Chapter 337: The Shocking Truth
The Jiang Family’s Old Mansion. West Wing!
Li Yi’s casual glance was suddenly drawn to the photos in the glass frames on the wall.
Or rather, it was the girl in the photos that caught his attention… She looked so much like her!
Stunned, Li Yi instinctively stood up from the sofa and walked straight toward the frames.
As he drew closer, Li Yi could see more clearly.
The photo in the frame looked quite old, but it was in excellent condition.
More importantly, the girl in the photo looked exactly like Tang Xue.
If it weren’t for the fact that the girl in the photo was wearing somewhat old-fashioned clothes, and the photo itself wasn’t new, Li Yi would have definitely thought it was a picture of Tang Xue!
Seeing Li Yi staring intently at the photo on the wall, Jiang Shiying said with a touch of pride, “This is a photo of my husband when he was young. Isn’t he handsome?”
“Click!”
Hearing this, it was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Li Yi’s mind, and his heart began to pound uncontrollably.
Surnamed Ye, identical in appearance, and had suffered psychological trauma in her youth!
The answer couldn’t be any clearer!
If he wasn’t mistaken, Tang Xue was the child of Jiang Shiying and his wife, and the couple standing before him were his future in-laws.
At the thought of this possibility, Li Yi felt a mix of shock, joy, and a touch of dread.
The joy came from the fact that after investigating for so long without a single lead, they had suddenly found the answer.
It truly was a case of searching high and low to no avail, only to find it effortlessly!
The anxiety stemmed from the fact that his wife’s background was simply too formidable.
In fact, he had already suspected that Tang Xue’s biological parents were no ordinary people, but he never imagined she would be a child of the Jiang family—and that her father was none other than the infamous “White-Haired Butcher.”
And that was just her father’s side—her mother’s family was no less formidable. The Ye family was every bit as powerful as the Jiang family!
More importantly, as far as he knew, neither the Jiang nor the Ye families had any daughters in this generation.
Which meant his own wife was the only little princess of both the Jiang and Ye families!
Holy crap!
This revelation was absolutely mind-blowing!
“Brother Li Yi, why are you staring at Auntie San’s photo? Have you also been captivated by her youthful charm?” Jiang Longcheng said with a smile.
Li Yi chuckled and replied, “Auntie really was beautiful in her youth, and I’ve actually noticed that my wife bears a striking resemblance to her!”
“Really? That’s quite a coincidence!” Jiang Longcheng said with a laugh.
Just then, Li Yi suddenly said, “Uncle Li and Auntie, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask—I’m not sure if it’s appropriate.”
“Just ask whatever you want—there’s nothing inappropriate about it!” Jiang Shiying said with a smile.
“Why haven’t I seen your children?” Li Yi asked.
At those words, the expressions of all three people in the room changed.
Ye Lingyun, in particular, turned unusually pale, and her whole body seemed on the verge of collapsing.
Meanwhile, Jiang Longcheng, standing nearby, hurriedly tugged at the hem of Li Yi’s shirt.
Jiang Shiying instinctively glanced at his wife, then at his nephew, Jiang Longcheng.
Seeing Jiang Longcheng shaking his head at him, he immediately understood: he hadn’t told Li Yi about the loss of his and his wife’s child.
No wonder!
He looked at his wife with some anxiety, fearing that her condition might flare up again.
Ye Lingyun took a moment to compose herself, finally took a deep breath, and then looked at Jiang Shiying and said, “It’s okay, don’t worry about me!”
Li Yi feigned ignorance and asked, “Was that a question I shouldn’t have asked?”
“Don’t ask!” Jiang Longcheng said urgently.
Ye Lingyun shook her head and said, “Longcheng, it’s fine. This matter has been buried in my heart for twenty years, and I’ve never wanted to bring it up. Since Little Li asked about it today, I’ll just talk about it!”
“Yun’er… you…”
Before Jiang Shiying could finish, Ye Lingyun said with tears in her eyes, “Go ahead and tell me. It’s been so many years—this has almost become a taboo in our family!”
Jiang Shiying sighed and said, “If you want to talk about it, go ahead!”
Ye Lingyun nodded, then looked at Li Yi and said, “Actually, your third uncle and I had a child when we were young. It’s just a shame that the child came at the wrong time…”
With that, Ye Lingyun began recounting the events of those days.
The story wasn’t complicated. Twenty years ago, the Jiang family had lost a political struggle. Because of the old patriarch’s involvement, everyone in the Jiang family suffered, including Jiang Shiying and her husband.
One was sent to a labor camp on a farm in the northwest, while the other was sent to work as a laborer at a textile factory in Yong County. At the time Ye Lingyun was sent to Yong County, she was already pregnant.
The work at the textile factory was extremely strenuous; even healthy young adults might not have been able to handle it, let alone a pregnant woman like Ye Lingyun, who had almost no experience with physical labor.
Consequently, her life at the textile factory was extremely difficult during that period. In less than six months there, she lost over twenty pounds and was in very poor health.
Just a few days before she was due to give birth, she suddenly blacked out and collapsed while working, causing complications with her pregnancy, and was rushed to a nearby clinic…
Ye Lingyun didn’t actually know the details of what happened afterward; she was merely recounting a rough outline based on her fragmented memories.
After listening to Ye Lingyun’s story, Li Yi couldn’t help but feel deeply moved.
It really was a tragic story!
At that moment, he felt a bit hesitant about whether he should tell them about Tang Xue right away.
Deep down, Li Yi wanted to reveal the truth, but at the same time, he was a bit hesitant to do so.
It wasn’t that he was worried the Jiang family would stand in the way of him and Tang Xue—after all, the baby was about to be born, so he wasn’t really afraid of that.
He was worried whether his mother-in-law’s health could withstand such a sudden shift from joy to grief—and whether she could bear the harsh truth.
If he were to tell her that her child is still alive, that she was simply swapped at birth all those years ago, and that her daughter hasn’t had an easy life since then…
If he really did say that, given her current health, she might just collapse on the spot!
So Li Yi felt he couldn’t rush this matter. Perhaps he could first talk to Tang Xue or Jiang Shiying and seek their advice.
Just as Li Yi’s thoughts were racing, Ye Lingyun suddenly let out a long sigh, wiped away her tears, and said, “Little Li, I don’t know why, but seeing you always makes me feel a sense of warmth in my heart. I couldn’t help but say so much—please don’t take it to heart!”
Li Yi immediately replied, “I was thoughtless to bring up such painful memories. But there was a reason I asked that question earlier!”
“What reason?” Ye Lingyun asked instinctively.
“Because, judging by your facial features, you seem like the kind of person blessed with many children and grandchildren. So I instinctively assumed you and Third Uncle had children!” Li Yi explained.
“You must have misread it,” Ye Lingyun said.
Li Yi didn’t respond, but looked at her again and said, “Auntie, why don’t I cast another divination for you?”
Hearing this, Jiang Longcheng, who was standing nearby, immediately perked up and said, “Auntie, Brother Li Yi doesn’t speak lightly, but when he does, his predictions are always spot-on!”
Ye Lingyun had also heard her family discuss Li Yi and knew he possessed some extraordinary abilities.
But she had always been a timid person, so she instinctively glanced at Jiang Shiying beside her.