Jiang Muyan’s slap left everyone in the room stunned. Jiang Tianci stopped wailing, his mouth hanging open, his pain-twisted face frozen in place.
The slice of meat Jiang Muqian had just brought to her lips slipped from her chopsticks in shock, landing with a soft thud on the table.
Jiang Yucheng was taken aback for a moment before slamming his hand on the table, making the dishes rattle once more. He shot to his feet:
“Jiang Muyan, are you trying to rebel? How dare you hit your own mother—this is sheer defiance!”
Liu Fangmei was dazed by the slap, her cheek instantly red and swollen as a burning pain spread across her face.
When she finally regained her senses, she clutched her swollen cheek, eyes bulging like a bullfrog’s, and spewed a stream of vile curses before lunging at Jiang Muyan again:
“You little bitch, how dare you hit me! I’ll skin you alive today!”
Watching Liu Fangmei’s hysterical display, Jiang Muyan’s mind flashed with all the grievances the original host had endured over the past decade, and the chill in her eyes deepened.
She no longer dodged. As Liu Fangmei lunged toward her, Jiang Muyan seized her wrist, twisted it slightly, and bent Liu Fangmei’s arm at an unnatural angle. What followed was an even more piercing shriek than Jiang Tianci’s:
“My arm! Jiang Yucheng, are you dead? Hurry up and help me!”
Liu Fangmei was both furious and bewildered. She couldn’t understand how Jiang Muyan had suddenly become so formidable, as if she were a completely different person.
Jiang Yucheng hurried forward, equally baffled. The Jiang Muyan who had once endured beatings and insults without complaint had turned shockingly ruthless.
He quickly approached Jiang Muyan:
“Jiang Muyan, let go of your mother right now! You’ll end up in jail for this!”
“Jail?” Jiang Muyan scoffed, releasing Liu Fangmei’s wrist and watching her crumple to the floor, wailing just like Jiang Tianci. “Let’s see who ends up in jail—me or Liu Fangmei!”
“What… what do you mean?” Jiang Yucheng frowned, wondering if she planned to report them to the police for forcing her to marry Director Zhang.
Thinking this, he snapped sharply:
“Jiang Muyan, we are your biological parents. Arranging your marriage to Director Zhang is a family matter—the police have no right to interfere!”
“Biological parents?” Jiang Muyan laughed as if she’d heard the biggest joke of her life, her gaze sharp as it swept over Jiang Yucheng. “Why don’t you ask Liu Fangmei whether I’m really your daughter or not!”
“What… what do you mean?” Jiang Yucheng retorted, then added, “You grew up in this house—of course you’re our daughter!”
Meanwhile, Liu Fangmei, who had been groaning in pain, stiffened abruptly at Jiang Muyan’s words and fell silent.
She recalled the questions Jiang Muyan had asked when she first woke up. Could this girl really know something? But she was the only one who knew about the baby swap. And the letter from her biological daughter—how could her biological daughter know about it too? Where had the leak come from?
As Liu Fangmei was lost in thought, Jiang Muyan’s voice cut through:
“What do I mean? I already said—you can ask the person involved yourself!”
With that, while everyone’s attention was fixed on Liu Fangmei, Jiang Muyan quietly slipped a Truth-Telling Talisman onto her.
Jiang Yucheng looked at Liu Fangmei, recalling her attitude toward Jiang Muyan over the years, and considering Jiang Muyan’s beautiful appearance, a faint suspicion began to stir in his heart after hearing Jiang Muyan’s words:
“Liu Fangmei, tell me, is Jiang Muyan our child?”
Liu Fangmei nodded, wanting to say “Yes!” But suddenly, she felt as if her mouth was no longer under her control. “Of course this wretched girl isn’t our child!”
As her mouth uttered these words, Liu Fangmei hurriedly covered it with her hand. Yet the voice continued to ring out clearly:
“Back when our daughter was born, I saw that the woman in the same hospital room was a military family member, and her family was well-off. The watch she wore cost more than several months of your salary. Coincidentally, she gave birth to twins—a boy and a girl—and our daughter was premature. The two babies looked about the same, so I swapped them!
Thankfully I made the switch back then. Do you know? Our biological daughter is living a great life now. That family turned out to be a prominent household in the capital!”
Word by word, it echoed clearly in every corner of the room. Liu Fangmei trembled all over, her eyes filled with desperate terror—how could she have blurted all that out?!
Jiang Yucheng’s expression shifted. Was Liu Fangmei insane? She could have told him this privately; why did she have to say it in front of the children?
Jiang Tianci and Jiang Muqian were as if struck by lightning, completely frozen in place. Only one thought remained in Jiang Tianci’s mind: It’s over! If Jiang Muyan isn’t a Jiang, his job is completely ruined!
No, at the very least, the Jiang family raised Jiang Muyan. Whether she’s their daughter or not, she must marry Director Zhang!
Thinking this, Jiang Tianci ignored the pain in his arm and shouted loudly:
“Jiang Muyan! So what if you were swapped? Mom and Dad raised you for over a decade! The debt of upbringing is greater than heaven—you must repay it!”
“Repay?” Jiang Muyan turned to look at him, the mockery in her eyes almost overflowing.
“Fine! Then let’s go to the police station and have a good talk, let the officers judge—how Liu Fangmei abused me all these years, and then discuss how she stole and swapped babies back then! Oh, right, I hear hospitals now have machines that can verify blood relations. Why don’t we get a test done first, then let the police investigate what happened back then? Let’s see how many years swapping babies can get you!”
In truth, Jiang Muyan didn’t know if DNA testing was available now. She was just trying to scare them.
“No, we can’t go to the police!” Liu Fangmei’s face instantly turned deathly pale. She didn’t know what had come over her earlier, how she could have spoken those words as if possessed.
And no matter what, they couldn’t involve the police. Once that happened, she’d lose her job, Jiang Yucheng would definitely divorce her, and when she got out, she’d be utterly alone—her life would be ruined!
Jiang Tianci chimed in beside her:
“You… don’t act recklessly! The debt of upbringing is greater than heaven—you can’t do this!”
“Gratitude for raising me? Hah, if it weren’t for Liu Fangmei swapping the children back then, do you think Jiang Muyan would have lived such a hard and difficult life?” Jiang Muyan felt deeply aggrieved for the original owner. If not for Liu Fangmei swapping the children, the original owner would have lived a completely different life and would not have died with such injustice!
Jiang Yucheng finally snapped back to reality. He didn’t understand why Jiang Muyan referred to herself that way, but when he heard her mention reporting to the public security bureau, his eyes suddenly narrowed—this matter absolutely must not get out! Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to hold his head up at the factory, and the neighbors would gossip behind his back!
Thinking this, Jiang Yucheng forced himself to soften his expression. Looking at Jiang Muyan, he spoke in a tone he had never used before, gentle and coaxing:
“Muyan, in the past, I neglected you and didn’t care enough about you. Don’t worry, from now on, I will definitely make it up to you. I won’t force you to marry Director Zhang anymore. Let’s not report this to the public security bureau, okay? From now on, our family will live well together.”
As he spoke, a trace of barely concealed resentment and calculation flickered in his eyes. In truth, he was already scheming that if all else failed, he would use force to subdue Jiang Muyan.
But the thought of how effortlessly Jiang Muyan had subdued his wife and son just moments ago made him shudder—now that both his wife and son were injured, relying on him alone, he might not be a match for this girl.