Chapter 25

Yu Tuanjie had originally planned to go to the back mountain to chop some firewood, but when he saw Gao Xuelian, his expression immediately darkened.

He coldly asked, “What do you want?”

Gao Xuelian gritted her teeth and stared at him.

What did she want? Wasn’t it obvious?

Why was it that Yu Tuanjie made money from his business but didn’t share it with her, instead giving it all to the Yu family?

“Yu Tuanjie, I won’t divorce you! Ban Deng is your son, you have to support him! Didn’t you make money from your business? Where’s the money? Ban Deng needs new clothes, and he wants to eat meat!”

Mentioning Ban Deng made Yu Tuanjie’s blood boil!

His face turned dark, and he shoved Gao Xuelian aside. “I’m divorcing you, that’s settled! Gao Xuelian, stop thinking about causing trouble. With what you did to Li, poisoning Pomegranate, I will never forgive you! Our Yu family won’t accept a vicious daughter-in-law!”

Vicious? Gao Xuelian’s tears streamed down!

“Vicious? Who am I doing this for? Other families love their eldest sons, but your mother always favors that little slut Yu Li! How dare you accuse me of harming her?”

“She broke off her engagement, what’s wrong with marrying Liu Maokeng? Who else would give her two hundred yuan as a bride price? You all think you’re so noble, now that the two hundred yuan is gone, are you satisfied?!”

Yu Tuanjie looked at Gao Xuelian coldly, his voice filled with anger. “Don’t force me to hit you!”

Gao Xuelian realized that Yu Tuanjie was indeed about to hit her.

So, she stepped back and said fiercely, “I won’t divorce you! I know it’s Yu Li who’s been pushing you to divorce me! I won’t leave. You better keep your money for Ban Deng’s support, or I’ll make your business fail!”

Yu Tuanjie clenched his fists, this woman was still so malicious!

He endured, but in the end, he couldn’t hold back and reopened an old wound.

“Gao Xuelian, do you think you’re the only one who can make trouble? If I had no shame and made things bigger, do you think you, your adopted parents, and your son Ban Deng would have any face left?”

Gao Xuelian froze, her face turning red as she shouted, “Yu Tuanjie, what are you saying! You’re slandering me, who taught you to frame me like this?!”

Yu Tuanjie looked at her with a strange, painful expression. “What did I say? What did I frame you for? What did I slander you for?”

He hadn’t said anything like that, yet Gao Xuelian jumped to conclusions, her guilt showing through!

Now, Yu Tuanjie finally understood — no further proof was needed!

Ban Deng was Gao Xuelian and Gao Daliang’s child!

And from the moment Yu Tuanjie went to save Gao Xuelian, he had fallen into someone else’s trap!

No wonder Gao Daliang and Gao Xuelian, who weren’t even blood relatives, had such a close relationship.

Seeing Yu Tuanjie consumed by anger, Gao Xuelian began to panic.

He stepped forward, pointing at her with a grim warning. “I don’t want to expose everything and make a fool of you! Gao Xuelian, Ban Deng is eight years old. You threw yourself in the river on my way home. I saved you, married you, and everything was part of your plan! It’s your trap!”

“I didn’t do anything wrong to you, it’s you and the Gao family who owe me! If you want to keep living here, I advise you to divorce me tomorrow morning! I won’t give you a penny, and you can raise Ban Deng yourselves! Otherwise… think carefully before you act!”

After saying this, he slapped Gao Xuelian hard across the ear and turned to leave.

Gao Xuelian covered her ear and collapsed to the ground, her heart pounding, unable to speak.

Her mind was racing, what was happening?!

How did they find out? Who told Yu Tuanjie?

No, no, how could anyone know? Ban Deng is already eight years old, and no one in the Yu family had ever suspected anything!

If this came out, her whole life would be ruined!

In her panic and fear, Gao Xuelian suddenly remembered the look Yu Li had given Ban Deng that day.

