Chapter 160 The Truth

But Jiang Guozhu stopped Mr. Lu: "Don't tell her."

"Are you worried that she is not your granddaughter, or..." Mr. Lu asked in confusion.

"I'm a person with bad luck. People close to me are bound to have all kinds of accidents. I just want her to live well. I don't want her to..."

Jiang Guozhu's expression was painful and solemn. Thinking about his life, he lost his father and mother when he was young, his wife when he was young, and his son when he was middle-aged. His heart felt like it was being cut by a knife.

He didn't want Jiang Haitang to fall into such a whirlpool of fate.

"Don't think like that. They are all accidents and coincidences. There is no such thing as bad luck." Mr. Lu persuaded.

But Jiang Guozhu shook his head firmly: "Besides worrying that I will bring bad luck to her, I'm also worried that if our two families marry, we'll be targeted. So be it, I just know it."

Mr. Lu looked at his old friend's determined eyes and knew that it was useless to say anything more.

This is indeed the biggest problem at the moment. Those people with ulterior motives have been eyeing the Lu family covetously. Fortunately, the Lu family is cautious and delegates power at the right time, so they are not caught by others.

"From now on, I'll leave my granddaughter to your family to take care of her." Jiang Guozhu burst into tears, his heart filled with reluctance and helplessness.

At his age, he suddenly has such a lovely little granddaughter. Although she cannot stay with him, knowing that she exists and is doing well is enough. For him, it is the greatest comfort.

At this time, Jiang Haitang, who was greeting guests outside, found that the butterfly mark on the back of her hand was slowly disappearing.

The bright red became fainter and fainter, and soon disappeared completely, as if it had never appeared.

This strange scene really scared Jiang Haitang. She tried to remain calm, but her face turned pale and her body trembled slightly.

Lu Liangchen keenly noticed that something was wrong with Jiang Haitang, and immediately held her hand tightly, but found that her hand was as cold as a stone.

"Haitang, what's wrong with you?" he asked with a worried look on his face.

Jiang Haitang didn't say anything, but just stretched out her fair hand for him to see.

Lu Liangchen was also stunned when he saw the clean hands.

He clearly remembered that when they were in the box before, a butterfly mark appeared on Haitang's hand, so how come it suddenly disappeared?

"Haitang, maybe it is... Let's not think too much about it. Let's study it when we go back home tonight." Lu Liangchen comforted softly.

He looked around warily. Although the people invited were all his closest relatives, it would be troublesome if they were targeted by someone with ulterior motives.

Jiang Haitang nodded, trying to calm herself down.

She didn't know what was going on, but her intuition told her that this was not a simple matter.

Soon, the engagement banquet began, and Jiang Haitang and Lu Liangchen toasted their relatives and friends one by one.

Suddenly, Lu Liangchen caught a glimpse of Jiang Guozhu staring at him and Haitang, or to be more precise, at Haitang.

Grandpa Jiang's wrinkled hands tightly gripped the teacup, his knuckles turning white from the strain. But when Haitang turned around, he hurriedly lowered his head to drink his tea. Lu Liangchen even shed a tear when he saw him looking at Haitang.

However, he wiped it dry while drinking tea without attracting other people's attention.

After the two toasted, they returned to their seats.

Because today was their wedding day, the two of them sat at the main table with the elders, and their seats were diagonally opposite Jiang Guozhu.

Lu Liangchen looked more carefully and found that Jiang Guozhu was looking at Jiang Haitang with tears in his eyes.

At this moment, Jiang Guozhu really only had Jiang Haitang in his heart and eyes. This was his little granddaughter, so well-behaved and beautiful.

His eyes and eyebrows look a bit like his deceased wife, and his mouth looks a bit like his daughter-in-law.

There is also the blood mark of their Jiang family, which confirms that it is undoubtedly their child.

Lu Liangchen felt a little strange. He felt that there was something he didn't know.

"Liangchen, your Grandpa Jiang is all alone. If you and Haitang are free, spend more time with him." Old Master Lu picked up his wine glass, gently swaying the clear wine in the glass. "You can go to your Grandpa Jiang's house tomorrow. Maybe your Grandpa Jiang can give you something good."

Mr. Lu tried his best to make his tone light and humorous.

Lu Liangchen's hand holding the wine glass paused slightly.

As far as I can remember, my grandfather never gave such instructions to my eldest, third, and fourth brothers. Although his tone was relaxed, it was not a negotiation but an instruction that could not be refused.

He subconsciously looked at Jiang Guozhu.

Jiang Guozhu was waving his hands in panic: "No, no..."

"What's wrong? Are you reluctant to give up the good things? Afraid that my brat will get a good deal?" Old Master Lu joked with a hearty smile, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes gathered into ravines.

Jiang Guozhu forced a smile, his voice trembling. He glanced at his old friend gratefully and said, "Am I such a stingy person? If the young couple came tomorrow, I promise to give them a bonus."

Add makeup?

Lu Liangchen felt even more strange.

Isn't it a meeting gift? How can it be a make-up gift?

He didn't ask any further questions, but just thought about it to himself.

Suddenly, he felt his sleeve being gently pulled. Lu Liangchen looked towards Jiang Haitang, but Jiang Haitang placed a white hand under the table, where he could just see it.

On the back of the white hand, the bright red butterfly mark appeared again, as if a butterfly elf had been awakened.

