「Imperial View Garden.」

After dinner, Wu Xiaoli returned home.

"Where did you disappear to all afternoon?"

The moment she stepped inside, she was met with her mother-in-law's hostile question. Ignoring her, Wu Xiaoli went straight to her room.

Her daughter-in-law's attitude infuriated Li Chunhua, who gritted her teeth in anger. To her, this woman wasn't a daughter-in-law but a thankless wretch. Jobless, freeloading at home, and she wouldn't even abide by the three obediences and four virtues. It was laughable. How could she, a woman herself, demand her daughter-in-law follow doctrines that had long been tossed in the trash heap of history?

Just as her fury was about to boil over, the door opened. Her precious son, who was rarely home, had finally returned.

"So, you do remember you have a home?" Li Chunfang's words were a reprimand, but her tone was less scolding and more concerned.

Wang Jiadong's ears had grown calluses from his mother's nagging, so he handled it with practiced ease. He knew that as long as he didn't talk back and just let her scold him for a bit, the storm would pass.

Sure enough, after a few more chastising remarks, she asked if he had eaten. When he said he had, she immediately pivoted to his wife's terrible attitude from earlier.

"You're never home, so your wife has gotten completely out of control. She doesn't listen to a word I say. You need to sort her out."

"Mom, what did she do now?" Wang Jiadong asked. He knew to take his mother's words with a grain of salt. Her demands of Wu Xiaoli were enough to make his skin crawl.

"What else? She was out for most of the day without a word. Who knows what wild man she was running around with." Li Chunfang's words were truly vicious.

Wang Jiadong quickly cut her off. "Mom, that's enough. If you want to know where she went, why don't you just ask her properly?"

"You ask her! I can't control her. I can't be her keeper," Li Chunfang fumed, storming back to her room.

Left with no other choice, Wang Jiadong knew the matter wouldn't be dropped until he got an answer. He walked over and knocked on Wu Xiaoli's door. He had been forbidden from entering her room for a long time now. She had even changed the lock, so he couldn't get in without her permission.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

The door swung open to reveal an annoyed face.

"What is it?"

"Mom wants to know where you went this afternoon."

SLAM!

The door was slammed shut in his face.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.

"Wu Xiaoli, open up. You know I don't want to ask, but I have to give Mom some kind of answer."

Just as he finished speaking, the door opened again.

"Do I have to give an answer?" Wu Xiaoli asked.

Looking at her cold expression, he had a bad feeling. But the thought of his difficult mother made him nod.

"Fine! You want an answer, I'll give you one. So listen carefully." She raised her voice, ensuring Li Chunfang, who was listening intently from the next room with her ear pressed against the door, could hear every word.

"This afternoon, a woman called me, said she had something to discuss that was related to you, and asked me to meet her."

"Who? A woman? And it's related to me? It must be a scam." Wang Jiadong panicked, rushing to deny it. "What did she tell you? Don't believe a word she said. There are too many scammers these days."

"She said her name is Ting Ting. She said she's been with you for three years, and that..."

Before Wu Xiaoli could finish, he cut her off. "I don't know any Ting Ting! It's definitely a scam."

In reality, he knew instantly that Wu Xiaoli was telling the truth. Of all his mistresses, Ting Ting was the most persistent. Good in bed and clingy—what's not to like? That's why he'd kept her around for so long. Even though he had been with other women since, he'd never officially broken things off with her.

"Alright, that's enough. I'm sure you went out for a legitimate reason. I'll explain it to Mom later," Wang Jiadong said with an air of finality.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as he'd hoped. The bedroom door opened, and Li Chunfang stepped out.

"Let her finish. I want to see what kind of story she can spin."

He was about to cry but couldn't bring himself to argue with his mother. It just goes to show, there's always someone who can put you in your place.

Since they were so eager to hear, Wu Xiaoli continued, "She told me to leave you so that the two of you could be together."

"On what grounds?" Wang Jiadong blurted out, dropping the pretense. He was already sick of Ting Ting anyway and had lost interest in her long ago.

"On the grounds that she's pregnant with your child," Wu Xiaoli stated, her face devoid of emotion.

A child? Is this a joke? But judging by her expression, it didn't seem to be.

He reacted instantly. "Who knows whose kid she's carrying in that belly of hers."

The words were heartless, but he spoke them with confidence. He and Wu Xiaoli had been married for years without having children. Although his mother always blamed Wu Xiaoli, calling her a barren hen, he had secretly been tested. The results showed he had oligospermia; the problem was his.

He never expected his denial to unite his perpetually feuding wife and mother. Wu Xiaoli shot him a look of pure contempt. Li Chunfang, however, grabbed his hand excitedly. "Jiadong, you can't be so certain! Where is this woman, Ting Ting? Where is my unborn grandson?"

"Go bring them home, quickly! The first trimester is the most critical. I'll personally look after her to make sure everything is perfect."

Her years without a grandson had become a source of constant grief, and it was the main reason she despised her daughter-in-law. Now, hearing news of a grandson, she couldn't care less if the mother was her daughter-in-law or a mistress. All her talk about the three obediences and four virtues was tossed aside for the sake of her grandson.

Seeing this display, Wu Xiaoli scoffed coldly.

His mother's reaction put Wang Jiadong in an incredibly awkward position, especially since he knew for a fact that the child couldn't be his.

"Have I made myself clear about where I went and what I did this afternoon?" Wu Xiaoli asked.

"Crystal clear. Xiaoli, go back to your room for now. I'll explain everything about the child to you later," he whispered in her ear.

He then turned to deal with his mother, Li Chunfang, who was completely overwhelmed by the news of a grandson.

"Mom, that child might not be mine," he explained.

But Li Chunfang was in no mood to listen to such nonsense. She just assumed her son was unwilling to accept the other woman.

"Just bring her home to deliver the baby. If you don't like her, we can just kick her out afterward," she said.

His mother's words gave him a splitting headache. He knew she had become obsessed. Even if he shoved the medical report in her face, she wouldn't listen.

He tried to explain everything to Wu Xiaoli next. He had assumed that the educated and reasonable Wu Xiaoli would accept his explanation. But to his dismay, the two women in his life were united, refusing to hear him out.

When he mentioned his medical condition, she just scoffed, clearly not believing him.

He was only half right. While both women refused to listen, Wu Xiaoli's reason was not what he assumed. She no longer had any feelings for him; she simply didn't care. Hearing about his condition, her derisive laugh wasn't for him but for her former self. The years of abuse she had endured for being childless now seemed like a complete and utter injustice.

Wang Jiadong slumped onto the couch, utterly defeated and at a loss.

DING-DONG!

A WeChat friend request popped up on his phone. The sender was "A Ting Ting," and the message read: "Yes, we do have a child!"

Seeing the message, Wang Jiadong smashed his phone and roared in fury, "A child? My ass!"

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