Lan Lianxin smiled and nodded. “Please, speak freely. Even if my brother-in-law is impulsive, he wouldn’t do anything inappropriate.”

Huang Fugui sneered, “I already know what you’re going to say—you’re going to say my marriage luck is terrible, aren’t you?”

“It’s good that you’re aware.”

Not only did Gu Xicao not hold back, but he even fanned the flames further by nodding. “Your marriage luck is extraordinarily bad. You’re destined to divorce at least three times in your life. Your current wife is a mistress who replaced the first wife. She’s your second marriage, isn’t she?”

Now it was Tang Chu’s turn to look mortified.

Although Lan Lianxin didn’t like her, she still felt the need to defend her. “Master, you must be mistaken. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law are each other’s first and only spouses.”

“That’s impossible,” Gu Xicao shook his head. “You may not know about it, but their family certainly does.”

Lan Lianxin turned to look at Huang Shiren and the others.

Huang Shiren awkwardly scratched his nose and mumbled, “The second brother did get married once when he was young. The marriage lasted only two months before they divorced. Then he married the first wife’s cousin.”

What?!

Lan Lianxin’s jaw dropped as she slapped Huang Shiren lightly in frustration. “How could you not tell me about something so important?”

“How was I supposed to tell you? By the time I found out, he had already married the second one,” Huang Shiren admitted, feeling embarrassed. To him, divorce and remarriage weren’t particularly scandalous, but marrying the cousin of your first wife—especially in the midst of infidelity—was downright shameful.

Huang Fugui and Tang Chu’s faces turned as colorful as a painter’s palette, their expressions oscillating between embarrassment, anger, nervousness, and fear.

Tang Chu, particularly agitated, wasn’t upset about being exposed as the mistress but rather panicked at the thought of being divorced.

She couldn’t help but ask, “Master, you said my husband would divorce three times. Who’s the mistress then? Who would dare try to steal my husband?”

Huang Fugui’s face flushed red, his ears burning with shame. “What do you mean by that? Why do you assume I’d cheat again?”

“You know full well! I bet it’s your secretary at work, isn’t it? I’ve seen how she dresses provocatively every day. She must be trying to seduce you! No wonder you’re always at the office—it’s clearly suspicious!”

The more Tang Chu spoke, the angrier she became. Convinced her guess was correct, she hit Huang Fugui a few times in frustration.

Although Huang Fugui didn’t want to hit a woman, being scolded and beaten in front of everyone made him furious. His anger boiled over, and he shoved Tang Chu away. “Enough! I’m your husband, and you dare to hit me? So what if I cheated? You weren’t exactly an innocent angel yourself when you got with me!”

Tang Chu was so enraged by his words that she was left speechless.

Their daughter, Huang Miaoyun, stood to the side, biting her lip and trembling slightly.

“You’re mistaken,” Gu Xicao interjected. “I only said Mr. Huang would divorce three times. I never said all the divorces would be due to infidelity.”

“See? Did you hear that? She just said it!” Huang Fugui tugged at his shirt in irritation.

Tang Chu wiped her tears, stomping her foot. “Of course she’d side with you! She’s your family’s guest. If it’s not infidelity, why would we divorce?”

“That’s because the mess you two created will come back to haunt you,” Gu Xicao said, his gaze shifting from the arrogant, demanding fat boy by Lan Lianxin’s side to the trembling, quail-like Huang Miaoyun.

Huang Fugui and Tang Chu’s bodies stiffened, and the couple exchanged a glance, a shiver running through their hearts.

Huang Fugui stiffened his neck, his brow furrowing so tightly it could crush a fly. “Stop spouting nonsense. Brother, I think that’s enough for today. Let’s just send her away. If she stays any longer, who knows if she’ll end up driving a wedge between me and Ah Chu, causing a divorce!”

“Exactly! This fortune-telling stuff is pointless. I thought it would be impressive, but it’s not. Let’s go.” Tang Chu echoed her husband’s sentiments, grabbed Huang Miaoyun by the hand, stood up, and prepared to leave with her bag.

Huang Shiren and his wife hadn’t even processed what was happening before the couple decided to leave.

Gu Xicao said, “Hold on. Are you in such a hurry to leave because you’re afraid I’ll reveal something disgraceful? Something like how you’ve wronged your elder brother and sister-in-law?”

Huang Fugui clenched his fists, suppressing his anger and panic. When he saw Huang Miaoyun dawdling as she reached for her doll, he anxiously yanked her arm, making her cry out in pain on the spot.

“What are you doing?!”

Lan Lianxin couldn’t stand it anymore. She walked over, pulled the child away, and looked at Huang Miaoyun’s arm, where a red mark from the grip was already forming. She said disapprovingly, “Even if Xiaoyun is just a girl, she’s still your biological child. You handle her so harshly—worse than a stepfather would!”

Huang Fugui’s pupils shrank, and sweat formed on the tip of his nose.

“What stepfather? Sister-in-law, you can’t just throw around accusations! Xiaoyun looks exactly like our mother. If she isn’t my daughter, then whose child is she?”

Huang’s father also voiced his dissatisfaction. “That’s right, you can’t say such things recklessly!”

“Can’t say it recklessly? But what if it’s the truth?”

Gu Xicao stood up and glanced at Huang Miaoyun before shifting her gaze to the chubby boy, Huang Jiaye.

