Gu Yingying bluntly voiced her suspicions. When reading the novel before, she had been puzzled—how could even a family that favored boys over girls treat their daughter this way? Especially when Wang Guihua would constantly call Gu Xuezhen a “bitch”—was that how a mother behaves?

Behind Mother Gu, Gu Xuezhen’s hands involuntarily clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms. Her face was pale, and her eyes—almost identical to Mother Gu’s—were filled with hatred.

After returning to the Gu family, Gu Xuezhen had forced herself to forget everything that had happened in the Yu household. Even in front of Father Gu and Mother Gu, she never brought it up. All the hatred she felt for the Yu couple had been buried deep inside her. But now, Gu Yingying had exposed it all, shattering her fragile resolve and stirring up all the painful emotions she had tried to suppress.

Mother Gu turned to look at her daughter and instantly understood that Gu Yingying was speaking the truth. Thinking about how well Xuezhen and Yingying had been getting along lately, Mother Gu realized that it must have been Xuezhen who told Yingying everything. The thought that her daughter had been so cruelly mistreated in the Yu household made Mother Gu’s heart ache with overwhelming grief. She turned sharply toward the Yu couple.

“Tell me! Did you abuse my daughter, Xuezhen? You always said you treated her well…”

As a mother, the thought of her daughter being mistreated filled Mother Gu with unbearable pain.

The Yu couple, seeing the fierce questioning hurriedly shook their heads. Wang Guihua’s voice lost its earlier arrogance and now carried a hint of guilt.

“We never abused her! What’s wrong with a poor family like ours? Helping with housework is just what poor children have to do. If you want to talk about abuse, we didn’t do that…”

Her eyes quickly darted to the pale-faced Gu Xuezhen, and she shot her a harsh look, almost as if warning her.

Father Gu furrowed his brows, seemingly deep in thought as he considered the truth of the matter. However, Gu Yingying didn’t give him the chance to reflect. She immediately rushed in front of Gu Xuezhen, her light brown eyes fixed and resolute as she looked at her.

“Xuezhen, you’re no longer the Yu family’s daughter. You are the young lady of the Gu family. With just one word, you could make this couple pay for everything they’ve done to you. Don’t be afraid, tell Mom and Dad how they treated you. They will avenge you, I know it—these people are definitely not good!”

In the novel, the Yu family’s fate was tied to Gu Xuezhen but that was after she gained the power to take revenge on them. Father Gu and Mother Gu had never known the extent of the abuse Xuezhen endured in the Yu household.

Perhaps the author intended to make the protagonist’s journey of suffering lead to her growth, but for Gu Yingying this was something she absolutely could not tolerate. People like the Yu couple deserved to die, didn’t they?

Gu Xuezhen’s face turned pale as she stood there, her thoughts overwhelmed by a strange feeling. She had always thought she would never reveal her suffering, always presenting herself as the dutiful daughter in front of Father Gu and Mother Gu. But now, Gu Yingying’s encouragement made her feel as though it was finally time to stop enduring, time to stop suppressing her pain.

“Mom, I hate them. From the time I was six years old, I had to cook and clean for them. If I didn’t do something right, they’d beat or scold me. After their son was born, I helped take care of him, and every time he cried, I was beaten. These scars on my body were from when Wang Guihua poured hot water on me, and these were from cigarette burns…”

For the first time in front of her mother, Gu Xuezhen rolled up her sleeves. On the inside of her arm, there was a large burn, and next to it, several cigarette burn scars. It was immediately clear that these were intentionally inflicted.

Mother Gu’s eyes turned red as she began to cry, and Father Gu, now fully realizing he had been deceived, understood that this couple hadn’t cared for their daughter at all but had instead subjected her to constant abuse.

“Call the police! We must call the police! This is abuse!!!”

Mother Gu hugged her daughter, crying while Father Gu felt a deep ache in his heart. He nodded, took out his phone, and called the police.

The Yu couple, seeing the police phone call being made, froze in shock. They tried to rush over to grab the phone, but were quickly subdued by the butler and other servants.

Gu Yingying, witnessing this scene, finally felt that the plot was moving in the right direction. Seeing Gu Xuezhen crying with red eyes, she truly believed that girls shouldn’t just silently endure—sometimes, showing vulnerability could be a powerful weapon.

After the call to the police, they arrived quickly. The Gu family, taking Gu Yingying’s advice, immediately informed the officers about the couple’s involvement in child trafficking and abuse.

The Yu couple was stunned when they saw the police. They had been feeling pleased after receiving two million from the Gu family, but their greed had led them to try to take Gu Yingying back. Little did they expect it would result in jail time.

As they were questioned by the police, the Yu couple panicked, their faces drained of color and unsure of what to do.

With the police involved, everything proceeded much more smoothly. Following Gu Yingying’s request, a DNA test was conducted between her and the Yu couple. Of course, the police results were indisputable, and after some time, the test results came back showing that Gu Yingying and the Yu couple had no blood relation.

At the same time, the Gu couple received the latest update from the police station.

Under the police’s firm interrogation, Wang Guihua from the Yu family finally broke down and revealed the truth.

Gu Yingying was not her daughter, and neither was Gu Xuezhen.

Years ago, after giving birth to a daughter, Wang Guihua fearing her mother-in-law’s wrath, tragically strangled her own child in a fit of anger. However, she immediately regretted her actions. While in the hospital, she saw the fair and delicate Gu Xuezhen and decided to steal the child. To cover her tracks and avoid suspicion, she secretly placed another infant, born to an unattended mother, into the Gu family’s crib.

That infant was Gu Yingying.

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