Chapter 785 Informing the Chen Family

At this moment, a winter rain has just fallen in the capital city, a thousand miles away in the northwest.

Chen sat by the stove, wrapped in a padded jacket, warming herself by the fire, occasionally turning the roasting sweet potatoes. In previous years in Chenjia Village, sweet potatoes were a cheap commodity; when families ran out of rice and flour, they would always use sweet potatoes as a substitute.

"I haven't eaten it for a while, and I'm really craving it."

Chen stroked her belly and smiled at Xiao Chenggui, "Back when I was pregnant with Xiao Ya, our family was so poor we couldn't even afford to eat. If we wanted to eat candied fruit to sweeten our mouths, we had to rely on my sister-in-law to make knotted tassels to supplement our income."

On the contrary, now that I'm living in a big courtyard in the capital, whatever I want to eat is immediately brought to my mouth by servants. This life is like a dream.

"The best days are yet to come; if this is a dream, you won't wake up anytime soon."

Xiao Chenggui moved a chair and sat down next to Chen.

Unlike the north, the capital city has no heated brick bed in the courtyard. After a winter rain, it was damp, cold, and chilly. For the past few days, Chen has been unable to sleep at night again.

"You're just overthinking things and worrying too much. Are you thinking about Yue Sha?"

Xiao Chenggui patted Chen's shoulder. He had received a message from Shuangfuji that Lin Yuesha was fine and had arrived in Qincheng safely. Judging by the time, she was probably already in the Northwest.

Qi Heng is too possessive; he definitely won't want Yue Sha to be too far away from him.

“A mother worries when her son travels a thousand miles. How can I not think about it? But my little girl has always been very opinionated. There’s not much I can do as her mother. I can only take good care of myself so that she won’t worry.”

Holding a sweet potato with tongs, Mrs. Chen said wistfully, "I don't know when it started, but my daughter has grown up."

The little maid who used to hide behind her now manages the household affairs so well that Chen feels she has no place to use her talents. This feeling is both bittersweet and gratifying.

"It's good that he's grown up. When the little rascal in your belly grows up, he'll run errands for his sister."

Xiao Chenggui smiled and began to think about how to discipline his unborn son. He needed to learn from Mrs. Xu next door and not spoil the brat.

"You and I are willing to part with it, but the little girl is not."

Chen scolded him, then glanced at the sky and said with a troubled expression, "I do have something on my mind."

These past two days, the capital has been in an uproar. People have heard rumors that the Wei family has taken control of the current emperor and is ready to usurp the throne at any moment. As relatives of the Wei family by marriage, the Lin family is involved in this.

"Liu Quan heard news while traveling that some students from Qingzhu Academy had caused a scene in front of the Imperial Academy, and others had gone to the Jingzhao Yin's office to denounce the Wei family's wolfish ambitions, resulting in bloodshed on the spot."

Madam Chen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Ordinary people don't care who's in charge of the world; they just want to be able to eat their fill and stay warm. But her family was different. Her stepson was still at Qingzhu Academy. She had sent people to deliver messages several times, but hadn't received a reply.

If it weren't for her heavy body and limited mobility, Madam Chen would have loved to leave the mansion and bring him back.

"Can't you, as a father, at least care a little?"

Several days have passed without any news, and Chen is becoming increasingly restless. Since the night before last, she hasn't had a single good night's sleep.

“I care, but…”

Xiao Chenggui had always wanted to tell Chen about the true identities of the father and son, but with Qi Heng around, he had never been able to find an opportunity.

That kid acted swiftly, arranging his marriage with Lin Yuesha before even setting off for the Northwest. If he were any more ruthless, he might have already tricked her into his hands.

What if Ms. Chen and Lin Yuesha were the last people to know...?

Xiao Chenggui wiped away his sweat. No, he had to strike first.

"But what? Could it be that he's not their biological child?"

Seeing that the sweet potatoes were almost done roasting, Chen used tongs to put them on a tray, and then heard Xiao Chenggui say, "They are indeed not his biological children."

With a thud, the roasted sweet potato fell to the ground, rolled around a few times, and Chen stared blankly before slowly raising her head.

“He is indeed not my biological son; he is my adopted son.”

That's a long story.

After careful consideration, Xiao Chenggui decided to start from the beginning.

"You mean, Tingyun's surname isn't Xiao, but Qi..."

Chen was stunned for a long time before she reacted, muttering, "Surname Qi, what does that have to do with Qi Heng?"

She had long suspected that Qi Heng was no ordinary businessman. When he brought so many betrothal gifts to her door, Chen had already considered the matter before agreeing to the marriage.

On one hand, Madam Chen genuinely wanted to find a caring person for her daughter. On the other hand, Qi Heng seemed to be someone special, and even if she refused, he might cause some trouble, which would be detrimental to Lin Yuesha.

After careful consideration, Mr. Chen decided to nod in agreement first and wait and see how things develop.

Now, everything seemed strange. Chen looked intently at Xiao Chenggui and asked, "Is there anything else I don't know?"

"Xiao Qi is Qi Heng; his pockmarked face is his mask."

Xiao Chenggui confessed and was given leniency. It sounded unbelievable, but it was the truth. He dared not hide anything and took the opportunity to recount the events of the Qi family back then.

"Our meeting was actually a coincidence. At my age, I wasn't planning on getting married..."

After Xiao Chenggui finished speaking, he took off his mask first.

After wearing the mask for a long time, his face became unnaturally pale, but the difference between him and his real appearance was not significant, and it was still much better than Qi Heng's pockmarked face.

"I haven't been sleeping well lately, and I had another dream."

To Xiao Chenggui's surprise, after hearing the dream, Chen did not show any excitement. Instead, she stood up, returned to the bed in the inner room, closed her eyes, and murmured to herself, "This dream is too absurd!"

Xiao Chenggui's heart was pounding. He had originally planned to gradually infiltrate the situation, but he regretted speaking so clearly in his haste.

Anyone would be shocked by this sudden truth.

As Xiao Chenggui was deep in thought, Chen suddenly sat up again, came to his side, and pinched his abdomen hard.

"ah!"

Xiao Chenggui screamed in agony. Chen's strength was so great that it could penetrate even the strongest walls. He was in so much pain that he almost bit his tongue and committed suicide.

"It seems to be true."

Chen was in a rush of hot blood and drank a cup of hot tea; she needed to calm down.

My husband's face is fake, his identity is fake, and my stepson is not my stepson at all; he's now my son-in-law. What kind of logic is this?

“Madam, I am not a descendant of the Xiao family, and the title of Prince Ping is dispensable. If the Wei family usurps the throne, I…”

Xiao Chenggui thought that Chen Shi couldn't accept his identity, so he kept explaining.

"Shut up!"

Chen glanced at Xiao Chenggui with disdain. He was too noisy. She hadn't recovered yet and needed to sort out the rules and regulations first.

"So, in the end, it was my oversight as a mother. If I hadn't remarried, we wouldn't have let the wolf into our house."

Madam Chen is now filled with regret. She hadn't realized before that Tingyun had feelings for Xiaoya. She naively thought it was a deep sibling bond. Now, upon reflection, she realizes that since they aren't blood-related siblings, it's not a good thing for them to be too close.