Xia Tianxiu's scathing rebuke made the old woman in front of him tremble violently.
She covered her face with her hands, and a low, suppressed sob escaped her lips: "I'm so sorry, my child... Mommy is here to make it up to you now..."
"You'll compensate me? Your clothes have two patches and your pants have three patches. What are you going to use to compensate me?" Xia Tianxiu looked at the old woman with disdain.
The old woman cried even harder: "But... my heart is real."
"What exactly do you want from me? Just say it!"
“I don’t want anything, Mom just… just wanted to come see you. By the way, Xiuer, you don’t know my name yet, do you? My surname is Qin, and my name is Qin Xuelian—Xue as in learning, Lian as in lotus.”
"I think you should be called shameless! What the hell are you doing here?"
Xia Tianxiu said without any politeness, "If you don't tell me, don't blame me for kicking you out."
Qin Xuelian slowly lowered her hands from her face:
"Child... Xiuer... I know you're a good child!"
Do you know that I gave you your name?
At that moment, your father and I couldn't help ourselves...
Having that kind of relationship...
After I met you...
He wouldn't let me give birth to you, but I'd rather die than comply!
I risked my life... to give birth to you... my child.
Otherwise, how did you get the chance to live in such a nice courtyard?
After you were born,
As Qin Xuelian spoke, her gaze drifted into the distance.
"Xia Dong, he doesn't want you."
How could I possibly throw you in the trash?
I knelt on the ground for two days and two nights before he finally agreed...
He will keep you as long as I leave far away and never see you again.
I begged him...
I begged him to let you be included in the Xia family genealogy, using the 'Tian' generation name from the Xia family.
I hope you will be a good child.
Xiuer, I had a younger sister who died young, named Qin Xiulian.
I gave you her name, Xiu, hoping that my Xiu'er will receive the blessings of both her mother and her aunt.
I hope my Xiuer will live a peaceful, happy, and fulfilling life.
"So, you gave me this unlucky name? I'm using the name of a damned, short-lived woman?" Xia Tianxiu roared. "I knew it—the Xia family is all thunder and rain, only I am the damn 'Xiu'! Sure enough, you never had good intentions from the start!"
"Child, how could you say that to me?"
I gave up a job as a nanny in the Xia family that so many people envied for you! For so many years I've wandered around, enduring the pain of not seeing you!
All I want is for you to live well...to have a good life!
"What a fucking good life I have!"
Do you know what kind of life I lived in the Xia family?
I've known since I was a child that I was a worthless, bastard child picked up from a garbage dump!
I've been the nanny and slave of those four bastards in the Xia family since I was a child!
Look at my body, look at these scars!
As Xia Tianxiu spoke, she excitedly rolled up her sleeves, revealing large patches of scars, one new scar upon another.
“No one in the Xia family has ever failed to hit me.”
Before I was 15, I had never fucking eaten a full meal.
The Xia family has a Pekingese dog, and I often steal its food. Do you know what kind of life I'm living?
"You think that by keeping me in the Xia family, I'll live a good life?"
Qin Xuelian was stunned. Looking at the scars, she wanted to reach out and touch them, but then timidly withdrew her hand.
"I don't know, I didn't know it would be like this..."
Xia Dong, he made that promise!
He promised to treat you well and make sure you have enough to eat and wear!
"So that you can live a good life like the other children in the Xia family!"
"Hmph, Xia Dong, that two-faced beast? You believe him?"
Xia Tianxiu only remembered this when she started cursing: Xia Dong had always had a very ambiguous relationship with the housekeeper and his female subordinates!
In fact, the biological mother of Xia's four children died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the scene of the adultery incident!
However—Xia Dong never laid a hand on her, his adopted daughter!
I've never touched a single hair on her head!
Yes, she should have realized it long ago—that she was Xia Dong's biological daughter!
Otherwise, why would Xia Dong have kept her by his side for so many years without making a move?
To think that his own background was so filthy and disgusting!
What exactly does this old woman want to do by appearing at this particular time?
Overwhelmed with rage, Xia Tianxiu grabbed Qin Xuelian by the collar and yanked her off the sofa, yelling, "Why did you appear in front of me? Why don't you just die?!"
Qin Xuelian let her carry her, her body swaying back and forth like a rag doll.
It's clear that this old woman is nothing but a skeleton with hardly any flesh on her body.
Judging from her aged face, withered body, and patched-up cotton-padded coat, her life must have been quite difficult.
Xia Tianxiu vented her anger by tearing at Qin Xuelian for a while, then, feeling a bit tired, she threw her back onto the sofa: "What exactly do you want?"
"Xiuer, your mother has wandered all her life, and now it's time for her to return to her roots..."
"Fallen leaves return to their roots? Return to... what roots?"
"Mom... wants to... live with you!"
"Qin Xuelian, what the hell are you talking about? How can you live with me?"
“I know the man who often comes to see you… his name is Qi Zhao, he’s your cousin, right? Oh, I mean—he’s the cousin of the girl you’re impersonating.” Qin Xuelian’s tone was calm, but Xia Tianxiu immediately sensed the threat in her voice.
In that instant, she knew she couldn't confront them head-on.
Because she has no way of killing someone in a place like Beijing and then disposing of the body silently.
Moreover, she didn't know who was behind Qin Xuelian.
Her tone softened: "How do you intend to live with me? What are you to me?"
Hope ignited in Qin Xuelian's eyes: "Child... Mom is willing to be your nanny! Child, I'm destined to be a nanny all my life."
Xia Tianxiu hesitated and said, "So, you mean..."
Qin Xuelian smiled ingratiatingly: "Well, what I mean is—next time when Qi Zhao comes, you should tell him you want to hire a nanny."
Xia Tianxiu snorted coldly, "If I wanted to tell him I wanted to hire a nanny, I would have already done so. I fired all the nannies he hired before, didn't you know that?"
Qin Xuelian quickly waved her hand:
"My child, this time is different. Tell him—"
I am an old woman who has no one to rely on and has fled here.
If you argue with him, he'll agree.
Xiuer, you are your mother's daughter!
You were born with these skills, definitely! Mom knows.
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