The Truth 78

  The whole family was there, except for Xiao Jie's family, almost everyone had arrived.

  Jiang Dashao's identity was exposed, and no one dared to underestimate the main house again.

  Wen Shi Rong, the old slippery fish, walked up to Jiang Da Shao and smiled so hard his face wrinkled: "Nephew-in-law, you're from Beijing, your vision is broader, you're reliable in doing things, whereas my big brother - that is, your father-in-law - has a rather clumsy mouth. I believe if you were to take over managing our family's affairs instead of my big brother, first, my big brother would have someone to rely on, and second, there wouldn't be anyone in this household who wouldn't obey you."

  This is to push Chiang's young master out and push him to a leading position in the family.

  Jiang Dashao is an official in the army. He often says that honest officials find it difficult to judge family matters, he's stupid, like the Wen family, and would foolishly agree with Wen Shihong's words. It's easy to imagine, once he agrees, he'll be sitting in the position of head of the household, can these Wen family members obediently listen to his words? The next step is likely that they will collectively demand that he and his wife spit out money to support the Wen family, what he fears most is that they will set an example for him, letting Manman take care of the elderly.

  Sorry, money is one thing, he brought his daughter-in-law here, precisely because he saw that the Wen family was going to bully his daughter-in-law, and he absolutely wouldn't let his daughter-in-law suffer a bit.

  "Second Uncle." Looking at Wen Shi Rong's behavior just now, it didn't seem like he was a top-notch person like Wen Feng Mei. Jiang Da Shao called out "Second Uncle" and gave him a warning, "Second Uncle, to be honest, I'm an outsider, as you said, from Beijing. The way people do things in Beijing seems to be different from here. If you look up to me, of course, I'd be happy. But Second Uncle, are you really sure that this person from Beijing will be able to get things done according to our Beijing ways?"

  Wen Shi Rong's trap of courtesy before force was unexpectedly seen through by Jiang Da Shao at a glance.

  "Second Uncle." Jiang Dashao imitated Wen Shiren's move, patting Wen Shiren's shoulder and saying with a heavy heart, "You are the elder, as you said, my father-in-law's personality is not suitable for being in charge. It would be best if you were in charge. So, I must report some things to you first. My wife fainted at home a few days ago, her body isn't well, and I plan to take her to our unit for a check-up after a few days. But she's anxious about the old man's illness and rushed over here. After a few days, I'll still need to bring her back. At that time, I hope Second Uncle can help us preside over this matter."

  Do you want to grease the soles of your feet?

  Even if Jiang Dashao plans to take his wife out for a stroll, with Jiang Dashao's status, as soon as he gives an order, Wen Shirong, who works in the government, will have to let them go, no matter how busy he is.

  Wen Shi Rong's face was even more twisted than before.

  It's not easy for a high-ranking official relative to appear in our family, but nothing was gained and he was let go, who would be willing?

  No need to warm up, the Wen family members who had been listening in on the conversation between the two of them with their ears perked up early on, all rushed over and surrounded Jiang Dashi, chattering away: "Nephew-in-law, you can't leave like this, you might not know that Grandma loves Manman the most among all her granddaughters. You should at least wait until the old lady wakes up and sees that Manman has married a good family before leaving."

  "I see that the elderly are now very clear-headed. Since you all say so, I'll go and greet my grandmother, then Mianmian and I will take tonight's flight. Aunts, you're really too considerate. I thank you on behalf of Mianmian." With that, Jiang Dashao left behind a group of stunned aunts and came to the bedside of the elderly person.

  When he saw his son-in-law coming over, Wen Shixuan made way for him.

  Comrade Jiang Yan walked up to the bedside, bent down and looked into the eyes of Grandma Wen who couldn't speak.

  Old Lady Wen's cold eyes rolled around in a circle, as if she was about to throw out a net to catch Jiang Dashao.

  Comrade Jiang Yan stretched out his hand, using his index finger to gesture as if combing the old man's white hair, and with his mouth close to the old man's ear, he whispered: "I know you don't like my wife."

  The cold eyes suddenly locked onto his pupils, staring at him, glaring at him, with a fierce and menacing light.

  Before that, he sat at the door, and the old man's gaze at his daughter-in-law's back was clear to him.

