The Ning family fell silent, then erupted into chaos—
“Ning Yichu, what do you mean?!”
“Explain yourself clearly!”
“Uncle becomes brother, uh…”
“Are you crazy, coming here early in the morning to say such nonsense?”
“Even if you’re part of the He family now, you don’t have to retaliate against the Ning family like this…”
Some people instinctively glanced at Old Master Ning and his four-year-old youngest son…
Old Master Ning was already eighty years old, and having a four-year-old son had already raised suspicions within the Ning family about whether the child was truly his. Some had even subtly suggested that Old Master Ning should get a paternity test, but he had angrily dismissed them.
Although Ning Yichu’s words were sudden, they weren’t necessarily false…
As the current wife of Old Master Ning and the mother of his four-year-old son, Lu Xi was displeased by everyone’s reaction and said, “Why are you all looking at my son! My son is indeed Old Master’s biological child!”
Liu Shuang, Old Master Ning’s second wife, added fuel to the fire, “Not necessarily, are you so sure? I say Old Master should get a paternity test, and post it on Kangning’s front door, so people stop doubting whether Old Master Ning’s late-in-life son is really his.”
“Shut up! Don’t I know if he’s my biological son?” Old Master Ning glared angrily.
Liu Shuang wasn’t afraid of him; she was over sixty and had no fear of an old man. She continued, “Wow, Old Master, your sharp eyes are amazing, you can do a paternity test with just a glance.”
Lu Xi was furious, “After Xiao Zhi was born, Old Master did a paternity test! Don’t think you can slander me, Xiao Zhi is indeed Old Master’s son!”
Old Master Ning’s face darkened further.
Others were also surprised.
The third son, Ning Shaoyi, who was Old Master Ning’s son with his second wife Liu Shuang, said, “Dad, you did a paternity test?”
The fourth son, Ning Shaoli, laughed, “Seems like you weren’t so confident in yourself, Dad, just being stubborn, refusing to admit you did a paternity test.”
He was the son Old Master Ning had with his third wife, Yu Lianlian, during his second marriage. When Yu Lianlian married Old Master Ning, Ning Shaoli was already six years old.
Hearing Ning Shaoli’s words, Old Master Ning’s anger hadn’t yet erupted when Yu Lianlian scolded him, “Shaoli! How can you talk to your father like that!”
Ning Shaoli frowned, “Mom, why are you so quiet today?”
Yu Lianlian paused.
Liu Shuang also found it odd, “Yeah, why are you so quiet today? You didn’t even take the opportunity to kick Lu Xi when she’s down?”
“Wait, since Dad did a paternity test with the youngest brother and confirmed he’s his biological son, then the problem isn’t with Lu Xi?” This was said by Liu Shuang’s daughter, Ning Anxia, Old Master Ning’s fifth daughter.
She looked at Yu Lianlian in surprise, “Aunt Yu, you’re acting so strange, could it be you’re feeling guilty? The ‘uncle’ with a questionable background that Xiao Chu mentioned, could it be Aunt Yu’s son? Aunt Yu only has one son, Shaoli… Oh no, Shaoli, you were just enjoying the show, could it be about you?”
Yu Lianlian’s face turned red, “Nonsense! There’s no problem with Shaoli’s background!”
The third son, Ning Shaoyi, supported his sister, “I was wondering, when Aunt Yu married Dad and Shaoli returned to the Ning family, why did he prefer playing with Zeqi, who’s five years older, rather than getting close to me, who’s only two years older? Turns out Zeqi is actually his brother.”
This was just adding fuel to the fire with baseless accusations.
Ning Shaoyi’s mother was Liu Shuang, and Ning Shaoli’s mother was Yu Lianlian, so their relationship was destined to be contentious.
As for Ning Zeqi, although in terms of seniority, Ning Shaoyi and Ning Shaoli were higher, in age, Ning Zeqi was three years older than Ning Shaoyi and five years older than Ning Shaoli, making it hard to prioritize seniority over age.
In the past, it wasn’t just Ning Shaoli; Ning Shaoyi himself also played with Ning Zeqi… Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been the incident where he lost a bet to Ning Zeqi and ended up pushing the then eight-year-old Ning Yichu down the stairs.
Ning Shaoli was about to argue, but at this moment, the eldest brother, Old Master Ning’s first son, and Ning Yichu’s adoptive father, Ning Shaoren, spoke up, “Enough! Why are you all taking Ning Yichu’s nonsense seriously? He’s just spouting nonsense, and you’re all getting worked up over it!”
His wife, Ning Yichu’s adoptive mother, Han Wenhua, looked at him with suspicion… After all, according to Ning Yichu, no matter which “uncle” had a problem, it was related to Ning Shaoren…
Old Master Ning’s second daughter, Ning Anchun, who, like the eldest son Ning Shaoren, was a child from the first wife, said, “Alright, everyone calm down. He just said one sentence, and we’re all talking over each other, making a spectacle of ourselves.”
Then Ning Anchun looked at Ning Yichu—
The Ning family was lively, with so many people that it took fifteen sentences for one person to say something. There was no shortage of people who didn’t get along, and the back-and-forth bickering only made things more heated. In the midst of all this, no one noticed that Ning Yichu had already sat down on an empty sofa, with He Shixia sitting silently beside him, looking like he was there just to play bodyguard today.
“Xiao Chu, explain yourself, what do you mean by ‘uncle becomes brother’? You’re not just throwing dirt on Aunt Liu and Aunt Yu, you’re also stabbing your grandfather’s heart and implying your dad had an affair, putting a green hat on your grandfather. Do you understand?” Ning Anchun said.
Ning Yichu smiled, “Second Aunt, I’m not implying, I’m stating it clearly.”
Ning Shaoren glared, “Ungrateful child, think before you speak!”
Ning Shaoli looked at his mother Yu Lianlian’s guilty expression and felt uneasy.
“Fourth Uncle is Aunt Yu and Dad’s biological son, is that clear enough, Dad?” Ning Yichu said with a calm demeanor, unaffected by anything.
The other Ning family members felt like they didn’t have enough eyes to look at everyone. They wanted to see Ning Shaoren and Yu Lianlian, the people involved, and Ning Shaoli, whose background was now in question. They also wanted to see Old Master Ning, who might have been cuckolded, and Ning Shaoli’s wife, Han Wenhua. They were curious about Ning Zeqi’s reaction, and Ning Yichu and He Shixia’s attitude was also worth a few more glances.
In short, there were so many “involved parties” that it was dizzying and overwhelming.
Liu Shuang, who had nothing to do with it, watched the drama unfold with as much interest as Ning Yichu.
She even exaggeratedly exclaimed, “Oh my! Shaoli was originally born from Old Master’s affair with Yu Lianlian, so actually, Shaoren also had an affair with Yu Lianlian and had a child with her, putting a green hat on Old Master together! And they’ve kept it hidden for so many years!”
Under such a huge shock, Old Master Ning was in a daze, trembling as he pointed at Ning Shaoren, “Eldest, tell me, is it true or false?”
Ning Shaoren showed no sign of guilt, “It’s false, Dad, don’t listen to Ning Yichu’s nonsense. He’s just grown wings now, thinking we can’t control him anymore, and he’s come back to retaliate.”
Ning Shaoren knew that at this moment, he couldn’t show any guilt. Instead, the more open he was, the easier it would be to get through this on the surface. As for whether Old Master would secretly do a paternity test later and whether it would cause a stir, that was a matter for later.
But Ning Shaoren could remain so calm because he was the eldest son of the Ning family and the current head of the family. Even if the truth came out, he wasn’t afraid.
However, the other party involved, Yu Lianlian, didn’t have such confidence.
She had already divorced Old Master Ning, and it was Old Master Ning who forced her to divorce to marry Lu Xi. If she hadn’t insisted on staying in the Ning family, and if Old Master Ning hadn’t considered that she had given him a son and two daughters, and the Ning family wasn’t short of money to support one more person, she would have been kicked out long ago, relying on the little money she got from the divorce to survive.
With Ning Shaoli’s background exposed, Yu Lianlian feared being kicked out of the Ning family, and she was terrified. She wasn’t a particularly stable person, and at forty-nine, she was still inexperienced, her guilty expression unable to withstand scrutiny.
Old Master Ning felt a bit relieved after hearing Ning Shaoren’s straightforward words, but when he turned and saw Yu Lianlian’s expression, he knew there was indeed a problem, and his anger grew.
But Old Master Ning didn’t want “outsiders” to see the joke, so he suppressed his anger and called for the servants, pointing at Ning Yichu and He Shixia, “Escort them out, and the rest of you get out too!”
Ning Yichu leaned back on the sofa, “If you don’t let me listen here, be careful I go out and announce it with a loudspeaker.”
At this moment, Ning Yichu’s adoptive mother, Ning Shaoren’s wife, Han Wenhua, couldn’t take it anymore. She suddenly stood up and slapped Ning Shaoren, “Explain yourself! What’s going on between you and Yu Lianlian!”
Ning Shaoren didn’t expect this, and was hit solidly, covering his face, “Are you crazy?! You don’t believe me?”
Han Wenhua pointed at Yu Lianlian, “Believe you? How can I believe you? She might as well have written your affair on her face!”
Ning Zeqi, who had been silent all along, stood up and supported Han Wenhua, “Mom, let’s hear Dad’s explanation first.”
Ning Shaoren had no intention of changing his story, “Explain what? I have nothing to explain. I’ve done nothing wrong, and what are you all doing? Ning Yichu, this little brat, says a few words to sow discord, and you all believe him? He’s the kind of scoundrel who spreads rumors and causes trouble! Look at what kind of ungrateful wolf our Ning family has raised!”
Ning Yichu leisurely replied, “I’m not skilled enough; when it comes to being an ungrateful wolf, I can’t compare to you, Dad…”
Ning Shaoren: “Shut up!”
Seeing his son’s reaction and then looking at Yu Lianlian, Old Master Ning understood. His anger was overwhelming, and he didn’t care if the servants were still around, nor did he bother to drive Ning Yichu and He Shixia away, “Let him speak! I want to see what he can say!”
Han Wenhua also shouted, “Ning Shaoren, are you afraid to admit what you’ve done? You beast! How dare you betray me! I’ll beat you to death!”
Saying this, she was about to slap Ning Shaoren again. Ning Shaoren naturally wanted to dodge, and Ning Zeqi, standing beside him, didn’t know whether to intervene or not, so he simply stood still, turning to look at Ning Yichu.
Ning Yichu, smiling, continued, “Having an affair with your stepmother, putting a green hat on your own father, calling your own son ‘brother’ for so many years, letting your sons call each other uncle and nephew… I must say, that’s quite the endurance.”
Author’s Note: