Free Web NovelChapter 271: Chapter 271: Why Don’t You Confess to Your Brother-in-law?
Li Aiguo had already called Li Yuan about what happened with Su Qing. Li Yuan was shocked by how tough Su Qing was, and she urged Li Aiguo to find another way to get her under control.
However, before Li Aiguo could come up with a good plan, he discovered that Su Qing had vanished. He couldn’t find any trace of her in Jia City, let alone figure out where she had gone.
It wasn’t just Su Qing who was missing. The police hadn’t found a single clue about Li Wan or the man who took her, either.
One thing after another left Li Aiguo at his wit’s end. He felt like events were spiraling out of his control, so he had been calling Li Yuan frequently over the past few days to discuss their next move.
This made Li Yuan extremely irritable. She was in Beijing, not Jia City. ’How am I supposed to know what to do next?’
"Brother!" Li Yuan said hurriedly the moment Li Aiguo picked up the phone. "Have you found that wretched girl, Su Qing? And what about Li Wan? Have you found her?"
"No." Li Aiguo pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He’d been feeling completely drained these last few days. Because of her disfigurement, Zhao Li’e spent her days worrying he would divorce and abandon her, nagging him incessantly until he couldn’t stand it anymore. His mother needed his care as well, and on top of that, there was still no news of Su Qing or Li Wan.
The weight of it all was suffocating him.
"Still nothing!" Hearing Li Aiguo’s words, Li Yuan’s anxiety spiked. She wanted to lash out at him, but then she remembered how much she still needed him. Forcing her anger down, she took a deep breath and said, "Brother, this is a serious matter. You need to take it more seriously. I’ve had a bad feeling lately. Don’t you think something is about to happen?"
Hearing Li Yuan mention her bad feeling, Li Aiguo’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly said, "Sister, don’t say things like that. It’s not that bad. Maybe we’re just overthinking things. Maybe..."
Li Aiguo trailed off, unable to continue. ’After all, Su Qing and Li Huan know each other. If they were strangers, it would be one thing, but they’re not. Who’s to say that one day Li Huan won’t bring Su Qing to the Li family home?’
’If that happens, things will get really bad. Some secrets are fine as long as they stay completely buried, but the moment a small crack appears, everything could spiral out of control. The Li family in Beijing aren’t fools. The only reason things have been fine so far is that they believe Li Yuan is their biological daughter. But what happens if they start to have doubts?’
Li Aiguo didn’t dare to dwell on it. He took out a cigarette, took two drags, and finally said decisively to Li Yuan, "Sister, why don’t you just confess to your husband? It would be better than us just fumbling around in the dark, too afraid to make a move."
"What!" Li Yuan was stunned by his suggestion. "No. Absolutely not."
Li Yuan knew perfectly well that she was held in high regard by the Zheng family solely because she was a daughter of the Li family. As long as she had that status, the Zheng family would always treat her well. But if that status disappeared... she didn’t dare to imagine what they would do. Even though she had given them two sons, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t change their tune.
Especially since the Li family’s real daughter was still alive—even if she was just some clueless fool for now.
"Sister, think about it," Li Aiguo said. "The Zheng family would stand by you, if only to protect your current status."
"Brother, how can you guarantee the Zheng family would side with me?" Li Yuan retorted. "Don’t forget, that wretched girl Su Qing is still alive and kicking."
’What if the Zheng family decides to have one of their younger members marry that wretched girl instead?’
’If that happened, they would surely cast me, the imposter, aside like a pair of old shoes.’
"That’s a gamble we’ll have to take," Li Aiguo said, his lips tightening. "In any case, the more than ten years you’ve spent with your husband have to count for something."
"Let me think. Just give me some time to think." Li Yuan’s mind was a mess. "Brother," she said, "just find them as soon as you can. I won’t be able to rest until you do."
"Alright, I’ll keep searching on my end," Li Aiguo said earnestly. "But you think about it, too. Finding an ally is better than fighting this alone."
"Fine, I get it. I’ll think about it," Li Yuan said, her voice laced with irritation.
Seeing that it was almost time to leave work, Li Yuan thought for a moment, then grabbed her bag and headed straight home. ’If I really have to rely on the Zheng family for help like Brother said, then I need to get home and shore up my relationships.’
But what Li Yuan didn’t know was that, at that very moment, back at the family compound, Li Fenghuo had gotten the news and was rushing to see Mr. Li.
"Dad, Mom, what’s wrong?" Li Fenghuo said hurriedly as soon as he walked in the door. "Yuqi just said it was an emergency but wouldn’t tell me what. Is one of you feeling unwell? We should get to the hospital."
From what Shang Yuqi had told him, Li Fenghuo assumed one of his parents had fallen ill. He was so worried that he dropped everything and rushed home.
"Come, sit." Mr. Li nodded at Li Fenghuo, gesturing for him to take a seat. Then he turned to Shang Yuqi. "Daughter-in-law, why don’t you tell Fenghuo what happened today, from the very beginning."
"What’s going on?" Li Fenghuo asked, completely baffled. But seeing the grave expressions on everyone’s faces, he couldn’t help but become serious as well.
"Fenghuo, it’s like this." Shang Yuqi then recounted everything about going to the hospital and seeing Li Wan and Su Qing.
She finished by saying, "That Su Qing looks so much like Mom did when she was young—especially her eyes. And Li Wan... even though her face is injured and you can’t see what she really looks like, her eyes are just like Mom’s, too. And considering she’s the other daughter of the Jiacheng Li Family..."
After hearing all that, there was no way Li Fenghuo could misunderstand. He slammed his hand on the table. "Son of a bitch! That Jiacheng Li Family has been playing us for fools! They swapped out my own sister!"
Mr. Li glared at Li Fenghuo. "What are you slamming the table for? You’ll scare my precious granddaughter."
And speaking of the precious granddaughter, Li Huan was ecstatic. Her mother had already given her the gist of it, but hearing the full story again still had her buzzing with excitement. "I knew it! I felt a connection to Su Qing the moment we met. I thought her eyes looked so familiar! It turns out she might really be my cousin! This is amazing!"
The thought that her good friend Su Qing might become her actual cousin made Li Huan’s heart soar with joy.
