Volume One, Chapter Nineteen: Entering the Hall

He was so furious that he wanted to step forward and confront them immediately, but Feng Guiyu quietly signaled him with her eyes, warning him not to act rashly.

Though he couldn't understand his mother's intentions, he obediently withdrew his hand.

A silent breath of relief escaped him.

Thank goodness it wasn't his father!

But then… why had his father locked the basement?

Could it be that Wu Lili had deceived him?

Wu Lili was a relative on his father's side. Having lost all her close family and been abandoned by her husband, she had nowhere else to go and had come to their home to stay temporarily.

Yet his mother had treated Wu Lili and her child with such kindness—so why would Wu Lili want to harm her?

He simply couldn't make sense of it.

Compared to his shock, Feng Guiyu remained much calmer, almost as if she had long expected Wu Lili to be behind all this.

They entered the house.

Just then, Wu Guozhi hurried in from the direction of the basement, looking flustered as he walked into the living room. He scratched his arm, then his back, fidgeting all the while.

Wu Minyi and Feng Guiyu both paused at the sight.

A flash of disbelief crossed Wu Minyi's eyes. He hadn't expected that, aside from Wu Lili, there was another person behind all this—and that person was his own father!

Feng Guiyu's eyes flickered with shock, soon replaced by deep disappointment.

"Minyi, did you open the basement door?" Wu Guozhi looked at his son, his gaze probing.

"Yes. I heard strange noises inside and wanted to check it out, but just as I opened the door and before I could go in, the hospital called, so I left. Dad, did you go in just now? Do you know what was making those noises?"

Wu Minyi kept his eyes fixed on his father as he spoke, clinging to a last, desperate hope.

Wu Guozhi seemed relieved. He waved his hand and smiled, "I checked—it's nothing. Probably just some rats not quite dead yet. Don't worry, I've already cleared out all the rats."

With those words, Wu Minyi's anger flared up.

Even now, he was still pretending!

Just as he was about to lose control, Feng Guiyu grabbed his arm.

"Minyi, I'm not feeling well. Help me back to my room to rest," she said, giving him a meaningful look.

Wu Minyi clenched his fists and took a deep breath.

"Alright."

Back in the room, Wu Minyi immediately closed the door.

"Mom, why wouldn't you let me question them?" he asked anxiously.

Feng Guiyu picked up the wedding photo of her and Wu Guozhi from the bedside, her gaze distant.

After a long moment, she gave a soft laugh.

"Question them? On what grounds? If you ask, would they admit anything? Even if we called the police, they'd just think we're imagining things. Instead of alerting them, it's better for us to investigate quietly."

She beckoned him closer, and when he leaned in, she whispered in his ear.

"I understand, Mom!" Wu Minyi's eyes cleared at once.

"Remember," Feng Guiyu instructed, "control your emotions. Don't let them see even a hint of suspicion."

"Got it!"

That very night, Wu Minyi brought the results of his investigation to Feng Guiyu.

As she read through the information, the warmth in her eyes faded, replaced by a chilling coldness.

Just as she had suspected.

Wu Guozhi, you really are something. You fooled me completely.

She had met Wu Guozhi in college. Her family was well-off; he was a poor student from the countryside. She hadn't cared about his background, defied her grandfather's objections, and insisted on being with him.

After marriage, Wu Guozhi treated her well—gentle, considerate in every detail. She had always felt lucky to have married him.

Then his "cousin" Wu Lili arrived with her child. At first, she hadn't thought much of it, though she did notice the child bore a certain resemblance to Wu Guozhi. But since Wu Guozhi claimed Wu Lili was his cousin, she chalked it up to family genes and thought no more of it.

But over time, she noticed that Wu Guozhi and Wu Lili seemed far closer than ordinary cousins. He doted on Wu Lili's child excessively. And most unsettling of all, she could sense a vague hostility from Wu Lili—nothing overt, but sometimes she'd catch an odd look, a fleeting expression of jealousy and dislike. Whenever she tried to look more closely, Wu Lili would quickly put on a bright smile and act as if they were the best of friends.

Since Wu Guozhi remained as gentle as ever, she hadn't let her suspicions grow and didn't ask questions. She simply planned to find a reason to send Wu Lili and her child away after a while.

Now, she realized how utterly blind and foolish she'd been!

Wu Lili was not Wu Guozhi's cousin at all.

Her real name was Chen Lili—Wu Guozhi's mistress from outside.

The two of them had secretly had a son, then lied about being relatives and brazenly moved into her home, enjoying a happy family life right under her nose!

Now, driven into a corner, they even wanted to get rid of her, the wife who had shared his hardships.

Would their next step be to target her son?

At the thought, Feng Guiyu was so angry she could barely stand.

Wu Minyi quickly supported her. "Mom, are you alright?"

She shook her head. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to me—at least not before I've dealt with those two wretches!"

At this moment, she was grateful she had always remembered her grandfather's dying advice: keep control of the company firmly in her own hands. Over the years, Wu Guozhi had tried many times to take it from her, but she had never relented. Perhaps it was precisely because of this that he had finally run out of patience and now wanted to be rid of her.

Her mind made up, she immediately began to make plans.

If they dared to deceive her, they would pay the price!

---

After leaving the hospital, Yun Mojiu took a taxi to a nearby shopping mall.

She had been taken to the hospital from the Xie family home and then had gone straight back to her own place from there. She hadn't brought any of her daily clothes with her. Though she had a few outfits at home, she realized that since her rebirth, she could no longer stand the style of her old clothes.

Except for the new, modern Han-style dress she had bought from a small shop outside her apartment complex the day she went to finalize her divorce, she found she disliked everything else in her wardrobe.

So, she decided to buy new clothes.

After browsing the mall for some time, she finally found a boutique specializing in modern Chinese women's attire. The clothes were beautifully designed, elegant and fresh, exuding a refined Chinese charm.

She entered the store and chose several outfits.

As she tried them on one by one, the shop attendants' eyes lit up.

They had seen countless customers, but never anyone who suited their clothes so perfectly!

Her looks and bearing seemed made for these garments.

“Well, if it isn’t Yun Mojiu!” Just as the shop assistants were quietly marveling at her beauty and poise, a discordant voice sounded from the entrance.