The eldest brother of the Lan Family and his wife will divorce in a few months. The wife will take with her the son who's just six months old. She claimed it's because the baby is breastfeeding, while the three-year-old daughter will stay with the Lan Family.
When Shi Li said this, everyone got the picture. It was certain that the eldest daughter was the Lan Family's flesh and blood, while the baby boy was the sister's husband's child.
The Lan Family valued the continuity of their bloodline significantly, blatantly favoring sons over daughters and following an old-fashioned patriarchal family system.
If the grandson was of their own blood, under no circumstances would the Lan Family let him go away.
Though they decided to keep the granddaughter, they allowed the grandson to depart, which clearly portrayed the scenario.
Shi Li knew whose child belonged to whom but maintained her silence as she couldn't validate her source.
Everyone was unsure about the parents of these kids. If she spilled out everything, wouldn't that position her under suspicion?
Shi Li chuckled and said, "It's a personal matter. How can we outsiders know? If you want to know whether the two children are from the Lan Family, just observe who gets the custody post-divorce."
Wei Yi got the answer she wanted, so she ended the discussion and diverted the topic. "Well, let's just wait and see."
She then chatted with Shi Li about random things, returning to her seat when the teacher was about to walk in.
Shi Li's classmates, after hearing her thoughts, forwarded them in the group.
This incident was beyond everyone's expectations yet predictable
Everyone guessed correctly; the Lan Family, from top to bottom, was furious. And that was quite normal given they had been together often. Tragedy was inevitable.
Discussions about the Lan Family losing its cool and about the audacious actions of the second son-in-law filled the group chats.
Regardless of the eldest son's incompetence, he was destined to be the old master's successor and inherit most of the family's wealth. His son, as the eldest grandson, was predestined to inherit their possessions.
Before the outside world rumored about the children's paternity, the Old Master of the Lan Family had already doubted the children's lineage at the wedding.
He was a rigid man who, despite spending more time with his granddaughter, still hoped the grandson was of the Lan Family.
The eldest daughter-in-law knelt down that night and promised the old couple that both kids were Zhuo's and pleaded for their trust.
No one believed her. Zhuo personally collected DNA samples from both children for testing.
The results came quickly, much to his disappointment. Although the granddaughter was his, the grandson was not his biological son.
The identity of the real father no longer mattered.
He had made up his mind to have Zhuo divorce the woman in a few months, once the hoopla had died down.
Many were speculating, but the Lan Family didn't leak a word.
The eldest and the second brothers of the Lan Family seldom went to the office and started to live a secluded life. In contrast, the youngest daughter of the Lan family had made her way into the company and was making her presence felt.
Unlike her useless siblings, the youngest daughter of the Lan family is efficient and just in her work. She has been acclaimed by the whole company.
That's why the old master of the Lan family naturally started to count on her, as for her siblings far away from the center of the power of Lan Group, their glory days are long gone.
There's always something new in the world, everyone has their business to tend to.
The scandal at the wedding of the second daughter of the Lan family seemed to be soon forgotten.
On that day, Shi Li heard Huang Jie mentioning at the dinner table, "I'm going to visit Feng Yunhe's mother this weekend. Do you want to go with me?"
Huang Jie knew that Shi Li liked Feng Yunhe, that's why she mentioned this in front of Shi Li, expecting her to be eager to ingratiate herself in front of the mother of the man she loves.
Although as a mother, it was a bit uncomfortable to see her daughter trying so hard to win over her future mother-in-law, she would support whatever her daughter's willing to do.
Shi Li was somewhat hesitant. She tried to stay distant from the two leads in her previous life, but she got along very well with Feng's mother.
Feng's mother was a kind elder. She had a good private friendship with Huang Jie and Shi Li's aunt. She had always been supportive of Shi Li becoming her daughter-in-law. In her previous life, after Shi Li "changed her heart", she only said that Feng Yunhe did not deserve Shi Li, and never said a bad word about Shi Li.
Visiting Feng's mother, as an elder, was the right thing to do. And as a villainess infatuated with Feng Yunhe, she should also often ingratiate herself in front of Feng's mother, striving to win the approval of her "future mother-in-law".
"We can go out for dinner tonight and go shopping for some clothes. I saw that you've grown taller recently, and your clothes and pants don't fit anymore."
As parents, the thing they most want to see is their child growing tall and strong, and Huang Jie was no exception. Seeing Shi Li getting taller made her very happy.
Shi Li agreed, "Okay, it's been a long time since I went shopping with mom. I have a lot of stuff to buy that I'm reluctant to buy myself when I go out."
Huang Jie teased her, "I think, what you really want is to make me pay the bills, and to see Feng Yunhe's mother, isn't it?"
Shi Li made an expression like 'how could you guess everything?' But she thought to herself, 'You're wrong this time. My heart wanting you to pay is more genuine than gold.'
It's best to visit the sick in the morning as going in the afternoon would imply hoping for their demise.
Shi Li and her mother got up early and arrived at the sanatorium where Feng's mother was staying at nine o'clock.
Feng's mother was not ill, just rather weak and susceptible to illnesses. She didn't want to see Liang Rongrong at home, so she moved to a high-quality sanatorium located in the suburbs.
The sanatorium earned its money from the rich, like luxuries, not poor people.
The daily cost of living there was very high, but the Feng family was wealthy and didn't mind the expense.
The vegetation coverage of the sanatorium was high, like a natural oxygen bar.
After Shi Li got out of the car, she took a deep breath of fresh air.
"Living in such a beautifully environment, one can forget all the pain and suffering."
Huang Jie gave her a discontented glance, "We have a villa near the Wetland Park. I asked you to spend the summer there, but you didn't want to."
Shi Li spontaneously picked up the fruit basket and flowers from the trunk, following behind Huang Jie, "There are lots of bugs there, and you know I attract mosquitoes. If I want to cool down, staying indoors with air conditioning also achieves this purpose. Inventors created convenient appliances, yet you enjoy returning to a lifestyle akin to the ancient times. I can't bear that."
"Heh, as a kid, you have lots of things to counter me with. Once you reach my age, you will understand," she retorted.
Shi Li shrugged, unaccepting of Huang Jie's statement.
The place was called a sanatorium, but patients did not stay in pigeonhole-like wards. Instead, each had a small villa.
Shi Li told the staff who she came to visit. The staff made a phone call to Feng's Mother for confirmation. After confirming that visitors were allowed, she led Shi Li and her mother to Feng's Mother's villa.
Feng's Mother was watching TV in the house. After receiving the phone call, she waited for Huang Jie and her daughter to arrive.