But Ning Zhou’s face was even more ashen than hers. She pulled her hand free and Xiao Huimin immediately wrapped an arm around her, leading her to sit beside Meng Ting and Yan Sui. Ning Zhou gently grasped Meng Ting’s hand, and only then did her expression soften slightly.
“A thief in the family is hardest to guard against. You say you don’t understand?” Old Master Xiao sneered, his gaze icy and merciless. “Yu Meixuan has confessed! And if you’re going to say you don’t know Yu Meixuan either… Then surely you must know Yu Liang!”
Yu Liang was Yu Meixuan’s biological father, but he also held another identity—he was Wei Xiaoyu’s personal driver after she married into the Xiao family!
At these words, Wei Xiaoyu’s eyes suddenly lifted. The momentary shock on her face was unmistakable to everyone present, and coupled with the uncontrollable trembling of her body, even if she still insisted she knew nothing, her own husband Xiao Xuanmin probably wouldn’t believe her either.
Yu Liang… The name sounded vaguely familiar even to Xiao Huimin and Xiao Xuanmin. Before the incident involving Ning Zhou and Meng Ting, Yu Liang had been fired by the butler for drunken negligence. Xiao Xuanmin had even argued with the butler, dissatisfied with the leniency of the punishment, but Wei Xiaoyu had intervened to calm the situation.
“Dad, what on earth are you talking about? What Yu Liang? Wasn’t he dismissed ages ago?” If it hadn’t been for the serious argument he had with the old butler back then, they wouldn’t even have remembered him at all.
Although Xiao Xuanmin and Wei Xiaoyu’s relationship wasn’t as deep as Xiao Huimin and Ning Zhou’s—their early years were tumultuous—later, however, their relationship had been quite good. Furthermore, seeing Wei Xiaoyu being chastised like this in front of his elder brother, sister-in-law, and even the younger generation, he also felt deeply humiliated.
“What?” Old Master Xiao scoffed. His gaze remained fixed on Wei Xiaoyu as he continued.
“It was she who colluded with outsiders to kidnap your sister-in-law Ning Zhou and your nephew Zinuo. Seeing the operation fail, and that Ning Zhou and the child were about to be rescued, she even had Yu Liang take Zinuo away…” Her original intention was probably to throw the child into the sea, but Yu Liang, whom she entrusted, perhaps out of pity, or had other intentions, only threw a swaddling cloth into the sea and took Meng Ting to Yu Meixuan in Haicheng instead.
Yu Meixuan had just sold Yan Shuya to an orphanage a few days prior. There was no reason for her to raise a child from unknown origins after abandoning her own. Moreover, she accidentally discovering Yan Mu’s identity, so she simply sent Meng Ting to swap him for Yan Shuya instead.
By the time Yu Liang returned from a trip to his hometown, Meng Ting had already been sold by Yu Meixuan. Yu Meixuan took Yan Shuya and hid from him, preparing to flee abroad. Yu Liang might not have realized the child had been sold—or perhaps he chose not to pursue it. Using the money Wei Xiaoyu gave him, he also fled overseas. He knew all too well that he held too many secrets—if the Xiao family ever caught wind of his involvement, they would never let him go. Neither would Wei Xiaoyu.
After Old Master Xiao finished speaking, his face was dark with anger, but his voice was still strong and full of vigor. He slapped the table again. “Old Mo, bring them in!”
The study door opened. The housekeeper, Uncle Mo, walked in front, and behind him, two bodyguards were dragging an old man bound in ropes. Wei Xiaoyu turned her head, met the old man’s gaze. She staggered back two steps, hitting the bookshelf before she prevented herself from collapsing to the floor.
“He is Yu Liang,” Old Mo said, stepping aside. The two bodyguards still pressed down on Yu Liang’s shoulders, then kicked the back of his knees, forcing him to kneel.
He struggled to shift his body, kneeling toward Ning Zhou instead. “Madam… Madam, I’ve wronged you, I’ve wronged you…”
Before being dismissed, Yu Liang had worked for the Xiao family for quite some time. Before Wei Xiaoyu married into the Xiao family, he had been Ning Zhou’s driver. Ning Zhou had a gentle temperament and treated all the servants around her well—not by giving them money, but with an attitude that made them feel respected.
She always called him Uncle Yu, and she had even let him hold Xiao Zi’ang and Xiao Zimo when they were just born…
Two streams of tears rolled down Yu Liang’s face. He hadn’t lived up to Ning Zhou’s kindness towards him; he had obeyed Wei Xiaoyu’s orders and taken away her youngest child. Now, the only thing he could be grateful for was that he hadn’t completely lost his conscience back then—he hadn’t actually thrown the child into the sea.
“Why? Tell me why?” Ning Zhou’s voice trembled violently, both from shock and fury. “I’ve never wronged any of you—Yu… Yu Liang, Xiaoyu, tell me why? Why would you harm my child!”
Even if they had schemed against her, Ning Zhou wouldn’t have been this agitated. But they had targeted her three-month-old baby—such malice couldn’t even be described as vicious.
“Second Madam, she…” Yu Liang couldn’t meet Ning Zhou’s gaze, but there was another stare he couldn’t ignore—Wei Xiaoyu’s. He knew that if he spoke, his fate would likely be worse than death. But he had also carried this guilt for so many years; it was time for the truth to be returned to the Xiao family.
“She had leverage over me…”
“Yu Liang!” Wei Xiaoyu finally spoke, her voice nearly shrill enough to pierce eardrums. With one glance from Old Master Xiao, Uncle Mo summoned an older maid who had been with the Xiao family longer, instructing her to cover Wei Xiaoyu’s mouth.
“Speak!” Old Master Xiao looked at Yu Liang. He also wanted to know how Wei Xiaoyu had managed to make these old servants, once loyal to the Xiao family, betray him.
“Second Madam believed the reason she couldn’t bear a son was because Second Young Master was useless…”
It could be said that Wei Xiaoyu had gone mad in her obsession to bear a son. It wasn’t easy for her to find other men to father her child and avoid many watchful eyes. So, she set her sights on Yu Liang. Eighteen years ago, Yu Liang wasn’t too old and had been physically active for many years, not in his current unsightly state.
A lady from a prestigious family willing to humble herself to him was something Yu Liang probably never dreamed of. Wei Xiaoyu didn’t even need to seduce him; Yu Liang willingly took the bait. But Wei Xiaoyu had given birth to two daughters in succession, and her body was already damaged. No matter how much she tried, she still couldn’t get pregnant.
She not only committed adultery with Yu Liang but also had Yu Liang find other men who met her requirements…
This went on for quite some time. Just as Wei Xiaoyu was on the verge of complete despair, Ning Zhou suddenly became pregnant again. After ten months of pregnancy, she gave birth to another baby boy. This was the final thread that severed whatever remained of Wei Xiaoyu’s conscience—if she ever had such a thing as conscience to begin with. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have cheated on her husband with a middle-aged chauffeur.
From the moment Ning Zhou confirmed that the child in her womb was a boy, Wei Xiaoyu began various schemes. Her first thought was to make Ning Zhou miscarry, but Xiao Huimin protected Ning Zhou too well. The Ning family even sent experienced nannies to care for her. Ning Zhou stayed at home to await childbirth, making it impossible for Wei Xiaoyu to even get her to go out.
It wasn’t until three months after the child’s birth that Wei Xiaoyu finally seized her opportunity.
Of course, from the start, Wei Xiaoyu never let Yu Liang know too much. He was originally just a pawn she had discarded. But after her initial plan failed, she was unwilling to give up and then, she impulsively ordered Yu Liang to dispose of the child. Having spent years in the Xiao household, he naturally had his own connections and methods.
“You’re lying… He’s lying! He’s lying! Xiao Xuanmin, are you even a man? Letting him stand here and spin these wild tales, slandering me, defaming me!”
But Yu Liang had already confessed everything—he wouldn’t have come unprepared. Still keeping his head bowed, he continued, “The second madam has a mole beneath her breast, the second madam—”
“Enough!” Old Master Xiao cut him off with a wave of his hand, ordering Yu Liang to be taken away. But even these few words were enough to disgust everyone present.
The mere fact that he had committed adultery with Wei Xiaoyu was enough to condemn him to death, let alone his involvement in the kidnapping years ago.
“Wait.” Yu Liang suddenly lifted his gaze, sweeping a glance at Ning Zhou and the young man beside her—Meng Ting. “Is he the young master?”
He didn’t know whether to feel joy or continue weeping. He knew exactly what awaited him once he was taken away. Pressing his lips together, he revealed one last piece of information.
“The second madam also had an affair with the third young master. And… the patriarch of the Zheng family.”
The Zheng family patriarch had been identified as the mastermind behind the kidnapping case back then. Although their ancestral roots were in Beicheng, they had moved abroad decades prior—largely because the Zheng family had once offended Old Master Xiao and were subsequently driven out.
Old Master Xiao had always believed the kidnapping was an act of revenge when the opportunity arose, borne from lingering resentment over past grievances. But he never imagined Wei Xiaoyu was involved! She was very clever—exceptionally so. Her obsession with bearing a son was likely not just due to idle gossip but also her coveting the position of the family matriarch.
Only by bearing a son could she give Xiao Xuanmin the leverage to compete with Xiao Huimin. But fate had other plans—no matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn’t have one!
“Slap!” Xiao Xuanmin slapped Wei Xiaoyu. His anger wasn’t necessarily about Wei Xiaoyu colluding with outsiders to harm Ning Zhou and Meng Ting. He was enraged that Wei Xiaoyu had betrayed him… His chest heaved violently, and his eyes seemed to want to strangle Wei Xiaoyu to death.
“Hahahaha, hahahaha…” Wei Xiaoyu, after being slapped, didn’t cry. Instead, she laughed, a laugh that was remarkably unrestrained and fierce.
She moved away from Xiao Xuanmin’s striking range and looked at Ning Zhou. “Heh… You ask me why?”
“Who wants your pity? Who asked you to play the saint? Just because you gave birth to a son, you think you’re great?”
Wei Xiaoyu’s gaze, now completely unveiled, was as venomous as a hunting snake. She had hated Ning Zhou for over twenty years, but for these twenty years, she had forced herself all that time to feign weakness, pretend to be pitiful, and pretend to be kind—twisting herself to the brink of madness, yet unable to touch Ning Zhou in the slightest.
“Why must your man be more accomplished than mine? Why can you bear sons while I can’t? Why must you have everything perfect while I’m left with your scraps of pity?”
“Ning Zhou! Why aren’t you dead? And you—you little bastard, why are you still alive!”
Wei Xiaoyu spat her words rapidly, saying everything she wanted before Xiao Huimin could slap her. She was knocked to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, yet she continued laughing—hysterical, venomous, terrifying.
“Hahahaha!” She suddenly burst into wild laughter again. She looked at Xiao Huimin, tears streaming down her face as she laughed. She suddenly questioned Xiao Huimin, “Why do you think I married your useless younger brother? I like you, I like you! What does it matter that Ning Zhou was a few years ahead of me? I’m your brother’s wife, but I’m also a wife!”
Wei Xiaoyu had disguised herself too well all these years. When that layer of human skin was torn away, the ugliness beneath surpassed everyone’s imagination.
Neither Yu Liang’s earlier words nor Wei Xiaoyu’s current outburst had been anticipated by Old Master Xiao. For her to claim that a younger brother’s wife is also a wife—such words truly challenged the three views[mfn]三觀 (sān guān): (neologism, slang) the three fundamental views or values of a person, i.e. one’s world view (世界觀), values of worth (價值觀) and philosophy on life (人生觀), more reference: Link 1, Link 2.[/mfn] of everyone present.
“You’re disgusting!” Xiao Huimin said, simply voicing his revulsion. “A few years? Even if I hadn’t known Ning Zhou since childhood, even if I hadn’t met Ning Zhou earlier—I could never like someone like you.”
Xiao Huimin genuinely hadn’t felt Wei Xiaoyu’s affection for him all these years. It was true she often cried in front of him, but while Ning Zhou’s tears could soften his heart, other women’s tears only annoyed him. Every time Wei Xiaoyu came to the old mansion, she would monopolize Ning Zhou attention. Xiao Huimin had actually always disliked this sister-in-law, though, as a grown man, he never truly bothered to confront her.
But now, her confession of ‘liking’ him truly sickened him.
[dropdown title=”List of Idiom in Chapter 085.1″]
家賊難防 (jiā zéi nán fáng): it is difficult to guard against a thief within one’s house; bad people from within are the most difficult to guard against; it’s difficult to guard against a saboteur from within; a thief in the family is the most difficult one to guard against.於心不忍 (yú xīn bù rěn): to not have the heart to do something; can’t bear to; feel sorry for; be unwilling to; be unable to endure; be pained to; expresses personal feelings, often feel that you can’t bear it from the bottom of your heart. It often expresses sympathy for the victim.
喪盡天良 (sàng jìn tiān liáng): to be utterly devoid of conscience; to be extremely vicious and evil; utterly heartless; morally bankrupt; completely unscrupulous; devoid of humanity; losing all conscience and behaving extremely viciously.
胡編亂造 (hú biān luàn zào): to fabricate (stories, etc.); to cook up; to concoct a cock-and-bull story (idiom); to make things up.
閑言碎語 (xián yán suì yǔ): idle gossip; irrelevant nonsense; slanderous rumor; idle tittle-tattle; rumours; sarcastic remarks or complaints; gossip; used to describe informal speech spread in interpersonal communication or unnecessary discussion in the workplace. Its core meaning contains two layers: one is trivial speech without substantive content, and the other is unfounded speech with negative evaluation.
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