Chapter 416 You'll Die a Wrong Way

Cao Ping gritted his teeth.

He had been having an affair with that vile woman Qi Yao for so many years, and he knew she was ruthless, but he never expected her to try to poison him.

He did so many shameful things for this slut, he even abandoned his own wife and children for her, and she actually wanted to have him killed.

"Qi Yao, since you're so heartless, then I have no reason to keep your secret!" Cao Ping gritted his teeth, his eyes fixed on Cao Defu. "We're practically cousins. After I tell you these facts, I hope you'll let me go. I promise I'll leave Hekou County far behind and never appear under your nose again!"

Cao Defu was completely bewildered; he had no idea what had happened.

Although he wasn't very bright, he knew that this secret was related to the Cao family.

He nodded: "As long as you tell the truth, everything is negotiable."

"Cao Hong, the young master of the Cao family..."

Before Cao Ping could even begin, Qi Shi's expression changed drastically, and she threw the bowls and plates on the table onto the ground.

A loud bang did not interrupt Cao Ping's words. He continued, "Cao Hong is not the legitimate young master of the Cao family at all. He is the child of my affair with Qi Yao!"

"W-what?!"

Cao Defu suddenly stood up, his pupils constricting sharply.

He subconsciously looked at Cheng Wanwan and saw that she looked calm and not surprised at all, which meant that her mother-in-law already knew.

He then looked at his daughter, Cao Yingying, who lowered her eyes slightly and showed no shock on her face, so Yingying also knew about Hong'er's background.

As for the others, they had already left when the atmosphere became tense.

After all, it's the Cao family's privacy, and it's not appropriate for too many people to know. Currently, there are only Cao Defu, Cao Yingying, Qi Shi, Cao Ping, and her, an outsider, as well as Zhao Sanniu, who is in charge of controlling Cao Ping.

"Cao Ping, don't spout nonsense here! Don't confuse my Hong'er's bloodline!" Madam Qi's teeth gritted as she turned to Cao Defu. "Master, this is revenge! Revenge for the Cao family sending him to prison, revenge for the Cao family expelling him from the clan! He wants to deliberately create chaos and smear the Cao family's only legitimate son! Master, please don't believe him!"

Cao Defu rested his hands on the table and closed his eyes.

He didn't believe Cao Ping's words, nor did he believe that Hong'er wasn't his own bloodline... But Lady Sui's expression had already proven everything.

From the moment he entered this courtyard, Lady Sui had been subtly and overtly reminding him that he was too stupid, hopelessly stupid.

He clenched his fists, opened his eyes, and said, word by word, "If that's the case, then let's do a blood test to prove kinship!"

Cheng Wanwan recalled a news report she had seen before, which stated that blood kinship testing was completely unreliable and had no scientific basis. It seemed that regardless of whether there was a kinship relationship, two drops of blood would mix together. However, it seemed that people in ancient times generally believed in this "truth," as evidenced by Qi Shi's deathly pale face.

Cao Yingying raised her voice and said, "Hongyan, bring Hong'er in."

"Don't let Hong'er in!" Madam Qi exclaimed.

Knowing that things had come to this point, she knew there was no turning back. She gave a bitter laugh and said, "Yes, Hong'er is not your bloodline, Cao Defu!"

Cao Defu's forehead veins bulged, and he wished he could rush over and strangle Qi Shi to death.

For eight whole years, he raised Hong'er, and Hong'er called him "Daddy" for eight years. But those eight years were just a joke.

"But how can you blame me?" Qi Yao roared. "On our wedding day, you were completely drunk, and this Cao Ping impersonated you and entered the bridal chamber!"

I've never even seen what you look like, and Cao Ping slept with you without any resistance! After it happened, he even used it to threaten me. I'm just a weak woman, what could I do? I was forced, I'm innocent, what right do you have to blame me…”

"You slut! You seduced me!" Cao Ping roared back angrily. "You saw that I was the steward of the Cao family, and that I was trusted by them, so you dragged me onto this treacherous path! Your goal was to embezzle all the wealth passed down through eighteen generations of the Cao family. To make me willing, you even conceived a son for me! You vicious woman, you have such deep cunning. After achieving your goal, you even wanted to kick me off the boat! You had someone dig a cellar in the backyard of the Cao family mansion, hiding many jewels and antiques. Half of the Cao family's wealth is in that cellar..."

Cheng Wanwan raised an eyebrow. It turned out that when dogs fight, they can actually get something out of each other.

Cao Defu was trembling with rage. If Cao Yingying hadn't been holding his arm, he probably would have rushed over and attacked him already.

Qi's face turned deathly pale. She opened her lips, wanting to explain, but didn't know how.

“Since this involves the Cao family’s property, let’s leave this matter to the authorities to investigate.” Cheng Wanwan looked at Cao Defu. “Brother Cao, what do you think?”

Cao Defu clenched his fists tightly.

He knew he wasn't smart enough to investigate this matter himself; he knew he wouldn't be able to find out the truth, and might even end up unwittingly forgiving that wicked woman, Qi.

He nodded: "Let's report it to the authorities..."

"Cao Defu, have you gone mad!" Madam Qi's eyes widened. "I am the lawfully wedded mistress of the Cao family, and you actually want to report me to the authorities? Don't you care about the Cao family's reputation? Do you want the Cao family to be ridiculed by thousands of people?"

“Shouldn’t you be the one being ridiculed, Mother? Oh no, I don’t have a mother like you.” Cao Yingying said slowly. “Also, don’t you care about Hong’er’s situation at all? If people find out that he was born from the affair between the mistress of the house and the steward, his life will be ruined. If you still care about your son, then cooperate with the government’s investigation.”

Qi's expression turned furious: "Are you threatening me?"

“How can this be considered a threat?” Cao Yingying shook her head. “Hong’er used to be the only legitimate son of the Cao family. No matter what mistakes he made, the Cao family would protect his bloodline. But now, he has nothing to do with my father, and he is not my biological brother. So please tell me, why should the Cao family protect the reputation of a bastard? Don’t say the Cao family is heartless. My father raised him for eight years and gave him everything he deserved. He lived a life of luxury for eight years. He should be content!”

Her son was Qi's Achilles' heel. The thought of her son being ridiculed and scorned by everyone in the future made her heart feel as if it were being grabbed and squeezed, causing her excruciating pain.

She had been plotting for so long, and everything was perfect, but she never expected to be defeated by Cao Ping.

She knew Cao Ping was unreliable a long time ago and should have dealt with this threat sooner... It's too late to say all this now.

"Master..." Madam Qi's arms fell limply to her sides. "I've confessed to all the incriminating evidence. Please, please don't send Hong'er away. He's called you 'Father' for eight years. He truly considers you his father. He knows nothing. The child is innocent..."

Cao Defu remained unmoved.

Qi Shi angrily turned to look at Cao Ping: "Hong'er is your own son! How could you betray Hong'er? You will die a horrible death!"

Cao Ping had a vague feeling that he had fallen into some kind of trap. He didn't know why things had suddenly turned out this way... He only knew that everything he and the Qi family had conspired against was now ruined.

If it weren't for that vile woman Qi Yao refusing to give him money, he wouldn't have been so easily manipulated by Lady Sui!

He rushed over and grabbed Qi by the neck.

Qi Shi, completely disregarding her image, wrestled with him, and the scene was chaotic.

"Guards!" Cao Defu shouted, and Cao family servants rushed in. "Tie these two up, gag them, and throw them onto the carriage!"