At this moment, Xu Mingzhen’s birthday banquet was already underway.
Though it was a private gathering, there were still three or four tables set up, filled with close business partners, relatives, and friends of the Xu family.
Gu Sheng stood hidden behind a massive decorative vase, the elaborate floral arrangement almost completely concealing her figure.
She wore an evening gown that Xu Mingzhen had sent in advance. It wasn’t particularly luxurious, but it was more than appropriate for the occasion.
Through the gaps in the flowers, Gu Sheng watched as the nanny caring for the Xu family’s eldest daughter carried the medicinal stew upstairs.
A satisfied smile curved her lips.
As long as that little wretch was gone, even if her actions were a bit too obvious, the Xu family would go easy on her for the sake of her son.
After all, Xu Mingzhen and Zhou Ya could no longer have children. Gu Yongkang—no, Xu Yongkang—would become the Xu family’s only heir.
Once Kang Kang was officially acknowledged by the Xu family, he could receive treatment from the best doctors!
A commotion suddenly broke out in the reception hall.
Gu Sheng glanced at the antique clock in the corner, estimating that the timing was about right.
Xu Mingzhen had already promised her that he would publicly acknowledge Kang Kang at today’s banquet.
With so many people present, Zhou Ya wouldn’t be able to make a scene. Besides, once she learned that her sickly daughter had met with an accident, she wouldn’t have the energy to deal with anything else.
Filled with visions of a bright future, Gu Sheng swayed her hips as she made her way toward the reception hall.
Then she heard Xu Mingzhen’s furious shout:
“Doctor! Get a doctor, now!”
Gu Sheng froze for a moment, secretly regretting that the Xu heiress’s situation had been discovered so quickly. She had hoped the girl wouldn’t be found until the next day—lying stiff in bed.
Then, a child’s tearful cry rang out from the crowd.
“Kang Kang! Don’t scare me! Kang Kang!!”
Gu Sheng stumbled.
Her mind went blank. Acting purely on instinct, she pushed her way into the crowd.
Her precious son—her most beloved child—was rolling his eyes back, foaming at the mouth, his small body convulsing as he lay unconscious.
Gu Nianqing didn’t have the strength to carry a child her own size from the back kitchen to the front hall—it was the head chef who had helped her.
She sat on the ground, wailing helplessly, her cries heart-wrenching.
Zhou Ya frowned as she looked at her.
As the legitimate wife of the Xu family, she wasn’t completely unaware of her husband’s illegitimate children. But Xu Mingzhen had hidden them well, and in front of their daughter, he had always been a loving and responsible father. As for these disgraceful matters, she had chosen to turn a blind eye.
She hadn’t expected everything to blow up like this today.
“Kang Kang!”
Gu Sheng let out a piercing scream and threw herself forward.
Trembling, she pulled her son into her arms, desperately wiping the drool from his mouth.
Whispers spread among the guests—some speculating about the children’s identities, others pointing at Kang Kang’s unusual appearance.
Gu Sheng broke down completely. Forgetting all pretense, she cried out to Xu Mingzhen:
“Husband! Do something—please, do something!!”
The entire room fell silent for a moment.
Then Zhou Ya’s cold laughter shattered it.
“Heh.”
The lady of the Xu household looked leisurely at the birthday host, her smile dripping with mockery.
“Husband, why don’t you say something?”
Xu Mingzhen’s jaw tightened. He didn’t dare meet his wife’s eyes and only muttered weakly:
“Save him first… saving my son is what matters…”
The family doctor rushed over. After hearing what had happened, he immediately frowned.
Gu Sheng’s eyes widened in panic. She grabbed the doctor’s sleeve like a madwoman.
“Why are you shaking your head?! Save him!!”
Suddenly, a child’s voice pierced through the chaos.
Gu Sheng’s gaze snapped toward her other child.
“…Qingqing,” her teeth chattered uncontrollably, every word trembling, “how did this happen?! Speak!”
Gu Nianqing, frightened by her shout, broke down as well.
