”He Yi! Where did that little bastard go again? Get out here right now!” Song Ling shouted as she searched for him.
She already disliked this illegitimate child; the offspring of a prostitute, his very existence was a slap in the face to her, Mrs. He.
If it weren’t for the fact that this kid’s birth chart was compatible with that of the Shang family’s heir, and that the Shang family’s patriarch insisted that He Yi bring good fortune to his beloved grandson Shang Jingwu, Song Ling would never have agreed to bring him back to the He family.
After searching around without finding anyone, Song Ling stood in the yard, hands on her hips, and shouted angrily, “If you don’t get out here, you won’t be eating dinner tonight!”
He Yi, who was huddled in the corner of the garden, twitched his ears and reluctantly crawled out of the bushes, shouting nervously as he crawled, “I’m out! I’m out! You can’t not give me dinner.”
Seeing that he had gotten himself all dirty again, Song Ling looked disgusted and said, “Did you really hit your head and make yourself stupid? What are you doing hiding in that corner again?”
“I’m watching ants, so many ants,” He Yi explained earnestly, not feeling there was anything wrong with what he was doing.
His head was wrapped in thick gauze, and his fair, doll-like face was covered in dark mud stains, making him look like a playful little kitten. His hands were also covered in mud, and his white pants were in a terrible state, especially his knees, which showed that he had just been kneeling on the ground after the rain to observe an ant nest.
Song Ling said impatiently, “What are you looking at, ants?! Hurry up and wash yourself clean and change your clothes. The Shang family is coming soon to take your measurements and make a custom dress. If people see you looking like this, you won’t be able to eat tomorrow!”
He Yi suddenly became anxious, gesturing wildly and shouting, “No, no! You can’t not feed me! I’m hungry! So hungry! You can’t not feed me!”
Song Ling pinched his arm in anger and said sternly, “Shut up! Stop pretending to be crazy and go wash yourself clean.”
He Yi cried out in pain, his arm covered in a large bruise, showing how ruthless Song Ling had been.
He sat down on the wet ground without a care, kicking his thin little legs and crying out in protest, “You can’t not give me food! I want to eat! I’m hungry! I want to eat!”
Looking at his erratic behavior, Song Ling asked suspiciously, “Could he have really gone stupid from the accident?”
A few days ago, this kid suddenly fell down the stairs for some reason. By sheer coincidence, his head hit a marble pillar at the bottom of the stairs on the first floor. He bled a lot and passed out on the spot. After he woke up, he became a bit strange. He would scream at anyone he saw, as if he had seen a ghost. He would also hide away by himself, and it was often difficult to find him.
Song Ling initially thought he was just pretending to be crazy because he didn’t want to marry into the family to bring good luck, but now she was a little unsure.
Although this illegitimate child’s identity is not respectable, he is indeed very smart. He even became the top scorer in the city’s college entrance examination this year. However, he has a particularly unlikable personality. He is gloomy and awkward, and likes to act aloof. Just because he scored a little high on the exam, he always looks down on people with his nose in the air.
Upon learning that he was to be married off to a sickly man with a disability in both legs as a way to bring him good fortune, he tried to sneak out in the middle of the night, but was caught and locked up for a few days before finally behaving himself.
Unexpectedly, he fell and hit his head as soon as he was released. Such a coincidence made Song Ling suspect that he did it on purpose.
He Yi was still sitting on the ground crying and making a scene. Song Ling thought to herself that if he was faking it, then this little bastard’s mind was too deep. He was like a completely different person, without any flaws.
Unable to tell the difference, she turned around with a headache and called to the housekeeper, “Sister Li! Come and take him to take a bath and change his clothes. Don’t let him embarrass himself here.”
When Sister Li heard her wife calling her, she immediately put down her housework and ran to the yard to reply, “Coming, coming! I’ll take him to take a bath right away. Don’t be angry, it’s not worth getting sick from it.”
Song Ling waved her hand and said, “Alright, take him away quickly, just looking at him gives me a headache.”
.
That afternoon, as soon as He Hongtu returned home, he saw Song Ling sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, looking sullen and angry. He quickly went over and asked, “What’s wrong? Who made you angry again?”
Song Ling rolled her eyes and said irritably, “Who else could it be? It’s that bastard you brought back from outside.”
”What happened to him again?” He Hongtu asked somewhat guiltily.
”This afternoon, someone from Shang family came to measure his dimensions, but he not only refused to cooperate, but also suddenly went crazy and pushed the person down. Luckily, he didn’t get seriously injured. I was busy apologizing to the person, but he kept shouting that he wanted to eat some kind of shredded pork noodles, as if he hadn’t eaten in ages. If word gets out, people will think that our He family has mistreated him.”
