kvmb Chapter 273 Aunt Liu's Thoughts
Chapter 273 Aunt Liu's Thoughts
When Zhou's father saw Zhou Qingran, he was a little flustered at first, but he quickly calmed down. He was indeed a high-ranking official of the court.
"Qingran, what brings you here?" Zhou's father asked calmly, his smile fading.
"Why did I come? If I hadn't come, how would I have witnessed such a spectacular scene, how would I have known that Father had two homes?" Zhou Qingran said sarcastically.
"Since Qingran already knows, then I won't say anything more. Let me introduce you. This is Aunt Liu, and these are your younger brother and sister-in-law, Zhou Qingyi and Zhou Qinglan." Zhou's father calmly introduced his mistress to Zhou Qingran. It seems he really has no scruples.
"Ha, Aunt Liu? What kind of concubine is she? Only those my mother agrees to be concubines. She's just a mistress at best." Zhou Qingran looked at the charming woman next to her father, her tone icy.
“Oh, and these two too.” Zhou Qingran pointed to the two concubines who were glaring at her fiercely.
“I only have an older brother, no younger brothers or sisters. Are you talking about these two illegitimate children? They are not qualified, Father. Don’t forget, illegitimate children cannot be included in the family genealogy. They are not members of the Zhou family and have no relation to me at all. Don’t you agree, Father?”
As soon as Zhou Qingran said that, everyone present changed their expression, especially Zhou Qingyi and Zhou Qinglan, whose faces turned ashen, as if they had eaten shit.
"Father, my sister went too far! We are your children too!" Zhou Qinglan glared fiercely at Zhou Qingran before tugging at her father's sleeve, looking aggrieved.
“Zhou Lang, I know my status is lowly, but Qingyi and Qinglan are both of Zhou family blood. How can you say such things, Miss? Isn’t this hurting the two children’s feelings?” Liu’s delicate and weak voice immediately made Zhou’s father stand on her side.
"Don't worry, Qingyi and Qinglan are my children, and no one can change that." After comforting Liu, Zhou's father began to criticize Zhou Qingran.
"Qingran, how can you be so insensible? How did I teach you before? I told you that these are your younger brothers and sisters, and you should take care of them. Apologize to Aunt Liu, Qingyi, and Qinglan."
“Apologize? Do they deserve it? Oh, I forgot, Father, you should change their names quickly. This character is not suitable for them. Is Father senile? How come he doesn’t even remember the ancestral teachings? I’ll have to ask the clan elders properly when we get back.”
The character "Qing" is reserved for direct descendants of the Zhou family, such as her Qingran, her brother Qingmi, and her cousins.
Even children born to concubines cannot be used, let alone children from mistresses who cannot even be included in the family genealogy.
Mr. Zhou's expression changed instantly. How could he have forgotten this? When his son and daughter were born, he was so happy and doted on Aunt Liu that he named them after her under her influence.
I thought about it later, but since no one would know, I didn't change it, and so many years have passed.
"If I find out, I will change their names."
“Father,” Zhou Qingyi and Zhou Qinglan looked at their father in disbelief.
"Zhou Lang." Aunt Liu looked as if she had been struck by lightning.
"It's just a name. Don't worry, your father still loves you very much," Zhou's father comforted the two of them.
Aunt Liu was so angry she was about to grind her teeth to powder. Was it just a name? It was a symbol of status. She had always dreamed of becoming the matriarch of the Zhou family. She had put in so much effort to get Mr. Zhou to give his daughter such a name, but now all her efforts had been in vain.
Aunt Liu turned her gaze to the culprit, Zhou Qingran, and waited. When she became the mistress of the Zhou family, she would make this wretched girl who stood in her way wish she were dead.
"Heh, so they weren't that important to you after all?" Zhou Qingran chuckled twice, the mockery in her tone almost tangible.
"Qingran, you're being incredibly insensible." Zhou's father, perhaps provoked by Zhou Qingran's words, slammed his fist on the table in anger and scolded her.
"I was being immature, so let your sensible son and daughter keep you company. I'm not going to keep you company." Zhou Qingran suddenly felt quite bored. What right did such a man have to be her father, or her mother's husband? He was utterly hypocritical.
After Zhou Qingran finished speaking, he turned and left, completely ignoring the vicious glares behind him and his father's furious roar: "Zhou Qingran, what kind of manners are you learning? Stop right there!"
"Zhou Lang, don't be angry. Be careful not to hurt yourself. How can this young lady be so insensible? She doesn't know how to respect her father at all." Aunt Liu suppressed the viciousness in her heart and immediately put her arms around Zhou's father's chest to comfort him.
Zhou Qinglan immediately poured a glass of water for her father: "Dad, please have some water first. My sister is probably still young; she'll be fine when she's older."
Father Zhou patted his chest and said, "Hmph, she's young, and you're even younger than her. She's been spoiled rotten by her mother. When we get back, I'll find a nanny to teach her a lesson. Otherwise, who would dare to propose marriage to her?"
Upon hearing this, the mother and her two children exchanged glances, then all smiled in agreement.
“Yes, Aunt Liu, what Qingran said before is right. Qingyi and Qinglan’s names really need to be changed. They are not suitable for these names.” Zhou’s father said, touching Aunt Liu’s hand.
“Zhou Lang, Qingyi and Qinglan have been using these names for over ten years, and they’re already very familiar with them. If we change them, they definitely won’t be used to it,” Aunt Liu said cautiously, trying to persuade Zhou’s father to give up the idea of changing their names.
“Yes, Dad, can we not change the name? We’re already used to it,” Zhou Qinglan said immediately, tugging at her younger brother.
"Dad, can we not change it?" Zhou Qingyi pleaded urgently.
“Qingyi, the Zhou family didn’t know you existed before, and your names didn’t matter. But now that Qingran knows about this, you can’t refuse.”
When Zhou's father thought of the time when he knelt in the ancestral hall and was reprimanded by the clan elders, he shuddered. He was already so old; if he were to kneel in the ancestral hall and be whipped again, how could he ever stand in the clan again?
"Don't worry, after you change your names this time, I'll find a chance to bring you home so you have a legitimate identity and won't have to hide in the box anymore." Knowing that he felt indebted to the children for this matter, Zhou's father offered them another reward.
"Really? Dad, can we really go to the big mansion?" Zhou Qingyi immediately became excited; it was his lifelong dream.
When he was little, he secretly went to the gate of the Zhou family mansion. That mansion was incomparable to this small courtyard.
He felt both envious and agitated by his half-brother Zhou Qingqi. Why was it that they were both their father's children, yet Zhou Qingqi could be a high-ranking young master while he could only hide in a corner and be ridiculed?