Everyone was shocked and turned to look at He Grandfather.
He Grandfather tried to maintain his composure, but he still scolded Ning Yichu for talking nonsense and said to He Grandmother, “Don’t listen to his nonsense, it’s just alarmist talk! Dingbang is, of course, our biological son!”
However, after being married for fifty or sixty years, if He Grandmother couldn’t see through He Grandfather’s guilty conscience at this moment, then she would have lived her years in vain. She remained silent.
Seeing this, He Grandfather’s heart sank, and He Dingbang and the others also became uneasy.
Ning Yichu calmly suggested, “Why not do a paternity test?”
“Shut up!” He Grandfather shouted angrily.
He Grandmother glanced at the servants in the dining room, signaling them to leave. Then she walked to the main seat at the dining table, sat down, looked at the panicked He Dingbang, and then at He Grandfather, “One thing at a time. You first tell me, what’s going on? Do you really want to make it to the point of doing a paternity test and become a laughingstock?”
He Grandfather gritted his teeth and, under everyone’s gaze, admitted, “Yes, Dingbang is a child I brought back from outside and swapped with our biological son.”
He Dingbang was struck as if by lightning and took a few steps back.
His children were also shocked and panicked—they were originally illegitimate children brought home by He Dingbang when he was fooling around outside. Now that He Dingbang wasn’t even a He family member, wouldn’t they be even more illegitimate?
He Grandmother’s hands began to tremble uncontrollably upon hearing the answer.
He Grandfather quickly added, “But! But… I had no choice…”
He wiped his eyes with his hand before continuing, “Ah Ying, I was afraid you’d be heartbroken, so I didn’t dare tell you all these years… Actually, our biological son died shortly after birth. You had such a hard time giving birth to him, how could I let you know? Just then, someone abandoned a newborn at the hospital entrance, and the hospital didn’t know what to do. I thought it was fate…”
He Grandmother trembled all over, her old eyes faintly filled with tears.
The other members of the He family heard a glimmer of hope and quickly looked at He Grandfather.
“In those years, hospital regulations weren’t as strict, so this matter was kept hidden,” He Grandfather sighed, “Ah Ying, we’ve been married for so many years, we’re both so old now. You know what kind of person I am. Have I ever lied to you, dared to lie to you?”
“I haven’t hidden anything from you all these years except for this matter, I swear to heaven! Now that this matter has been brought up by that little brat Ning, it’s clearly an attempt to sow discord and attack us!” He Grandfather’s wrinkled face was also on the verge of tears.
He Dingbang snapped back to reality, reacted quickly, and hurriedly threw himself at He Grandmother’s legs, sobbing and crying, “Mom! I don’t care, you’re my real mom, you and dad raised me, you’ve worried so much about me, if you’re not my biological parents, then who are… I’m still so confused, how can I, a man in my fifties, go through this, how can the parents I’ve called for most of my life suddenly not be my real parents… Mom, you won’t really abandon me, will you?”
He Grandmother felt as if her heart was being cut with a knife, both for her biological son who died shortly after birth and for He Dingbang’s tearful cries.
But He Grandmother thought calmly, if what He Grandfather said was true, then although she was angry, she wouldn’t really blame He Grandfather, nor would she take it out on He Dingbang.
After all, it’s been so many years, treating him as her own son for fifty-three years, watching this son have his own children, the youngest grandchildren are already adults…
He Grandmother sighed deeply and patted He Dingbang’s hand.
This action made He Grandfather, He Dingbang, and He Dingbang’s children all breathe a sigh of relief.
He Grandmother looked at He Grandfather and asked, “The child who died back then…”
He Grandfather quickly, with tears streaming down his face, said, “I buried him properly! Ah Ying, although I didn’t dare let you know, I’ve actually been thinking about our biological son all these years. Every year on Dingbang’s birthday, I would secretly prepare an extra birthday gift and place it at our son’s grave during the tomb-sweeping. When you’re ready, I can take you to see…”
Upon hearing this, He Dingbang chimed in, “I want to go too, he’s my brother, I should go see him too. I’ve been blessed to have parents and this family all these years, thanks to his protection…”
At this point, He Grandmother shed tears but also decided to let this matter go and not dwell on it.
“Forget it, it’s all fate…” He Grandmother said.
Ning Yichu listened to the drama, finding it quite entertaining.
Seeing that the current scene was about to end, he timely handed over a new “script,” cheerfully reminding, “I think it’s better to do a paternity test, maybe there will be a surprise.”
He Grandfather, who had just relaxed, tensed up again, almost fainting from anger.
He looked at He Shixia, hoping He Shixia could control the situation, “Shixia! Are you just going to watch him cause unrest in the family?”
He Shixia looked slightly apologetic, “He’s young and speaks bluntly, please bear with him.”
Everyone was choked by He Shixia’s “parent of a mischievous child” attitude.
However, Ning Yichu had just graduated from university, barely twenty-two years old for two months. Among the people present, only the eighteen-year-old He Ruzhu was younger than him, and the next in line, He Shixia, was six years older than Ning Yichu.
So if he insisted that Ning Yichu was still young, it seemed plausible.
Ning Yichu was delighted, “Exactly, I’m pregnant, my emotions are unstable, don’t provoke me, or I’ll miscarry right in front of you, then who will be responsible?”
Everyone’s faces turned extremely unpleasant.
He Rulin couldn’t help but laugh, “Although I always thought you were amusing, I only now realize you’re even more interesting than I thought. When you and Shixia get divorced, let me know…”
“Shut up.” He Shixia’s face turned cold.
He Rulin raised his hands in a surrender gesture, “Alright, it’s not appropriate to poach someone in front of them.”
With He Rulin’s interruption, the previous topic was momentarily paused. He Grandfather wanted to seize the opportunity to skip over it and divert everyone’s attention with another topic, “Shixia, what are you thinking now? Are you really planning to give all the company’s shares to this scheming Ning Yichu?”
“Well, at least I can be sure the child in my belly is Shixia’s, unlike you, Grandfather, who dared to bring an illegitimate child home and raise him for over fifty years. Now that it’s exposed, you’re still so calm.” Ning Yichu tilted his head.
He looked at He Grandmother, whose face had changed dramatically, and asked with a smile, “Grandmother, do you think your biological son really died unfortunately, or was he deliberately left untreated to make room for someone else?”
These words made He Grandmother’s body react faster than her mind, and she instinctively let go of He Dingbang’s hand.
He Dingbang was too panicked to curse, hoping for the first time in his life that he was truly an orphan. He quickly looked at He Grandfather, “Dad! I was picked up at the hospital… right?”
He Grandfather was trembling, appearing particularly old and frail, almost unable to hold onto his cane. He looked at Ning Yichu in disbelief, “How did you…”
This matter couldn’t withstand suspicion. Once doubt arose, a paternity test would be enough to reveal the truth. So, being exposed to this extent, He Grandfather didn’t resist any further.
But he couldn’t understand, “How did you know? Even if Weian told Shixia, and Shixia told you, you should only know that Dingbang isn’t your grandmother’s biological child. How could you know Dingbang is my illegitimate child…”
It was precisely because he thought no one knew the deepest truth that He Grandfather had tried to conceal it earlier, hoping to control the situation by confessing that “He Dingbang was an abandoned baby picked up.”
However, at this moment, He Grandfather’s words of doubt revealed two things to everyone. Besides the already discussed issue of He Dingbang’s background, there was also…
He Grandmother’s eyes widened, almost choking on a mouthful of blood, “Weian knew about Dingbang’s background?!”
He Dingbang was also shocked, “How could it be… Weian has always disliked me as her big brother, not even bothering to talk to me much. Is this the reason? No, then why did she help me hide it… Shixia, what’s going on?”
Others still believed that Ning Yichu, who had just arrived at the He family, couldn’t possibly know such private matters. It must have been He Shixia, his pillow talk partner, who told him.
He Shixia didn’t answer.
He actually had no idea about this matter. Ning Yichu had suddenly revealed it without any prelude, and he was also shocked.
He Grandfather spoke again, “Weian… she only found out about it a couple of years ago. Because Dingbang has been unreliable since childhood, she did have some disdain for this big brother. But after learning about this, she was afraid of causing unrest in the family and worried that Ah Ying, as a mother, couldn’t handle it, so she didn’t say anything. Besides, she thought Dingbang was an abandoned baby I happened to find, not knowing he was…”
He Grandfather didn’t want to drag his biological daughter, He Weian, into this mess, especially since she wasn’t hiding it out of selfish motives.
