Madeline was extremely helpless. The servants wouldn't offend Hazel even if Madeline egged them on. If she really wanted them to help her do something to Hazel, she'd have to threaten or cajole them, but right now, she was completely incapable of that.
Joshua and the others won the battle. They didn't go too far, either. They quit while they were ahead and sat down on the couch, following Ted.
However, when they saw that Madeline was also sitting on the side, their faces suddenly looked a little unhappy.
"Is the old man mad?" Simon couldn't help but whisper.
"He is not mad, but he can't find another woman who is better and more obedient," Joshua spoke lightly.
Simon suddenly understood.
Ted had promised Joshua, so Ted wouldn't break his promise and do anything to a woman in person, so he chose Madeline and used her like a sword. To be exact, because there was no better or more obedient sword than Madeline, he had to make do with this sword.
"Pumpkin, don't be afraid. This woman won't make a difference." Simon immediately comforted Hazel.
"I know." Hazel nodded calmly.
"Call your sister-in-law Hazel." Joshua frowned.
"No," Simon said, looking like a tsundere. "Remember, I haven't considered you as my brother."
Ted's face darkened. The three of them lowered their voices. Though he heard nothing, he could see that the affection between the three of them was so intimate that it seemed as if they were family and that he was completely an outsider.
"What happened to your face?" Ted tried to break the ice.
"You find it at long last, I thought my own father had bad eyes," Simon said with somewhat sarcasm on his face. "They are the scars I asked the doctor to help me keep when I was injured. I think I'm so handsome now that I don't want to wear a mask anymore!"
He felt his own cheeks with satisfaction. The injuries on his face were made by Ian Flores. While Simon was in the hospital, Joshua managed to get Simon the best scar balm and the best plastic surgeon he could find, which made Simon so angry that he almost beat Joshua.
Finally, at his insistence, the doctor left two scars on Simon's face. Fortunately, his two scars did not really affect his appearance but made him appear more manly.
"Cough, cough." Joshua and Hazel coughed uncomfortably, apparently shocked by Simon's narcissism.
"How can you say you're handsome with scars?" Ted said irritably.
"You know nothing," Simon replied flatly. "I used to look too seductive, but now with two scars on my face, I appear more manly and heroic, which can help me seduce young girls who are unsophisticated. Come on, you won't understand my meaning. There's a generation gap between you and me!"
"Why don't you leave more scars?" Ted was even angrier. Simon had a face that looked exactly like Stacy's, but now Simon left two scars on purpose, so of course, Ted was unhappy.
"I want to! I wanted to leave more scars on my forehead so that it would look like a tiger's forehead, but they stopped me," Simon said, looking at Joshua and Hazel with a look of regret. "How strong I would have looked! They don't have an eye for beauty!"
Hazel's and Joshua's lips twitched. They talked in whispers as if they did not know Simon.
Ted's face turned even grimmer. He looked coldly at Joshua. "You said you would remove Simon's misunderstanding of me and improve our relationship."
"Mr. King," said Joshua lightly, "the misunderstanding between you and Simon has indeed been cleared up, and your relationship has been improved."
"How can you say you've improved our relationship?" Ted was a little angry.
"You don't really accept Hazel, do you?" Joshua looked indifferent.
Ted got a little angrier. He was about to fly into a rage when Hazel suddenly opened her mouth.
"Mr. King, what do you think a good son should be like?"
Ted's eyes narrowed. He had been trying to ignore Hazel since she arrived, but it seemed like he was the one who had been ignored.
Hazel had been sensible and didn't talk to him, so it was hard for him to make trouble for her. But now, in his opinion, Hazel's question was asking for an insult. How could he possibly answer her?
Hazel paid no attention to his attitude and said peacefully, "If a man obeys you all the time and has no objection but says yes whenever you say something, I can only say that this man is not a good son. It is a puppet you control. It is an inflatable doll without feelings."
"Inflatable dolls and all that… I think it sounds kind of weird." Simon felt a little uncomfortable.
Hazel gave him an angry look. Simon immediately shut up.
"Your sons are humans, too. They are living and individual. Don't you think you should sit with them and talk to them patiently so that they can talk to you about their ideas?
"Even if you think differently, don't respect each other and seek common ground while reserving differences for the real happiness of a family? Good parents always want their children to go their own paths and find their true happiness, instead of being obedient toys."
"Well said!" Simon praised in a loud voice and applauded.
A smile played on Joshua's lips as he also raised his hands and slowly applauded her. His eyes glowed with pride.
Ted's face was very gloomy. He didn't like Hazel, but now she actually lectured him in front of him, he was even more unhappy. But somehow, he felt that Hazel had a point... He didn't know how to retort to her!
Watching his increasingly paler face, Madeline, who had been unable to get a word in, secretly rejoiced. Hazel was courting death. As a junior, Hazel actually dared to lecture an elder. Did Hazel want to be annoying? Madeline thought she shouldn't miss this opportunity!
"Mrs. Denmark," Madeline frowned slightly and pretended to warn Hazel with a kind look. "I'm afraid it's not good for us, the younger generation, to criticize our elders like that. Besides, isn't it a matter of course for children to obey their parents? This is the filial piety a junior should have."
"Did Hazel criticize? She just remembered!" Simon looked at Madeline with a sneer. "Since you think it's a matter of course for children to obey their parents, why did you cry and disagree when your father asked you to marry Master Billy last year? Why didn't you show your filial piety then?"