Yu Li had even said that Ban Deng didn’t look like his father or mother…

Could it be that Yu Li discovered it and told Yu Tuanjie?

Ah! She knew it was that shameless little bitch!

Gao Xuelian, feeling desperate, hurriedly went to find Gao Daliang.

“Brother! The secret has been discovered!”

She burst into tears and threw herself into Gao Daliang’s arms, repeating everything Yu Tuanjie had said.

She swore fiercely, “It must have been Yu Li, that bitch, who discovered it, got suspicious, but without proof, she just slandered me and told Yu Tuanjie. She’s trying to ruin me!”

Gao Daliang’s dark face was filled with a sinister expression.

When his family adopted Gao Xuelian, he had no special feelings for her as a child.

But as they grew older, one day he saw Gao Xuelian bathing, and suddenly, he developed feelings for her.

His parents strongly opposed him being with Gao Xuelian, fearing people would gossip, especially since she was now his sister.

Under pressure from his parents, Gao Daliang married Ma Yufen.

But Gao Xuelian never married, and the two secretly continued a relationship that no one knew about.

It wasn’t until that year that Gao Xuelian got pregnant.

If his parents found out, or if the villagers discovered it, how could they live?

Seeing Gao Xuelian crying bitterly, Gao Daliang turned his attention to the Yu family.

This family was upright, and they were all kind-hearted, decent people.

Such people were the easiest to morally blackmail.

He successfully helped Gao Xuelian marry Yu Tuanjie.

At first, his only concern was for Gao Xuelian to give birth to Ban Deng smoothly.

But now, their appetites grew beyond that.

They wanted the entire Yu family to make money to support Ban Deng alone.

They hoped that Yu Li could marry and earn a bride price, and that after marriage, she could send money back to her birth family.

They also hoped that the second son of the Yu family would never be able to get pregnant, and that Pomegranate would die young.

But now things were taking an unexpected turn.

Not only could they not benefit from the Yu family, but the Gao family might also face the exposure of a disgrace!

No, Gao Daliang would never allow such a thing to happen!

“Xuelian, calm down! There’s only one way now — Yu Tuanjie must die! Only when he’s dead can the problem be solved. No one will ever be able to prove whether Ban Deng is his child, and you can use Ban Deng to control the whole Yu family!”

Gao Xuelian froze for a moment. “How… how can we make him die?”

Gao Daliang whispered a few words, and Gao Xuelian nodded. “Brother, I will listen to you!”

Chen Ailan sliced the watermelon that Grandpa Zhao had brought, serving a few pieces to Yu Li.

The sweet watermelon, chilled in the well, tasted absolutely refreshing!

Yu Li ate the watermelon but felt uneasy, as though something was about to happen.

She had already gathered information about Wu Tong’s situation.

The Xie family had taken away Mao Dan, and Wu Tong had been bitten by the poisonous snake, barely surviving. Now, she was bedridden, and her mother’s health had worsened. Without the pity of the Wu family, she might not even survive.

So, Wu Tong likely wouldn’t be able to cause trouble for a while.

That left only Gao Xuelian with some uncertainty.

After waiting for a while, Yu Li saw her older brother return with the firewood and immediately went out to help, quietly asking, “Brother, what are your plans?”

Yu Tuanjie was silent for a moment before setting the firewood down. “Tomorrow, I’ll divorce Gao Xuelian. Ban Deng will stay with her, and everything else will be wiped clean. No more contact after that!”

Looking at her brother’s expression, Yu Li felt a pang of sympathy but still tried to comfort him. “Brother, bad things end so good things can begin. Don’t be too upset. Things will get better from here.”

Yu Tuanjie forced a smile, which was more painful than crying.

“I don’t plan to remarry in this lifetime. From now on, I’ll earn money to spend on you, on Pomegranate, and to honor Mom and Dad. That’s enough.”

He would never trust anyone again!

Eight years! A full eight years, he had raised someone else’s son!

Thinking of this, Yu Tuanjie felt his hands trembling and a sharp pain in his chest.