Huang Meihua frowned as she looked at Zhang Hongmei, then suddenly reached out and touched Zhang Hongmei's face.
Zhang Hongmei instinctively dodged, looking at the old woman with a puzzled expression.
"Girl, what's your relationship with the royal family?"
“Grandma, I’ve never met anyone you mentioned, and my parents have passed away, but someone told me that my mother is a descendant of royalty,” Zhang Hongmei answered Huang Meihua’s question uncertainly.
"That's right, you look very much like your great-grandmother, the Empress."
Huang Meihua was lost in memories, staring intently at Zhang Hongmei, searching her face for her own recollections.
“Grandma, it’s so strange of you to look at my sister like that,” Annie tugged at her grandmother’s hand.
"Hehe, Hongmei, I'll call you Hongmei from now on. Don't be afraid. I just remembered what happened to Her Majesty the Empress back then. It's alright, don't be scared."
Zhang Hongmei thought to herself, what else can I do?
Just then, Wang Xinyi returned. "Grandma, you chat with Aunt Wang while my sister and I go upstairs to play. My sister must have designed a new game for me."
Zhang Hongmei smiled and ruffled Annie's hair. "How can you be so sure?"
"I just know! Isn't it my sister?"
Looking at the girl's eager eyes, Zhang Hongmei lost the desire to tease her.
Zeng Zhongkang and the other two also came out without any prior consultation, and they did so in perfect unison.
The three of them greeted Huang Meihua respectfully.
"Good, good, good, that's wonderful! The people of our country are truly outstanding. There's hope for the future. Auntie also brought you some gifts today. Charlie, give them the three blue boxes I brought. Just looking at them makes me happy."
The three thanked him respectfully, accepted the gifts, and sat down to one side.
"Sister Huang, let's go back to my room and chat. We don't need to worry about anything else. I have so much to tell you." Wang Xinyi was really eager.
Being able to meet someone I used to live with, especially in a foreign country, makes me eager to chat with them.
“Okay, now that my little darling has her older sister, she won’t have a grandmother anymore. Let’s go back to our room and talk.” Huang Meihua stood up, and Wang Xinyi and Huang Meihua went into her bedroom hand in hand.
Seeing that her grandmother had left, Annie immediately pulled Zhang Hongmei to her feet as well, saying, "Dad, I'm going to play with my sister."
“Mr. McCann, I’ve taken Annie upstairs. Here are a few newly designed games for Annie to try out.”
Carlos McKen nodded with a smile. Now only a few men remained in the living room. It was Zhao Tiancheng who spoke up, saying that it was too boring for these young people to just sit there like that.
After saying some trivial things, Carlos suddenly turned to the computer and asked the three of them a question.
When it comes to professional knowledge, Cheng Guangxu, while not exactly eloquent, is completely different from his usual self.
The four men got along better and better as they talked, and eventually moved to Cheng Guangxu's room. Carlos was a successful businessman, and he knew that these were rare talents, so he looked at their achievements with them and admired them in his heart. They were truly remarkable.
Wang Xinyi and Huang Meihua, nestled on the soft couch in the room, had lost their usual poise in public.
"Xinyi, what are you doing here?"
"Sister Huang, I lived here for five years more than 20 years ago, but I was too useless and missed home so much that I went back."
"If only we had met sooner, you must have suffered some injustice back home, right?"
Wang Xinyi's eyes reddened, and her voice choked with emotion. "Yes, I think my childhood was the most beautiful time, but all my family members passed away. After that, to avoid trouble, I lived a low-key life in the countryside near Beijing. Then I couldn't take it anymore, so I went abroad and came back to China. After that, I made a living by teaching in the city."
Huang Meihua gently stroked Wang Xinyi's hair. "I've been keeping an eye on things at home and know about the big events that have happened. You've suffered."
Wang Xinyi sniffed, took out a handkerchief and wiped the corner of her eyes. "Now my hard times are over. I have Hongmei, my husband, and my husband's son. Now I have a family too. This must be God's compensation to me."
"Then why are you here again?"
"Sister Huang, I was asked to take care of Hongmei. Since she's here, of course I came along."
"You met your husband here, right? He seems like a good person. Well, you're fifty years old and you still have your own child. This is really God's compensation to you."
"Yes, Hongmei's husband is a leader of our country. My husband was arranged by him to take care of Hongmei here. We met, and since we're both this age, we thought we'd get together and live our lives together. We never expected such a surprise."
Huang Meihua was startled. "Hongmei's husband?"
"Yes, it's the family of the third son of the eldest son of the former Minister Zhang's family."
"Oh? It's not Zhou Shixiong anymore?"
"Yes, but the successor is the Zhang family."
"Hmm, do they all know Hongmei's identity? Do you know?"
"I knew about her, but I only found out about her after she came to the capital to study at university at the beginning of this year. I'm the one who takes care of her."
Hongmei is also a pitiful child; she lost her parents at the age of five and has lived alone in the countryside ever since.
Huang Meihua was disappointed. Luckily, she hadn't said anything; that would have been too embarrassing. "Hongmei isn't very old, is she? How come she's already married?"
"It's all because the Zhang family's son was too impatient. He was afraid Hongmei would run away, so he tricked this girl into getting a marriage certificate."
"But Hongmei seems very shrewd, how could she be fooled?"
"It's all because of Zhou Shixiong. He wants Hongmei to marry his grandson. But that's Hongmei's father, the one who killed her parents. How could this girl agree? Sigh! It's only because of Shouyi's identity that she can be protected."
"I knew it. This girl looks like an empress. How could she be so easily fooled? The Zhou family is still the same. I went abroad because Zhou Shixiong's youngest brother insisted on marrying me. How could my parents agree? So I went abroad alone and haven't been back to China for over forty years." Huang Meihua sighed.
"How many people wouldn't be tempted by someone like Hongmei? Isn't that the same thought you're having, Sister Huang?"
"Yes, I had three daughters before I had Carlos, but he was unlucky. He married a woman who was not blessed with good fortune, and she died after giving birth to Anne."
But Carlos lost interest in the search. When we got back, Annie secretly told me that her father wanted to find her a mother. Of course, I was curious about who could win over my proud granddaughter and son. That's why I came along this time.
"We weren't meant to be. I wish we had."
"Zhang Shouyi was afraid that something might happen to Zhang Hongmei, so the two of them got their marriage certificate before they came. As for Hongmei, she definitely won't stay."
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