He Hongtu helped Song Ling calm down and advised, “Don’t be angry. Isn’t he getting married soon? If it weren’t for the fact that his birth chart happened to match what the Shang family was looking for, do you think I would want to bring him back?”
It’s really shameful to talk about having a prostitute’s son. Back then, he only paid to satisfy his physical needs, never expecting to have an illegitimate child. Later, that woman brought He Yi to his door, which allowed Song Ling to use his incriminating evidence against him for many years. Even now, he can’t stand up straight.
Moreover, He Yi’s personality is too gloomy and he is particularly stubborn. He has provided good food and drink for his mother and son, but he has never heard He Yi call him “Dad” in all these years. Every time he sees him, he acts as if he has seen an enemy.
A while ago, that kid’s biological mother passed away from illness. He kindly asked someone to go and help with the funeral arrangements, but He Yi kicked him out without explanation, as if he were the one who had killed her. Of course, he couldn’t like such an illegitimate child.
But who could blame the Shang family for choosing He Yi? If only they had chosen their daughter, He Yuan, who was only born one day earlier than He Yi.
After being comforted by He Hongtu, Song Ling calmed down a bit. “I think you should find a doctor to check his brain. Don’t let him really get brain damage from the fall. Otherwise, he’ll embarrass himself at the wedding and it will be a disgrace to the He family.”
He Hongtu agreed, saying, “Okay, I’ll call a doctor to come to our house tomorrow to take a look at him.”
Although Song Ling’s anger subsided somewhat, He Yi had caused her to lose face in front of outsiders, so punishment was inevitable.
After being locked in the dark room, He Yi kept making a scene, banging on the door and scratching at the walls, trying to get someone to release him.
Although he likes to be alone, he is very afraid of being locked up, and he is also particularly afraid of the dark.
But no matter how much he cried and shouted, it was no use; he couldn’t open the door that was locked from the outside.
Later, he cried until he was exhausted and was very hungry, so he sat down against the corner of the wall, hugged his bent legs with his arms, buried his face in his knees and trembled.
The feeling of hunger made him very uneasy, reminding him of the feeling of being starved to death. The fear of death slowly enveloped him, and every second was extremely agonizing.
When he was released the next morning, his fingers were covered in dried blood, his nails were all curled or cracked from scratching the wall, his eyes were as red as a rabbit’s, and his face was both pale and bluish, making him look like a ghost at first glance.
When He Yuan, who opened the door for him, saw his appearance, she was so frightened that she immediately screamed, almost thinking that He Yi had come to take her life.
At first, He Hongtu thought his wife was just angry and that’s why she said He Yi had fallen and become stupid. But when he saw He Yi’s frightening appearance, he realized that the boy was really not normal.
The doctor came over and examined He Yi, and also treated the injury on his hand. During the examination, the doctor asked him some questions and found that not only could he not remember his past, but he also kept saying that he was not from this world. What’s even more outrageous is that he said that this place is actually a book, and this is the world inside the book.
After observing him carefully, the doctor felt that he was not faking his stupidity, so he suggested that he be taken to the hospital to see a neurologist or psychiatrist.
He Hongtu then took it seriously. Although the Shang family only wanted He Yi to marry into the family to bring good luck to Shang Jingwu, and might not care whether He Yi was mentally challenged or not, how much benefit could the He family gain from sending a mentally challenged son to the Shang family? If this mentally challenged son angered the Shang family’s unpredictable crown prince, the He family might also suffer.
As a result, he had someone take He Yi to see a number of doctors, but they couldn’t find any treatment. The hospital gave He Yi a comprehensive examination, and they all said that there was nothing wrong with his body and that there was no obvious damage to his brain.
Perhaps because He Yi’s appearance was indeed not normal, the doctor explained that the human brain is too complex, and it is not impossible for a minor external injury to affect memory. For now, the only thing to do is to let the patient go home and rest well, and maybe he will recover on his own someday.
The He family reluctantly accepted the fact that He Yi had become mentally impaired. To prevent him from making a fool of himself at the wedding, Song Ling began to teach him basic rules and etiquette from scratch.
The wedding date was set by the Shang family. I heard that a very skilled fortune teller calculated the date based on the birth dates of Shang Jingwu and He Yi. It’s the eighth day of next month, which is less than a month away. Time is too tight, so the preparations for the wedding are extremely busy.
As the matriarch of the He family, Song Ling was already extremely busy with the wedding preparations, so she was particularly impatient with He Yi. Whenever he made a mistake, she would threaten to lock him in a dark room.
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He Yi was terrified of being locked up and dared not cause any more trouble. He obediently did whatever Song Ling said. He was also exceptionally well-behaved on the wedding day. He didn’t cry or make a fuss even though he hadn’t eaten anything in the morning. Instead, he obediently let someone change him into an elaborate suit. He didn’t move around much while getting his makeup done, like a beautiful doll that could be manipulated at will.