Xiao Zhenyu never imagined that his grandmother, who had always doted on him, would raise her hand to hit him. In a fit of rage, he blurted out their real purpose.
Now that Xiao Zhenyu had spilled everything, Li Fengmei no longer bothered to hold back.
"Auntie Xiao, Xiao Mandong reported the Wang family, which got my husband fired and forced all our children to go to the countryside. We had no choice but to come here. No matter how flawed Wang Meixia is, she gave your family an heir. We're related after all, so what's wrong with you helping us out?"
"Exactly, our family was also ruined by Xiao Mandong. Look at your place, you've got rice and white flour everywhere. This doesn't look like a family that's been sent down to the countryside at all. If you weren't related to us, I'd make a report call right now and send all of your family to the labor farm. You're supposed to be here for reeducation through labor, not to live it up."
Wang Yuanyuan's voice was full of threats. She was convinced the Xiao family would be scared of being reported—just the sight of all that grain on the grounds was enough to get them in serious trouble.
"Jingping... listen to me, I really had no other choice."
Wang Meixia stumbled to her feet from the snow and walked toward Xiao Jingping. Nothing mattered more to her right now than his reaction. If he refused to forgive her, what would she do? That sickly child of hers wouldn't survive long in the harsh environment they were stuck in.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Feng Xiaoyan still hadn't caught on at that point. Could it be what she was thinking? That this woman had remarried and now wanted to come back? No man on earth could tolerate a thing like that.
"Tsk tsk... you've got a heart as black as coal, woman. Are you planning to bring that kid you had with someone else back to raise in the Xiao family?" Old Chen, who had been watching the drama unfold this whole time, couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up.
"Shut your trap, you old fool," Xiao Zhenyu glowered at Old Chen fiercely from the side. He didn't dare lose his temper with the rest of the Xiao family, but he certainly didn't see why he couldn't take his frustration out on this half-decent old man.
Old Chen just stared at him for a couple of seconds, and Xiao Zhenyu grew so unnerved under his gaze that he didn't dare say another word.
"Leave." Xiao Jingping uttered those three words coldly. As a man, no matter what feelings he might once have had for Wang Meixia, he could never bring himself to accept her betrayal. If she had married another ordinary man, he might have believed she truly had nowhere else to turn—but he knew for a fact that this Zheng Chao person had been the one Wang Meixia had a crush on even before she married him.
Seeing the cold, unforgiving look in Xiao Jingping's eyes, Wang Meixia knew he would never take her back. She turned to glare at Xiao Mandong. If it weren't for this wretched girl showing up out of nowhere, things would never have fallen apart like this.
"What? You're disgusted by me? Your Xiao family has a divorced daughter of your own, so what right do you have to judge me?"
She was dying to see what kind of face Old Master Xiao, who always thought so highly of himself, would make when he found out his own granddaughter was also a divorcee. But to her shock, every member of the Xiao family just glanced at her coldly, not a single one of them even bothered to ask Xiao Mandong a question about it.
Xiao Mandong stepped forward, stared straight at Wang Meixia, and said each word deliberately.
"Xiao Zhenyu is not a child of the Xiao family. Back then, Wang Meixia..."
"You little bitch, shut your mouth!" Wang Meixia's face drained of all color. She lunged at Xiao Mandong like a madwoman, raising her hand to slap her, only for Xiao Jingping to catch her wrist mid-motion.
"Jingping, don't listen to this stupid girl's nonsense..."
Xiao Jingping ignored her, his eyes fixed solely on Xiao Mandong. "Go on."
Xiao Mandong took a deep breath. "Back then, Wang Meixia gave birth to an illegitimate child with Zheng Chao. That child is Wang Lei. Because he looked nothing like anyone in the Xiao family, she swapped Wang Lei with Wang Fugui's son..." Xiao Mandong told the whole story of the baby swap in one breath.
The only sound left in the courtyard was the howling wind...
