Chapter 273: Chapter 273: Past Events Surface
Two had returned ho, Lun Wanli stood in the courtyard looking at the sky, unaware of what he was thinking.
Seeing Lu Ruisheng and Gu Pan return, he called out to Ruisheng, “Join for a ga of chess.”
Lu Ruisheng agreed and together they went into the living room to set up the chessboard on the coffee table.
Gu Pan brewed so tea for them.
Just as the tea was ready, Lu Lianlian entered. She spoke to Lun Wanli, “Dad, I need to talk to you about sothing concerning Shengsheng. Let’s go to your study.”
Lun Wanli, hearing it was about Lu Ruisheng, did not object and responded, “Upstairs.”
Lu Lianlian then turned to Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng, “You two should co as well, this concerns you.”
Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng also followed them up, guessing what it might be about.
At that ti, Huang Suzhen was sitting in Lu Ruiming’s room, feeling sowhat better only when she saw her grandson.
Once upstairs, they sat on the sofa.
Lu Lianlian did not sit down; she knelt directly in front of Lun Wanli, “Dad, I need to confess a mistake to you.”
Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng had not expected Lu Lianlian’s early arrival, but now, without further explanation, they understood what she ant and just watched.
Lun Wanli frowned, “About Shengsheng? What happened?”
Without much preamble, Lu Lianlian confessed, “Dad, I was involved in the incident where Shengsheng went missing, but I was coerced by mom. I was young back then and didn’t dare disobey her. She forced to drug Shengsheng, and then had push the baby carriage to the front gate. I had no choice; she threatened that I would be taken away and imprisoned if I spoke up. I was so frightened I couldn’t sleep for many nights. Over these years, I just couldn’t bear it anymore. Now seeing Shengsheng, all I feel is guilt, so I’ve chosen to be honest with you. Whatever you decide to do, I will comply. Even though she is my mom, I can’t keep carrying this guilt in my heart. From the age of twelve until now, I’ve felt suffocated.”
Her words were a mix of truth and lies; indeed, the incident had greatly impacted her, even changing her personality. She beca distrustful, paranoid, and scared, often waking from nightmares and afraid even to speak in her sleep. The more she thought about it, the more resentful she beca. If it weren’t for that incident, she wouldn’t have carried such a heavy burden.
Now that she had spoken out, her heart felt imnsely lighter, and she even regretted not speaking out sooner.
Huang Suzhen had often told her that it was all for her sake. Yes, she acknowledged that Huang Suzhen had spoken well of her and Chen Kejin in the presence of the senior Lu, and had been helpful. But these things weren’t truly what she wanted in her heart.
She didn’t know how to articulate her feelings, but all these years, she had lived this way. Sotis she got used to it, but sotis when she cald down, she wondered what she was doing, what she was fighting for—a life lived in accordance with Huang Suzhen’s wishes.
Lun Wanli stared at his kneeling daughter, his mind echoing her previous words. Huang Suzhen had made Lu Lianlian drug Lu Ruisheng and then abandoned him at the gate for soone to take him away?
The person who had slept beside him for so many years, how could she do this? He was not unaware of her cruelty or her cunning ways.
Before, he had always thought that those were petty tricks by won, considering she had suffered quite a lot, thinking about how she got pregnant before marriage and married him with much disgrace, which is why, over the years, he had tried his best to make it up to her.
Not to ntion the way he treated his sons, turning a blind eye, knowing she disliked them, he had them sent to the military once they were adults. Wasn’t that enough?
Most importantly, she even made their daughter do illegal things. How could she call herself a mother?
He couldn’t believe it as he asked Lu Lianlian, “Is what you’re saying true?”
Lu Lianlian nodded, “I acknowledge my mistakes, dad. I’m truly sorry to Shengsheng. As a child, I really liked her, actually, actually, I liked my elder and second brothers too. I often thought when I was a child how great it would be if I were their biological sister, but my mom always told they weren’t my real brothers, which often left confused. But I knew, others might deceive , but not my mom, so I began to distance myself from my elder and second brothers.”
These words weren’t false. Over the years, Lu Lianlian seed to have forgotten these thoughts, but today, when speaking of the past, many mories flooded out like a gate had been opened.
As a child, she really liked her handso elder and second brothers, and many girls in the compound liked them too.
Because of this, several girls invited Lu Lianlian to play with them and even shared tasty and fun things with her.
Although the elder and second brothers weren’t related to her by blood, they were good to her. Even without saying anything, they would use their pocket money to buy her snacks and leave them on her desk.
However, when she told her mother that the elder and second brothers were good, Huang Suzhen criticized her, stating that Lu Jianguo and Lu Jianshe did not have good intentions and were using “sugar-coated bullets” to bring her down; she instructed Lu Lianlian not to accept their treats.
Initially, Lu Lianlian was puzzled. She was only seven or eight years old and didn’t have many thoughts of her own. Influenced by Huang Suzhen’s repeated assertions, she started rejecting Lu Jianguo and Lu Jianshe.
Seeing her resistance, the elder and second brothers ceased their kindness towards her voluntarily, and after joining the army, they rarely returned, and their etings diminished.
She was always with Lu Jiancheng, and Huang Suzhen kept telling her that Lu Jiancheng was her real brother and that they should support each other in the future. Regarding the other two, since they weren’t related, she gradually ca to believe that this was the right sentint.
Thinking about all this suddenly overwheld her with a sense of injustice, and she burst into tears, “Dad, I… I really didn’t want it to be this way. As a child, I genuinely liked my elder and second brothers. I really hoped to ride on my elder brother’s motorcycle, letting him take out, and I wanted my second brother to take to school. I always thought that having one father made us related, but my mom only let recognize my third brother as my brother. She kept saying the elder and second brothers weren’t truly good to , that they would harm , so I believed her.”
Gu Pan and Lu Ruisheng also found it sowhat hard to respond. Was Huang Suzhen really good to Lu Lianlian?
Lun Wanli took a deep breath, his hand supporting the table, “It’s my fault. I always thought I was only spending too much ti on work and not enough at ho, but now I see it’s not the case. I have not fulfilled my duties as a father. I have let you down, and I owe your elder and second brothers an apology. I was wrong.”
At that mont, he truly realized sothing was wrong. He had thought that the issues of the past were over and that all they needed was to live harmoniously as a family. He had perceived the past issues as trivial family matters, not realizing their severity.
If what Lu Lianlian said was true, then Huang Suzhen had broken the law, and for him, that was intolerable and not sothing he could cover up.
He told Lu Ruisheng, “Help downstairs. This matter needs to be resolved.” Since it was a family affai #
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