But He Grandmother didn’t want to listen anymore. She looked at Ning Yichu and asked, “What were you trying to say earlier? Do you know why Qin Kai isn’t afraid of me investigating?”
Ning Yichu smiled gently, “Grandfather surely knows Grandmother better than I do. Would you really investigate a case from over fifty years ago?”
He Grandmother remained silent.
Ning Yichu continued slowly, “Even if you were determined to investigate, what could you find? Were there surveillance cameras back then? Even handwritten medical records are probably long gone. How would you find the list of medical staff who delivered you? Or do you have such foresight that you remember their names and know their life and work changes over the years to find them?”
“Forget about medical records or staff lists. After fifty years, those doctors and nurses would naturally have passed away. Who would you find? Why would Grandfather be afraid of you investigating now?”
He Grandfather tightly gripped his cane.
He Grandmother’s face was grim as she continued to question Ning Yichu, “You sound so sure. Do you have evidence?”
Ning Yichu smiled slightly, “I do know of two witnesses, but whether Grandmother believes them is another matter.”
He Grandmother pressed on, “Where are these witnesses?”
Ning Yichu smiled without answering.
After a moment of silence, He Grandmother asked, “Alright, what do you want?”
Ning Yichu tilted his head, “How about the remaining five percent of He shares in your hands?”
He Dingbang angrily exclaimed, “I knew you had bad intentions! Shares! How dare you ask for so much!”
Ning Yichu shrugged, “Whether it’s daring or not, I’ve asked. It’s up to Grandmother to decide if the truth about her son’s death is worth that price.”
“Mom, don’t listen to his nonsense. How could he know where to find witnesses? Dad said even Weian doesn’t know the truth. Ning Yichu wasn’t even part of our family before. How could he know?” He Dingbang spoke rapidly.
“He must have stumbled upon something suspicious by accident. He wasn’t sure, just trying to trick us. Dad admitted it before being questioned, making it seem like Ning Yichu knew everything. But he doesn’t! He’s just trying to cheat you out of your shares!”
He Grandmother ignored him and continued to look at Ning Yichu, “You might indeed be deceiving me.”
Ning Yichu was indifferent, “If you don’t believe me, that’s fine. I’ll say something else next time and see if I can trade for the shares.”
He Grandmother frowned, “What else do you know?”
Ning Yichu didn’t plan to say more, “I’m tired today. Let’s talk next time. Grandmother, please wrap up today’s drama so I can go rest.”
Ning Yichu’s tone was lighthearted. He found that doing bad things properly was quite satisfying, even being scolded felt refreshing.
Indeed, a villain should act like a villain. Why did he ever think of being considerate and getting along with the He family in his past life?
He Grandmother gritted her teeth and took a step back, “I can give the shares to Shixia, but he can’t transfer them to you. This must be written in the gift contract.”
Hearing this, Ning Yichu was puzzled, “Didn’t I make it clear? I want them, not for He Shixia. I expect him to keep his word and give me all his assets, but that doesn’t mean I want to help him gain benefits.”
He Grandmother sneered, “Just because of a few words, you think I’ll give you He family shares? What a dream!”
“That’s unfortunate. Grandmother is so clear about public and private matters.” Ning Yichu laughed happily, “Actually, Grandmother is relieved I asked for so much. You never intended to investigate. As you get older, you’d rather live in ignorance.”
He Grandmother slammed the table in front of her, “Ning Yichu! You, you—”
He Ruxue quickly poured her water, “Grandmother, calm down…”
He Grandmother’s hands trembled, unable to hold the cup.
But she couldn’t bring herself to get angry at He Ruxue. After calming down, she looked at He Grandfather, He Dingbang, and her other children, her face stern, “No matter what, I represent the He family. My personal matters are also the family’s reputation. Such a disgraceful thing cannot be spread. The He family can’t afford this shame—at least not while I’m alive. I can’t watch the He family be laughed at.”
Her words made He Dingbang and the others breathe a sigh of relief.