Old Lady Xiao's face turned deathly pale. Her body swayed, and she slowly crumpled to the ground.
"Mom!" Xiao Jingye rushed forward immediately to support her.
Xiao Mandong had been prepared for this. She pulled a small bottle of pills out of her pocket and slipped one into her grandmother's mouth. Since things had already come this far, she might as well lay out every last secret once and for all.
The eldest aunt could barely believe her own ears. What on earth was all this? She never imagined something so outrageous could happen to her own family.
"Jingping, don't listen to Xiao Mandong spouting lies," Wang Meixia felt as if the sky was collapsing. She knew the Xiao family was their only hope of saving the Wang family now. If the Xiao family abandoned them, they would never make it through this winter.
"Jingping, please listen to me explain, it's not what you think..."
Xiao Jingping roughly shook off the hand she had grabbed onto his arm. He spun around, eyes bloodshot, and stared at her with a fury so intense it looked like he was about to devour her whole. He spat out only one word: "Get out!"
Xiao Jingping leaned against the wall, staggering step by step toward his room. He tripped over the threshold and nearly fell, but the second uncle, who was standing by the door, reached out to steady him.
Xiao Jingping got his footing back and walked into the house without looking back.
The look in Xiao Jingping's eyes just now made Wang Meixia shiver. They had been married for twenty years, and she had never once seen him look at her like that—like he could tear her apart with his bare hands.
"Mandong, you go on home first," Xiao Jingye walked out of the house, glanced at Gu Jianghan who was standing behind Xiao Mandong, and nodded at him. "Don't worry, your grandma's going to be fine. Your dad just needs some time to process all this, so don't you worry about them."
It was then that Xiao Mandong noticed Gu Jianghan had been standing behind her for who knew how long.
"Uncle, I'll head out now. I'll come visit everyone again in a couple of days." She knew her family all needed time to digest what had just happened.
A thin layer of snow had already covered the courtyard ground, and the sharp cold wind cut straight through their collars, making them shiver.
Gu Jianghan took off his scarf without a second thought and wrapped it around her neck. Then he glanced over at the Wang family and said, "All the supplies the Xiao family has were sent by me. If any of you try to pull any underhanded tricks, you'd better think twice about the consequences."
He then turned and walked straight out of the gate without looking back.
Wang Yuanyuan, who saw the whole scene, was seething with envy. Why did Xiao Mandong always have such outstanding men fawning over her?
The Wang family knew there was no point staying any longer, so they got ready to leave. It was a little more than half an hour's walk from here to the Cai family's place via the small path through the hills.
But Wang Yuanyuan called out to Xiao Mandong from behind.
"Mandong, I'm heading back to Hongqi Brigade. Can you give me a ride?"
"Wang Yuanyuan, your little tricks don't work on everyone. And you'd better be extra careful right now, remember? It's not even three months yet," Xiao Mandong saw right through what Wang Yuanyuan was trying to do. She honestly admired how shameless the Wang family was—they had just been screaming and fighting with them minutes ago, and now they were acting like nothing had happened, shamelessly trying to leech off them.
Wang Yuanyuan's eyes went wide the second she heard Xiao Mandong's words. What did Xiao Mandong mean? She instinctively pressed a hand to her own stomach.
When they reached the village entrance, they got in the car. The inside was ice cold. Xiao Mandong felt a little guilty thinking about how he must have waited out there in the freezing cold for two whole hours, with no heater to keep him warm.
"I'll treat you to dinner tomorrow to make it up to you."
"Make that two meals," Gu Jianghan said with a grin as he settled into the driver's seat.
The temperature was so low that the car took a while to start up, sputtering and rumbling for ages before it finally moved slowly forward.
Gu Jianghan gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the snow-blurred road stretching out ahead of them, and spoke softly.
"About what happened today... I'm sorry. I said what I did about your situation without asking for your permission first..."
