Nanny Zhang staggered back as she was shoved away.
She looked at him with wounded eyes: "Liu Guang, I'm your birth mother. How could you—"
"Don’t call me by that name!" Ji Liuguang's disgust reached its peak. "It's all because of you! If not for you, I would never have ended up like this! My real mother died long ago—she was a wealthy socialite, the Madam of the Ji family. Not you, never you! Do you hear me? It was never you!"
Tears streamed down Nanny Zhang’s face.
This time, her heart truly shattered.
The son she carried for ten months and gave birth to refused to acknowledge her.
Just before this, Liu Guang had been so close to her. Out of all the servants, he only wanted her by his side.
If she showed even the slightest concern for He Jingchuan, Liu Guang would grow jealous and forbid her from contacting him...
Shouldn’t he have grown even closer after learning she was his real mother? Instead, his eyes were now filled with hatred—like a thousand steel needles piercing her heart, making it hard to even breathe.
"If you were going to do it, you should have gone all the way and made sure no one ever found out!" Ji Liuguang spat, word by word. "Or better yet, you should never have switched us in the first place! You let me taste the life of the elite, only to drag me back to mediocrity—how is that any different from throwing me into hell? I hate you!"
Nanny Zhang covered her mouth, sobbing.
Everything she did, she did for him—so her son could live a life of wealth...
Yet in the end, his words stabbed her heart over and over...
"Liu Guang—no, Young Master Ji!" She grabbed his arm. "We’re already at this point. Can’t we just discuss what to do now?"
Ji Liuguang’s face darkened. "Didn’t I make myself clear? If you’re going to act, do it ruthlessly! Are you deaf? The sight of you disgusts me—don’t follow me!"
He snatched up the lunchbox and stormed off.
Nanny Zhang stood in the night for a long time, until her legs went numb, before finally heading toward the hospital building. By then, the emergency treatment had long ended, and He Jingchuan had been moved to the inpatient ward. She hurried over—it was a private luxury suite, costing tens of thousands per night.
The Ji family was indeed generous, but even they wouldn’t spend so lavishly on a mere servant.
The only explanation was that blood ties unconsciously drew the eldest young master to He Jingchuan... The longer He Jingchuan stayed with the Ji family, the higher the risk of exposure.
If the truth came out... her twenty years of scheming would vanish like a bubble.
Nanny Zhang gently pushed open the door to the ward. Perhaps fate was on her side—there wasn’t a soul inside, only the faint drip of the IV.
Step by step, she approached the bed.
He Jingchuan lay unconscious, his face pale beneath the oxygen mask, his condition dire.
Her son’s words echoed in her mind: If you’re going to act, do it ruthlessly...
Yes... if she had strangled this bastard in his infancy, none of this would be happening now.
"Jingchuan... don’t blame me," Nanny Zhang whispered, her voice trembling. "If only you had obediently left to be a live-in son-in-law elsewhere... then none of us would be suffering like this..."
Her hand reached for the oxygen mask—just as a voice cut through the silence behind her.
"Nanny Zhang, there are surveillance cameras in this ward. What exactly are you doing?"
Cold sweat drenched her. She didn’t dare turn around, forcing out a dry reply: "My son’s face is dirty. I’m just cleaning him. Is there a problem?"
Rong Yu glanced at the time—it was already 1 AM. Her voice was icy. "Your services aren’t needed here. Leave."
"I’m taking Jingchuan with me!" Nanny Zhang gritted her teeth. "We can’t afford such an expensive room. Since he’s stable now, he can recover at home!"
Without another word, she yanked He Jingchuan upright. Still unconscious, the IV needle in his hand nearly tore loose from the sudden movement.
"Doctor! Nurse!" Nanny Zhang shouted. "I’m discharging my son!"
A doctor on duty happened to pass by, his expression darkening. "The patient just stabilized and is still under observation. Discharging him now could lead to irreversible consequences—no one can take that responsibility."
"I’m his mother! I’ll take full responsibility!" Avoiding Rong Yu’s piercing glare, Nanny Zhang raised her voice. "Hurry up! Process the discharge—I’m taking my son home!"
The doctor was livid. "I refuse to authorize this—"
"I’m his legal guardian! We’re on the same household register! No hospital has the right to stop a mother from taking her child!" She shot Rong Yu a defiant look. "And no outsider has the right to interfere in family matters!"
Ji Zhiyuan strode in, his tone frigid. "Are you certain this is what you want, Nanny Zhang?"
His gaze terrified her.
But she had no other choice.
Taking a deep breath, she said, "Young Master Ji, Jingchuan is my son. No mother in this world would harm her own child. I must take him home."
"Brother..." Ji Liuguang murmured, "Nanny Zhang must have her reasons. Let’s not meddle in the He family’s affairs... It’s past midnight, and Grandfather is waiting for us."
Nanny Zhang acted swiftly, turning to the doctor. "If you won’t discharge him, I’ll take him myself!"
She tried to hoist He Jingchuan onto her back—but Rong Yu blocked her path.
Trembling with rage, Nanny Zhang hissed, "What now, Miss Rong? Can’t a mother even take her own son? Even if you were part of the Ji family, you’d have no right to stop me!"
Rong Yu leaned down, readjusting He Jingchuan’s oxygen mask with a gaze sharp as blades. "Right now, his identity is patient, not ‘Nanny Zhang’s son.’ Try laying a finger on him—I dare you."
The sheer authority radiating from her forced Nanny Zhang back a step—this presence was no less intimidating than the eldest young master’s... or even the old patriarch’s.
Even Ji Liuguang froze momentarily before stammering, "Miss Rong, this is a private family matter. I think—"
Ji Zhiyuan didn’t spare him a glance.
Instead, he lifted a freshly printed stack of documents and said coolly, "If He Jingchuan were truly a member of the He family, I’d be overstepping. But the truth is—he isn’t."
Though he tried to suppress it, fury blazed in his eyes as he hurled the papers straight at Nanny Zhang’s face.
She stood paralyzed.
Blood rushed to her head, her mind turning to mush.
Kneeling, she picked up the scattered pages—Kinship Test glared back at her in bold letters.
Frantically flipping to the last page, her vision zeroed in on the result: He Jingchuan and Ji Zhiyuan share a biological relationship.
Her soul nearly fled her body. Instinctively, she tore the report to shreds.
Rong Yu watched her with frost in her voice. "You can destroy the documents, but you can’t change the blood in his veins."
