Chapter 16

Without wasting time arguing, the group immediately rushed to the hospital, and after h esitating for a moment, Lu Nong followed along.

Pei Zheng only got a brief explanation from his uncle over the phone. Aunt Sun fed Xiao Qian milk, but Xiao Qian vomited and had diarrhea after drinking it. Fortunately, his uncle happened to go to his grandmother’s house to see Xiao Qian, so he sent Xiao Qian to the hospital in time. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous.

When Pei Zheng heard that Aunt Sun had been caring for Xiao Qian, he was utterly speechless at his aunt.

Their family had already fired Aunt Sun, yet his aunt had brought her back without even asking why they had let her go.

How could she not think for a moment? If there wasn’t a serious reason, would his father have dismissed a nanny who had worked for their family for over ten years for no reason?

And earlier, his aunt had even accused Lu Nong of framing Aunt Sun… It was becoming clear that Aunt Sun had deceived her.

This was frustrating beyond words.

Again, it came down to the same issue: she would rather trust an outsider’s one-sided story than ask her family. This blind trust was exasperating.

When they arrived at the entrance of the emergency room, Father and Mother Pei, along with Pei Mingxia’s husband, Song Yeping, were already there. Pei Mingxia grabbed her husband’s arm in panic. “How is Qian Qian? Tell me quickly!”

“Calm down first,” Song Yeping nodded to his brother-in-law, Pei Ji’an, who was standing behind Pei Mingxia. He tried to comfort his wife, “The doctors are doing everything they can, and the hospital has called in the best emergency doctors.”

“How can I not be anxious?”

Pei Mingxia was incredibly agitated. She only had one child, Song Qian. When she gave birth to him, she had a difficult labor, and the doctor told her it would be hard for her to have more children. Song Qian was practically her life.

She shoved Song Yeping aside and tried to rush into the emergency room, but he pulled her back, explaining, “If you go in now, it won’t help. You’ll only distract the doctors from saving Qian Qian.”

“How could it not help? I’m his mother!” She screamed, collapsing in tears into her husband’s arms after her outburst.

“Xia Xia, don’t worry, Qian Qian will be fine.”

Mother Pei tried to comfort her daughter, but Pei Mingxia suddenly stood up from her husband’s arms and stared at her mother. “How did Qian Qian get food poisoning?”

The atmosphere immediately froze.

“Are you… Are you accusing me?” Mother Pei, a woman in her fifties with impeccably neat hair and wearing the typical attire of a female official, was visibly shaken by her daughter’s words. She took a few steps back, stunned and disheartened.

“What do you expect me to think? I left Qian Qian in your care, and now he’s lying in the emergency room…”

“Enough!” Father Pei interrupted her, his face showing unmistakable exhaustion. “We failed to watch over Qian Qian properly. Your mother and I apologize. Once he recovers, you and your husband can take full responsibility for him.”

“Dad…”

“Uncle, where is Aunt Sun?”

Just as Song Yeping was about to say something, Pei Zheng spoke first, unable to stand by while his aunt continued her unreasonable behavior.

Judging by his instincts, Aunt Sun was likely involved in Song Qian’s poisoning. His aunt had brought trouble into their home and now was trying to shift the blame onto his grandparents—it was truly disgraceful.

Even if his grandparents had been negligent, would they ever intentionally harm Song Qian?

Song Yeping looked around, confused. “She was just here…”

Then, he seemed to realize something, his expression hardening. “You suspect it was her?”

Pei Zheng nodded. “I’m not sure if my aunt told you this, but Aunt Sun was fired for stealing from the house.”

His words left everyone—his parents, as well as Song Yeping—momentarily stunned. Song Yeping glanced over at Pei Mingxia, who had a guilty and evasive look on her face.

Closing his eyes in exhaustion, he thought to himself that while it’s okay to be foolish, it’s important to know one’s limits. Pei Mingxia, however, always believed she was smarter than everyone else.

Back when Aunt Sun first came to their home, he had asked Pei Mingxia why Pei Ji’an had fired her. And what did she say?

She said that Lu Nong had instigated Pei Ji’an to get rid of Aunt Sun because she couldn’t tolerate her.

Song Yeping listened without expressing an opinion. Out of caution, he still suggested that they should not employ Aunt Sun. What if Aunt Sun held a grudge for being dismissed by Pei Ji’an and sought revenge?

A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. He carefully explained this principle to Pei Mingxia, but she refuted him, insisting that Aunt Sun wasn’t that kind of person.

Pei Mingxia persisted, and in the end, he couldn’t win against his wife. He had no choice but to visit his mother-in-law’s house a few more times to observe how Aunt Sun treated the child. After a few visits, he finally felt reassured. Unexpectedly, something still went wrong, and he blamed himself for compromising in the first place.

Father and Mother Pei noticed Pei Mingxia’s expression as well, and a wave of disappointment washed over them. This daughter, whom they had spoiled and cherished, had turned out wrong.

Perhaps she had been off course for a long time, but they refused to believe it. Ironically, it was their second son, whom they used to overlook…

Mother Pei glanced at her second son, standing apart from the crowd, and sighed inwardly.

Pei Zheng continued analyzing the situation, “Uncle, you mentioned on the phone that Xiao Qian had the accident after Aunt Sun fed him milk powder. Where’s the milk powder?”

“It’s still being tested.” Song Yeping had some medical knowledge, and when he brought his son to the hospital, he made sure to have everything his son ate that day tested to determine the best treatment plan and maximize the chances of saving him.

The milk powder was the last thing Qian Qian consumed, so it was the most important item. Naturally, Song Yeping wouldn’t overlook it.

In fact, Song Yeping suspected the milk powder might be the problem. The milk powder Qian Qian drank was imported by one of Song Yeping’s old classmates. Before Pei Zheng raised concerns about Aunt Sun, he even briefly feared that it was related to the problem of enemy spies.

“I suspect Aunt Sun secretly swapped the milk powder,” Pei Zheng said. She had done something like that before at their house.

Pei Ji’an received a monthly nutritional supplement, including milk powder. However, Pei Ji’an didn’t enjoy it, and Pei Zheng preferred fresh milk. Only when the fresh milk ran out would he substitute it with milk powder.

One day, Pei Zheng made himself a cup of milk powder and immediately noticed it tasted different from usual—bitter and unpleasant. Not one to waste food, Pei Zheng drank it anyway, only to suffer from diarrhea later that night.

A few days later, when a new batch of milk powder arrived, Pei Zheng happened to pass by the kitchen and saw the nanny secretly pouring milk powder from one container into another.

Only then did he realize that he had diarrhea a few days ago because he drank the inferior milk powder that the nanny had secretly replaced.

From here, things became straightforward. Once the milk powder test results came in, they would check if the milk powder had been tampered with. If there was an issue, they could trace it back to Aunt Sun.

For a moment, the atmosphere quieted down, making Lu Nong stand out.

It couldn’t be helped. She was too striking. Even when standing there silently, she seemed to radiate a light that no one could ignore.

Lu Nong was lost in her thoughts. Ever since arriving at the hospital, she had tried to blend in like an invisible person. No matter how much of a fuss Pei Mingxia made, Lu Nong didn’t get involved, only staying to make up the numbers.

This behavior wasn’t unusual for her. What was unusual was that Pei Ji’an, as Pei Mingxia’s brother, remained calm even after Pei Mingxia falsely accused Father and Mother Pei. That was suspicious.

Father and Mother Pei’s attitude was also odd. They seemed so concerned about their daughter but were cold toward their son, almost to the point of ignoring him. Even Pei Mingxia’s husband treated Pei Ji’an better than they did.

Moreover, Pei Ji’an had previously mentioned that he was just a “country bumpkin.” This made Lu Nong speculate—could Pei Ji’an not be their biological son?

But that didn’t make sense. Pei Zheng bore a strong resemblance to his grandfather, and if the grandson resembled the grandfather, then the son had to be their own.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure it out. Just then, Mother Pei suddenly approached her and said, “You must be the new wife of our second son?”

Startled, Lu Nong snapped out of her thoughts and smiled. “Yes, I am. Mom, my name is Lu Nong. You can just call me Nongnong.”

Mother Pei’s mouth twitched slightly, a bit taken aback by her new daughter-in-law’s demeanor. Her second son was so cold, almost to the point of being otherworldly, yet he had found himself such an outgoing and warm wife. Was this what they called ‘opposites attract’?

No wonder things didn’t work out between him and Yimei.

Thinking of her previous daughter-in-law, Shen Yimei, Mother Pei sighed again. Yimei had waited for her second son for so many years, only for someone else to take him away halfway. She must have been heartbroken.