He Grandfather shook his head, “Yes, Dingbang is my illegitimate child, but Ah Ying, believe me, our biological son really died from failed resuscitation, not because I deliberately killed him and then brought back an illegitimate child to replace him. I’m sorry to you…”
He Grandmother was so angry that her mind went blank, almost unable to speak.
The youngest, He Ruzhu, was stunned by the overwhelming information and couldn’t hold back, blurting out, “Oh my god, it was Grandfather who cheated…”
The nearby fifth child, He Rufeng, kicked him and cursed under his breath, “Can’t you read the room! Shut up, you idiot!”
He Grandmother’s breathing was rapid. She had been decisive all her life, never expecting that when she was about to step into the grave, a matter so humiliating would suddenly emerge, utterly disgracing her.
“Weian… call He Weian back for me! Everyone will honestly explain everything today!” He Grandmother shouted angrily.
He Dingbang, who had been lying on her leg, was now in a kneeling position, looking obedient and not daring to make a sound.
It was He Dingbang’s eldest daughter, He Ruxue, who bravely stepped forward and gently patted He Grandmother’s back, “No matter what, your health is the most important, don’t let anger harm you.”
After all, she was the first grandchild in her perception, a granddaughter she had doted on for thirty-three years. Although she was He Dingbang’s daughter, He Grandmother couldn’t help but separate her feelings for her granddaughter from her feelings for her husband, unable to harden her heart against this granddaughter.
He Grandmother patted He Ruxue’s hand and softened her voice, “Ruxue, you are you, your father is your father. No matter what, you are the eldest grandchild of the He family, don’t be afraid.”
He Ruxue heard this and remained calm.
But her other siblings still couldn’t be at ease.
Grandmother had always doted on He Ruxue, and she was willing to separate He Ruxue from He Dingbang, not holding He Ruxue accountable for her father’s actions as evidence of her husband’s infidelity. But that didn’t mean she would treat the other grandchildren equally.
He Dingbang was even more desperate, realizing the implication in He Grandmother’s words—he wasn’t an orphan left at the hospital entrance by fate, but rather an illegitimate child smuggled back into the He family by his father, so his mother wouldn’t consider the fifty-plus years of mother-son relationship.
He Grandfather’s old face trembled, still trying to plead, “Ah Ying… I only made that one mistake… We’ve been married for over fifty years, do you want to expose our family scandal at the end, making us and the He family a laughingstock?”
He Grandmother didn’t answer, only asking him, “What exactly happened back then, explain it clearly to me, if there’s any more concealment…”
“Don’t worry, Grandmother, if Grandfather hides anything, I’ll bring it up, ensuring you don’t suffer in silence.” Ning Yichu watched the drama unfold without minding the chaos.
He Shixia smiled helplessly, but he didn’t stop him, nor did he show any intention of reproach.
The other members of the He family were so angry they didn’t want to talk to this newlywed couple.
He Rulin, however, was “different,” still watching He Shixia and Ning Yichu with interest, saying, “I heard from Grandfather earlier that even Aunt didn’t know about my dad being his illegitimate child. I wonder how little Chu found out. By the way, Shixia listens to you so obediently, is it because you have some leverage over him, something that could ruin him if revealed?”
He Shixia coldly warned, “He Rulin.”
“Oh, so quickly you don’t even call me third brother anymore, really… why don’t you let little Chu call for you?” He Rulin said with a smile.
Ning Yichu finished the last bite of porridge in his bowl, feeling warm and content, with a show to watch, naturally in a good mood.
He smiled at He Rulin, “You’re an illegitimate child of an illegitimate child, it’s normal for a legitimate child not to want to discuss seniority with you, no need to rush to be upset.”
Although Ning Yichu’s intention was clearly to mock and provoke, He Shixia still didn’t want to see him smile at others, especially at He Rulin, who already had ulterior motives.
So after Ning Yichu finished speaking, He Shixia subtly blocked He Rulin’s view, then lowered his head to ask Ning Yichu, “Do you want to eat a little more?”
Ning Yichu now had other entertainment to pass the time, so he was too lazy to argue with He Shixia, just shook his head.
Before He Rulin could respond, the youngest, He Ruzhu, spoke again in a mysterious tone, “Ah, this is the difference between legitimate and illegitimate. Now even the biological father is an illegitimate child, we can’t even be considered concubines, be careful of being sold off.”
Even He Rulin was speechless at this point.
Author’s Note: