Chapter 5: A Shocking Revelation!

"Father, have you not always wondered why they treat you this way? Why have you never dared to ask?"

She had spent a significant amount of money to purchase information from the system, and with it, a plan had formed in her mind. The Bai family not only exploited others to sustain themselves but also intended to treat the child of their benefactor like a beast of burden. If her father was too muddle-headed to face reality, she saw no reason to remain in this household. She had not chosen to come to this wretched place, and the death of the original occupant of this body had nothing to do with her. Even if the system hadn't brought her here, she would have been sent elsewhere, and the original owner would have perished regardless. However, since she had taken over this body, she felt compelled to leave something behind for her parents—a form of compensation for the use of their daughter's form.

"Very well, I will listen to you."

Bai Xiuming was overjoyed that his daughter had begun to speak normally, yet her words chilled him to the bone. Over the years, he had harbored his own doubts and confusion about the way he had been raised. Taking a deep breath, his gaze hardened. "Father, Mother, Brother—you have treated me this way for years, and now that I ask for money to treat Yu'er, you refuse. Is it because I am not your biological son, is that not so?"

His voice was calm, devoid of any obvious emotion, yet the words landed like a bombshell in the heart of everyone present. Old Man Bai, Madam Zhang, and Bai Xiuzheng felt their hearts skip a beat, their eyes darting nervously. The others stood in stunned silence. What kind of earth-shattering news was this? That Xiuming was not the old man's biological son? How could that be possible? The village chief looked between them, lips pressed thin, at a loss for words.

"Bah! You child, what nonsense are you spouting? If you aren't our biological son, then whose are you?" Madam Zhang feigned composure, waving her hand with a forced laugh.

Old Man Bai pretended to be angry. "You brat, are you trying to be the death of me? Just because we were a bit harsh on you and didn't give you money, you refuse to acknowledge us?"

"Second Brother, how can you say such heart-breaking things? Yu'er is simple-minded; we only planned to sell her so the rest of the children could have enough to eat!" Bai Dalao, supported by Madam Liu, spoke with sudden, startling clarity, as if his pain had vanished. "Second Brother, look at Ergou, Sanwa, and Xiaoya—look at how hungry they are! Father and Mother are doing this for the children!" He wiped his eyes with his sleeve and continued, "Do you think it doesn't break their hearts to sell their own granddaughter? You... sigh!"

Bai Ruyu glanced at him and clicked her tongue in disdain. It was no wonder Bai Dalao was the favorite of the old couple, even more so than the scholar, Bai Sanlang. If he weren't able to study, he would likely be just like her father, working himself to the bone as a beast of burden.

"Heh, for the children? Then why aren't your Dagou and Erya as starved and skin-and-bones as my children, forced to dig for wild herbs and gather firewood on the mountain every day?" Madam Jiang, standing by, scoffed loudly. Did they take everyone else for fools?

"You little wench! When men are talking, is it your place to interrupt? If we hadn't let you marry Second Brother, who knows where you'd have died!" Old Man Bai glared, hurling insults at her.

"Ha! You let him marry me? You have the nerve to say that!"

Back then, Bai Xiuming had saved her when she was dying on the road to the county seat, asking for nothing in return and offering to help her get home. She had been an orphan, raised by an old woman who died on the road during the war. If not for Bai Xiuming, she would have perished. She stayed with the Bai family for a few days and overheard Madam Zhang and Old Man Bai complaining that their second son was past twenty-five; they feared being mocked for not finding him a wife, but they were too stingy to spend money. They had decided to trade a catty of millet in another village for a "simpleton" to be his wife. Outraged that her benefactor was being insulted, she had nearly attacked them, but refrained for his sake. Later, realizing Bai Xiuming was kind, diligent, and handsome, and having nowhere else to go, she agreed to marry him. They held no ceremony and exchanged no money. Only after moving in did she realize how shameless the family was. If not for her pregnancy and her husband’s genuine love, she would have fled without looking back.

"Biological son? Heh. Do you still remember Bai Qingfeng and his wife, who went into business with you all those years ago?" Bai Xiuming's eyes were bloodshot, filled with a mixture of hatred, confusion, and disappointment.

"Bai Qingfeng and his wife?" The village chief froze, memories of two gentle, warm-hearted people flashing through his mind. "I remember they were famous traders in the village, always kind and helpful. When they took a large order to the capital, they didn't have enough hands, so you and two other families went with them." The village chief fell into a daze, sighing, "I never expected that after two years, only your family would return—and with a child."

A child? The village chief narrowed his eyes, studying Bai Xiuming's face. After a moment, he slammed his fist into his palm. "The resemblance! It's uncanny! No wonder I always thought Second Brother's face looked familiar, yet he didn't look like Old Man Bai. I thought he took after a young Madam Zhang, but he looks like Madam Zhang's sister—the younger Madam Zhang!"

It was no wonder no one had realized it; the two sisters had married into Wushan Village one after the other. Madam Zhang was sharp-tongued and unreasonable, while the younger sister was gentle and polite.

"Didn't you say you encountered bandits on the road to the capital and everyone else was killed? That you survived by a thread and were saved by a passing farmer? And that because of your heavy injuries, you spent a year and a half recovering—was this child born during that time?" The village chief’s expression darkened. If not for the elder couple's generosity in bringing the village along with their business, the villagers would still be living in dilapidated shacks rather than the brick-and-tile houses they now enjoyed. If Second Brother truly was their son, and he had suffered so much under their roof all these years, how could they ever face those two in the afterlife?