Chapter 31: One Melon Sweeter Than the Next
The City Lord Si had never expected to hear such words. Si Xu was equally shocked. Father and son couldn’t help sneaking glances at Old Master Si’s expression—only to see his face flushed a deep liver-purple.
Old Master Si’s legs trembled as he struggled to stand again, pointing shakily at Si Er. “You… you spout—”
The City Lord quickly went over to support him, smoothly cutting him off. With a soothing expression, he said, “Father, calm down. Please don’t harm your health over Third Brother’s foolishness.”
“Wasn’t it you who said back then that we’re all one family and should make allowances for one another?”
“I remember when Third Brother seduced Fifth Granduncle’s niece-in-law, you said the same thing—why lose harmony over a woman when we’re all family?”
“Though I can’t accept raising Third Brother’s child for him, surely Father can tolerate everything about Third Brother, right?”
Only Eldest Brother was a bit unlucky—no one knew which nephew or niece had been swapped.
The City Lord mentally reviewed the two sons and two daughters in the Eldest Brother’s household. None of the boys resembled Third Brother in particular. The eldest niece looked just like her mother, while the younger one didn’t resemble either parent much—but she looked remarkably like the late Old Madam Si.
Still, appearances alone proved nothing. Perhaps the strongest evidence was Old Master Si’s favoritism?
He remembered that the old master doted most on the younger niece from the eldest branch. The reason was simple: seeing her reminded him of his deceased first wife.
Heh. Not long after the old madam died, the old master brought Aunt Meng into the household. Hardly the picture of deep devotion.
Sure enough, the next moment he heard Si Er’s inner voice again.
Ah, speaking of my bargain-bin uncle—the eldest one—he’s actually not bad.
Though he received some of Grandfather’s favoritism, he’s always been fair and often spoke up for my bargain-bin dad.
When Dad was young, Uncle couldn’t stand the old master’s bias and would secretly give Dad extra resources.
After Dad became City Lord, Grandfather always tried to siphon benefits from the second branch to give to the first and third—but Uncle often refused.
He even advised Grandfather not to be too harsh on the second branch. The three brothers each have their own families now—just live well and help one another when needed.
If one branch is constantly forced to subsidize the others, it’ll only lead to discord among brothers.
Listen to that—how reasonable! But the old master wouldn’t listen! He only felt his eldest son didn’t understand his painstaking efforts, and gradually they drifted apart.
As for my bargain-bin third uncle—he listened even less. He ended up hating Eldest Uncle and orchestrated a premature birth incident, swapping Uncle’s youngest daughter with his own illegitimate daughter.
Wow. That illegitimate daughter and Si Ran are actually full siblings—both born to Third Uncle and his “true love.”
And that “true love” is actually a black widow? Quite the complicated background.
A black widow?
What kind of melon was this?
The City Lord and Si Xu were utterly curious. Even Yu Beixuan, hidden up in the rafters, was listening with keen interest.
Old Master Si was anxious too. He knew about his youngest son’s “true love,” but right now he was more desperate to hear about his son and Aunt Meng!
Why had Si Er’s inner monologue stopped mentioning Aunt Meng? Was stepmother drama not juicy enough?
He desperately wanted to know whether he had unknowingly raised someone else’s child.
While he felt it was acceptable for his elder sons to help raise Third Brother’s children, the idea of himself doing so was intolerable.
And not only that—his sons would merely be helping to raise children, but he would be wearing a green hat!
He had always loved his third son the most! Surely Third Son wouldn’t treat him like this… right?
Huh? Did I zone out again? Why does everyone go silent every time I drift off? Don’t they know what to say?
Was it rude of me to space out just now? This should be a touching reunion scene, but I’ve been mentally wandering the whole time.
But Third Uncle’s melon is just so crunchy and sweet!
Even though I’m technically a victim and shouldn’t enjoy this… the thought of Third Uncle putting a green hat on Grandpa makes me want to laugh, hahaha!
“……”
Old Master Si trembled even more violently.
He hadn’t expected this grandson to take such delight in his humiliation.
He was so furious he nearly couldn’t breathe. As darkness clouded his vision, he even thought that fainting might not be so bad—at least then he wouldn’t have to face this mess.
Unfortunately, the City Lord was intermittently filial. At the crucial moment, he helped smooth his father’s breathing and fed him a tube of medicine, forcing him to calm down.
Sighing, the City Lord said, “Father, I know you’re still angry about Third Brother and that woman. You refuse to admit that Third Brother was bewitched by an outsider and repeatedly swapped out our legitimate sons and daughters.”
“But whether you admit it or not, you can’t ruin your health over this!”
Old Master Si didn’t even bother arguing anymore. He knew his second son was deliberately baiting out more gossip.
Though he wanted even more to hear about Third Brother and Aunt Meng, he restrained himself. After all, letting his own sons and grandsons feast on such gossip was humiliating enough.
Si Er looked at the City Lord, puzzled.
Is he referring to Bai Lianrou? Has he already investigated that far? That shouldn’t be possible. In the novel, she stayed hidden for a long time before being exposed.
Bai Lianrou?
The City Lord searched his memory. He had no recollection of that name at all. He glanced at Old Master Si and saw his composed expression—clearly, the old man knew.
Come to think of it, although Bai Lianrou’s two children are both Third Uncle’s, Third Uncle’s own head isn’t exactly free of green either.
That woman is a master of disguises across the Ten-Thousand Beasts Continent. She owns courtyards in many cities—all bought for her by different men.
In every city, she uses a different name and identity. Only to Third Uncle did she reveal her real name—because he’s the only man who could make her bear children?
Old Master Si’s breathing grew ragged again.
W-What kind of woman was this?!
Could his Third Son’s “true love” really be like that?
Or was Si Er making this up?
He looked at Si Er’s innocent and earnest face and found himself uncertain.
There was something uncanny about this boy. It was one thing to hear his inner thoughts—but those thoughts were strangely persuasive.
At first, he hadn’t dared believe them. But after hearing so much, he had begun to accept parts of it.
Still… wasn’t this Bai Lianrou story a bit too outrageous?
Speaking of Bai Lianrou’s underworld alias—everyone knows it. She’s the famous Thousand-Charms Fox Lady!
