Free Web NovelChapter 270: Chapter 270: Something Is Clearly Wrong
"Mom!"
Mrs. Li hadn’t said a word the entire way home from the hospital, and Shang Yuqi and Li Huan were worried sick. Once they were inside, they watched Mrs. Li sink onto the sofa, still silent. Shang Yuqi couldn’t bear it any longer. She approached and whispered, "Maybe things aren’t what we think. Perhaps..."
Shang Yuqi trailed off, unable to continue. Truthfully, she couldn’t even convince herself it was all a coincidence, so how could she possibly convince Mrs. Li? After all, she had seen photos of Mrs. Li in her youth. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have been so startled when she first saw Su Qing.
Li Huan, who was standing to the side, was utterly baffled. "Mom, what on earth is going on?" she asked.
Shang Yuqi patted her clueless daughter. "It’s too complicated to explain in just a few words. I’ll tell you later."
Li Huan was speechless.
While Li Huan was still in a daze, with only a vague sense that something major had happened, Shang Yuqi had already pieced most of it together.
No one who moved in their circles was a fool. Ever since Li Yuan had returned to the Li family, Mrs. Li had kept her at a distance. Li Yuan got along wonderfully with her sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, and even Mr. Li himself, but Mrs. Li could never bring herself to feel close to her, always maintaining a cool indifference.
In the past, Shang Yuqi had assumed it was because the mother and daughter had been separated for too long, creating an emotional rift. But today, after seeing Su Qing’s striking resemblance to a young Mrs. Li, and then learning where Li Wan came from and about her scarred face, Shang Yuqi could connect all the dots.
The name Li Yuan was what Mr. and Mrs. Li had personally chosen for their own child when they entrusted her to the Jiacheng Li Family. At the same time, they had also helped name that family’s daughter Li Wan.
After years of war and turmoil, when their family finally located the Li Family members in Jia City, they were told that in order to take better care of Li Yuan, the Jiacheng Li Family had sent their own biological daughter, Li Wan, to the countryside. Because of this supposed sacrifice, the Beijing Li family was incredibly grateful. They provided the family from Jia City with numerous benefits—jobs, housing, and more—ensuring they could live comfortably. They even offered to help bring their daughter back from the countryside, but the family refused, claiming they didn’t want to be any more trouble.
’Thinking about it now, something was obviously wrong!’
Mr. and Mrs. Li had always felt guilty that the Jiacheng Li Family’s other daughter remained in the countryside. They repeatedly offered to help bring the girl back to the city, but their offers were always rejected.
In the early years, Mrs. Li was severely plagued by headaches and was in poor health, preventing her from traveling far. But about six or seven years ago, after her health improved through recuperation, she got the idea to personally visit the countryside and meet the girl named Li Wan.
It was only then that the Jiacheng Li Family told them a new story. They said that after going to the countryside, Li Wan had married a local villager, given birth to a daughter, and was living a happy life, with no intention of returning to the city.
But then, tragedy had supposedly struck. Her husband had taken their daughter hunting in the mountains, where they encountered a large beast. Neither of them made it out alive. Upon hearing the news, Li Wan had instantly gone mad. So, the Jiacheng Li Family claimed they had used their connections to bring her back to Jia City to care for her themselves.
Even after hearing this, Mrs. Li insisted on going to Jia City to see her.
On that trip, Mrs. Li was accompanied by Li Huan and her husband, Zheng Jianjun, as well as their second sister-in-law, Song Qingwen. But just as they were about to visit Li Wan, Mrs. Li fell ill as her headaches flared up again. Li Yuan and Song Qingwen dared not leave her side. In the end, Zheng Jianjun went with Li Aiguo to see Li Wan instead. The news they brought back was grim: Li Wan was truly mad. She didn’t recognize anyone and had violent tendencies, attacking people on sight. In fact, both men had been injured during the visit—Li Aiguo was bitten twice, and Li Wan had smashed a stool against Zheng Jianjun’s arm.
Under these circumstances, how could the Li family possibly allow Mrs. Li to go near a madwoman who could become violent at any moment?
And so, once Mrs. Li’s condition stabilized, the family, after much persuasion, took her straight back to Beijing.
The next time they heard Li Wan’s name and saw her in person... was today.
And Li Wan’s daughter... she was alive and well.
Shang Yuqi narrowed her eyes. ’That family really told a monstrous lie. You don’t have to think hard to see what’s really going on here.’
’A textbook switch.’
The thought of how close Li Yuan had gotten to her over the years made Shang Yuqi’s skin crawl.
Mrs. Li sat alone on the sofa, staring at the coffee table, silent for a long moment. Shang Yuqi quickly tried to console her. "Mom, even if a mistake was made back then, we now have a chance..."
Before Shang Yuqi could finish, Mrs. Li burst into tears. "What chance? Look at her now! Look what they did to her! I’m a terrible mother!"
At this point, it was all crystal clear to Mrs. Li. The one they had brought back years ago wasn’t her biological daughter at all; she was a predator who had harmed her real child. ’No wonder I could never feel close to her,’ she thought. Meanwhile, her actual daughter was now a vacant, broken shell of a person. She even recalled Doctor Huo casually remarking in his office that there was little hope for a cure.
Now that Mrs. Li was certain Li Wan was her true daughter, how could the realization not feel like a knife twisting in her heart?
"What’s all this?" Just then, Mr. Li heard the commotion and came downstairs. Seeing his wife’s heartbroken state, he said hurriedly, "Didn’t the doctor tell you not to get too agitated? It could trigger your headaches!"
"Dad." Seeing Mr. Li descend the stairs, Shang Yuqi greeted him and helped him to a seat. Glancing at the still-grieving Mrs. Li, she quietly recounted the day’s events and her own suspicions to her father-in-law.
Mr. Li was aghast as he listened. But having weathered countless storms in his life, he was ultimately calmer than his wife. He frowned, thumped his cane on the floor, and said, "Don’t let a word of this get out for now. Have Fenghuo come home tonight. We need to discuss this properly."
"Yes, of course," Shang Yuqi quickly agreed. The matter was far too important not to be handled with care.
Meanwhile, a sudden wave of anxiety washed over Li Yuan. After a moment’s thought, she made a phone call to Jia City.