  His wife said that Wen's grandmother was kind to her and gave her an amulet, but now that they've arrived at this place and met the old man, there's no need to question it anymore - it was all a lie spread by his father-in-law, Wen Shi Xuan.

  Why did Wen Shi Xuan tell such a lie?

  He straightened his waist, turned his head, and a thread of inquiring gaze fell on Wen Shi Xuan's face.

  Suddenly receiving a probing gaze from his son-in-law, Wen Shixuan's pale face was like reflective green moss.

  "Dad."

  "What's wrong?"

  Actually, Commander Lu had already made it clear to him that Manman was a child of the Lu family, not the Wen family. Now they were just waiting for an appropriate opportunity and all the test results to come out. However, Manman respected this old father-in-law, who thought that as her husband, he should follow his wife's wishes and respect Wen Shixuan.

  But if Wen Shixuan really did something wrong to his wife in the past.

  Ying Mei, considering his wife's feelings, twisted: "Mian Mian is not feeling well, I want to take her back to the hotel to rest first."

  "Alright, you two go back to the hotel first. I'll take care of things here."

  Manman said: "A Yan, I'm fine."

  He knew his wife wouldn't be willing to leave his old father alone, so Jiang Dashao played a trick, pretending to frown and sticking close to his wife's ear, saying: "Don't you consider me? I'm not feeling well, but I'm too embarrassed to say it in front of everyone."

  When they just left the airport, Manman was worried that her husband could not adapt to the hot summer in the south. Now her husband said so himself, Manman was helpless and instructed her father: "Dad, if there's anything, call us? You know our place is not far away."

  He put his arm around his wife's waist and dragged her out.

  As he walked to the door, several people looked at him: "Nephew-in-law——"

  Jiang Dashao didn't bother with idle chatter at this moment, his two eyes gleaming like a tiger descending the mountain, a burst of thunder and lightning sweeping horizontally across the Wen family: Who dares to block my way?

  One by one they retreated beyond the border.

  Then, Manman was pulled by her husband all the way to the hospital entrance. She found that her husband walked with a strong and energetic gait, not looking like he was ill at all. She asked in doubt: "A Yan, do you need to go see a doctor? Anyway, we are already inside the hospital."

  "No need." He replied too quickly, seeing a flash of light on his wife's glasses, he shouted "not good" in his heart, and immediately continued to pretend, "I mean it's not necessary, going to the hospital is troublesome and wasteful, I just want to find a cool place to lie down for a while."

  She knew he was pretending, and she knew he didn't love her in front of the Wen family. But she really feared that he might be truly ill, so with a scowl on her face, she said: "You'd better not be deceiving me, if you are deceiving me, I won't let you off."

  It's as if there was a yellow lotus seed stuffed in his mouth, Jiang Dashao sulked.

  Just as the two were about to walk out of the gate, a voice called out: "Mang Mang, is that you?"

  Following the sound, they saw a bicycle passing through the gate. A middle-aged man wearing glasses jumped off the bicycle and pushed it for several steps to their front.

  "Little aunt's husband?" Manny recognized the person and exclaimed with surprise and delight.

  Manman's little sister passed away a long time ago when their daughter was only 5 or 6 years old. Lin Wencai, the husband of Manman's little sister, has not remarried until now and has been raising his daughter Lin Jiajing alone.

  "Ah." Lin Wencai leaned his bicycle against a tree and walked with the two of them to the shade under the trees, pushing up his glasses to take a closer look at his niece and said, "You haven't changed, just like before, I can recognize you at once."

  "Yes." A faint smile spread across her lips.

  Looking at his daughter-in-law like this, it seems that this young wife is quite good. Jiang Dashao stood by with his arms around him, watching.

  "Little uncle, you're here to visit grandma, right?"

  "I was on duty last night and this morning, and I rushed over after receiving a message from your second uncle at noon. You may not know that Jiajing has gone to a boarding school and can't come back for the time being." Lin Wenchao wiped the hot sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief from his pocket.

  Manman gave her husband a wink.

  Jiang Dashao received a message: Go to the nearby convenience store to buy water.

  "He is——" Lin Wencai asked his niece in a low voice after Jiang Dashao left.

  The news of Manman's marriage was unknown to Wenfeng, let alone Lin Wencai. That night, the blind date dinner organized by Second Uncle was missing only Xiaojie and her family. If it weren't for Grandma's serious illness, Second Uncle might not have thought of notifying Lin Wencai.

