He Fan was filled with doubt about life, and a deep sadness welled up inside him: "Is it only my eldest brother who is our mother's child?"

Madam Wan had always doted on Wan Hai, and He Fan had never thought of it that way before. But once Madam Wan left, the family fell apart. Yesterday turned out to be the last time they saw each other. He should tell him the truth.

He Fan wiped away his tears with his sleeve. He Donglai saw his youngest son crying, his face stiffened, and he turned and went back into the house, seemingly lost in thought.

A moment later, He Xiaobao was heard wailing in the room. He Fan wiped away his tears and followed the sound, only to find He Xiaobao covered in dirt. He Tong guessed that He Xiaobao had been beaten.

He Fan said, "Third Brother, what are you doing?"

When He Xiaobao saw He Fan, it was like seeing a relative. He burst into tears and threw himself into his arms, sobbing and looking pitiful: "Fourth Uncle, he said my dad doesn't want me anymore." Such words are extremely hurtful to a child.

He Tongqi's temper grew increasingly strange. He said sarcastically, "Isn't that right? Only you treat everyone like good people. His father is the master, and we're just servants. Now that they've messed things up, we're dragged into it too." He was filled with resentment. His elder brother's three children used to be treated like treasures, but what had his brother given back to the family? Now, he couldn't even hold his head up high.

He Tong is twenty years old this year. In the village, people his age all have children running around, but he's still single. He Fan is eighteen this year. He said, "Mother never treated us like family. I'm a useless person, with no hope for the future, but you're the youngest son in the family. How can you be so unlucky? Mother can forget about such an important matter as marriage, yet she hasn't forgotten to send her three grandsons to school. It's laughable that you still consider her a good person."

He Fan felt a little hurt by what he was said: "No matter what, you shouldn't bully a child." Then he took three-year-old He Xiaobao out the door, while He Tong inside laughed like a madman.

He Fan felt that his third brother's madness was getting worse and worse, and he was even a little afraid of his third brother.

The house is in such a mess right now that he doesn't dare go out. His sister-in-law, Xu Li, couldn't take the shock and fainted, so she was sent back to her parents' home. He Xiaobao, whom he used to cherish, is now completely neglected.

He Fan had no choice but to take on this important task, saying, "Xiao Bao will follow his fourth uncle from now on." Now that Xiao Wanshi has run away, his father and third brother only know how to curse.

He Fan wanted to go out and investigate, but as soon as he opened the door, rotten vegetable leaves were thrown at him, accompanied by curses: "Scum, beast, I'll beat you every time I see you."

He Fan immediately closed the door; he was the youngest in the family.

He used to be able to do nothing and was happy to be a free man, but now he regretted it. The price of being a free man is that he is at a loss when something happens.

...

However, contrary to He Donglai's assumption, Madam Wan did not come out to abscond with the money, but rather to rescue her son.

Xiao Wan was filled with regret. She shouldn't have acted impulsively and insisted on teaching He Zifeng a lesson by burning down the house. She even got extorted by Liangzi. Wan Hai had never approved of her actions.

At the time, Xiao Wanshi disliked him, thinking that a grown man like him lacked backbone and didn't even bother to steam buns to prove himself. But now, thinking back, wasn't this all thanks to the good life he had? She should have just ignored He Zifeng back then. As she walked away, it grew brighter and brighter, and she didn't dare to think about it anymore; her family must be crying their eyes out.

She should have just been a good, wealthy woman in the village. Why did she have to compete with everyone else? But it's too late to say anything now.

Xiao Wan had never walked this far before. Even the nice shoes she was wearing weren't nearly as comfortable as those with thick soles. Her heels were bleeding from the chafing. Every step she took was a struggle. She was a far cry from her usual image as the most respectable person in the village.

She only vaguely remembered the route to the county, and took many detours. She set off in the middle of the night and didn't arrive in the county town until almost noon. The hardships she endured along the way were indescribable. She looked haggard and like an old woman.

Xiao Wan took a simple bite of noodles, then took fifty coins from her youngest son and took out twenty taels of He Donglai's savings from over the years.

After making inquiries, they learned that all the people captured from below were imprisoned!

She gave the jailer five taels of silver. After saying all sorts of nice things, she finally persuaded him, and the jailer let her in to take a look.

As soon as she entered, she was hit by a mixture of moldy and fecal odors from the prison. Xiao Wan was unprepared for this and almost vomited.

Inside, on both sides were rows of large prison cells, filled with prisoners who had been held there for who knows how long, occasionally shouting out. Xiao Wan's hair stood on end.

The jailer said, "We've arrived." He then opened the prison door.

Then she saw Wan Hai, looking haggard. He'd grown stubble in just one day, and his clothes were dusty and worn from being in that environment, making him look like any homeless person she'd seen on the street. "Mother," Wan Hai said, a glimmer of light appearing in his eyes. "Why are you here?"

Madam Wan said, "You are the apple of my eye. It is I who have harmed you."