Reflecting on this, even though Lu Nong hadn’t done anything wrong, people naturally had closer or more distant relationships. Yimei was the granddaughter of her and her husband’s comrade, a child they had watched grow up. Naturally, she was more important than Lu Nong, the daughter-in-law who had arrived halfway through.

If Yimei found out that they had accepted the new daughter-in-law so quickly, she would undoubtedly feel sad.

It was all her second son’s fault—so cold and indifferent. He had wronged Yimei, and as a result, she and her husband could no longer hold their heads high in front of Yimei and the Shen family.

Mother Pei’s attitude toward Lu Nong visibly cooled. “Yes, Xiao Lu, right? Take good care of Xiao Zheng and our second son. You don’t need to worry about us.”

Lu Nong was confused. What was going on with this old lady? One minute she was warm, the next she was cold. And she wasn’t fooled—“don’t need to worry” was just a polite way of saying, “don’t come bothering us.”

Just then, Pei Ji’an spoke up indifferently, “Since Mom said that, make sure you don’t bother her unless necessary.”

Lu Nong: “…” Oh wow, big brother, did you just say that out loud?

But Pei Ji’an’s bluntness actually made things easier for Lu Nong. An ally! She certainly didn’t want to curry favor with a mother-in-law who didn’t like her, so she nodded earnestly. “Don’t worry. I definitely won’t disturb Dad and Mom.”

Mother Pei: “…” These two really are a perfect match.

Pei Ji’an’s lips curled slightly, a faint trace of amusement flickering in his eyes.

Mother Pei was so furious that her head started to ache. Yet, she couldn’t complain to Lu Nong. After all, she had been the one to say she didn’t need her daughter-in-law to worry. If she went back on her word, what kind of person would she be?

But for her son and daughter-in-law to just accept it so readily?

It truly is something that can’t be raised properly.

The brief moment of maternal affection that had just surfaced in Mother Pei quickly dissipated once again.

In just a few short sentences, everyone could see that Mother Pei was dissatisfied with her new daughter-in-law, at least not as pleased as she had been with the previous one. After all, Shen Yimei still frequently visited Father and Mother Pei’s home, and Mother Pei treated her as a good daughter-in-law.

Pei Mingxia cast a mocking glance at Lu Nong and was about to say something when the door to the emergency room opened. A doctor stepped out, looked at the group, and asked, “Are you family of Song Qian?”

“Yes, we are,” Song Yeping hurriedly approached the doctor and asked, “Doctor, how is my son?”

“We initially suspect arsenic poisoning. We’ve performed an emergency gastric lavage on the child, and we need to monitor the level of poisoning. Please go and complete his hospitalization procedures,” the doctor said before nodding and leaving.

“What is arsenic poisoning? Why would Qian Qian have arsenic poisoning?” Mother Pei asked, puzzled.

“Arsenic trioxide, also known as rat poison,” Song Yeping said through gritted teeth. What kind of malicious person would give rat poison to a three-year-old child?

“Rat poison?!” Pei Mingxia’s voice was sharp and piercing. “This could kill our Qian Qian!”

Before long, the test results for the food came back, revealing traces of arsenic in the milk powder.

Now, they just needed to find Aunt Sun for confirmation.

Song Qian had been admitted to the hospital, and Lu Nong looked at his small, pale face, still in a coma. It was truly pitiful.

If it turned out that Aunt Sun was the one who poisoned him, then Pei Mingxia, as his biological mother, would bear some responsibility. After all, she had personally brought the poisoner into her child’s life.

After a while, the doctor came back in, and the Pei family hurriedly surrounded him. “Doctor, how is our child?”

The doctor looked at the medical records and said, “It’s acute poisoning. Luckily, he was brought in promptly. After detoxification, he’ll need to stay for two or three days for observation. If there are no issues, he can be discharged.”

“By the way, don’t buy low-quality milk powder in the future. This is already the third case of arsenic poisoning from low-quality milk powder at our hospital,” the doctor added.

“What? That’s impossible!” Pei Mingxia exclaimed in disbelief. “We only buy the highest quality milk powder.”

At this point, Pei Mingxia paused. Yes, their family always purchased the best quality milk powder, which was why Qian Qian had never experienced any issues.

But how could the good milk powder have turned into low-quality milk powder after Aunt Sun arrived?

The answer was obvious.