Xue Yue was in a bad mood all evening. She didn’t say a word, just climbed onto the kang and lay down.
After He Lang lulled Ruanruan to sleep, he saw Xue Yue lying with her back to him. He Lang sighed helplessly, reached out to pull Xue Yue into his arms, and nuzzled his head into the crook of her shoulder.
He Lang knew Xue Yue wasn’t asleep. He didn’t speak either, simply taking her hand in his.
Xue Yue’s eyes were open, her gaze vacant as she stared blankly into space. Her thoughts had drifted far away. The warm touch on her back slowly brought her back to her senses.
"Do you think Big Brother really isn’t Dad’s biological son?" Xue Yue murmured softly.
"Your brother has always been ticulous. If that’s what he’s saying, he must have found sothing out. I know you’re not sad because you’re worried your relationship will change. This whole thing is just too sudden for you to process. But it’s okay. I’ll be here with you, and things will get better."
Xue Yue bit her lower lip, blinking to force back the stinging in her eyes.
"As long as I can rember, my brother has been by my side. During the hardest years, he always stood in front of , protecting . How did I never notice that Dad treated my brother and differently? But why would Dad hide this all this ti? What is the truth? Why couldn’t he just tell his own family? Why did we have to wait for soone else to tell us?" Xue Yue grew agitated as she spoke.
He Lang turned her over to face him. Looking into her eyes, he said, "If you really can’t figure it out, just go and ask your father. Don’t just stew in your anger."
Xue Yue t He Lang’s deep gaze and hugged him.
He Lang patted her back.
"I’ll take you back there tomorrow. If you want to know the truth, you have to go ask."
Xue Yue nodded.
The next morning, He Lang took Ruanruan over to the old residence, then went to Yangjia Gou with Xue Yue.
When Xue Changlin saw Xue Yue and He Lang arrive, he seed a bit uneasy.
"Yue’er, what are you two doing here? The weather’s freezing. The roads must have been difficult."
He Lang replied, "They were fine."
From the mont she walked in, Xue Yue kept her eyes fixed on her father. Xue Changlin seed to sense sothing and sat on the kang without a word.
He Lang glanced at Xue Yue. "You two have a good talk. I’m going to take a walk outside."
Then, He Lang turned and left, closing the door behind him for them.
Liu Hongxing, who was in the courtyard, saw He Lang co out but didn’t greet him. Liu Hongxing had been very quiet lately, as if she were a completely different person.
Inside, Xue Changlin’s eyes t Xue Yue’s, and he flinched. She continued to stare at him intently.
After a long silence, Xue Yue slowly began to speak. "Dad, why did you and Mom co to Yangjia Gou? Wasn’t Mom from Beijing City?"
Xue Changlin looked at Xue Yue, his eyes filled with shock. He clearly hadn’t expected her to suddenly bring this up.
"What did your brother tell you?"
Xue Yue scoffed. "My brother? Dad, back when you said you didn’t have the money to save my brother, was it really just because of the money? Or was there another reason?"
Xue Changlin’s expression instantly soured. "Yue’er, why would you ask that? What other reason could there have been?"
Xue Yue said mockingly, "Wasn’t it because my brother isn’t your biological son?"
"You—" Xue Changlin’s eyes widened as he stared at Xue Yue in astonishnt.
Xue Yue continued, "Because my brother isn’t your own flesh and blood, you could just stand by and let him die. When Liu Hongxing didn’t want him to start a family, you let her have her way. Ever since Mom passed away, you stopped caring about either of us, leaving us to fend for ourselves. You said you were cold to because I look like Mom, so what about my brother? Why did you ignore him too? You just stood by and watched Liu Hongxing bully us. He did so much work, but he ate less than I did. He was so starved you could count his ribs. Did you really not see any of that?
"Why are you always like this—so weak and cowardly? We’re not children anymore. We have a right to know the truth. All these years, if you really couldn’t stand the sight of my brother, why didn’t you say so sooner? I would have left this house with him instead of staying here and being an eyesore to you."
As Xue Changlin listened to Xue Yue’s hysterical shouting, he went rigid. But after a mont, his shock gave way to a calm resignation.
He said softly, "Hangzhou... he is indeed not my son. When your mother and I got together, she was already pregnant. I didn’t want the child at first, but your mother insisted on giving birth, no matter what. I cared for her too much, and I couldn’t bring myself to go against her wishes."
"Then how did you and Mom end up here?"
Xue Changlin looked at Xue Yue, his gaze gradually losing focus as he stared into the distance.
"I was an orphan from a young age. When I was six, I was taken in and adopted by one of the servants from your mother’s family. So, I grew up working for their family alongside my adoptive father.
"Your mother’s family, the Li Family, was considered a prominent household in Beijing City back then. Your mother also had a younger sister, and there was less than a two-year age difference between them. I was around the sa age as the two of them, and sotis they would let play with them. My life at the Li Family estate was decent enough.
"However, the Li Family and the Zheng family had arranged a marriage long ago. Since your mother was the elder sister, the engagent fell to her. Later, she and her sister started attending school and spending ti with the young master of the Zheng family. In ti, your mother and Zheng Guofeng slowly fell in love.
"By 1947, the Zheng and Li families were about to finalize the wedding plans. But for so reason, the Zheng family suddenly went abroad. Three months later, the news that your mother was pregnant sohow beca common knowledge, and all contact with the Zheng family was lost.
"Everyone said your mother had been abandoned. She didn’t believe it, but the master and mistress wanted her to abort the child. She refused, no matter what, so they locked her in her room and wouldn’t let her out.
"I watched over her almost constantly. About half a month later, I woke up one morning to find her gone. I didn’t dare report it to the master and mistress, so I went out to look for her myself. Luckily, soone said they saw her heading toward the river. When I got there, I saw your mother flailing in the water, just about to go under. I imdiately jumped in to save her. It was early winter, and the river was freezing, so by the ti I pulled her out, she had already passed out. I took her to the hospital, but I never expected that when she woke up, she wouldn’t even recognize ."
"So Mom lost her mory, and you brought her here? You were in love with her?"
Xue Changlin paused for a mont, then admitted it.
"Yes. I admit it was a bit despicable of . I’ve loved her since we were young. She was always kind to the servants, and she was kind to . Sotis, when the second young miss made things difficult for , she was the one who would step in to help.
"In ’45, after my adoptive father passed away, the master had originally intended to make leave the Li Family as well. But she told him I had nowhere else to go and convinced him to let stay. When she was with the young master of the Zheng family, I didn’t dare approach. I had nothing. I was just a lowly servant who could only watch her from afar. But the young master from the Zheng family had abandoned her, and the master and mistress had her locked up, wanting to get rid of her child and marry her off quickly.
"So when I saw that she had lost her mory, I felt a secret sense of joy. My adoptive father had told before that he had a sister over here, so I brought your mother here with ."
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