Me at two years old, a queen!

This commotion attracted the attention of many people, who were originally looking at the barbecue area.

"Hey~, isn't this Dali?"

"Auntie, who is Dali? Why didn't I mention that there's such a person in the village?"

"Sigh~, you people who rarely stay at your parents' home, how would you know? This Dali is the man that Shen's second son's wife brought back a while ago."

"I heard he came from a poor family and had to marry into the Shen family! That's why he's helping out here today—he's practically a strongman for the Shen family."

"The second son of the Shen family, the one who's paralyzed? Didn't they say his wife lives with the eldest son? The Shen family doesn't have a grandson and doesn't have money to marry off their son, so it's perfect for the second son's wife to have another grandson?"

"That was true before. They and the eldest son of the Shen family were living quite well. This way, they could also take care of the second son of the Shen family, after all, they are brothers who are blood relatives."

"Otherwise, if the man is paralyzed, what difference is there between this woman and a widow, especially with a daughter who's not quite grown up yet? Wouldn't thugs be smashing their windows every night?"

"Then why was someone else chosen? The eldest son of the Shen family doesn't even have a wife yet. Would the old woman of the Shen family agree to this?"

"She's rich, huh? You wouldn't believe it, I live next door to her, and all I smell every day is mutton or chicken. And her second son's wife is even wearing a gold chain now."

"That's right, look at how handsome Dali is. Even if I were a few years younger, I would still like him. You have no idea what kind of clothes Dali wore when he first arrived. My son said he could buy a cow with that much money. He's very rich!"

"What about the eldest son of the Shen family? His perfectly good wife just ran away like that? Do you think he would have agreed to that?"

"Oh my god, do you think I'm some kind of god who can predict the future and knows everything!"

"Auntie, you haven't explained it clearly yet~"

"You silly kid, you're always talking nonsense while you're with a child. Aren't you afraid your mother-in-law will scold you when you get home!"

Hearing this commotion, even though he had been here for more than half a year and had heard plenty of gossip in the villages, Zhao Yuantang still felt somewhat embarrassed in front of his younger brother, whom he had raised since childhood.

Meng Wanyin was being pointed at and whispered about, and her face didn't look too good. She was fair-skinned and pretty, and a group of women in the village were jealous of her, often gossiping behind her back. She was also worried that Zhao Yuantang would overhear and think too much, so she tugged at his clothes.

"Jing...Jing Tang, there are too many people here. Shall we go back and sit down to talk slowly?"

"What? You abandoned your wife and children to become a male mistress, married into the family, and raised someone else's children, and you still think it's shameful?"

Seeing the growing crowd gathering to watch the spectacle, many of whom had children and were worried about safety if someone sneaked in with the crowd, Zhao Jingtang finally nodded and decided to go to the Shen family's house.

Seeing this, Lu Junxing had no objections and asked Qin Feng to escort the others back. However, An'an clung tightly to the man and refused to leave, insisting on staying with him.

Zhao Yuantang led the way, his arm around the woman's frail body. The woman held her daughter's hand in one hand. Zhao Yuantang, his face dark, shone the light for Lu Junxing, who was carrying a child behind them.

The houses in these villages are all built of wood, low and single-story, with chickens and ducks kept in the ground or tools stored there—simple yet uniquely characteristic of the local ethnic group.

After traversing a narrow dirt road, Zhao Yuantang stopped in front of a small, dilapidated house, next to which stood a small tin shed, conspicuously among the wooden buildings.

"Daddy~, it's a house made of iron!"

"Wow, that's so cool! I want to stay here too, Dad? Are we staying here tonight?"

Lu Junxing remained wary of the unfamiliar environment, holding her tightly with no intention of putting her down, when he saw the corrugated iron sheet that shouldn't have been in the ancient village.

The man's expression darkened, and he gave Zhao Yuantang a meaningful look.

The group entered the room. A single orange incandescent light bulb hung from the ceiling by an electric wire, barely enough to make out the room's structure.

