Chapter 17: A Fierce Beating

“Mom, big sister-in-law was taken away already. Can we still go through with the baby-switching plan?”

“What are you so worried about? I’ve arranged everything. There’s a little nurse at the hospital—she’s the daughter of your dad’s old comrade.

I already promised her a sum of money. Once the baby is born, she’ll bring it over. If anyone asks, we’ll just say that I, as the grandmother, wanted to see the child.

Anyway, He Fang and your brother are still out of town, and the Ning family will definitely be in chaos by then. With the nurse testifying that the baby is a boy, who would ever suspect otherwise?

Even if your sister-in-law does get suspicious, we’ll just say she’s paranoid and hysterical. Maybe it’ll even make your brother stop siding with her in the future!”

“But every time I think about raising big sis-in-law’s baby, I feel uncomfortable.”

“Fool! What’s there to be uncomfortable about? It’s just a girl. Give her food to eat, clothes to wear—that’s enough.

You expect me to pamper her like a treasure, feed her delicacies, and dress her in silk? Nonsense. Raise her casually until she’s fourteen or fifteen, then marry her off. We’ll even get a bride price in return—no loss to us!

When your son grows up, we’ll quietly tell him the truth. By then, all of your sister-in-law’s family’s money will end up being yours anyway!”

Whether it was because Ning Songxu’s mother-in-law was too close to the recorder, or because her voice carried, every single word she said was captured clearly on tape.

“What is this!” The Liang family’s younger son widened his eyes.

“What else? Of course it’s the pipe dream you had a few days ago.”

Zhao Yu’s tone was innocent, but her words were infuriating.

“You—you can’t prove this is us! You’re slandering us!”

“Oh? You actually know the word slander?”

Zhao Yu let out two mocking laughs, folding her arms and leaning lazily against the wall.

“Not bad, not bad. I thought you were nothing more than a parasite, always leeching off your parents and your big brother.”

Ning Songyi tugged Zhao Yu upright. “It’s cold.”

“Oh.” Zhao Yu straightened up obediently.

Just then, the tape ran out. Zhao Yu pulled another cassette from her pocket and popped it in.

This one contained the recording of the Liang family dealing with the nurse.

It clearly captured Liang’s mother-in-law instructing the nurse to hide the baby’s gender and promising a five-hundred-yuan reward after the swap.

“Five hundred, huh? You’re really generous.” Zhao Yu’s sarcasm dripped from her words. “But then again, compared to Sister Songxu’s dowry, five hundred is nothing.”

“Mom! Is this true?!”

Suddenly, Liang Yun’s voice rang out from the doorway.

Zhao Yu barely caught a glimpse before a gust of wind rushed past her.

The next moment, the miserable screams of the Liang family’s younger son filled the room.

“It’s brother-in-law,” Ning Songyi said, stepping protectively in front of Zhao Yu.

At first Zhao Yu obediently hid behind him.

But as the pitiful wails grew louder and louder, she couldn’t resist poking her head out for a look.

A tall man was pummeling the Liang family’s younger son with merciless fists and kicks, every blow landing as if he meant to kill him.

Liang’s mother-in-law was being restrained to one side, screaming and crying for Liang Yun to stop, but he seemed deaf to her pleas.

“Liang Yun!”

It was only when Ning Songxu, still weak after childbirth, was helped to the doorway that his rampage halted.

“Ah Xu!” Liang Yun kicked his brother aside and rushed to her, carefully steadying her. “Why did you come here?”

“If I didn’t, would you just beat your brother to death and leave us mother and daughter behind while you rot in prison?”

Exhausted, Ning Songxu sat down in a chair with his support. “While you’re busy beating your brother, what about the baby?”

“The baby? Oh! The baby!” Liang Yun snapped back to his senses. He scanned the room and spotted the little soldier holding his daughter.

He rushed forward to take the child into his arms, his gaze toward the Liang family colder than ice.

“Mom, you’ve always favored my younger brother. I never said a word. But this time you’ve gone too far. From today, our families are separate.

I’ll move my household registration out. I don’t want a single thing from this house—not money, not belongings. Don’t ever come looking for me again.”

“Even if they want to look, they won’t be able to!” Ning’s father roared from the doorway.

At once, several police officers charged in and swiftly cuffed the Liang family members.

“What are you doing?!”

“You’re suspected of child trafficking. Come with us.”

“What child trafficking! I only wanted to switch my two sons’ babies—and I didn’t even succeed! How is that child trafficking?!”

“You’ll find out at the station.”

“You little wretch! How dare you speak!” Liang’s mother-in-law still spat curses at Zhao Yu as she was dragged away.

“This baby…”

With the Liang family gone, only their swaddled infant remained. The police looked troubled.

“We can’t take care of this.”

Liang Yun noticed the glance in his direction and flatly refused. “They brought money with them, didn’t they? Let them pay the nursery fees themselves.”

The officers had no choice but to sigh, cover the fees themselves, then order a search of the Liang family’s belongings to reimburse themselves.

Once they were gone, Liang Yun held his daughter with one arm, supported Ning Songxu with the other, and carefully led her downstairs to the ward.

Along the way, he murmured gentle reassurances, while she answered weakly with quiet sighs.

Trailing behind, Zhao Yu leaned close to Ning Songyi and whispered, “Didn’t expect your brother-in-law to be such a good man.

Not only does he treat his wife well, but he also knows how to choose between his mother and his wife. Best of all, he’s not blindly filial, not enslaved to his brother, and he knows right from wrong, near from far. Truly rare.”

“Brother-in-law made his own way in the army. Back then, Dad agreed to him marrying my sister because he admired his character and ability.”

“Oh! So he’s both capable and loves his wife. Definitely a rare kind of man.”

Ning Songyi didn’t reply, letting her chatter fill the air.

Finally, just as they were about to enter the ward, Ning Songyi suddenly paused and said out of nowhere:

“My family would never face something like this. My abilities are no less than his—and I’d protect my wife even better.”

“…Oh.”

Zhao Yu hesitated, then nodded. A beat later, realization struck and her face instantly flushed red.

“Well then! Since this is a happy family reunion, I won’t intrude. I’ll just… go back first!”

She spun on her heel and bolted, bumping into several nurses along the way, stopping each time to stammer apologies.

“Brother? Where’s Yuyu?” Ning Songyun came out at the noise by the door, only to see her brother standing alone.

“She ran.”

“Ran? But her bag’s still inside!”

“Maybe she… felt embarrassed.”

Watching Zhao Yu’s retreating figure, Ning Songyi’s lips curved, his eyes glimmering with a faint smile.

“Brother, you’re smiling so creepily.” Ning Songyun shivered at the sight.

The smile vanished instantly. Shooting her a sidelong glance, Ning Songyi stepped into the ward.