainted twice. Her heart ached as if bleeding.

For what?

For such a child, she would let her own daughter suffer all this?

She resented her own husband and also resented the magnanimous in-laws.

But death extinguishes life, and many things are no longer worth pursuing. She transferred her resentment onto her own husband.

Her eyes complex with emotion, she stared at Tang Wanqiu. "You should have known long ago that you are not my biological child, right?"

At this, Tang Wanqiu truly panicked.

Though she could yell at Father Tang and Madam Tang, and she could oppose Tang Chuxia in this family, she was well aware that without the support of the Tang Family, she was nothing.

From Tang Wanqiu's reaction, Madam Tang knew she was aware of everything. With a bitter smile, she thought that her in-laws, as hastily as they had passed, would not have left without saying anything.

It was clear they had informed Tang Wanqiu of her origins before their demise, or else she would not have done such things.

She should have known the principle that a family prospers or suffers together.

Even if she detested the Tang Family, she would not destroy Tang Chuxia. It would not be good for her reputation.

Only hatred could make her lose her senses and do things like robbing her sister of her fiancé, Hu Mingcheng, and finding ways to get Tang Chuxia into trouble.

This was revenge.

After connecting all the pieces of information, Madam Tang let out a bitter smile.

She knew she should not have been soft-hearted back then.

No wonder her Xiaxia had been so worried that it was Father Tang and Tang Wanqiu who had disclosed the truth of her origins. If it were Father Tang, he might feel guilty and distressed over the past events, and might even sacrifice his own daughter's interests to take care of Tang Wanqiu.

But this was not what Tang Chuxia wanted to see.

She just wanted to see Tang Wanqiu suffer, after all, the original host had died in great frustration, and Tang Wanqiu was not a good person.

"Since you already know your origins, you should also be aware that your biological parents should be returning soon. During this period, you'll stay at the cultural troupe dormitory and try not to come back here as much as possible!"

Madam Tang felt terrible.

Suddenly, Tang Wanqiu knelt before Madam Tang: "Mom, I was wrong! I don't want to leave the Tang Family!"

She was truly afraid.

Madam Tang shook off her hand: "It's not for you to decide. If you want to harm your biological parents, then go and reveal your origins to the public yourself."

Tang Wanqiu's face turned deathly pale.

Detecting something amiss, Madam Tang asked urgently, "You didn't tell Hu Mingcheng, did you?"

Not hearing an answer from Tang Wanqiu, Madam Tang let out a bitter laugh. "You truly are an ingrate. You didn't dare ask us about such matters, yet you dared to tell a stranger. Did he propose to cancel the marriage after finding out your real identity?"

Everyone knew that the two had been involved three years ago, so why hadn't the marriage been cancelled before, and why was it being brought up now, just when Tang Wanqiu's biological parents were about to return?

Anyone with a bit of sense would understand what was going on.

She couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh; the Hu Family was indeed quite calculating.

That marriage had to be called off as soon as possible.

Madam Tang knelt in front of Tang Wanqiu: "Although I don't like you, your grandparents and your dad took extra care of you, didn't they? If you dare harm the Tang Family, wouldn't your conscience pain you?"

Tang Wanqiu suddenly looked up at Madam Tang, glaring. "Why would my conscience hurt? You adopted me, so why do you treat me this way? My sister is your daughter, so am I! Why do you treat us differently?"

Why?

Madam Tang slapped her across the face.

"Because you don't deserve it!"

Just like her biological mother, she was so malicious at her very core.

Madam Tang stood up and walked to the door of the study, turning back to say something to Tang Wanqiu on the ground that made her face turn even paler, her composure completely lost!