“Mom…” Her childish voice rang clearly through the room. “Kang Kang drank the medicinal soup you made for the Xu young lady, and then he became like this… what do we do, Mom…?”
“You wretched girl!”
This time, it was Zhou Ya who shouted.
The elegant, composed lady from moments ago suddenly grabbed the doctor by the back of his collar and yanked him up without hesitation.
“Come upstairs with me—check on Jia Jia!”
“No!!” Gu Sheng lunged forward, clutching the doctor’s pant leg. “Save my son first!”
Zhou Ya stepped down hard on Gu Sheng’s supporting hand, her thin heel digging straight into the flesh. Gu Sheng cried out in pain, forced to let go as she curled up on the ground.
The doctor quickly steadied himself and rushed upstairs.
It wasn’t that he lacked compassion—it was simply that there was no point wasting time on a case with no hope.
Otherwise, they might lose both.
Gu Sheng clutched Kang Kang’s now motionless body and let out a beast-like wail.
“My son!! Xu Mingzhen, why won’t you let the doctor save him?! He’s your only son! Without him, who will inherit the Xu family?!”
Xu Mingzhen, who had still been feeling some pity for Kang Kang, suddenly turned cold at those words.
“Who do you think you are, trying to decide the affairs of the Xu family?!”
The once refined and handsome man now looked dark and intimidating, his voice chilling.
“Gu Sheng, I already promised to acknowledge Kang Kang and Qingqing. Why did you still try to harm Jia Jia?!”
The small body in her arms was growing cold. Gu Sheng let out a bitter, hysterical laugh, all traces of her usual gentleness gone.
“If I didn’t get rid of her, was I supposed to just watch her fight Kang Kang for the Xu family’s inheritance?!”
Gasps rippled through the guests.
In elite circles, it wasn’t uncommon for men to keep their “main wife” at home while having affairs outside—but for a mistress to try to eliminate the legitimate heir and take her place outright?
That was something else entirely.
Quite the spectacle.
Xu Mingzhen knew full well that his reputation—both publicly and privately—had been completely ruined today.
He bent down and grabbed Gu Sheng by the throat.
“You’d better pray Jia Jia is safe.”
All the past affection between them seemed to vanish. The lovers who once swore undying devotion had finally reached their breaking point.
As Gu Sheng’s face turned pale from lack of air, she had no choice but to release Kang Kang’s body and claw at Xu Mingzhen’s hand, struggling to breathe.
Someone rushed forward to pull him away, urging him to calm down.
“Brother Xu, calm down—the child is still watching…”
The reminder made Xu Mingzhen freeze.
Only then did he remember—besides Kang Kang, Gu Sheng had also brought Qingqing today.
He looked around and finally spotted the small figure curled up near the staircase, far from the chaos.
Her tiny face was still streaked with tears as she stared blankly at Kang Kang on the floor.
They were twins.
And in a single moment, they had been separated by life and death.
Sensing his gaze, Gu Nianqing wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and looked back at him.
The man who had given her half her life now looked at her with a complicated expression.
After all, it was her cry that had pushed everything into the open—making reconciliation impossible.
Meeting his gaze, Gu Nianqing parted her lips.
Her throat was hoarse from crying, barely able to make a sound.
But Xu Mingzhen understood what she was mouthing.
She addressed him as—
“Mr. Xu.”
A pair of long legs, made even more striking by nude high heels, stepped out of the car onto the freshly replaced red carpet.
Gu Nianqing thanked the attendant who shielded her head from the car door, then straightened up—and met the gaze of the man standing on the second-floor balcony of the mansion, looking down at her.
Xu Mingzhen looked noticeably older than he had six years ago. Most obvious of all was the beer belly he could no longer hide.
A comfortable life does that to a man.
In recent years, the burden of making money had fallen on her, while Xu Mingzhen had enjoyed a life of ease and family comfort.
Gu Nianqing smiled at him and greeted him casually, as if nothing had happened.
“Long time no see, Mr. Xu.”