Wan Hai has been arrested since yesterday and hasn't blinked an eye, filled with resentment towards his mother. If he hadn't caused such a huge mess, how could he have harbored such evil thoughts? But seeing his mother, Wan Hai, so old, walking step by step from the village, his heart softened: "Please don't say that, it's all my fate."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wanshi said, "No, this isn't your fate." She then glanced around, watching the jailer leave after bringing her there, showing no interest in their private conversation. She continued, "When you were little, didn't you always want to know who your real father was? I'll tell you, he's the son of Gong Xiyuan from this county."

Wan Hai's face showed a hint of disbelief.

The Gong family, to which Gong Xiyuan belonged, was the second wealthiest merchant family in the county; half a street in the county was their ancestral property. Ordinary people might not know who the county magistrate was, but everyone knew Gong Xiyuan. Before today, Wan Hai had no idea he could be connected to such a powerful figure.

Xiao Wan was a foot-washing maid in the Gong family back then. At that time, Gong Xiyuan was already the heir of the Gong family. Taking advantage of his drunkenness, she seduced him, thinking that becoming a concubine would be a huge step up for someone like her. However, Gong Xiyuan's wife, Liu, was very jealous. After hearing about it, she almost had the servants beat her to death. In the end, the old lady gave her a few taels of silver to free her from slavery, and that was the end of it. She became pregnant a few days after leaving the Gong family.

With the Gong family's immense wealth, Xiao Wanshi hoped to use her unborn child to gain status and wealth. Ten months later, she indeed gave birth to a son. When she finished her postpartum confinement and wanted to take her child to acknowledge her ancestral roots, she heard that Liushi had given away a pregnant concubine to their business partner.

Xiao Wan was frightened again. Liu was a ruthless woman. In ancient times, there was a custom of abandoning the mother and keeping the child, but whether a son born out of wedlock could survive in her care was still unknown. After all, too many children died young.

She had been hoping that Gong Xiyuan wouldn't be able to have children, but after five years, Gong Xiyuan, who possessed the ability to conceive, had eight sons, none of whom were born out of wedlock. Finally, Xiao Wanshi became disheartened and, unable to survive in the county, decided to rely on a man. After inquiring around, she discovered that He Donglai was wealthy, and they gradually became involved.

Xiao Wan said, "So I want Da Bao, Er Bao, and Xiao Bao to take the imperial examinations." The problem for merchants like the Gong family is that no one in the family has ever been a scholar. Once their children become successful, wealthy merchants like them have a habit of supporting scholars. Xiao Wan has the ability to make them learn the truth of what happened back then by chance, and then they can naturally be recognized as their ancestors. However, plans can't keep up with changes.

You haven't even gotten your hands on wealth and glory yet, and you've already lost your life?

Xiao Wan said, "I'll go back and tell the steward. He knew about my affairs back then." During the years when Xiao Wan lived alone in the county town, the steward was her devoted follower. He gave her money to support her and her child, and also provided this detailed and meticulous plan.

Xiao Wan repeatedly instructed, "They have eight sons, and none of them are easy to mess with. After you're rescued, go back to the village immediately. Cut off all ties with the Gong family. As long as Xiao Bao and the others are successful, what's rightfully yours will still be yours."

Wan Hai knelt down and solemnly kowtowed to her mother, saying, "Thank you, Mother."

Xiao Wan said, "No need for that. When you get back, please help He Fan and He Tong out." Her words sounded like she was giving instructions.

Wan Haidao asked, "Why would you say that out of the blue?"

Xiao Wan said, "You know He Donglai's temper; he won't tolerate me." She then pulled up her arm, revealing red welts, and said, "These are from him. I have no future going back, so I might as well leave. I'll go to Xiaowowo Tou Alley in the South City to find Old Jia, the fishmonger. His wife is my sworn sister. Don't come looking for me unless you have something to do. If they ask, just say I'm dead." She then took off her outer garment, steeled herself, cut her finger, and flicked a few drops of blood onto it.

“Mother, we three sons can’t even protect you. You should be enjoying your old age. If he dares to hit you, I’ll hit him back. I’m not afraid of an old coffin-head like him.”

Xiao Wan said, "You have to be patient until Xiao Bao and the others pass the exam." After she finished speaking, the jailer came over to remind them that they would see each other then.

With tears in her eyes, Xiao Wan bid farewell. After leaving the prison, she went to the Gong family's house.

I didn't leave the Gong family's house until evening. I didn't even go to the South City Little Wotou Alley. I went straight out of the county town, hired a horse-drawn carriage, and headed north. Even the place name was just something I made up on the spot.

With these fifteen taels of silver, she could live comfortably for the rest of her life if she spent them carefully.

Wan Guan was detained for two days before someone pulled strings and got him released.

Before Wan Hai went out, he had many thoughts running through his mind. After all, no matter how good his stepfather He Donglai was to him, he wasn't his biological father. But this time, all that came was an ordinary servant. Even a proper master had to show up, and the servant looked like he was afraid Wan Hai would try to extort him. Wan Hai was inherently arrogant. Don't underestimate a young man's potential! These petty people looked down on him, but one day he would trample them all under his feet.