Chapter 205
Sunlight streamed through the latticed windows, casting dappled patterns on the slate floor. I took a sip of tea, savoring the lingering fragrance on my tongue.
"Miss, about that lady you asked me to look into..." My maid, Spring Peach, lowered her voice and glanced around cautiously.
Setting down the teacup, I tapped my fingers lightly on the table. "Go on."
"That Miss Su's family background is rather... peculiar." Spring Peach leaned closer. "They say her father suddenly came into wealth overnight and bought a mansion in the southern district."
I frowned. "Did you trace the source of the money?"
She shook her head. "That's the strange part. The neighbors all say Mr. Su was once a destitute scholar who could barely afford meals. But right after that fire fifteen years ago..."
"Fire?" My pulse quickened.
"Yes, the tragic blaze that wiped out the Liu family in the western district." Spring Peach's voice dropped to a whisper. "Oddly enough, the Su family's fortunes changed just days after that incident."
The teacup grew warm in my hands. Squinting, I watched a crow flutter past the window, its shadow fleeting across the eaves.
"Dig deeper," I said, placing the cup down with a crisp clink. "Especially about that fire... and its connection to the Su family."
Before Spring Peach could respond, hurried footsteps echoed from the courtyard. We fell silent as the steward rushed in. "Miss, the Su family has sent an invitation—they request your presence at their flower viewing tomorrow."
My lips curled into a cold smile as I studied the gilded card. Perfect timing.
"Prepare a gift," I said, tossing the invitation onto the table. "Tomorrow, I'll see for myself what secrets Miss Su is hiding."
Outside, dusk deepened. The last rays of sunlight vanished beyond the horizon, as if heralding the emergence of long-buried truths.
"You're amazing, Tommy!" Emily Johnson gently ruffled her son's soft hair. "Next time, Mommy will practice counting with you."
Tommy's eyes sparkled, his cheeks flushed with excitement. "Yes! I'll count for Grandma!"
Before Mrs. Johnson could respond, the little boy eagerly began reciting numbers. His clear childlike voice filled the room as he flawlessly counted from one to eighty.
"How old is Tommy?" Mrs. Johnson asked in surprise.
"Three and a half!" Tommy puffed out his small chest proudly.
Mrs. Johnson silently compared him to her eldest grandson, who was already in elementary school but couldn't count as smoothly.
"Grandma, I can recite poems too!" Tommy preened like a little peacock showing off his feathers. "And I can write my name!"
Emily watched her son's eager display with mixed amusement. The child was clearly trying to impress his grandmother on their first meeting.
"Mom, how are Richard and Anthony?" Emily changed the subject.
Mrs. Johnson's expression darkened. "Your brother Anthony... became a live-in son-in-law."
A live-in son-in-law? Emily's heart skipped a beat. In this era, any self-respecting man would avoid such an arrangement. The original novel had barely mentioned the female lead's family background. Who had sent that mysterious telegram?
"How sudden..." Emily feigned surprise. "You never mentioned it in your letters."
Mrs. Johnson sighed. How could she admit such shame? Her second son had chosen to marry into another family to avoid being sent to the countryside. For months afterward, she and her husband couldn't hold their heads up in public.
"Your sister-in-law Victoria has two sons, and Catherine has two daughters and a son—the youngest is just a few months old," Mrs. Johnson said, her expression softening as she spoke of her grandchildren.
Three nephews, two nieces... Emily calculated silently. Catherine must have been desperate for a son.
"What does Anthony do now?"
"He used to work as a waiter at the state-run restaurant. Now he's learning to cook as his father-in-law's assistant."
An assistant cook? Emily raised an eyebrow. It was a step up from waiting tables, but far from being a head chef.
"Anthony became a cook?" She pretended to be shocked. "What about our sister?"
"Your sister sent some things for you." Mrs. Johnson's expression turned complicated.
The original novel had only one line about this sister: "Still immature after years in the countryside." Clearly, their relationship wasn't close.
"Does Anthony live with you?"
"No, he lives with his in-laws." Mrs. Johnson's tone carried clear disapproval.
Emily wondered silently. Could that telegram have been sent by Anthony?
"Richard got promoted, right?" she probed.
Mrs. Johnson finally smiled. "Your brother is now a workshop team leader."
A workshop team leader... Emily suddenly recalled the original plot. Shortly after the female lead's death, her eldest brother had been promoted to workshop manager. Now that she hadn't returned to the city, would that storyline change?
"Did anyone in the family take the college entrance exams after they were reinstated?"
Mrs. Johnson shook her head with a sigh. "Your sister is an elementary school teacher—she had the best chance, but she was pregnant and didn't take them. She's since given your brother-in-law two sons and a daughter."
As Emily listened, a chill ran down her spine. In the original story, after the female lead's death, all her siblings had thrived. Could there be some hidden connection?