Zhao Jingtang kept her phone flashlight on, pulled over the only chair in the room, wiped it clean, and handed it to Lu Junxing.

An'an held her father's phone in her hand, skillfully tapped on it, turned on the light, and waved it around playing with it. Lu Junxing indulged her, and no one else paid any attention to her.

In the dimly lit room, there was a wooden bed with blankets and clothes piled on it, and a lot of miscellaneous items piled up in the corner.

Not far away was a pile of burnt wood with a pot on top, clearly where they usually cooked. Several pieces of smoked bacon hung from the rafters.

This was the first time she had ever seen such an environment, and she couldn't help but be curious. She reached out to touch it, but the man grabbed her hand: "You dare to touch anything! Aren't you afraid your hand will rot!"

Startled, An'an shrank back, no longer daring to be curious about the things in the room. She nestled obediently in the man's arms and chatted with the dark-skinned, thin woman, ignoring whether she received a response or not.

Before entering, Zhao Jingtang habitually glanced around. He hadn't expected that his pampered elder brother had been living in such an environment for more than half a year.

What could possibly make a man willing to give up a career he'd built over a decade, abandon his wife, children, and family, and everything he'd have in the past, even at the risk of being discovered and scorned, just to stay here?

"Sigh~, Jingtang, I'm sorry, this has nothing to do with Wanyin and her daughter! If you have any grievances or hatred, take them out on me, it's all my fault!"

"Brother Yuantang~, what are you saying? How could I let you bear all of this alone? It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so weak and couldn't go on living, and hadn't asked you for help, you wouldn't be in such a difficult situation today!"

"I've thought it all out, Brother Yuan Tang~. You should go back. If anyone's to blame, it's me for marrying the wrong person. It's okay if I'm not doing well on my own, it's just that I feel sorry for Xiao Yi, who's still so young."

"If only I hadn't broken up with you back then, our child would have been so happy. It's all my fault as a mother, making Xiaoyi suffer so much, boohoo~"

"Wanyin~, how could you think such a thing? How could I possibly abandon you? I never intended to go back after coming here!"

"Enough! Whether you go back or not is no longer important. All I want to know now is whether your death from blood loss while trying to save you with the ransom money has anything to do with you?"

"A person who can abandon his wife, neglect his children, and let so many employees of Zhao's Entertainment go uncared for, you are no longer worthy of being a member of the Zhao family!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuantang burst into tears, suppressing his emotions: "Yes! I've let her down, I'm not worthy of her!"

"Of course you don't deserve it! The moment you chose to leave, my good older brother from back then was already dead. I'll go back and remove you from the family tree!"

Meng Wanyin's expression changed upon hearing this. She hugged her daughter Shen Yi and wept bitterly, her head bowed so that her expression could not be seen.

Her original plan was to have him marry her, and then, after the disappearance period ended, return with him under the pretext of rescuing Zhao Yuantang. However, being removed from the family register meant that Zhao Yuantang wouldn't be able to get the money even if he went back...

"I didn't know she was going to die. I just wanted to fake her disappearance; I didn't mean to hurt her."

"Really, I don't want her to die. I've thought it all through."

"With the Jiang family's inheritance and my inheritance, Jiang Jiu and her son will live comfortably. This is a way of compensating them, so I didn't take anything with me."

"I just didn't expect Jiang Jiu to take the knife for me. I checked on her when I left, and she wasn't seriously injured. Wan Yin even called 120 (emergency services). I never thought she would die."

Enraged, Zhao Jingtang kicked him: "Do you think you can get away with the fact that you killed her just because you didn't think about it? You want Yu'an to think that way? His father killed his mother?"

Meng Wanyin's face paled, and she hugged the heartbroken Zhao Yuantang: "Yuantang-ge~, it's all my fault. If I had known that place was too remote and the hospital staff couldn't find the way, I should have carried Sister Jiang Jiu to the hospital!"

"It's all my fault! Waaah~, I'm so sorry, Sister Jiang Jiu~, hate me if you want~"