  The Wen family is on guard against Lin Wencai. The reason for this is quite funny. Because Lin Wencai did not treat the Wen family as strangers after his wife's death, possibly due to a promise made by his late daughter-in-law. Every time there was a festival, Lin Wencai would visit Grandma Wen and bring her gifts and red envelopes. The Wen family thus concluded that Lin Wencai was eyeing their inheritance, otherwise why would he still be so good to his wife's mother after her death?

  Only Manman and Wen Shixuan are clear that Lin Wencai is not greedy for anything in the Wen family, if it weren't for Xiaojie having some unfulfilled wishes in the Wen family, he might not even want to step into the Wen family's door.

  It can be said that Lin Wencai's family is another kind of Wen's family.

  Unfortunately, previously because of Xu Yu'e's obstruction, Xu Yu'e did not allow Lin Wencai to enter her own home. She said that Lin Wencai was like a fox, with the intention of occupying the inheritance of the main house. Moreover, Xiao Jiu's family lived far away in the suburbs, and Manman wanted to be close to Xiao Jiu's family, which was quite difficult.

  "He is my husband," said Manman.

  "Ah, married! Not bad, not bad." Lin Wenchao's shining eyes showed that he was truly happy. He said to Manman, "It can be seen that he is a good young man."

  Mianmian's face turned slightly red: "How did you know, Young Master?"

  "You see, with just one glance from you, he immediately runs over to buy water for you. This is what it means to have a good husband, someone who cares about you." Lin Wencai pointed at Jiang Dashao, who was buying water at the small shop, and said with a smile, "However, Mianmian, you've always been smart, your uncle has always thought that you wouldn't marry poorly, you're much better than Haoshe and the others. I often tell Jiajing that if she wants to learn from someone in the family, it can only be you, not them."

  Jiang Yan, who was running back with several bottles of mineral water, heard Lin Wenchang's words and raised an eyebrow: Finally, a normal person has appeared in the Wen family.

  The good feeling doubled, and he handed a bottle of mineral water to his brother-in-law, saying: "I wanted to buy you a drink, but I didn't know your taste, so I just bought a Pulse."

  "Being a good person is expensive." Lin Wencai said this to Manman, implying that her husband knows how to be a good person.

  Manman's face turned red again.

  Jiang Dashao then saw the sunshine of the Wen family from Lin Wencai in front of him: That's right, Wen Shixuan is a good person, but his mouth is stupid and he is not good at doing things. Looking at Lin Wencai, he seems to be an intellectual, speaking humorously and interestingly, with rich connotations.

  The breakthrough of Wen's family is obvious at a glance.

  "Brother-in-law." In terms of being a smooth talker, Jiang Dashao wouldn't lose to anyone. For the sake of his wife, he immediately stuck out his face and said to Lin Wencai, "After visiting your mother, don't go back yet. Let's have dinner together tonight. I'm treating."

  Lin Wencai didn't respond immediately, he picked up his glasses and gave Jiang Dashao a sharp glance: "Your accent doesn't seem to be from around here." Suddenly remembering something, he turned back to Manman and said: "Right, last time I passed by your family's grocery store, it was closed. A neighbor told me that your whole family had gone to Beijing?"

  "I'm not hiding it from you, Auntie," said Manman. "He's with a Beijing unit. My home is in Beijing now."

  "A soldier?" Lin Wencai's gaze changed upon hearing that he was a fellow soldier, and with a hearty slap on Jiang Dashao's arm, he said, "Alright, I'll take care of tonight's dinner. However, since you've come from afar, although Mianmian grew up here, she's still a guest after getting married, so I'll be hosting tonight's dinner."

  Jiang Dashao and Manman hastily said: No way.

  Lin Wencai didn't let the two of them talk, saying: "It's settled then, Mengmeng, can't you just let your brother-in-law be happy for once?" After that, he winked at his niece and whispered: Soldiers don't have much money, can't let him treat.

  She retorted: My husband is not penniless, besides even if he has no money, she has.

  Ke Lin Wencai ignored their gossip and continued pushing his bicycle forward.

  Walking with his wife to the hotel, Jiang Dashao stroked his chin and said: "A good relative, why haven't you mentioned him before?"

  "My mom's relationship, doesn't allow us to associate with him. Of course my mom didn't know, the year I went to college, tuition was tight, he secretly gave my dad a few thousand yuan, saying it was a message from my aunt, for me to use for college. My little aunt is not like my big aunt or second aunt, she's educated and a very good person. Don't know why but it seems like good people die young, my little aunt died early." Mianmian sighed.

  "Is your sister-in-law's husband also educated?"

  "Yes, and my younger sister-in-law is a classmate of mine. My brother-in-law now works at the power bureau, with stable work, but has to work night shifts for years on end, which is also quite tiring. My cousin Lin Jiajing, who is about the same age as Yuanyuan, will probably take the college entrance exam next year too." Manman said, talking about her younger sister-in-law's family situation, with a slight frown, also feeling that every family has its own difficulties.

  He put his arm around his wife's shoulder and they walked into the hotel, where he saw Liu, Lujia's secretary, checking in at the front desk.

  Do both grandpas live here?

  "Director Jiang." Secretary Liu turned around, saw the two of them, and greeted them while showing affectionate respect to Manman.

  Manman didn't understand him, she only knew that he occasionally appeared beside Junye and nodded politely.

  "Secretary Liu." Comrade Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow cunningly, "You live next door to our guest room?"

  "How did I know you live here?" Secretary Liu smiled and rolled her eyes, intending to gloss over it.

  Two generations of grandfathers have passed down, secretly doing things.

  In her heart, Mengmeng and her husband were thinking the same thing: Are two grandpas living here? Is it a coincidence that they are living here? Or is there something more to it? What brought these two grandpas to this place?

  "Director Lu and Director Yao, why haven't I seen them?" Manman pretended to be curious and looked around the hall, "I clearly saw you with them on the plane."

  "My two superiors are busy with official business, they got off the plane and went to take care of things everywhere, until now they haven't been able to come back, I'm helping them handle some procedures first." said Secretary Liu.

  Anyway, I really didn't catch a glimpse of those two guys.

  An Li bit her lip, and Man Man felt a little unwilling.

  Comrade Jiang Yan, however, caught a glimpse of something and pulled his wife's hand, heading straight for the elevator.

  As soon as they left, the two men came out of their hiding place.

  "Go drive. If you make it in time, you can come back at around 11 or 12 tonight." Yao Ziye hurriedly told the person to go drive.

  They are not deliberately avoiding going out, but really have somewhere to hurry to.

  Before getting in the car, Jun Ye's cold eyes lowered and he spoke to Liu Secretary: "Find someone to stake out at the hospital. Not just the hospital, arrange for people to be here at the hotel too."

  "Don't worry, it's alright." Secretary Liu nodded vigorously several times.

  ……

  Back in the hotel room, my husband said blowing air conditioner fan would cure me immediately.

  The little paws of the vine slapped onto her husband's bald head: "You're pretending, what are you pretending to be? You're intentionally making me worry!"

  "Alright, alright, don't be angry." Jiang Dashao, who had been hit with a pillow by his wife, dodged around like he was avoiding landmines, and finally leapt up, jumped over the bed, and wrapped his arms around his wife, holding her in his embrace.

  My husband's tongue was stirring in my mouth, and I had no breath left, only annoyance. My small paws grasped at his clothes a couple of times, then stopped: I knew he couldn't do anything about it, so I let it go.

  "But you're leaving my dad alone there to deal with those white bone spirits, is that okay?" Manman sat down and immediately brought up the topic of her father.

  Having seen Madame Wen, Jiang Dashao's thoughts about Wen Shixuan are no longer simple. He stretched out his hand to his wife and said: "That jade pendant of yours, let me take another look."

  I don't know what her husband was thinking, but suddenly he got up and walked over to rummage through the luggage, pulling out a jade pendant that had been hidden at the very bottom and slapping it into his outstretched palm.

  In the past, she treasured this jade pendant because of her father's words, but now, for some reason, she suddenly felt that it was getting more and more annoying, to the point where she wanted to throw it away.

  His wife's temper had all been transmitted from the strength of her hands, Jiang Yuxing's eyes narrowed slightly, pinched the jade pendant and turned it under the lamp for a few circles, looking at it clearly, indeed it was crystal clear ice jade quality, without even a crack.

  "Do you really think it was your grandmother who gave it to you?" Jiang Dashao slowly opened his mouth to probe his wife.

