Chapter 164 Wicked Stepmother, Poor Child 57

Inside the hall, the finest silver frost charcoal had already been lit, its warmth dispelling the winter chill. Shen Ci gently pushed the two children in front of her.

"Mingzhu, Mingzhang, quickly call your maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, and uncle."

Although the two children were a little shy, they were well-behaved and sensible, and greeted people obediently in their baby voices.

"Oh! Good children! They are all good children!"

When Shen's mother saw her two adorable grandsons, her heart melted. She couldn't bear to scold her daughter at all. Shen's father and Shen Zheng also looked at the two children with loving eyes.

My younger sister was the only daughter in our family, and she was raised with utmost pampering. But I never expected that she would have such a difficult life after growing up.

Seeing these two children who look so much like my younger sister when she was little is like seeing my younger sister reappear.

This time, they both vowed in their hearts that these two children must not follow in Shen Ci's footsteps.

The three men, as if they had been prepared, took out bulging red envelopes from their pockets and a bunch of exquisitely crafted, golden gold ingots, and stuffed them into the hands of the two children without saying a word.

It was so heavy that the two children couldn't even hold it.

Chen's mother wiped away her tears as she explained.

"Don't think it's too much. This is what we've prepared for you and the children every year for Chinese New Year and birthdays over the years."

I just never had a chance to give them away, so I kept them all.

The original owner was headstrong and, due to conflicts with her family and concerns about Gu Hongjian's attitude, never took the children back to her parents' home after marriage. Neither of the children had ever met their maternal relatives.

Now, seeing their two children, who carry the blood of the Shen family, so well-behaved and adorable, the resentment the three men felt towards their daughter has been replaced by love.

They didn't look down on the two children. Even though the children's surname was Gu and they had half of the Gu family's blood in them, they subconsciously treated the two children as members of the Shen family.

A child born to one's own daughter is one's own child.

The two children were holding a bunch of small gold ingots in their arms, and a bunch of silver notes in red envelopes. Their maternal grandparents' casual gestures were more than all the money that Old Madam Gu had given them over the years. The children's well-behaved and adorable appearance completely softened the hearts of the three members of the Shen family.

Shen Ci practically gave birth to two miniature versions of herself.

Mother Shen adored her grandson and granddaughter, holding the two children in her arms on either side. The little ones were well-behaved, neither crying nor making a fuss, and all the resentment that Mother Shen had harbored for years disappeared.

The members of the Shen family looked at the two children and all shared the same thought: they had to protect these two children, for they were the bloodline of the Shen family.

Just as the three members of the Shen family completely accepted and decided to protect the two children, a system notification sounded in Shen Ci's mind.

"Ding-dong!"

Salvation points +10, current salvation points 60%!

The two children are too young. It's almost impossible for them to save themselves on their own. So, the world depends entirely on what adults do and how they pave the way for their children.

The value of saving them lies in the possibility that the children will become villains and live a miserable life. Now, this possibility is getting smaller and smaller because Shen Ci has found more and more backers and escape routes for them.

Now that the Shen family has taken in these two children, they have another option for survival.

In the original owner's tragic life trajectory, the Shen family had no connection with these two children from beginning to end.

When the original owner was alive, she had to consider the thoughts of her family and was also at odds with them, so she never took her child back to Yizhou.

After the original owner passed away, the Gu family would never allow the two children to get close to the Shen family, and completely cut off all contact. As a result, the two children lost their maternal family as a support and never thought of asking their maternal family for help.

But this time is different. The Shen family has now acknowledged the two children, and their fates have changed, becoming safer step by step than before.

With so many powerful backers protecting them, Shen Ci couldn't believe that the two children could still live such a miserable life.

For the young and innocent Mingzhu and Mingzhang, with their mother around, there was nothing to fear.

The family hadn't seen each other for so many years, and they had so much to talk about that they talked for most of the day until they were thirsty and their emotions finally calmed down a bit.

Shen Ci had the two tired children taken away to rest, leaving only a few adults in the room, and the lively atmosphere suddenly became much more somber.

After a moment of contemplation, the father looked at his daughter, his tone serious and filled with worry.

“Aci, you said in your letter that you are determined to divorce Gu Hongjian. Is your will firm?”

Don't be like before, so soft-hearted and fickle, deceiving your father and mother into giving you false hope.

He was terrified by his daughter's repeated awakenings and subsequent relapses. This daughter had never experienced hardship since she was a child, which was why she was blinded by such a person. In truth, it was their fault as parents.

If she remains stubbornly unrepentant this time...

Shen Ci met her father's gaze without flinching, her tone firm and unwavering.

"Father, your mind is made up and there will be no change."

This was not an impulsive act. My daughter has been secretly collecting evidence that Gu Hongjian favored his concubines over his wife, even plotting to murder his first wife and poisoning me.

However, divorce is not difficult; what is difficult is raising children.

According to legal practice, in divorced couples, the children usually stay with the husband.

Mingzhu and Mingzhang are my lives; I must take them with me. That's why I must proceed slowly and methodically, finding irrefutable evidence that will force Gu Hongjian to let go, or even ruin his reputation.

She didn't want to talk much about the poisoning, fearing that her brother and parents would get too agitated. But even if she didn't say anything, her family could imagine the hardships that had led to this, turning a rich young lady into what she is today. Life is the best test for a person.

At this moment, Shen Zheng, who had been listening silently, suddenly slammed his hand on the table, a flash of fierceness in his eyes, and proposed a simple, crude, yet very effective method.

"What's so difficult about that? I have a way!"

If everyone in the Gu family is dead, wouldn't it be natural for the Shen family to take the child back and raise him?

He seemed to be talking about something very ordinary, without a trace of malice. But once he opened his mouth, he was like a living devil.

"Nonsense!"

Don't be reckless! Even if Gu Hongjian and his old mother are dead, the Gu family still has many relatives in the countryside!

Although most of those people are peasants and can't afford to offend the Shen family, if someone really dies, there will inevitably be some ruffians or people with ulterior motives who will use this matter to their advantage.

"If you accuse me of letting my son commit violence, or of attacking the Shen family for abusing their power, it will only give others ammunition to criticize me, and it will also damage the children's reputation!"

Mr. Shen quickly scolded and stopped him, saying that although the method was feasible, it shouldn't be said so openly. If it was to be done, it should only be done in private to avoid upsetting his daughter.

How could they say such things in front of their daughter? They've seen how much Shen Ci likes that wolf cub Gu Hongjian!