To My Dear Mr. Huo

The others had not been informed of Su Qingsang’s true parentage, but Old Master Huo had. Huo Jinyao told him about that when he had returned from Lin City.

Su Qingsang had been keeping the truth a secret because she didn’t want to ruin Su Chenghui’s reputation.

However, Su Peizhen was not as kind as her half-sister.

Since Su Qingsang had proven to be the legitimate daughter of her parents, that meant that Su Peizhen had to be the illegitimate one.

Old Master Huo had no problems with illegitimate children. He could even understand that Su Chenghui had been driven by anger to commit that wicked deed.

However, after meeting Su Peizhen, he started to think differently of the Su family.

They had abandoned Su Peizhen after taking their legitimate daughter back. Su Peizhen was not the biological daughter of Li Qianxue’s but had nonetheless been raised by her. There ought to have been some familial affection between the Su family and that girl.

How could they have cast her out of the family so cruelly?

Old Master Huo did not consider their actions to be completely inappropriate. Li Qianxue no longer saw Su Peizhen as her daughter after learning as she had that Su Chenghui had fooled her for many years. That was cruel but understandable.

And of course, Su Qingsang was part of it too.

As Su Peizhen had said, Su Qingsang was now married to Huo Jinyao and so had his support.

That was probably the reason why the Su family had been exceedingly cruel to Su Peizhen.

They had cast her out of the family both to please Su Qingsang and also to punish Su Chenghui.

As Old Master Huo remained silent, none of the younger family members said anything.

Huo Jinyao narrowed his eyes slightly, focusing on Su Peizhen. He realized that he had underestimated that woman. Su Peizhen hadn’t mentioned the fact that she was the illegitimate daughter of the Su family. If he hadn’t told the truth to his grandfather, his grandfather might think of the Su family as snobs who would abandon their actual daughter for the chance to become in-laws with the Huo family.

Unbeknownst to Huo Jinyao however, Old Master Huo was indeed having some new thoughts about Su Qingsang and her family.

Su Peizhen was an illegitimate child and that itself was no big deal.

Many families in Rong City had illegitimate children.

Such children were typically raised outside of their families, but for the families that decided to take in illegitimate children, they would never cast them out.

Old Master Huo glanced at Huo Yifan and starting to speak. He sounded nowhere near as delighted as he’d been before. “This is your decision to make. I do not intend to interfere. You two can do whatever you think is right.”

He had accepted Su Peizhen as a potential granddaughter-in-law.

Huo Jinyao looked at Old Master Huo, understanding that his grandfather wasn’t wrong. Indeed, Huo Yifan had the right to be with anyone he liked.

Even though Huo Jinyao and Su Qingsang were both in agreement, neither of them was feeling happy at the moment, especially not Su Qingsang.

Su Peizhen hadn’t mentioned why exactly she had been kicked out of her family. The people who were unaware of the truth might buy her words and believe it had been Su Qingsang’s marriage with Huo Jinyao that had precipitated it.

Su Peizhen had also avoided admitting her true parentage. She neglected to mention that she was, in fact, the illegitimate daughter. Instead she had only spoken of how she was the daughter who had gotten thrown out of the family.

Su Qingsang felt compelled to tell the truth and make things clear, but when she noticed the way Old Master Huo looked at Su Peizhen, she lost the resolve to say what she had wanted to.

Old Master Huo seemed to have accepted Su Peizhen as a future family member.

He might not want to listen to Su Qingsang be hostile to Su Peizhen at the moment.

Su Qingsang turned to Huo Jinyao, who had become somewhat sullen by then. He looked at Su Peizhen intending to rebut her claims.

Su Qingsang held one of his hands and shook her head gently.

Some things were worth fighting for, others not so much.

Su Peizhen claimed to be the Su family’s daughter, and that was true. She would always be the daughter of the Su family.

If she wanted to be with Huo Yifan, then let her be with him.

That was what was running through Su Qingsang’s mind.

No one but Su Peizhen noticed Su Qingsang’s shift.

Su Peizhen ducked her head so people wouldn’t see the smile on her face. There was not much more to be done today. All she had needed to do was to sow the seeds of doubt between Su Qingsang and Old Master Huo.

Time would do the rest.

Her performance was not over yet.

Nian Chunya and Huo Mingliang were Huo Yifan’s parents. As Old Master Huo had already accepted Su Peizhen, they could not disapprove of her.

Nian Chunya had not come from an exceptional family but always liked to compare herself to Liu Tongjia.

For years, she had lived under Liu Tongjia’s shadow. While many had heard of Liu Tongjia, very few knew who she was. When people talked about Mrs. Huo, they were always referring to Liu Tongjia and not Nian Chunya.

No doubt her husband was partly the reason she could never rise above Liu Tongjia. Huo Mingliang was not as capable as his older brother. As a member of the board of the Tianyu Group, he had barely contributed to the company.

Liu Tongjia was a capable woman. Nian Chunya had tried and failed a few times to cause difficulties for her.

She always wanted to come out on top, but could never figure out how.

Liu Tongjia was better than her in every way. She had birthed three children, but so had Liu Tongjia. They each had two boys and a girl.

Every time she thought about their children, she thanked God for allowing that incident to happen. She was relieved that Huo Jinkai died young.

That boy would have been so much more beloved than her sons had he lived.

Of course, she had never dared to share those thoughts with anyone else.

Old Master Huo strictly forbade anyone from talking about Huo Jinkai and his little sister. Their names had become taboo to the family.

Huo Yifan was about two years younger than Huo Jinyao. After Huo Jinkai had died, Nian Chunya developed some grand hopes for Huo Yifan, her eldest son.

Huo Jinyao had rarely ever been serious about anything as a boy. All he had liked to do was play around. Therefore, after Huo Jinkai had died, Nian Chunya thought that Huo Yifan might have a chance to take over the family business. However, to her surprise, Huo Jinyao became a completely different person after his brother’s death. He skipped grades, studied abroad, and then took over the company often earning Old Master Huo’s praise.

He had surpassed Huo Yifan and his siblings.

Liu Tongjia had only one son left. It stood to reason she should have no reason to be superior.

However that last son of hers turned out to be outstanding. He had become Old Master Huo’s favorite grandson. How unfair!

According to Su Peizhen, Su Qingsang had somehow convinced her parents to cast her little sister out of the family, in order to marry Huo Jinyao.

It proved that Su Qingsang was the capable one and that Su Peizhen was outmatched by her sister.

Sadly, the foolish Huo Yifan had picked the weaker sister. The thought made Nian Chunya’s face grow sour.

Su Peizhen walked to Nian Chunya and greeted her. Nian Chunya responded to the girl with a bland and unmistakably unhappy face.

Su Peizhen paid it no mind. She greeted Nian Chunya and Huo Mingliang politely and warmly. After which she turned to Huo Mingguang and Liu Tongjia, and then Huo Mingmei and Wei Nantian, and finally to the youngest family members. She gave her regards to every member of the family.

Li Qianxue had taught Su Peizhen well. Among other things, her manners were flawless.

Liu Tongjia hadn’t taken the girl seriously at first sight.

However, she had realized something as she looked on at the show the girl was staging.

Su Peizhen and Su Qingsang probably wouldn’t get along very well.