"Second Uncle, you're wrong to say that. You can't even manage your own family affairs, yet you've come to our eldest son's house to be in charge. You've come to the wrong place."
"Incomprehensible, incomprehensible."
The second old man turned pale with anger. At his age, being scolded by his niece-in-law, a younger generation member, almost made him faint.
The clan chief's patience was worn out. He said with a stern face, "Xiao Quanzi, since you are tormenting the child like this, this family will be divided whether you want to or not. If you don't want to divide, then your branch will be expelled from the Shen family genealogy, and you will never be allowed to set foot in the Shen family ancestral hall again."
Upon hearing this, Chen immediately wilted and dared not argue further.
Expelling someone from the family genealogy is a huge deal, and it would be unacceptable if it also affected her eldest grandson's chances of passing the imperial examinations.
Chen lowered her head, swallowing back the words that were about to come out. Her face turned pale and then red, looking quite unpleasant.
Upon hearing that the clan leader wanted to expel them from the Shen clan genealogy, Shen Quan turned pale with fright: "Clan leader, we will divide it, we will definitely divide it."
Clan Chief: "Then tell me, how do you plan to divide this family property?"
"Let's separate the second child; the other children don't need to be separated."
The eldest and third wives said in unison, "That's right, we won't divide it. If the second wife wants to divide it, let them."
Madam Niu was hoping the family would never separate, since her son still needed the family's tuition every year. If they separated, how could her lazy and good-for-nothing wife possibly provide it?
Wang was also making her own plans. The family had supported Shen Yushu for so many years, but hadn't reaped any benefits yet. If they separated the family, their third branch would not be able to benefit, which would be a loss.
"Alright, let's take stock of the family assets and divide one-fifth among the second wife's assets. Each of the four children gets a share, and you two keep one share. Is that acceptable?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Quan thought it was fair and instructed Chen Shi: "Give one-fifth of the money left in the house to the second wife, and give the second wife a share of the grain left."
When Madam Chen heard that the money was also to be divided among the second branch of the family, she couldn't sit still any longer. That money was her eldest grandson's tuition fee, how could it be given to outsiders?
"Impossible, we have no money at home, and we don't even have food."
The clan chief was somewhat helpless. All those words he had just said were in vain. It was truly a misfortune for the Shen family to have married such a woman.
"Are you not going to give anything to the second wife, and instead make them beg for food?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Danru secretly came up with an idea. She stepped forward and coaxed, "Grandma, I know you don't like our family, but at least give us some food. We don't want to starve to death."
Just as Chen was about to curse, she heard Shen Danru say, "If Father weren't your biological son, it would be understandable that you wouldn't share anything with us."
Upon hearing this, Chen replied without hesitation, "Go beg wherever you want, your father isn't mine."
Chen suddenly realized that what she said was inappropriate and quickly covered her mouth.
But it was too late. Not only did the clan chief and several old men hear what she said, but the villagers also heard it.
"No wonder Sister-in-law Shen is so cruel to Shen Cheng. Turns out he's not her biological son."
"That's right. I've long noticed that Shen Cheng doesn't resemble either of them, nor does he resemble any of their other children. I've suspected for a long time that Shen Cheng isn't their biological son."
"That's not right. When Chen was pregnant with Chen Cheng, I was also pregnant with our third child. We even bet on who was carrying a son and compared whose belly was bigger. How come you're saying he's not your biological child now?"
"I don't know. Only Mrs. Chen knows for sure whether he is her biological son or not."
"Anyway, I don't think they're his biological children."
Shen Danru had a suspicion the moment she entered the house and saw Shen Cheng, and now she was even more certain.
Everyone's attention was focused on Chen Shi at that moment, and no one noticed that Shen Cheng's hand had moved. Only Shen Danru saw it.
She only wanted her blindly filial father to know the truth, so she didn't warn him.
“Grandma, you say Dad isn’t your biological son, but who can prove that? If you can explain it clearly, we, the second branch of the family, don’t want anything from the house. We’ll take Dad away and settle him in a safe place. It won’t implicate you.”
Shen Danru continued to entice.
After a slight hesitation, Chen raised her head slightly, as if she had made a major decision: "Yes, he is not my biological son. My biological child is dead. I picked him up from the road."
The villagers were in an uproar.
Shen Quan hung his head, remaining silent, seemingly aware of the truth.
Clan Chief Shen frowned: "Chen, explain yourself clearly. Tell me everything. If you conceal anything, I will report you to the authorities immediately. If you tell the truth now, I will give you a chance to repent."
Upon hearing that the matter was to be reported to the authorities, Chen dared not conceal it any longer: "After giving birth to my second child and completing my postpartum confinement, I was returning to my parents' home when I tripped on the way, and the baby fell and died. I dared not go home, fearing that my mother-in-law would blame me. At that time, I didn't even want to live anymore."
“I happened to run into a young woman holding an infant, who looked like she had fled from a famine. She knelt down and kowtowed to me, begging me to give her some food to save her young master. I saw that the child looked similar to my second son, so when she wasn’t paying attention, I took a stone and killed her. I took that child home and raised him, and that child is Chen Cheng.”
"Mother, is what you're saying true? I'm really not your biological child?"
Shen Cheng's sudden speech startled everyone.
When the villagers saw that Shen Cheng was still alive, most of them breathed a sigh of relief and were happy for him.
But Chen's words were a blow to Shen Cheng.
"Mother, tell me, is it true?"
Shen Cheng's eyes held hope, but his mental defenses had already crumbled.
Startled, Chen trembled and hid behind Old Man Shen.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
