From calm to indignation, from somber to furious.
Jiang Jizu took a step forward, and Liao took a step back.
He asked with bloodshot eyes, and she shook her head, trembling.
Those who knew the truth, like Old Madam Jiang, felt a lump in their throat; those who vaguely understood, like the second branch of the Jiang family, were filled with sympathy; and those who knew nothing, like Jiang Chenghuan, were extremely shocked.
"Seven whole years! Such a young child, crawling and struggling, begging for a living, fighting with dogs for food, wandering from place to place—do you even know what kind of life she lived?" Jiang Jizu gritted his teeth. "Liao Pingruo, answer me!"
Liao was stunned and couldn't come to her senses for a long time. She could only instinctively shake her head, shake her head, and shake her head again.
"You want to deny it?" Jiang Jizu didn't give her the chance and clapped his hands.
Two guards with knives appeared, holding a sleepy-eyed drunkard in their arms. Who else could it be but a member of the once-fallen Lü family?
Jiang Chenghuan's biological father has appeared.
Liao's eyes widened in anger, as if she wanted to yell back, but she couldn't open her mouth.
“If you deny it again, I will have your grave dug up and your bones scattered to the winds,” Jiang Jizu said coldly.
Before Liao could say anything, the drunken young master Lü heard it and struggled to his feet. "Who, who dares to dig up my beloved wife's grave and disturb her life's peace?"
Turning his head and seeing Liao, he grinned, showing his big teeth. "Oh, it's my sister-in-law. How's my daughter doing with you? I... hiccup... I promised you I wouldn't bother you, and I really won't. I'll leave now, don't let the girl see me, that's not good, not good."
He turned around unsteadily, his eyebrows and eyes still vaguely showing the handsome demeanor of yesteryear, but more so the rotten, pickled taste of his past.
Jiang Chenghuan, with tears blurring his vision, covered his mouth and slowly squatted down in the distance.
Jiang Jizu sighed, seemingly feeling guilty for not being able to stop his adopted daughter from coming to Famen Temple. "Mrs. Liao, do you have anything to say now?"
If the Lü family has already admitted it, what else can the Liao family not admit?
Liao raised the corner of her mouth slightly. "Yes, I switched the child."
"So you switched the child? You switched the Jiang family's child!" Old Madam Jiang finally couldn't suppress her anger and said, leaning on her cane, "You switched the Jiang family's bloodline! You ruined Nannan's life!"
"You are not worthy to be the legitimate wife of the Jiang family, you are not worthy to be Nannan's legitimate mother, and you are not worthy to have a child like Chengyuan!"
“You should be happy that Nannan is still alive. If she were gone, the entire Liao family would have to pay with their lives for her!”
Grandmother Jiang, who had spent half her life recuperating and was once the eldest daughter of the Yao family, was arguably the most composed and wise old lady in Fengjing. But even she had a moment when she lost her composure and roared.
Tan Yue stood beside her, gently patting her back with concern.
Jiang Sheng rushed over and hugged her waist tightly.
It took a long time for Old Madam Jiang to calm down. "Accepting you into the family back then was the thing I regretted most to the Jiang family."
An old saying goes, "Marrying an unvirtuous wife will ruin three generations."
A wife may not be beautiful or rich, but she must be intelligent.
A foolish woman not only brings trouble to her husband and children, but also affects her grandchildren.
“It is my fault for being blind and choosing Liao as my wife.” Jiang Jizu knelt on one knee. “I am sorry to my father and mother, I am sorry to the ancestors of the Jiang family, and I am sorry to my daughter.”
He knelt down in front of Old Madam Jiang, and Tan Yue and Jiang Sheng, who were standing in the same direction, were so frightened that they quickly jumped back.
They couldn't bear the weight of the general's (father's) kneeling.
"It's not your fault, it's my fault for thinking wrong back then. I only thought about avoiding a marriage of convenience, but forgot about the importance of social standing." Old Madam Jiang waved her hand with a wry smile.
Their deep bond as mother and son angered Liao.
"Our two families are not a good match. You only chose me because I am respectful and filial. You have never had any feelings for me, nor have you ever respected the Liao family." Liao said with tears in her eyes. "I have worked hard to manage the household affairs all these years. I have worked hard, if not for great achievements. But you just take away my power and take away my position. Have you ever treated me as the mistress of the Jiang family, or as the general's wife?"
"Don't change the subject." Old Madam Jiang regained her composure. "The reason I took your pair is because you lost the Jiang family bloodline."
Even now, you haven't clearly stated why the eldest daughter of the Jiang family was replaced.
"Just because of your sisterly affection? But according to the old nanny of the Liao family, you sisters didn't seem to get along very well back then."
That's really strange.
If Jiang Liaoshi and her sister Lü Liaoshi were close, it would be understandable that she would lose her own child for her sister's sake.
Unfortunately, the two had an ordinary relationship, and there was even a tendency for them to compete for each other's favor.
When the eldest Liao married into the Lü family, she was very proud. Soon after, the younger Liao married into the Jiang family, which was even more prestigious. The eldest Liao even threw a tantrum because of this, believing that the Lü family was not as good as the Jiang family, and that she was not as good as her younger sister.
Later, the eldest Liao family member died of postpartum hemorrhage after giving birth to her legitimate daughter, while the younger Liao family member also gave birth to Jiang Sheng and remained bedridden.
"Could it be that you hold a grudge against Nannan for making you unable to have children?" Old Madam Jiang asked her final question. "It is true that you were born prematurely and became unable to conceive, but the Jiang family already has legitimate sons and daughters. They will not force you to have more children. It makes no sense."
Everyone else, including Jiang Sheng, looked over in confusion.
Why is that?
They may have their own guesses, but they will only be able to truly believe it if they get the truth from Liao.
"explain!"
"explain!"
"explain!"
Loud shouts rang out, each word filled with fury and shock.
Liao clenched his teeth, his pupils unconsciously darting left and right, clearly deep in thought.
"Are you going to tell me or not?" Jiang Jizu was furious and rushed to her in a few steps.
Liao was in a panic.
Jiang Chenghuan, who was choking back tears in the corner, was also startled. Although she had not yet been able to accept the fact that Jiang Sheng had suffered for seven years and that her biological father had suddenly appeared, she still instinctively rushed over and used her thin body to block Liao Shi.
“Father…General.” Tears streamed down her face. “You can’t hit Mother.”
Perhaps, Mother really did make a mistake, even a ridiculous one.
But that was her mother, the mother who loved and cared for her, and she couldn't bear to see her mother being beaten.
“The men of the Jiang family never hit women.” Jiang Jizu clenched his fist. “I just want her to tell the truth about what happened back then.”
"If she doesn't tell, the Liao family members will die one by one, starting with the youngest. I heard that the Liao family patriarch just had a grandson."
"The Lu family members won't escape either. Those who are alive will live in constant fear, and those who are dead will be reduced to ashes."
Perhaps a general who serves his country and its people wouldn't do these things, but a father who is willing to do anything for his daughter.
Jiang Chenghuan shook his head, trembling, and threw himself into Liao's arms. "Mother, tell me, please tell me."
"Say it!"
"Say it now!"
Countless voices rushed towards her, and Liao could no longer hold back, screaming, "I don't want to talk, I don't want to talk, you forced me, you're forcing me..."
"Jiang Sheng, she is not my biological child at all!"
"She's not of the Liao family bloodline. She deserves to be abandoned, deserves to beg, deserves to die out there!"
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