  "My dad said so." replied Manman.

  Escape!

  Jiang Yan comrade narrowed his eyes and looked at his daughter-in-law: "Do you think your grandmother likes you?"

  "My grandmother is cold and indifferent to anyone, only slightly better to Shaohuan." said Manman.

  Perhaps because Grandma Wen was not good to any of her granddaughters or great-granddaughters, Manman got a little psychological balance from Grandma Wen.

  "And also, my dad is very filial to grandma." said Manman, bringing up the most important point.

  Comrade Jiang Yan is very clear about this, otherwise he wouldn't have taken a liking to Wen Shixuan in his heart.

  ……

  In the hospital, as soon as they left, one by one, they all slipped away quickly with various excuses.

  Xu Yujiao and Zhang Qiuyan originally wanted to take advantage of the old man's serious illness to ask about the whereabouts of Wen Jiabao's family property.

  "Grandma, you originally gave each of the Wen family children a jade pendant, but ours from the main house is missing. Did you hide it somewhere?" Xu Yu'e couldn't help but ask the old lady directly.

  Grandma Wen's gaze passed over them and came to rest on her eldest son, Wen Shixuan, who was sitting in the corner by the wall.

  Following the old man's gaze, Zhang Qiuyan asked Yu'e: "The jade pendant is in your husband's hand. What do you want to ask grandma?"

  "It's impossible. He said he smashed the jade pendant, I know he's lying. Something so valuable, even a fool wouldn't smash that jade pendant." Xu Yu'e said firmly and anxiously turned her head to say to Wen Nainai, "Nainai, you have to take charge for our family. This treasure is something everyone has, how can we be the only ones without it?"

  Old Lady Wen's cold eyes swept across their anxious faces, and suddenly, the crooked corner of her mouth coughed out a few low, ominous sounds.

  The old man's mouth opened and closed. Xu Yujiao and Zhang Qiuyan couldn't hear the sound, but they read it out from the old man's lip language over the years:

  Something worthless.

  "Isn't it worthless?" the two daughters-in-law chimed in together, "Grandma, whether it's valuable or not, you have to take it out and show us. Maybe in your time it was worthless, but in our time it might be valuable."

  Wen Shi Rong scratched his hair on the side, thinking: Fortunately, the two younger sisters left first, otherwise four women would be shouting together here, and the ward would become a chicken coop.

  The old man's estate was of no importance to either of the two brothers.

  Because Wen Shi Rong himself has mixed up to this day, he doesn't seem to lack money. Wen Shi Xuan originally didn't like competing with others for things.

  But two old wives don't think so.

  All I saw was Grandma Wen saying something worthless and then closing her eyes, refusing to say another word.

  Xu Yu'e shouted for a doctor and said: "Is it going to be too late?"

  Actually, the old man's most critical condition has already passed last night. Today, the doctor said that the old man should not die in the next few years as long as he is taken care of properly and avoids the dangers brought by post-stroke sequelae.

  That is to say, the elderly can no longer walk or eat on their own and have to rely on others for help. If they are intentionally allowed to fall or choke while eating, it's not hard for them to think of death.

  Thinking of what the doctor said, Wen Shixuan got up and said to his wife and Zhang Qiuyan: "If you really want that treasure, take good care of your mother. Otherwise, when Mother dies, no one will know where the treasure is, and you won't get it."

  If the old man's family had kept this secret all along, taking it to their graves, and letting them waste so many years in vain, it just doesn't add up.

  Xu Yujiao and Zhang Qiuyan both shouted to their daughters, telling their husbands: "We haven't even had time to send our luggage back home yet. Let's go back home first and then come over."

  Wen Shi Rong is just like his older brother, having a wife who keeps him under control. Neither of the two brothers can resist their wives.

  Alas. Wen Shi Rong sighed.

  "Shi Rong, you go back first. Weren't you tired all night last night?" Wen Shi Xuan said to his brother, "It's okay if they don't take care of mom, I'll take care of her."

  Last night, I didn't sleep a wink. Wen Shi Rong nodded and was about to leave when he saw that the ward was empty except for Lao Da Ge. He thought it was wise of Jiang Da Shao to take Man Man away first.

  If Ruo Man hadn't accompanied her husband, by now she would definitely have been left behind, and perhaps was destined to spend the rest of her life staying with Wen Shi Xuan to take care of the elderly.

