Chapter 26: She Must Be Their Daughter

“How was it? Did you get any answers?” Zhao Han anxiously asked as He Yuandong came in.

“I did. Zhong Youliang’s wife was picked up by the Zhang family when she was three. She’s not their biological daughter.” He Yuandong looked joyful, but deep down he was worried—if she wasn’t really their daughter, would his wife be able to bear the disappointment?

“Just tell me already!” Zhao Han was on edge, seeing him hesitate.

“You have to think carefully. There are many people with the same name. If Zhong Youliang’s wife isn’t our daughter, can you accept that?” He Yuandong looked deeply into her eyes. He didn’t want her to get her hopes up only to be crushed.

“I can. Yuandong, I’ve lived through all these years like this—I can handle it.” Zhao Han looked at him resolutely.

He Yuandong sighed and finally recounted everything Zhong Youliang had told him.

“How could someone go through something like that? She’s suffered so much!” Zhao Han couldn’t stop the tears from falling as she heard about He Yashu’s difficult life.

“They definitely didn’t adopt her out of pity. They probably saw she was pretty and thought they could sell her for a good price one day,” He Yuandong said, now calm and analytical.

“If she really is our daughter, will she blame me for losing her? Is that why she suffered so much at the Zhangs’?” Zhao Han clutched his hand, pained.

“If she really is our daughter, even if she does blame us, it would be understandable,” He Yuandong replied, thinking it was all his fault. He had left his wife to struggle alone with their child. If he’d been there, their daughter wouldn’t have gone missing.

“I have a feeling—it has to be her. Yuandong, she is our daughter.” Zhao Han cried and laughed at the same time—crying for her daughter’s tragic childhood, and laughing because she had finally been found.

“I’ll send soldiers to Zhangjia Village to investigate this secretly. Let’s wait for the news,” He Yuandong said as he embraced and comforted her.

“I’m going to clean up Nannan’s room again, so she can come home to stay.” Zhao Han sprang into action, and He Yuandong didn’t stop her—whatever made her happy.

A week later—

“Is this everything?” He Yuandong asked, hands trembling as he looked at the report detailing what had happened to his daughter over the years.

She had been treated like a slave, often went hungry, was beaten and scolded—and even her marriage to Zhong Youliang had been forced by the Zhang family.

“Yes, Commander. The team leader also gave us a lot of information. We interviewed many people. The information is accurate,” the young soldier said, clearly moved by what he’d learned. That Captain Zhong’s wife had managed to grow up in such conditions—while supporting a leeching family—was a miracle. Thankfully, she’d cut ties with them.

Seeing the confirmed details about his daughter, the always upright He Yuandong hunched over slightly, heartbroken by her suffering.

It was now almost certain that the Zhang family had abducted her. But before He Yuandong could arrest them, they had already gotten into trouble. The Zhangs’ eldest grandson, Tieniu, had stolen his grandfather Zhang Fugui’s hidden gold and was caught by the police trying to trade it for meat in the county town. He was now in custody.

“Dad, where did you get the gold? Our family is starving and you never took it out,” said Tie Dan’s father, unconcerned about his nephew being arrested—it wasn’t his son, after all.

“You all have hands and feet—you can support yourselves. If you can’t, that’s your fate. Look what happened when I did take it out,” Zhang Fugui grumbled, more upset about his gold than his grandson.

“Mom, Dad, do something! Tie Niu has never suffered a day in his life—what will he do in there?” wailed his mother.

“I’m saying this now—if we need money to bail Tieniu out, I want a family split. We’re too poor to be wasting money,” Tiedan’s father declared.

“He grew up with you—how can you, his uncle, be so heartless?” Tie Niu’s father exploded and punched his brother.

“Enough! You want to split the family? Fine. Move out now!” Zhang Fugui barked, fed up with the chaos.

“Why should we move out? We don’t have money to build a house!” Tie Dan’s mother protested first. After all, both sons were family. Why treat them differently?