423: Copycat

Copycat

Heaven could easily let things slide, especially some petty and pathetic people like Mrs. Deng.  2

When Dominic moved his family to the penthouse after that incident with Andrea Ng, only a few servants came with them. Mrs. Deng and most of the servants stayed in Dominic's mansion to take care of it until Dominic and Heaven's matrimonial home finished its construction. 

However, with Heaven's sudden pregnancy, the Zhu family thought having more servants around would be better. Therefore, many from Dominic's mansion moved into the old residence to help, including Mrs. Deng. 

Heaven didn't put too much thought into it even when Mrs. Deng would start with her subtle lousy treatment toward the young madam. She could be petty over other things, but not with this one for the mere reason Mrs. Deng was too pathetic to give her attention. 

Until...

"What have you been thinking, Madam?" Butler Fu stood from the rocking chair near the window in Grandma Zhu's room.

Grandma Zhu had been staring at the garden. From this window, she could see the greenhouse. Whenever Heaven would stay outside the greenhouse, Grandma Zhu could always see her from here, albeit blurred due to her poor eyesight. 

"Did Little Heaven go out?" asked Grandma Zhu after a moment without looking back at Butler Fu. 

"Yes." Butler Fu nodded. "The second young master and Mr. Cruel accompanied her."

"I see..." Grandma Zhu rocked her head while Butler Fu studied the air around the old madam. 

"Madam, is there something wrong?"

She didn't answer immediately, humming a long tune while the creak of the rocking chair harmonized with it. 

"The other day, Little Heaven made a request," she confessed after another minute of humming. "She asked me to send Mary Rose back to Dominic's home."

"Is that why you sent her back there?"

"Yes."

Butler Fu pressed his lips into a thin line, pondering on Heaven's motivation for asking such a request. 

"Do you find it strange?" asked Grandma Zhu, familiar with this type of silence from Butler Fu.

"Yes, Madam. Mrs. Deng isn't as likable as Miriam. However, she had served this family for decades," Butler Fu explained. "She wouldn't last long in this place if she didn't have any redeemable quality, even after the fact she saved you in the past."

A moment of silence befell Grandma Zhu and Butler Fu at the reminder of the past. Mrs. Deng got into the family after saving old Madam Zhu from an incident. If not for Mrs. Deng, Grandma Zhu might've perished a long time ago. Thus, the family had always been grateful to Mrs. Deng. It was the reason she became the head maid instead of Miriam. 

"Little Heaven said the family had repaid her," were the remarks that broke the silence between the two. "And that this family doesn't owe such a person anymore."

Deep lines appeared between Butler Fu's brows. "Did Mrs. Deng do something to the young madam?"

"My granddaughter didn't elaborate, but even if Mary Rose would do something, Heaven would let it slide," Grandma Zhu answered with all honesty, listening to the faint creak of the rocking chair. "Unless Mary Rose had done or will do something unforgivable... or perhaps, sadly, put herself in a position where she will be useful in ways other than maintaining the household, then that's unfortunate."

A shallow breath slipped past Grandma Zhu's nostrils, lips closed. "I told her many times... this family isn't as glamorous as it appeared. But it seemed she ignored all my warnings."

"Madam, should I look into it?" Butler Fu inquired solemnly.

"No." Grandma Zhu waved dismissively. "Let the young ones handle the situation. I prefer to watch everything unfold from the sidelines. Although you might need to do some measures in case they won't think of cleaning up the mess."

Butler Fu lowered his head. "Of course."

"Heaven Liu..." Grandma Zhu hummed a long tune, thinking of her granddaughter-in-law and everything she had observed about her so far. "Ernie, call the family lawyer over. I would like to discuss something about my last will."

"Madam, are you going to...?"

"I don't know what will happen today or tomorrow or the day after that, Ernie. With all these uncertainties that fill my heart every minute, I want to leave security for my family," she remarked, cutting off Butler Fu mid-sentence. "I've thought long and hard about it, and I've decided."

Another wave of silence descended on the room as neither of them talked. Thanks to the creak of the rocking chair, the silence didn't sound as loud as it should.

"I will contact him immediately," said Butler Fu as he bowed once again. "I'll be back with your medicines."

After saying his piece, Butler Fu walked away to execute the order and prepare Old Madam Zhu's medicines. Meanwhile, the latter continued to rock her chair while staring out the window. 

"I was once foolish," she whispered after a long silence, staring at her faint reflection through the window. "Perhaps this is my retribution for doing everything just to reach a petty ambition. My family is paying for my sins."

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[Dominic's Mansion]

"Mhm…" Mrs. Deng smiled, sliding her fingertips across the countless dresses in the walk-in closet. 

When her hand stopped, she pulled out a designer dress and raised it to look at it. Her lips stretched even wider, skipping her steps toward the full-body mirror with the dress that was still on the hanger in front of her. 

"Perfect!" she giggled before she happily went to the changing area, wearing the designer dress she picked. 

After she finished, she went back in front of the mirror. Seeing how it somewhat fitted her, she turned around to search for any jewelry to fit her style. Soon after, Mrs. Deng was covered by Heaven's things from head to toe, wearing a wig that looked similar to Heaven's hairstyle. Even her makeup looked very similar to Heaven's usual makeup.

Standing in front of the mirror, Mrs. Deng touched her cheek with eyes twinkling with adoration. 

"Am I beautiful, Dom?" she tucked a portion of her wig behind her ear, leering at her reflection as if Dominic was there with her. "I put on your favorite perfume, and I'm wondering what you think of my outfit."

Little did Mrs. Deng know, that while she was roleplaying on her own — acting as Heaven while imagining Dominic's presence —  Axel was standing at the door, staring through the small gap with wide eyes filled with horror and disgust. 

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