  As for his niece, Mianmian, Wen Shihong couldn't say whether she was good or bad, but after all, she was still his niece, and he couldn't bear to see her living a difficult life. Of course, as a father, he had his own selfish motives - if his own daughter were to marry someone like Jiang Dashao, who was a golden bachelor, Mianmian's situation would be of no consequence.

  After Wen Shi Rong left, Wen Shi Xuan sat back beside his mother's bed and saw that the corner of her mouth was drooling. He took out a towel to wipe his mother's mouth.

  Grandma Wen's mouth opened and closed, wanting to speak to him.

  "Mom, what do you want to say?"

  Old Lady Wen panted and said hastily: She married a high-ranking official, are you happy?

  Manman married a good family, her father was naturally delighted. Wen Shixuan nodded.

  Old Lady Wen's anger grew: I just heard them say that it wasn't just her who met with the high-ranking official that night. If you let her marry him, what about your own daughter and niece?

  It turned out that his mother was asking about this matter, possibly because she didn't know what had happened. Wen Shixuan explained the whole story from beginning to end, concluding: "They messed things up themselves, and it has nothing to do with Manman."

  Old Lady Wen's eyes suddenly turned fierce and stared at her eldest son's honest face: How did I have a son like you!

  "Mom!" Wen Shi Xuan was surprised, "Man Man has always been good to you, hasn't she? I've always taught her to be good to you. This time when I came back, the plane ticket money was all paid by her. And the house I'm living in Beijing, it was also found by her."

  Pfft!

  An old man spat a mouthful of phlegm onto his eldest son's face.

  Wen Shi Xuan was stunned by the old mother's spit.

  Wenjuan followed behind her mother and when they were about to reach the stairs, she said: "Mom, I forgot something in the ward and need to go get it. You go ahead and wait for me at the entrance."

  "Go on, hurry up." said Xue Yu'e with a wave of her hand, without any suspicion.

  Wen Yu walked back, and when she was almost at the door, she saw Wen Shi Rong coming. She hid behind the door and waited for Wen Shi Rong to leave before heading towards the ward. Now, in the ward, apart from Grandma Wen and her father, there were no other people. Because the patients in the other two beds had just gone for their check-ups, there was no better opportunity than now.

  She thought it was time for Grandma to have a private conversation with Father.

  She walked quickly with her head down, a faint smile at the corner of her mouth, but she didn't notice that someone was following behind her.

  Lin Wencai had just walked out of the elevator when he saw Wen Huan, and from a distance, he wanted to call out to his niece, but after some thought, he didn't.

  Wen Yuan didn't resemble Man Man at all, and the impression she left on him was always bad.

  He didn't understand why Xu Yu'e spoiled Wen Huan so much and was biased towards Manman, not like a mother at all. Or perhaps it was because he saw that Xu Yu'e was not good to Manman, and he and his late wife had always kept an eye on her with affection.

  He walked a few steps and saw Wen Huan hiding from Wen Shi Rong. He was taken aback, and reflexively also hid from Wen Shi Rong.

  Followed Wen Yu to a ward, it should be Grandma Wen's ward. But Wen Yu didn't go in, she was sneaking around at the door, as if eavesdropping. He furrowed his brow but didn't make a sound, first observing what his niece's sneaky intention was.

  The hospital corridor was already crowded and noisy, and Wen Huan didn't notice someone approaching her.

  Lin Wencai stood lightly behind her, taller than her, and looked over her shoulder into the ward. The angle was just right, facing Grandma Wen's mouth as she spat at Wen Shixuan.

  Wen's grandmother, although Lin Wenchang sends her things and money every holiday, is actually constrained by his wife's dying words that he cannot take care of his parents until they are old. He really can't like Wen's grandmother because the elderly don't have a good impression of him no matter how filial he is.

  What was Grandma Wen thinking in her heart, Lin Wencai finally figured out a little after all these years:

  Old Lady Wen is filled with hatred, hating everyone, especially her two sons and daughters-in-law, simply because they failed to produce a grandson for her to carry on the family line.

  It's said that the elderly people of that generation had extremely stubborn feudal ideas. This is because when they were young and were treated as daughters-in-law, they thought that when they became mothers-in-law, they should treat their daughters-in-law in the same way, otherwise it would be unfair to the hardships they suffered in the past. When they got even older, their thinking became rigid and hardened, making it impossible to change their minds.

  Lin Wencai felt sorry for Wen Shixuan and Wen Shirong, especially when the elder brother Wen Shixuan was bullied by his wife and couldn't get a good word from his mother despite being filial. Now, he was even slandered by his mother's spitting.

  The anger in his chest was rolling, if not for Wen Huan being there, he would have rushed over to scold the old man a few times, regardless of whether the old man was seriously ill or not.

  Wen Huan stood in front of him, motionless, her eyes fixed on him as if waiting for something, and certainly not to take her father's side.

  Lin Wencai thought to himself: Fortunately, the couple's daughter Mianmian is not like Wen Huan, otherwise, it would be infuriating.

  Old Lady Wen spat a mouthful of phlegm onto her eldest son's face, without even taking a breath, and amazingly, she was able to produce sound from her throat: "You useless beast! Don't forget, no matter how good she is, she's not your own flesh and blood. When the time comes, if she bites back at you, I'll see what you do!"

  Wen Yu's eyes sparkled with a bright light.

  Lin Wencai was completely stunned.

  Grandma Wen can talk, has always been able to talk, and can be heard, she's just pretending.

  The old man might have had a stroke, but he's still pretending!

  Manman, he and his wife's only favorite child in the Wen family, turned out not to be a child of the Wen family...

  ……

  Military vehicles speeding across the fields.

  The fields in the south are rice paddies, unlike the dry land on the northern mountain slopes. In a low-lying field, it's all water. Farmers need to roll up their pants or wear boots to walk inside the fields.

  Departure, to the outskirts of the city, and then to the suburbs, it was already the time when dusk rose from the horizon.

  The farmhouse smoke, wafting, in the light gray sky seems like a strip of fog, sprinkled out of the veil, as if mysterious.

  In childhood, due to changes in the family, I followed my parents to the countryside. The two grandfathers' feelings towards the village have a kind of inexplicable emotion.

  Country people are not all simple and honest, nor are they all selfless.

  Both grandfathers remembered that at the time, Mrs. Lu had already given birth to a daughter and didn't have any milk, so she went around asking people if they had any milk powder or breastmilk. They knew that the family was guilty and had come to the countryside, and not one of the local villagers dared to help them out. After Nangnang was born, she never drank a drop of milk, and was fed only rice water.

  Originally born with a thin face, due to malnutrition, it became even thinner and looked like a small bean sprout.

  Actually, at that time, as long as they could hold on for another one or two months, they would be able to bring their child back to the big city, eat well, dress well, and raise them plump and fair.

  But all hope turned to ashes on the day Nannan went missing.

  "We're here." said the driver.

  The car stopped in front of the Wen family's old mansion.

  Because of Grandma Wen's illness, she was hospitalized, and the old Wen family house, where only Grandma Wen lived, had two wooden doors locked with a chain. You could only look in through the gap between the doors and see a brick house that might have been renovated a few years ago, as well as an empty courtyard with an ancient locust tree standing tall under the twilight.

  "Open the map."

  His cold voice had just given the order.

  Right away, someone spread out the map on the hood of the military vehicle and explained to Grandpa according to the two marked points on the map: "This village is very far from where you two were sent down to the countryside. Given the inconvenient transportation at that time, it would take a day and a night by car, and even now with the highway opened up, it would still take more than half a day."

  Wen Shi Xuan left his hometown and ran so far just to hold his baby?

  Too intriguing.

  What about Wen Shi Xuan's own daughter?

  However, fortunately, Wen Shixuan held Nainai so far away that she dodged Yang Le'er's poisonous hand and couldn't be found by Yang Le'er.

  A group of mysteries, see if you can find some clues in this village.

  Clap Clap.

  Knock on the door of Grandma Wen's neighbor's house.

  A middle-aged woman who opened the door and walked out saw that they were soldiers, raised her eyebrows in surprise: "Excuse me, comrades, you are——"

  "We are old acquaintances of the elderly couple next door, and we happened to be passing by here to visit them, but it seems they're not home."

  Mr. Yao's smiling face is a beautiful sight, rarely can anyone resist it.

  The middle-aged woman saw that the soldier was kind and didn't seem to be looking for trouble, so she immediately opened up: "You're talking about Old Lady Wen? She's sick, got sick last night, her son took her to the city hospital."

  "Is it? Do you know which hospital?" asked Mr. Yao, putting down his chess pieces.

  "I really didn't know about this," said the middle-aged woman. "Let me help you make a phone call to ask our branch secretary if he knows anything."

  "Never mind," Yao Ye said, stopping her.

  "Not a bother." The middle-aged woman said with pleasure, looking at this handsome military officer who was a feast for the eyes.

  "But aren't you neighbors? The old man went to see a doctor without notifying you?" Yao Ye asked, one sentence at a time.

  The other party was completely unaware, and when it came to mentioning Old Lady Wen, they spoke without reserve: "To be honest, if her two sons weren't decent people, living next to this kind of old person would be annoying."

  "What did you say?"

  "Aren't you old friends of Grandma Wen?"

  "No, we heard you say that," said Yao Ye and Leng Li in unison, exchanging a glance with Jun Ye at the door, before turning back to say, "We're afraid we might end up remembering the wrong place and finding the wrong person."

  It's like this, the middle-aged woman was happy to help them with this matter. Recalling Old Lady Wen, she said: "Old Lady Wen is introverted and doesn't speak much, her brain is like a rock."

  "For example?"

  "For example, her two sons and a son-in-law are all good to her, but she only likes the grandson born by her daughter."

  "Prefer sons over daughters?" Lord Jun's icy voice cut in abruptly.

  "That's right."

  The eyes of both grandfathers suddenly turned cold and icy, as they both thought of what Manman had said that night: the jade pendant was a gift from Madame Wen.

  Can an elderly family with a preference for boys over girls be good to Mianmian?

  Wen Shi Xuan is really good at telling lies, but what's the purpose of telling this lie?

  Ease the relationship between Lao Ren Jia and Man Man?

  "I want to ask—"

  The middle-aged woman, unaware of the chill in the two faces hidden in the shadows, smiled and said: "What's your problem? Ask away. But I think you've probably come to the wrong place. Wen Nainai doesn't have any friends."

  "How does the old man treat his granddaughter?"

  "How could that be?" The middle-aged woman seemed to have heard a joke and burst out laughing. "Let me give you an example. When her eldest son had a daughter, it was a difficult birth, and his wife refused to raise the child. Her eldest son brought the girl back to find his mother, but ended up being beaten with a broom by the old lady."

  "And then?"

  "Later on——” The middle-aged woman struggled to recall, as it was a long time ago. “Later on, I only remember that her eldest son refused to give up and brought his daughter back to find his old mother several times. In the end, for some reason, he gave up and left.”

  "Is he gone?"

  "Yes."

  "Is it just one person? Are there children?"

  Finally, she made out that the voice didn't sound quite right. As the middle-aged woman turned around, in an instant, she saw two faces of Tie Sen and two pairs of eyes of Tie Sen, which were like ice knives trying to pry open her memories hard. She couldn't help but shudder, her teeth chattering: "This... I only remember that it seems there was no sound of a child crying."

  Two complex-colored gazes met each other.

  Two military shadows suddenly turned around and went out the door.

  "Your Excellency?" Seeing the two masters return, Secretary Liu hurriedly opened the car door, "Next we are going to——"

  "Nowhere else to go." Mr. Yao waved his hand and said, "Back to the hotel."

  Liu the secretary did not dare to speak much, because even the gentle and soft-tempered Master Yao had a bad tone, let alone Master Jun's cold face after getting on the carriage, which was as if trapped in an ice cellar for ten thousand years, extremely frightening.

  On the way back in the car, Master Yao bit his fingers, and his narrow and beautiful eyebrows had no room to relax again.

  Didn't hear the kid's crying sound.

  Is he dead?

  Or is it gone?

  So Wen Shi Xuan traveled a long distance, and it's possible that he just went out for a walk and brought his daughter back.

  Is it because his eldest daughter is already dead or missing?

  Was it killed by an old man's family or was it lost?

  A fist slammed against the car window, causing the entire window to shake violently.

  The driver slammed on the brakes.

  "Lu Jun!" Yao Ziye's head turned around, his fist clenched, his eyebrows twisted.

  "Cold lips burst out with extremely angry words: 'I don't sympathize with him at all, I don't think he's pitiful!'"