“What… what do you mean by that?” Huang Fugui stammered nervously. He stepped forward and pulled the sobbing Huang Miaoyun away from Lan Lianxin, shielding her behind him.

Gu Xicao ignored him and turned to Huang Shiren, the one footing the bill. “Mr. Huang, haven’t you noticed that your son doesn’t look like either you or your wife?”

Huang Shiren froze mid-puff on his cigarette. The ash fell to the floor, burning a hole in the carpet. Instinctively, he looked at Huang Jiaye.

Huang’s father stood up and pointed at Gu Xicao. “What are you talking about? So what if my grandson doesn’t look like his parents? He looks like me. Is that not allowed?”

“Does he look like you, or does he look like your younger son?”

Gu Xicao crossed her arms. “There’s a saying that nephews resemble their uncles, but I’ve never heard of a son looking more like his uncle than his own parents. If we’re talking about resemblance, Huang Miaoyun looks more like she could be your eldest son and daughter-in-law’s child.”

Lan Lianxin and Huang Shiren felt as if their brains had turned to mush. Almost instinctively, Lan Lianxin looked at the two children. Maybe it was because of Gu Xicao’s words, but the more she looked, the more she felt Huang Jiaye resembled Huang Fugui. Conversely, Huang Miaoyun’s eyes looked particularly similar to her husband’s.

“You’re crazy. You must be insane to come to our house and spout such nonsense!” Tang Chu’s hands trembled as she pointed at Gu Xicao, her voice laced with anger and panic.

Gu Xicao stepped aside to avoid her hand and said, “Who’s crazy will soon be evident. Swapping children so your son could usurp your elder brother’s family fortune—if that isn’t despicable, I don’t know what is.”

Huang Shiren turned to Huang Fugui, his bloodshot eyes glaring. He threw his cigarette to the ground and demanded, “Is what she’s saying true?”

“Dad, Dad, what is she talking about? I’m your son, Dad!”

Although Huang Jiaye was still young, he could understand what was being said. Hearing Gu Xicao’s words, he panicked and grabbed Huang Shiren’s hand.

Huang Miaoyun, on the other hand, stared blankly at Huang Shiren and his wife.

Ever since she could remember, she had envied her cousin. No matter what mistakes he made, her uncle and aunt would always patiently guide him. Whatever he wanted, they would never deny him.

At home, however, she had to tread carefully. Even taking an extra bite of food required gauging her parents’ mood.

She had always thought it was because her parents resented her for being a girl. Could it be that wasn’t the reason after all?

Faced with Huang Miaoyun’s pitiful and confused expression and the sound of her son’s sobbing, Huang Shiren and his wife felt as if knives were twisting in their hearts, their minds in utter chaos.

“Brother, how can you suspect Jiaye isn’t your son just because of a few words from an outsider?”

Huang Fugui panicked, hastily explaining. “Think about it—from childhood to now, hasn’t Jiaye been close to you? How could he not be your biological son?”

“Yes, Sister-in-law, you’re an educated woman. You wouldn’t believe this woman’s baseless gossip and suddenly think Xiaoyun is your daughter, would you?” Tang Chu added, trying to maintain her composure.

“No… no, something’s not right.”

Lan Lianxin wavered, her face filled with contemplation. “For some reason, I’ve never been able to truly like Jiaye. Because of this, I’ve even felt guilty.”

“You’re saying the reason you’re distant from Jiaye is because you don’t like him?” Huang Shiren looked at his wife in shock.

Lan Lianxin nodded heavily. “I didn’t know who to talk to about this. Most mothers naturally love their children, but I’ve never felt that way about Jiaye.”

“This is the bond between blood relatives,” Gu Xicao explained. “Even without scientific evidence, long-separated blood relatives will naturally feel close to one another. Mrs. Lan, you didn’t know the truth, but the bond of kinship told you who your real child is.”

“This is ridiculous! What bond? What kinship? Xiaoyun is our child! Brother, Sister-in-law, we’re not trying to be difficult, but this claim is absurd!”

Tang Chu suppressed her panic and forced herself to appear calm.

There’s no need to worry.

Back then, her mother had handled everything, and there was no way anyone could find evidence proving they had swapped the children.

Five years ago.

Tang Chu and Lan Lianxin had been pregnant at the same time.

During Lan Lianxin’s pregnancy, Tang Chu noticed how Huang Shiren doted on his wife, even declaring that no matter whether the baby was a boy or a girl, the family fortune would go to the child. Tang Chu felt a wave of jealousy. She had married Huang Fugui, thinking she would be living the high life, but it turned out Huang Shiren’s family was far wealthier. Moreover, Lan Lianxin’s family had judges, which meant that neither she nor her child could ever compete with their standing.

So Tang Chu and Huang Fugui hatched a sinister plan. While Huang Shiren was abroad handling business, they arranged for Lan Lianxin to deliver her baby prematurely at home. At the same time, Tang Chu underwent a scheduled C-section at the hospital, allowing them to swap her child with Huang Shiren and Lan Lianxin’s.

Because Lan Lianxin delivered prematurely, her family arrived after the baby was already born. Lan Lianxin, having fainted, never saw whether the baby was a boy or a girl.

This secret had been buried for five years. Huang Fugui and Tang Chu had thought their plan was flawless, known only to themselves and Tang Chu’s mother.

They never expected Huang Shiren to suddenly have the idea of inviting Gu Xicao over for a fortune-telling session.