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Tears streamed down Mr. Ke's face. "We've been searching all these years, but we haven't found a single clue. Nobody knows where our fellow villager took the child."
Tang Yue nodded, while Old He sighed, "Sigh, we all know about the Ke family's situation. Over the years, quite a few people have impersonated Old Ke's daughter to come and claim kinship, but Old Ke and his wife have seen through them every time, and they haven't succeeded."
"At first it caused quite a stir, but gradually everyone got used to it."
Old Master Ke didn't let go of Tang Yue's hand. "Little Yueyue, how did you know I had another daughter?"
Old Ke believed there was no need for the child to inquire about their family and then come to claim kinship. Mainly, at this point, he was nobody. People would avoid him like the plague; who would want to get involved in their family's mess?
Even his sons, well, they all published notices in the newspapers severing ties with him, didn't they?
Tang Yue was still conscious. "Grandpa Ke, where is your wife?"
Old Ke paused for a moment. "Her health wasn't good. If she were sent down to a farm, she definitely wouldn't be able to survive. We had already divorced before that. After that, I was sent down to the countryside."
"I don't know who she's living with now."
Tang Yue narrowed her eyes slightly. "Have your sons contacted you?"
Now both Old Ke and Old He fell silent. They thought they probably didn't know where they had been sent down to. But so much time had passed; if they had wanted to, they could have found out.
But the fact that neither of them received anything, not even a letter, speaks volumes.
Tang Yue's lips curled slightly. Another family of unfilial descendants. "Hehe, Grandpa Ke, your family's upbringing isn't very good."
Old Ke smiled helplessly, "Yes, every family has its own troubles. They're probably all afraid that I'll drag them down with them."
Tang Yue declined to comment. Seeing that Old Master Ke was still staring at her intently, Tang Yue didn't keep her in suspense, "Last time I came here, I always felt that you were very familiar and kind, and you also seemed to look a bit like someone."
Old Ke didn't even dare to blink. Tang Yue continued, "I didn't think of it at the time. Later, I saw a father and son recognizing each other, and I suddenly realized who looked like you."
As she spoke, Tang Yue pulled a photo out of her pocket. It was a picture of Tang Shengkai and his family taken before Tang Shengkai went on a mission. However, Tang Yue first took out a solo photo of Lin Cuicui herself.
The woman in the black-and-white photograph had a radiant smile, thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a slightly plump face—she looked well-maintained. Old Ke couldn't take his eyes off the photograph when he saw it.
He was certain this was his daughter. However, doubts remained. "Little Yueyue, the age doesn't match. This girl looks to be only in her early twenties. My daughter..."
"She's 28 this year, and will be 29 by Chinese New Year."
Old Ke's hand trembled slightly as he held the photograph, and tears streamed down his face even more profusely. He looked up at Tang Yue, "Where...where is she?"
Tang Yue gently patted Old Ke's back. "She's my mother. She's on the South Island now." As she spoke, she took out a family photo. When Old Ke heard that she was Little Yueyue's mother, the old father felt a pang of sadness.
When she received the photo, her first instinct was to sized up Tang Shengkai, to see what kind of man her daughter had married. And wow! This guy looks quite dashing. But how come he has so many children? How much suffering must his daughter have endured?
Tang Yue found it quite amusing to watch Old Ke's constantly changing expressions. Her mother might not even acknowledge him yet, but he was already criticizing her father.
"I don't know anything about my maternal family. My mother has never told us anything about it. She must have had a very unhappy childhood."
Old Ke no longer had time to look at Tang Shengkai; he was more interested in how his daughter was doing. Tang Yue recounted their life in Qiligou and how they had managed to escape to the South Island.
Everyone who heard this sighed with emotion. Lai Xiang, who was standing to the side, also saw Lin Cuicui's photo. She added, "I still remember the first time I met Xiao Yueyue and her family. Back then, Sister Lin was definitely not like the one in the photo."
"Yueyue, it seems you're having a really good time on the South Island."
Lai Xiang smiled as she looked at Tang Yue. As long as little Yueyue was doing well, she was happy.
Grandpa Ke felt even more guilty, but Tang Yue didn't give him a chance to continue blaming himself. "Grandpa Ke, I don't know what my mother is thinking, and I'm not sure if she's really your daughter. I'll have to ask her carefully when I get home."
"No, Xiaoyueyue, she, your mother, must be my daughter. There's no mistake. Her eyebrows and eyes are exactly the same as mine when I was young. Sigh, I don't have any photos right now, but really, her eyebrows and eyes are exactly the same as mine back then."
"I..." Old Ke choked up. "Forget it, let's just not admit it." He shook his head and turned his face toward the wall, silently shedding tears.
Old He simply patted Old Ke's shoulder twice, without saying anything.
Lai Jiaxing and Wu Jinghua understood why Old Ke said that; given their current situation, saying anything would only implicate Tang Yue's family.
In Old Ke's mind, Lin Cuicui had suffered enough in her life, and it was unreasonable for their lives to be ruined by this father they had just recognized.
Tang Yue smiled and said, "It's alright, the truth will come out eventually. As long as you haven't done anything to betray the country or the people, the people's judgment will be fair."
Several people were moved to tears. Tang Jianye hadn't expected Tang Yue to have lived such a life before. But why did the man in the photo look somewhat familiar?
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