Downstairs, Father Wu had just taken a sip of tea when he sprayed it all over the table.
Beside him, Mother Wu’s face turned deathly pale as she shot to her feet.
“Oh no… this is bad!”
She had originally thought that once Shen Niao woke up, they could simply coax her a little and put the matter behind them. After all, the marriage had already been consummated, and Wu Qingchuan wasn’t even here to object.
Who would have thought Shen Niao would run outside and expose everything?
Wouldn’t that make the entire residential compound come to watch their family make fools of themselves?
It was breakfast time, when everyone was just beginning to prepare their morning meal.
Before breakfast could be served…
The biggest gossip of the day was already being served.
As people emerged from their homes one after another, Shen Niao cried even louder.
“My cousin and I have been engaged to the Wu brothers since we were children. She was supposed to marry the eldest brother, while I was supposed to marry Wu Chengzu. Last night my cousin brought me a bowl of sweet rice wine. As soon as I finished drinking it, I passed out. When I woke up, she had already become Wu Chengzu’s real wife. The two of them were in the room… the room right next to mine…”
She deliberately stopped there, leaving the rest unsaid.
That only made everyone’s imagination run wild.
The daughter-in-law of Professor Liu, who lived next door to the Wu family, listened with great interest.
“Isn’t that a sister-in-law climbing into her brother-in-law’s bed? My goodness, those two are absolutely shameless!”
Shen Niao wiped away her tears.
“Exactly! Even before my cousin got married, she was always complaining at home. She said Elder Brother Wu’s biological mother had died, that he wasn’t favored, that his own father treated him like a stepfather who didn’t care about him, and as for his stepmother…” Shen Niao sneered. “She was the mistress who became the wife. Shameless from the very beginning. Then there’s Wu Qingchuan himself—stationed in Yacheng, a godforsaken place in the middle of nowhere. She refused to marry him. Fine, if she didn’t want to marry him, she could have discussed it with both families and called off the engagement. But how could she end up rolling into bed with her future brother-in-law on the wedding night?”
Every sentence hit its mark.
Not only did she expose the bride swap, she also dragged all of the Wu family’s dirty laundry into the open.
The faces of every member of the Wu family burned with humiliation.
Especially Jiang Siyun.
She had once been Father Wu’s student. Long before Wu Qingchuan’s mother passed away, she had already begun an affair with him.
Only three months after the first Mrs. Wu died, Jiang Siyun married into the family while already five months pregnant.
Everyone in the university residential compound knew about it.
Out of respect for Father Wu, no one had ever brought it up in front of her.
Yet now Shen Niao had exposed everything without the slightest hesitation.
Jiang Siyun’s expression darkened as she shot a vicious glare at Shen Su, who was leaning against her son’s chest.
So this was what Shen Su had really been saying behind her back?
Shen Su couldn’t even defend herself.
Because she really had said those things.
Back then, while secretly discussing the bride swap with her own mother, she had assumed Shen Niao was asleep.
The crowd was thoroughly entertained.
“I bet Jiang Siyun never wanted Shen Niao marrying her precious son in the first place. She probably worked together with Shen Su to arrange the bride swap. Otherwise, how could everything line up so perfectly?”
“They always say that once there’s a stepmother, the father becomes a stepfather too. If Elder Brother Wu’s real mother were still alive, would something like this ever have happened?”
“The biggest shameless one is still Shen Su. If she didn’t want to marry him, why force Shen Niao into the marriage instead? Who does something like that?”
The whispered discussions reached every member of the Wu family.
Unable to bear it any longer, Wu Chengzu pointed angrily at Shen Niao.
“If you hadn’t shamelessly insisted on marrying into our family in the first place! Look at yourself! You’re—”
Before he could finish—
Slap!
Shen Niao landed a crisp slap across his face.
Pointing directly at him, she snapped,
“Our engagement was arranged by our elders. You look down on me? Well, I look down on you too—you useless parasite who can’t accomplish anything. No matter what I look like, that doesn’t give you and Shen Su—the adulterous pair of you—the right to blame me!”
She then turned toward Shen Su, who had instinctively hidden behind the others.
“Shen Su, you’re my cousin! If you liked Wu Chengzu so much, why didn’t you say so sooner? Why wait until the wedding day to do something so shameless?”
Feeling everyone’s eyes turn toward her, Shen Su secretly cursed Shen Niao for suddenly becoming so sharp-tongued.
Covering her face, she put on an aggrieved expression.
“Niao… yesterday was so busy and exhausting. I wasn’t really aware of what was happening…”
“You weren’t aware?”
Shen Niao laughed coldly.
“You already knew Elder Brother Wu wasn’t coming back in time for the wedding. Was the Wu family so dark you couldn’t tell whose room you were entering? Or are you blind? Did I force you into Wu Chengzu’s bed? Weren’t you screaming loud enough from the next room this morning?”
The moment Shen Niao bluntly exposed what had happened in the bedroom, everyone looked at Shen Su and Wu Chengzu with meaningful expressions.
Shen Su had always appeared gentle and reserved.
Who would have guessed she was so… passionate?
“Enough!”
Mother Wu glared at Shen Niao with obvious displeasure.
“The matter is already settled. Why are you making such a scene here? If you have any complaints, we can discuss them after we go home.”
“Auntie.”
Shen Niao looked directly at her.
“You’ve always liked my cousin more than me. You were always holding her hand and saying how wonderful it would be if she became your daughter-in-law. Last night, it was you who personally led me into Elder Brother Wu’s room and told me Chengzu’s bridal room had been changed.”
Mother Wu had never liked the original Shen Niao.
Mainly because of her appearance.
If not for the fact that Shen Niao’s maternal grandparents had been famous wealthy merchants before the founding of the nation, leaving their entire fortune to Shen Niao’s mother, Jiang Siyun would never have considered Shen Niao worthy of marrying her son.
After Shen Niao’s parents died, however, her uncle’s family took control of that inheritance and had nearly squandered it all.
So when Shen Su proposed swapping brides, Jiang Siyun agreed without the slightest hesitation.
She had even helped make it happen.
What qualifications did an orphan with no remaining wealth have to marry her precious son?
Once Jiang Siyun was dragged into the matter, the spectators became even more excited.
“I knew that woman Jiang wasn’t decent. Back when Elder Brother Wu’s mother was still alive, she’d already been visiting the house under the excuse of checking on her teacher’s wife.”
“Poor Wu Qingchuan. He’s out there defending the country while his family swaps out his bride behind his back.”
“Wu Zhenshan has failed miserably as a father.”
Father Wu’s face alternated between green and purple.
What should have been a joyous occasion welcoming two daughters-in-law into the family had become a public disgrace.
Looking at Shen Niao, who had exposed every ugly detail, he felt increasingly displeased.
Just as he was about to reprimand her—
Shen Niao turned her gaze toward him first.
“Uncle Wu, weren’t you and my father close friends? Didn’t you promise him you’d take good care of me? Is this what you call taking care of me? Or do you simply think that now my parents are dead and I’m an orphan with no one to protect me, you can bully me however you like?”
Back then, Father Shen had also taught at Peking University and had been quite close to Wu Zhenshan.
Because of the marriage arrangement, the two families had frequently visited one another.
Many residents in the university compound still remembered Father Shen.
He had been an exceptionally renowned scholar.
In those days, Father Wu had practically bent over backwards to curry favor with him.
Much of Wu Zhenshan’s current status had only been possible because of Father Shen’s help.
As everyone remembered that, the way they looked at Father Wu changed.
Naturally, Father Wu didn’t want people thinking he was an ungrateful man.
Even though he believed everything he had achieved was due to his own abilities.
Putting on a gentle smile, he said,
“Niao, Uncle knows you’ve been wronged. But things have already reached this point. I can’t very well switch you back now.”
“How about this? Tell me how you want this handled. Uncle will support you.”
Wu Chengzu immediately protested.
“Dad—”
“Shut up.”
Father Wu shot him a fierce glare.
Useless fool. Can’t even keep a woman under control.
Ignoring the silent exchange between father and son, Shen Niao fixed her eyes on Shen Su and spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“Then I want Shen Su to write a formal apology today and publish it in the Beijing newspaper.”
“And I want them to compensate me with 2,000 yuan—cash or coupons, either is acceptable.”