Chapter 5

“You’re actually fighting back, bitch?!” Julian was furious. He bent his body by 90 degrees, then charged at me. He attempted to ram me with his head. 

I cast a cool glance at him before I casually delivered a kick and sent the fat boy rolling into the lotus pond. 

The male servant, who had been made to kneel on the ground, could care less about his own pain and immediately jumped into the lotus pond when he saw this. He and the other male servants worked together to save Julian. 

“Good boy, can you tell me what’s your name?” I squatted before the little boy and asked him cautiously and painstakingly. 

The little boy merely stared at me with his large eyes. He pouted his lips and did not answer. 

“Don’t be scared. I’m not a bad person.” I caressed his head and smiled warmly. “I’m your mommy, your biological mommy. I’ll protect you from now on, and you won’t be bullied by others anymore.” 

The little boy frowned slightly. His innocent eyes did not show much emotion. He might be confused as I suddenly told him I was his mother. 

“Do you have a younger sister? Where is she now?” I anxiously wanted to find out my daughter’s whereabouts. I was worried that my daughter was suffering like my son. 

The little boy did not speak a single word even now. He pulled his hand from mine, turned around, and took the drawing from the easel. 

I glanced at the painting. Despite being a sketch, I saw it was a painting of a boy squatting on the grass with a man and a woman on their backs. The couple held hands while watching the squatting boy play on the grass. 

The painting touched my heart. Maybe the reason why he had drawn like this was that he had no idea what his parents looked like. 

“Babe, let me take you to your father, okay?” 

I had to take one step at a time. He had suffered too much, and I could not afford to scare him again. 

He did not answer. But he did not attempt to push me away when I cautiously scooped him up. 

I took him back to Calix’s mansion. While we were walking to the living hall, someone screamed from outside. 

A group of people marched into the living hall and surrounded us. The servants dispersed, paving a path. 

A middle-aged woman dressed lavishly walked in and was followed closely by Violet. 

“Mother, here she is! She’s the bitch!” Violet complained. 

“That’s so outrageous of you! Are you aware who’s the boss now?” the middle-aged woman sized up at me before resting her gaze on the little boy. 

“You’re nothing but a woman bought with a price to be the living widow of a crippled man. How dare you make a fuss in the Smith’s mansion? I don’t mind that you’ve hurt my daughter. How dare you even kick my precious son into the lotus pond? I will walk on my hands if I don’t punish you!” 

“Arrest her now!” the woman instructed her bodyguards. 

“Stop it, Jade!” 

Just then, a woman rushed toward us. 

“Adeline, even though Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith agreed to assist Calix, who is crippled, in finding a spouse in the name of the Smith family. We don’t simply accept any Tom, Dick, and Harry into the family. 

“How did she cause the Smiths into such chaos? I don’t mind that she struck the servants. How can she even hurt my precious daughter and son?! 

“And how dare you stop us? Are my son and daughter unworthy compared to your so-called daughter-in-law, whom you have never met even once?” 

The woman named Jade was extremely furious. 

“Adeline doesn’t have a say in this. How about me, then?” 

An older woman walked into the living hall. She was none other than the former madam of the house. Yes, I knew her. 

“Mother, Mrs. Smith.” Jade and the servants bowed at her. 

“Grandma, you have to speak up for me… Look at my hand….” 

“Shut up!” The former madam interrupted her sternly. But she gave her hand to Adeline, allowing her to help her to walk toward the living hall. 

The former master stared at me. “Are you the one who created the fuss in the mansion? Are you the same woman who wants to marry Calix?” she asked. 

I was looking at the former madam. Since the real madam of the house had arrived, I would naturally treat her with respect. 

“The Smith family had put up a matchmaking notice to the public on the condition that no matter what her status is, as long as she comes from a clean background and is still single, she can marry Calix and be his wife,” I said calmly. 

“And I have fulfilled all the requirements. I am stepping into this mansion because you have acknowledged my status first. But when I entered my future husband’s bedroom, they humiliated, struck me, and cussed me repeatedly. It’s only natural for me to fight back and save myself. What have I done wrong? 

“I can possibly allow them to strike me to death without fighting back, right?” 

The older woman's face darkened as I stared at her. 

I wore a white dress and was petite. I am pretty, and my features are exquisite. I had a pair of large, beautiful eyes and a prominent nose. Besides, I could speak sharply through my delicate lips. 

Suddenly the madam said, “she’s just like me when I was young.” She could not let out a bark of laughter. 

Meanwhile, Adeline, who had been standing next to the madam, was staring at me.