Lu Liangchen's pupils suddenly shrank as he recalled the strangeness in the box.

Every time he comes into close contact with Jiang Guozhu, this mysterious mark appears.

He glanced around inconspicuously. The guests were immersed in the lively atmosphere and no one noticed this strange scene.

Jiang Haitang's fingertips felt slightly cold as she clutched his sleeve, conveying uneasiness and doubt.

Soon, the banquet ended and Jiang Guozhu slowly stood up with the help of his guards.

The old man looked back every three steps, his eyes full of attachment and reluctance, and his footsteps made a heavy sound on the ground.

When his figure disappeared outside the gate of the state-owned hotel, Jiang Haitang suddenly clenched Lu Liangchen's hand, and her voice trembled slightly: "Disappeared again..."

Lu Liangchen frowned, held Jiang Haitang's hand and said, "When we get home, let's ask Grandpa. I think he's hiding something from us."

After returning to the Lu family's old house, Lu Liangchen took Jiang Haitang straight to the study, where the air was filled with the faint scent of ink.

Mr. Lu was concentrating on looking at the documents. He was not surprised to see the two of them come in. He just asked them to sit down.

"Grandpa, why did you ask Haitang and me to go to the Jiang family tomorrow?" Lu Liangchen asked directly.

"Have you forgotten how good your Grandpa Jiang is to you? He asked you to go and see it, but you are not happy about it?" Grandpa Lu did not intend to tell his grandson and granddaughter-in-law the truth.

But Lu Liangchen obviously didn't give up so easily. He lifted Jiang Haitang's hand and said, "Grandpa, Haitang, get close to Grandpa Jiang, and a butterfly mark will appear on your hand."

"Maybe it's just a coincidence, don't think too much about it." Mr. Lu turned his head away, deliberately avoiding the two of them.

The study fell into silence, with only the ticking of the clock being particularly clear.

After a long time, Mr. Lu sighed heavily and looked up at Jiang Haitang.

Jiang Haitang's nails dug deep into her palms. Lu Liangchen noticed her trembling and silently held her hand.

"Grandpa, what is the relationship between him and me? I want to know." Jiang Haitang didn't even notice that her voice was trembling badly, but determination could be heard in her trembling voice.

Mr. Lu looked at his granddaughter-in-law's determined eyes and finally sighed.

"Your Grandpa Jiang also has a similar butterfly mark on his arm. It will appear when he gets close to Haitang."

"What's going on?" Lu Liangchen asked in surprise.

"I don't know why this happened, but because of this mark, your Grandpa Jiang believes Haitang is his granddaughter."

As soon as Mr. Lu finished speaking, Lu Liangchen immediately asked back: "But doesn't Grandpa Jiang have no relatives?"

"The story begins twenty years ago. You should still remember your uncle Jiang and his wife, right?"

Lu Liangchen thought about it again and again before saying, "I can't remember their appearance very clearly, but I know they were both very good people. It's a pity that they died in the northwest."

Thinking of the word Northwest, Lu Liangchen hesitated and couldn't help but look at Jiang Haitang.

Could it be that Haitang is really Grandpa Jiang's granddaughter? How could this be such a coincidence?

Grandpa Lu said gravely, "Back in the northwest, the enemy spies set a trap. They sacrificed themselves to complete their mission. Your Grandpa Jiang only knew that his daughter-in-law was pregnant when she died, and he also thought that both the adult and the child were gone..."

He looked at Jiang Haitang and said, "It wasn't until I met Haitang today and activated the butterfly mark that I started to suspect that perhaps the child survived and was adopted."

"But if he really is my grandfather, why doesn't he say it? Doesn't he want to recognize me?"

There was loss and sadness in Jiang Haitang's tone. Since they had recognized each other, why couldn't they recognize each other?

"It's to protect you, and also to protect our two families." Mr. Lu sighed.

Jiang Haitang didn't understand.

Mr. Lu took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. "In the past few years, the Lu family has been attacked openly and secretly. Once your relationship with Guozhu is exposed, you and Liangchen will be considered a marriage of convenience. Those people will definitely do whatever it takes..."

Lu Liangchen nodded, he knew all these things.

"Your Grandpa Jiang is worried that if outsiders find out that Haitang is his granddaughter and you're getting married, those people will become even more furious against us because they're worried about our two families forming an alliance. Secondly..."

Grandpa Lu looked at Jiang Haitang and saw that the little girl seemed very sad because her grandfather didn't recognize her. He comforted her and said, "Haitang, it's not that he doesn't like you, but he likes you too much. Your grandfather thinks that he has a hard life and is unlucky with his relatives, so he is still alone in his old age. He is afraid that recognizing you will bring trouble to you, so he dare not recognize you."

Hearing what Mr. Lu said at this moment, Jiang Haitang suddenly understood. Her eyes were sore and she couldn't control herself.

Lu Liangchen gently held her in his arms, feeling her slightly trembling shoulders.

"That whole thing about having bad relations with relatives is just a lie. It's just a coincidence." Jiang Haitang choked up and said, "I haven't had any relatives for many years. I dream of having relatives who love and care for me..."

Jiang Haitang felt mixed emotions at this time. She couldn't believe it. After all, from childhood to the age of six, her parents had been very good to her and had never told her that she was not their biological daughter. Even her uncle and aunt, who were so harsh, had never talked about her life experience.

Therefore, she never doubted that she was not the biological child of the Jiang family.