Even if He Grandmother no longer acknowledged them privately, as long as it wasn’t public, they were still part of the He family and could carry the family’s prestige. At most, they would be completely cut off from He shares… which wasn’t very likely anyway.
He Ruzhu cautiously called out, “Grandmother, you won’t abandon us, right…”
He Grandmother closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she decided, “All of you—except for Ruxue—move to the side residence today. If I don’t call for you, don’t show up in front of me. If Ruxue can’t bear to leave her father and siblings, she can move with you.”
He Ruxue choked up, “I’ll stay with you, Grandmother.”
He Dingbang wanted to plead, but at this moment, He Shixia’s parents—He Weian and Tang Qingshan—returned.
Seeing the strange, gloomy atmosphere in the dining room, He Weian was still unclear about what had happened.
“What’s going on? Mom, why did you call us back in such a hurry? Why does everyone look so gloomy? Big brother, why are you sitting on the floor? And Ruxue, are you crying?” He Weian was puzzled, finally looking at He Shixia and Ning Yichu.
After a pause, He Weian said, “Xiaochu is better now, able to come downstairs. That’s good. Shixia, what happened?”
Ning Yichu, with a tone full of schadenfreude and mischief, said, “Something good happened. Congratulations, Mom, you’re now the only daughter of the He family. I played a big part in it, so you should remember to give me a gift.”
According to this life’s timeline, Ning Yichu had just married He Shixia and was new to the He family, cautious and not as comfortable addressing people, let alone asking for gifts with such an attitude.
Ning Yichu’s behavior surprised He Weian, leaving her a bit dissatisfied, but she soon couldn’t focus on Ning Yichu’s attitude.
He Weian knew about He Dingbang’s background—at least she thought she did. Hearing Ning Yichu’s “only daughter” remark and seeing the dining room’s situation, she suddenly realized the truth had come out.
“Mom…” He Weian instinctively looked at He Grandmother.
He Grandmother looked at her with some disappointment, “Weian, you helped your father deceive me.”
He Weian didn’t rush to defend herself. She walked to He Grandmother’s side, lowered her head, and said in a deep voice, “I found out two years ago. At that time, you were ill, hospitalized, and almost didn’t make it. Although you recovered and seemed energetic after being discharged, I didn’t dare to upset you, fearing you couldn’t handle it and would fall ill again. It wasn’t intentional to help Dad deceive you. Mom, I’m sorry.”
After being hurt by her lifelong partner and her eldest son, He Grandmother found some solace in her biological daughter, He Weian.
Although He Grandmother was initially disappointed by her daughter’s concealment, she didn’t blame He Weian much. Now, hearing He Weian’s comforting words, she felt much better and didn’t want to scold anyone else.
She sighed and continued to ask, “How did you find out about this two years ago?”
He Weian glanced at her brother He Dingbang, then answered, “When you were seriously ill and hospitalized, I had everyone in the family undergo a health check. The results showed abnormalities—Dad bypassed me and altered the blood type reports of Big Brother and Ruxue’s six siblings.”
He Grandfather remained silent, feeling guilty.
“It was a private hospital invested by our He family, making it easier to manipulate. The doctor had ‘cooperated’ with Dad for many years without any issues, but two years ago, with so many people, it was chaotic, leading to errors in the final health check report.”
He Weian recalled, “I didn’t personally review the report. I had my secretary go through it, and she noticed two blood type errors in Ruxue and Rufeng’s reports, suggesting possible doctor manipulation.”
“I didn’t think much of it at the time, assuming it was carelessness from the hospital. But I was worried about errors during the check-up, so I mentioned it to the doctor while visiting you. Unexpectedly, the doctor was nervous, and I sensed something was wrong. After questioning, I learned Dad had altered the blood type.”
He Weian glanced at He Grandfather, who was holding his cane, and sighed, “I didn’t understand the situation then, but I didn’t want to suspect Dad without reason, so I directly asked him why he altered the blood type report. Dad then told me about the past…”
“Mom, I’m sorry. I thought it was better to avoid trouble. After all, our family has been together for fifty years. If Big Brother’s background was suddenly revealed, I feared you couldn’t handle it… so I kept it from you.”
After hearing He Weian’s explanation, He Grandmother felt much calmer.
She didn’t comment, only telling He Weian her current decision, “For the He family’s reputation, this matter cannot be known outside. But I don’t want to see your father and Dingbang anymore, so I’ve already informed them. Except for Ruxue, everyone else should move to the side residence. Weian, what do you think?”
Hearing this, He Weian frowned, hesitating.
He Grandmother saw her hesitation and couldn’t believe it, “Are you still trying to speak for your father?”
“Grandmother, you really are getting forgetful with age. Mom didn’t know Uncle was Grandfather’s illegitimate child, so of course, she thinks Grandfather and Uncle don’t deserve this.” Ning Yichu said with a smile.
He Grandmother remembered, and her displeasure with her daughter subsided. As for Ning Yichu’s disrespectful words, He Grandmother didn’t have the energy to scold him.
He Weian initially wanted to reprimand Ning Yichu for speaking to Grandmother like that, but hearing the latter part, she was stunned and fell silent, her gaze instinctively turning to Ning Yichu.
Ning Yichu cheerfully replied, “You’re welcome. It’s my duty to speak for you.”
He Weian didn’t know how to respond, so she looked at He Grandfather, “Dad… what do you mean? Didn’t you say Big Brother was an abandoned baby you picked up because you feared Mom would be heartbroken without a biological son?”
He Grandfather, under his daughter’s disappointed gaze, showed rare genuine remorse, “I’m sorry, Weian. I hid this from you. Your big brother is actually…”
He Weian’s face turned cold, “Dad! No need to say more…”
She turned away, silent for a few seconds, then looked back at He Grandmother, “Mom, do as you see fit. I’ll listen to you, no objections.”
In family matters, He Grandmother had the final say, and He Weian never opposed her. When they occasionally disagreed, He Weian was usually the one to compromise. Meanwhile, in company affairs, He Grandmother, the former leader, was rational. Once she handed over control to He Weian, she let go completely, not interfering, so the mother and daughter had a harmonious relationship without the subtle tension between a “retired emperor” and a “new emperor.”
Since He Weian controlled the He family, she was the most authoritative figure in recent years.
Facing He Grandmother, others dared to cry and plead.
But facing He Weian, who decided to support He Grandmother, even He Grandfather, her biological father, remained silent. Although He Dingbang was the eldest brother, he was somewhat afraid of his sister even when he was legitimate. Now, with his status in question, he dared not speak.
He Dingbang’s children also had nothing to say.
He Weian looked at her husband, Tang Qingshan, “Qingshan, arrange for the servants to help Dad and the others move their belongings to the side residence quietly.”
Tang Qingshan nodded and left.
Then He Weian said to He Grandmother, “Mom, since you’ve made your decision, don’t dwell on it. I’ll accompany you back to your room, and we can talk… Ruxue can join us.”
He Grandmother’s aged face was full of fatigue, and she nodded.
He Ruxue softly replied, “Okay, Aunt.”
He Weian glanced at the others in the dining room, at He Shixia, who seemed indifferent, and Ning Yichu, who looked light and cheerful. She lingered on Ning Yichu for a few seconds, recalling his provocative “only daughter” remark…
She said nothing more, and with He Ruxue, helped He Grandmother back to her room.
Ning Yichu, smiling, accepted the angry glares from those around him, stood up, and said, “The show is over. I’m leaving too. Take your time moving.”
The surrounding gazes grew more heated. If not for He Shixia standing nearby and Ning Yichu’s pregnancy making people cautious, someone might have already stepped forward to act.
He Shixia wanted to follow, “Are you going back to your room?”
Ning Yichu frowned, “Why are you following? Did you clean the floor? Don’t think you can sneak away and slack off.”
Author’s Note: