“Steward Zhou, Lu Yunhai is dead—why do you look like it’s your own son who died?” Lu Shaoyan said lightly.
As expected, Zhou Ting’s expression changed instantly. However, he quickly responded with a sinister tone, “You’ve truly gone insane, you beast. Sir, we should subdue him first.”
Liu Yun seemed to regain some clarity at that moment. She threw herself beside Lu Linyuan’s wheelchair, crying, “Linyuan, our son is dead—why are you still talking to him? Kill him! I told you long ago to send him to prison. If it weren’t for you, Yun’er wouldn’t have died… my son…”
“You really should have killed me. The night I saw Zhou Ting enter your bedroom and stay for an hour… that’s when you should have done it.”
The moment Lu Shaoyan said this, everyone’s expressions changed, and all eyes turned toward Zhou Ting and Liu Yun.
The implication in his words was far too obvious.
The mistress of the house… and the steward had an affair.
Liu Yun was visibly startled. Then, with tears and mucus streaming down her face, she cursed, “You little bastard, stop talking nonsense!”
“Zhou Ting, what are you waiting for? Kill this brat!”
Zhou Ting glanced at Lu Linyuan’s gaze toward him, his heart skipping a beat. He quickly said, “Don’t speak recklessly. Why would I enter Madam’s bedroom at night?”
“Whether you did or not, you know it yourself. I was still young back then. After being punished for going out with Lu Keran, I came downstairs at night to find something to eat—and I saw it.”
“I even ran into it a few more times afterward. Tsk tsk… Steward Zhou is really dedicated. Managing his duties all the way into the lady of the house’s bed?”
“So loyal. Lu Yunhai is dead, yet you seem more heartbroken than his own father.”
“You’re spouting nonsense! Sir, he’s slandering me!” Zhou Ting shouted, his face twisted.
Lu Shaoyan was indeed exaggerating. Zhou Ting had always been cautious—there was no way he would frequently enter Liu Yun’s bedroom so openly. However, Lu Shaoyan had once seen them behave intimately when Lu Linyuan was away on a business trip.
That alone wasn’t evidence. Back then, he had only vaguely felt that something about his mother and Zhou Ting was off—at least not the kind of closeness expected between a steward and the lady of the house.
But when it involved his mother, he had instinctively refused to think further.
Now, however, Lu Shaoyan didn’t care anymore.
Ignoring Zhou Ting’s denial, he continued with a mocking tone, “Lu Yunhai was brought back by Steward Zhou. You were really diligent. Back then, when Liu Yun went into premature labor, you were the one who went to the hospital to take care of things. The child was switched, and he suffered outside for so many years. Liu Yun here blames everyone—but strangely, she never once blamed you.”
“I brought the young master back! And it was because of my mistake back then that a bastard like you enjoyed over ten years of comfort in the Lu family!” Zhou Ting snapped.
“Heh, it was indeed your mistake. But I’m not the Lu family’s young master. And Lu Yunhai… might not be either.”
“You’re talking nonsense!” Liu Yun had clearly lost her mind now. Panic and fury twisted her face as she lunged forward, completely ignoring the knife in Lu Shaoyan’s hand, as if she wanted to tear him apart.
He still remembered how, over a trivial matter, Liu Yun had once forced him to kneel before Lu Yunhai and slap himself.
I’ve avenged you now. You can rest in peace.
“You all, get him! Beat this little bastard to death! I’ll give 10 million yuan!” Liu Yun screamed hysterically.
Before anyone could be swayed by the promise of money, Lu Linyuan let out a furious roar, “Enough! All of you, be quiet!”
Liu Yun collapsed onto the floor, sobbing, “Old Lu, don’t listen to his nonsense…”
“Sir, I’ve served you for over thirty years…” Zhou Ting said, his voice trembling slightly.
Lu Linyuan cast a deep look at Zhou Ting, who was kneeling on the ground. Back then, he had been busy with work. When Liu Yun went into premature labor, he hadn’t even been in Shen City. It was only a few months ago that Zhou Ting suddenly knelt before him, confessing that the child had been switched at birth and that he had found Lu Yunhai.
At the time, Zhou Ting had even slapped his own face until it was swollen. Later, he treated Lu Yunhai extremely well, and Lu Linyuan had believed it was his way of making amends.
“Sir, the hospital staff can all testify. It was because Young Master Yunhai was in poor health. His parents needed a genetic match for him, and that’s when he discovered he had no blood relation with them. After that elderly couple passed away, he searched tirelessly for his biological parents before finally finding you.”
“It was the hospital that notified me. Many people know about this.”
“The paternity test also confirmed it.”
At that moment, Lu Shaoyan spoke faintly, “The paternity test… was also done by you, Steward Zhou.”
“You know very well whose DNA was used in that report.”
“You bastard…” Zhou Ting gritted his teeth, glaring at Lu Shaoyan. “Sir, he’s talking nonsense.”
“Heh, I just remembered—before I turned eighteen, Steward Zhou treated me very kindly, just like he treated Lu Yunhai. But after I turned eighteen, you suddenly became distant. Could it be that around that time, you started to suspect even Liu Yun… and secretly took me for a paternity test?”
“Madam Lu should remember how Steward Zhou’s attitude changed back then, shouldn’t she?”
Lu Shaoyan’s words seemed to trigger something in Liu Yun’s memory. She stared blankly at Zhou Ting.
A flicker of panic crossed Zhou Ting’s heart. He feared Liu Yun might say something she shouldn’t. At the same time, he was shaken—he couldn’t understand how Lu Shaoyan knew any of this.
Lu Yunhai was indeed the child of him and Liu Yun.
A woman always knows the child she gives birth to is hers. But a man can never be absolutely sure—especially in times like these. That was why paternity tests had become increasingly common.
Back then, Zhou Ting and Liu Yun had an affair. Based on timing and Liu Yun’s claims, the child should have been his.
So he had believed it and treated Lu Shaoyan well. But as he grew older, doubts began to creep in. When Lu Shaoyan turned eighteen, those doubts pushed him to secretly conduct a paternity test.
And he discovered… Lu Shaoyan was not his son.
Because of that, he had distanced himself from Liu Yun for a long time.
But later, unwilling to accept it, he used Lu Linyuan’s DNA and tested it against Lu Shaoyan’s as well—and found that they were not father and son either.
That revelation even made him begin to suspect Liu Yun.
That shameless woman… anyone could have been her man.
How could she betray both him and Lu Linyuan like that? Disgusting.
He had brooded over this for a long time… until Lu Yunhai appeared at their door. Only then did he realize that on that stormy night at the hospital years ago, the child had been switched.
Seizing the opportunity, he brought Lu Yunhai back. Naturally, after explaining everything, Lu Yunhai did not refuse.
Lu Linyuan’s health was deteriorating day by day. In the future, this family’s fortune would naturally fall into Zhou Ting’s hands.
The only trouble was the paternity test.
But for a trusted steward of the Lu family, that was easy to handle.
And the fact that Lu Yunhai had come seeking them was absolutely true.
The child swap was also real.
“What you’re saying is all false,” Zhou Ting said, though his composure had already begun to crack. After all, Lu Shaoyan’s words were enough to destroy him completely.
Lu Shaoyan looked at Lu Linyuan, whose face had turned ashen, and said calmly, “Whether it’s true or not… there’s a body lying right here. Just call someone to test it. Get a few hospitals involved, or find someone trustworthy. The Lu family should be capable of that.”
His tone carried no obvious mockery, yet Lu Linyuan seemed to hear it all the same.
After all, the person he had trusted most… had always been Zhou Ting.