The second eldest, He Rusong, realized that He Grandmother hadn’t made a final decision yet, probably because she was still soft-hearted. After all, she’s getting on in years, and there’s not much time left in this life. Few people would want a major change, especially a negative one, at this stage. Whether it’s about saving face or not wanting to let go of family ties, He Grandmother might speak harshly, but deep down, she hopes for peace and harmony within the family, both internally and externally.
However, He Grandmother has always been someone who can’t tolerate any nonsense. It’s unlikely she’d just let this matter slide without a proper resolution. She needs a graceful way out. So, He Rusong quickly spoke up, “Grandmother, about what Grandfather said earlier… We juniors shouldn’t speak ill of our elders, but I have to say Grandfather wronged you. But in the end, Grandfather was also set up. He didn’t mean to wrong you. He hid those past events to keep you happy. We’ve been together as a family for so many years, day in and day out. I know you’re hurt now, but…”
At thirty-two, he choked up as he spoke, and tears began to fall. He Rusong wiped his eyes and cried, “Do you really not want us anymore? We were all doing so well as a family, how did it suddenly come to this…”
Seeing this, the fourth and fifth siblings quickly reacted and started crying too. The fifth, He Rufeng, sobbed, “Grandmother, Grandmother, I can’t bear to leave you. We grew up without a mother, and even though you’re our grandmother, you’ve always been like a mother to me. I don’t want to leave you…”
The fourth, He Ruyue, lowered her head, tears streaming down, “But Grandfather did something wrong. Our father doesn’t have a legitimate status, and we, who already don’t have a mother, have even less face to ask you not to abandon us. What should we do, what can we do… No matter what, we’ll do whatever Grandmother decides…”
Seeing his children crying, He Dingbang quickly knelt on the ground, wiping his tears, “Mom, I don’t care. Even if you don’t want me anymore, you’re still my mother. I’ve called you mom for over fifty years. I’m already half-buried in the ground, and now you’re telling me you’re not my mom. You might as well kill me… Dad, how could you do this to Mom? How could you betray her?”
He Grandfather leaned on his cane, silent. He Grandmother was torn. If she had discovered this truth when she was younger, she wouldn’t hesitate. But now, after so many years…
He Ruzhu threw himself at He Grandmother’s legs, moving so quickly that he almost knocked over his kneeling father, He Dingbang. But He Ruzhu didn’t care about his dad, using his young age as an excuse, he clung to He Grandmother’s legs and wailed.
“Grandmother! Grandfather had his reasons, and my dad is even more innocent. He was just a newborn back then, he didn’t crawl to you and call you mom himself, Grandmother…”
He Dingbang thought, this little brat really doesn’t know how to talk!
But it didn’t stop He Dingbang from continuing to howl, “Mom! We’ve had over fifty years of mother-son bond, does it really not compare to blood ties… How did I suddenly lose my mom… Mom, please don’t drive me away, let us stay by your side to atone, I beg you!”
At this point, He Grandmother’s heart was indeed swaying. After all, they’ve been married for decades, and He Grandfather could naturally see that He Grandmother’s attitude was softening, just one step away from forgiving.
He quickly seized the opportunity, speaking in a weathered voice, “Ah Ying, all these years, you know best whether I’ve ever had a second thought about you or the He family. If I really intended to cheat, to swap Dingbang for our biological son, I must have had some motive, right? But tell me, have I ever sought anything inappropriate?”
“Dingbang is unreliable. Early on, when you said you wanted to bring in a son-in-law for Weian, to let Weian take over the He family, just like you did back then. Did I ever fight for Dingbang? I even told you not to give Dingbang any shares, do you remember?”
Hearing He Grandfather say this, He Dingbang’s eyes widened.
He Grandfather guided He Grandmother’s memories, “You were afraid Dingbang would feel hurt, that he’d think we were favoring Weian over him, so you wanted to give him some shares even if he was unreliable.”
“If Dingbang were our biological son, I wouldn’t have stopped you. It’s precisely because I knew he wasn’t that I didn’t have the face to let Dingbang take anything from the He family. So I persuaded you to let it go. After all, he never had any shares, and Dingbang himself knew what he was like. Suddenly giving him shares would make him overthink, and he’d misuse them.”
“It was my constant persuasion that stopped you. You even joked that I was indeed biased towards Weian.”
With He Grandfather’s words, He Grandmother recalled the past and sighed.
He Grandfather continued, “Later, you wanted to give Ruxue shares. I wanted to stop you then too, because Ruxue is Dingbang’s daughter, not of He family blood. But I couldn’t stop you. You loved Ruxue, your eldest granddaughter, and felt that since Dingbang didn’t get shares, it wouldn’t be fair not to give Ruxue any.”
“Ruxue isn’t like her father; she’s reliable. I had no valid reason to stop you. I was afraid that if I stopped you too much, you’d notice something was off. So I said, let me give her the five percent I have…”
“I’ve worked for the He family all my life, and when I retired, I only had five percent of the shares. You never asked me for them. I knew that as long as I didn’t offer them, you wouldn’t demand them.”
“But I still felt guilty, not having the face to take anything from you for someone who wasn’t your blood. But I couldn’t stop you, and I didn’t dare tell you the truth. So I thought, rather than let you give your remaining shares to Ruxue, I’d give her mine. That way, even though my hands would be empty, I’d feel a bit better.”
He Grandfather wiped his eyes, “It wasn’t until Shixia came of age, and you followed the He family’s tradition of giving him shares, that you felt it was fair to give Ruxue three percent more, so she and Shixia both held eight percent. Do you remember? You thought I was biased towards Weian’s family, not caring for Dingbang and his daughter, afraid I’d stop you again. So you only told me after you did it…”
More tears welled up in He Grandmother’s aged eyes.
“But among Dingbang’s children, only Ruxue got He family shares. She holds eight percent. Ah Ying, you still hold five percent, and the rest is with Weian and Shixia. Shixia has the eight percent you gave him, and Weian, as the current head of the He family, holds fifty percent, giving her a decisive voice in the board.” He Grandfather calculated.
“Ah Ying, tell me, if I had ulterior motives, wouldn’t I have tried everything to benefit Dingbang, to undermine you, rather than now, when everything’s about to be settled, and I have nothing substantial?”
“I’m very grateful that you and Father-in-law chose me back then. I knew that as long as there was the He family and you, I wouldn’t suffer. So I’ve always been content, never thinking I needed to hold He family shares to feel secure. After all, I have you, you wouldn’t let me worry about food and drink, right? That’s how I’ve always thought…”
“I’ve been guilty all these years, but I only dared to hide it from you, never daring to have other thoughts, never thinking of using your trust to do something, so that even if you found out about Dingbang’s background, you wouldn’t dare confront me. I’ve never thought that way… Ah Ying, this life is almost over, please don’t drive us away. Let me stay by your side to atone for the rest of my days, okay?”
After speaking, He Grandfather started coughing repeatedly, out of breath. He Rusong and the others quickly stepped forward to support him, patting his back. A group of people crying and coughing, looking pitiful.
Standing beside He Grandmother, He Ruxue also choked up, “Grandmother…”
He Grandmother sighed, “Our He family really can’t afford this disgrace. This matter…”
“This matter should just be let go.” Ning Yichu’s light tone took over the conversation, successfully drawing everyone’s attention.
Hearing him speak, seeing his demeanor, the others felt a toothache.
He Rusong gritted his teeth, “The family’s already in turmoil, isn’t that enough? What else do you want to say?”
Ning Yichu blinked innocently, “I’m not causing trouble. Grandmother’s already planning to grit her teeth and endure it, why would I stir things up? That would be so immature.”
He thoughtfully listed, “Although Grandmother and Grandfather have been married for fifty-five years, Grandfather lied about being single before marriage, secretly met his first love the second year after marriage, gave her money, and betrayed Grandmother. So many things were perfectly hidden until now, making Grandmother unaware that her biological son was gone, raising Grandfather’s illegitimate child for most of her life…”
“But as you all said, Grandfather already explained, it’s all the fault of his first love, the biological mother of Uncle. Grandfather is very innocent.”
People’s emotions naturally change with what they hear and think about. Just now, He Grandmother was filled with the cries of her grandchildren, years of affection, and He Grandfather’s hard work. Now, with Ning Yichu’s reminder, she thought again…
Yes, she was deceived from the start, and for most of her life without knowing. How can she be sure the old man hasn’t hidden other things from her?
All these years, was it really that the old man had no ulterior motives, no face to ask for more from the He family, or was it that she was too strong, and he didn’t have the ability or courage to gamble, so he had to be content?
The old man isn’t stupid. He could see that He Dingbang was unreliable, so when he didn’t give Dingbang shares, and later gave his own shares to Ruxue, was it out of guilt, or was there another plan?
Was he prepared for the truth to come out, betting that when it came to discussing shares, she’d be soft-hearted? And if the truth never came out, even if he ended up with nothing, it wouldn’t stop him from living a life of luxury.
In fact, the five percent of shares he held couldn’t be used for anything else. When he died, they’d have to be evenly divided among the children, so the final distribution wouldn’t be different… Was he truly guilty, or did he see the situation too clearly?
He Grandmother’s previously swaying balance shifted again, trembling.
“Ning Yichu! What do you want? Can’t you stand to see our family well?” He Dingbang saw the wavering in He Grandmother’s eyes, practically grinding his teeth. His mother was about to relent, and Ning Yichu ruined it!
Ning Yichu smiled, “Uncle, don’t be anxious. I haven’t forgotten you. Actually, I’m quite envious of you. Even though you’re not Grandmother’s biological son, you’ve taken her biological son’s place for so many years, making her biological son a lonely ghost from birth, never even entering the He family ancestral tomb. But Grandmother loves you so much, she’s not planning to hold it against you. Ah, I’m really envious.”
Author’s Note: