Wen Baozhu lowered her eyes, tightly clutching the pregnancy test stick in her hand.
Such humiliation made her face flush and pale alternately. She felt extremely embarrassed.
She should have cried, but unfortunately, she was not prone to tears. Even in such a situation, she couldn't squeeze out a single tear. She could only stand there numbly, with a silent bitter smile in her heart.
Her face was flushed with embarrassment, but after a long while, all she could utter was a dry, "Mr. Fu, do you need something from me?"
She knew she was spineless.
That day, Li Wenshu had made it very clear in front of Fu Nian's tombstone: since her mother had accepted that sum of money, from then on, her most basic dignity, personality, and even her life were no longer in her own control.
Fu Lian stood upright, towering over Wen Baozhu. If she wanted to look him in the eye, she had to tilt her head up.
But Wen Baozhu couldn't lift her head.
He undid the buttons of his suit and sat directly on the sofa, then glanced at his watch.
"The Fu family is having a family dinner today. We'll leave in forty minutes."
Wen Baozhu didn't understand the meaning behind his words, but Aunt Jiang was very good at reading people's expressions. She quickly urged, "Miss Wen, go wash up and get dressed. You're the second young mistress of the Fu family. How can you attend the family dinner looking like this?"
Thanks to Aunt Jiang's reminder, Wen Baozhu remembered that she had such a vain title, which was only used to show off on occasions.
Fu Lian had condescended to come and pick her up for the Fu family gathering, but his attitude towards her remained aloof, showing no sign of the passion from the night before.
He was born noble and was used to looking down on others. At this moment, he glanced at Wen Baozhu again.
Although he said nothing, his expression showed impatience.
Wen Baozhu quickly lowered her eyes, nodded gently, and then rushed back to her room.
Fu Lian had given her forty minutes, but she came downstairs in just twenty.
She had changed into a long black knitted dress and draped a light gray sheer shawl over it. Her long hair was pulled back into a low bun with a white satin ribbon, making her look elegant and demure without being too ostentatious.
The dress was not very form - fitting, but with every step she took, the swaying of her body still outlined her beautiful waist and hip curves.
With a light makeup of delicate eyebrows and pale lips, her face looked even more charming.
She was like a light - green slender - waisted jade vase on display in a museum. Even when standing still, she was bound to attract people's attention.
Wen Baozhu was undoubtedly beautiful. Otherwise, how could she have won the "life lottery" and become the young mistress of the Fu family?
However, she wasn't the one who had drawn the winning ticket.
It was her mother, who had cashed in on her for ten million dollars.
Looking at it this way, she was quite valuable.
Wen Baozhu often thought to herself mockingly.
Fu Lian took a casual look at her. A flicker of something obscure passed through his eyes, and then he slowly withdrew his gaze and finally dismissed it with a faint smile.
The smile was faint but piercing. Wen Baozhu didn't know what it meant.
The man had already stood up and buttoned his suit.
"Let's go."
---
Wen Baozhu wasn't stupid.
While putting on makeup, she had glanced at the calendar and calculated the date. It should be the seventh day after Fu Nian's death.
The so - called "Fu family dinner" was just a pretext to gather all the Fu family members together to burn some paper money and offer incense to Fu Nian.
The Fu family's courtyard was located in a prime position, in a villa complex built along the side of Repulse Bay and at the foot of Victoria Peak.
This was thanks to the old master of the Fu family, who had bought this property as the family residence years ago.
It was said that he had even hired a master at a high price to calculate the feng shui of this place. The master had claimed that it was an excellent location that would bless the Fu family's descendants with wealth, health, and a care - free and happy life.
But unfortunately, Fu Nian had died at a young age. It seemed that the master's words couldn't be entirely trusted. Wen Baozhu could only think this silently in her heart; she didn't dare to say it out loud.
The car stopped in front of the Fu family's mansion. Suddenly, Fu Lian turned his head and gave Wen Baozhu a fleeting glance.
His gaze fell on her earlobes, where she was wearing a pair of small pearl earrings.
They were not a luxurious style. On the contrary, they were so simple that they were almost negligible.
But he stared at them for a moment.
Wen Baozhu felt his gaze and her earlobes immediately burned. She reached up and touched them. Only then did she realize her nervousness and said, "Are they inappropriate? I'll take them off right away."
She had deliberately not worn any necklaces or bracelets, but she had forgotten to take off these pearl earrings.
"Do you think anyone will notice you? It's unnecessary," Fu Lian sneered.
Wen Baozhu didn't quite understand what he meant. Did he mean that no one would notice her, so wearing the earrings was unnecessary? Or that no one would notice her, so taking them off was also unnecessary?
But she didn't ask any more questions. She silently took off the earrings and put them in her handbag.
This way, there shouldn't be any mistakes.
She was so obedient that Fu Lian pursed his lips. Finally, he impatiently turned his gaze away and stared coldly out of the window.
Before getting out of the car, Fu Lian looked at her again and said indifferently, "Do you still remember what your mother said when I first met you?"
How could Wen Baozhu forget?
It was Fu Lian who had knocked on the door of her house. With a smile, he had bought her life from her mother, Zhang Sumei, with a ten - million - dollar check.
Fu Lian's voice was cold, "My requirement for you is very simple. You just need to be obedient."
Wen Baozhu's face instantly turned ashen.
Fu Lian's gaze grew colder, "In Hong Kong, you should know very well whose words you should obey the most and who your real master is."
The orders he gave her must be, completely and absolutely, higher than anyone else's.
The air in the car instantly froze.
Wen Baozhu lowered her head, "It's Mr. Fu."
From his perspective, she looked like a swan with a bent neck and a lowered head, so fragile that she could be crushed in his palm at any moment.
Fu Lian squinted his eyes.
---
As Wen Baozhu had expected, as soon as she entered the Fu family's mansion, all she saw was white.
In the mourning hall, there was a portrait and a memorial tablet of Fu Nian. The brazier in front of the offering table was burning brightly. The servants of the Fu family were kneeling and throwing paper money into it, crying and calling out "Second Young Master" as they did so.
Suddenly, someone rushed towards Wen Baozhu. Before others could stop her, she slapped Wen Baozhu across the face.
The slap was so loud that Wen Baozhu's ears rang.
The wealthy and luxurious woman in front of her wasn't satisfied yet. She pointed her finger directly at Wen Baozhu's face and shrieked, "You're the one who killed my dear nephew?"
Not satisfied with just one slap, she was about to raise her hand for a second one.
Wen Baozhu instinctively closed her eyes and tensed her body from head to toe.
She didn't even think about fighting back or dodging. It was obvious that she was prepared to take this second slap.
"Auntie, that's enough," Fu Lian's calm reminder made the shrewish woman across from him instantly lose her temper. Her hand, which was raised in mid - air, paused slightly.
Only then did the others react and quickly pull the woman away.
The woman who had slapped her was Fu Shuyi, the younger aunt of Fu Lian and Fu Nian, and the only daughter of the old master of the Fu family.
Fu Shuyi's gaze shifted from Wen Baozhu's face to Fu Lian's. Then she sneered, "On the seventh day after A Nian's death, you bring this jinx here to show off?"