Zhao Xiaoshu paced anxiously outside Meng Yao’s room, his face full of conflict.
Earlier, his mother was worried that his aunt might get bullied at the Meng Family, so she sent him over quietly to take a look.
He had not even entered the Meng Family’s gate before he ran away.
It wasn’t that he was disregarding his mother’s words, but that he heard some incredible news which shocked him, so he ran to a quiet place to calm down.
By the time he returned to the Meng Family, his aunt had already left.
He dawdled back home, unsure whether he should tell his mother what he had heard.
"Xiaoshu, did you cause trouble?" Zhao Xiaohua asked.
Seeing his uneasy look, Zhao Xiaohua could only think of ’causing trouble’ as the possibility.
She was curious about what her mother would say if this obedient and well-behaved Zhao Xiaoshu had caused trouble.
Zhao Xiaoshu’s hesitant behavior further confirmed Zhao Xiaohua’s suspicion that he must have done something wrong. She rolled her eyes and beckoned Zhao Xiaoshu over, "Come here, Xiaoshu, tell me what mischief you did? I’ll help you analyze whether mom will be very angry or just a little."
Zhao Xiaoshu was dragged into the room by Zhao Xiaohua, who was visibly excited, "Come on, tell me."
Thinking about it, Zhao Xiaoshu felt that involving another person in discussing the matter seemed more prudent.
So, he told Zhao Xiaohua exactly what he had heard.
Zhao Xiaohua covered her mouth, her eyes wide open with disbelief.
After a while, Zhao Xiaohua put her hand down, "You must be joking, right?"
How could this be, mom is not the Meng Family’s daughter?
This, this is too unbelievable!
"Sis, what do we do?" Zhao Xiaoshu was worried, "If mom finds out, she’ll definitely be heartbroken, right?"
Zhao Xiaohua gave Zhao Xiaoshu a look that said ’are you stupid’, "Why would she be sad? Shouldn’t she be happy? If they’re not her biological parents, doesn’t that mean mom doesn’t have to tiptoe around anymore?"
Although the news was shocking, Zhao Xiaohua didn’t think it was bad news at all.
"You know, we don’t know what mom was like as a child, but after she married dad, I heard about some things from our second brother. Later, as we grew older, we saw some things ourselves. You said mom was fostered at the Meng Family, and the person who fostered her even gave silver to the Meng Family. Logically, shouldn’t the Meng Family treat mom well?" Zhao Xiaohua explained patiently.
"Did they treat mom well? Except for aunt." Zhao Xiaohua guided.
Zhao Xiaoshu shook his head.
"They took the silver and didn’t treat mom well, is this right? It’s obviously wrong, isn’t it? Hence, the idea that nurturing is even more important than biological ties doesn’t stand, does it?" Zhao Xiaohua argued.
"So, should we tell mom?" Zhao Xiaoshu asked.
"Of course." Zhao Xiaohua affirmed, "Let’s go find mom."
With Zhao Xiaohua leading the way, Zhao Xiaoshu was no longer conflicted. The siblings went into Meng Yao’s room and explained everything one sentence at a time.
Meng Yao was completely baffled.
After a while, she asked one question, "Xiaoshu, how did you hear that outside the courtyard?"
"My ears have been sharp since I was a kid," Zhao Xiaoshu confessed.
"How sharp?" Meng Yao asked him.
Zhao Xiaoshu shook his head, "I don’t even know."
Zhao Xiaoshu, who hadn’t headed down a dark path, was indeed a bit naive.
"Mom, you’re asking the wrong questions!" Zhao Xiaohua was anxious, "Aren’t you curious about not being the Meng family’s daughter? Don’t you want to know where your biological parents are? Don’t you want to reunite with them?"
To be honest, Meng Yao really hadn’t thought about it.
After all, she wasn’t the original owner.
And in her heart, her parents would always be her parents from her past life.
"It’s quite surprising." Meng Yao said awkwardly, "Do you really think, reunion is possible? They sent me to the Meng Family and even paid silver? If they wanted me, why didn’t they look for me all these years? Of course, it can’t be ruled out that something happened to them, leaving them clueless, but I don’t know what thoughts I should have."
Zhao Xiaohua touched her nose, "Sounds valid."
Of course, they wouldn’t just send their child to someone else’s family, right?
If there was an unavoidable reason, they should definitely take the child back afterwards, right?
If not taken back, there are basically two reasons, mom’s parents are no longer alive.
Or, they intentionally sent mom away, and in that case, of course, they wouldn’t come to take her back.
"Even if you can’t reunite with them, at least you can sever ties with the Meng Family. That way, they can’t trouble you anymore." Zhao Xiaohua said.
Meng Yao nodded, "That sounds like a plan."
Then she wouldn’t have to deal with those people anymore.
"How should we proceed?" Zhao Xiaohua asked.
"I’ll go ask your aunt first." Meng Yao said.
Meng Zhu knew Meng Yao wasn’t the Meng Family’s biological daughter yet treated her well, which shows Meng Zhu sincerely cared for the original owner. So Meng Yao couldn’t align herself with the Meng Family in regards to Meng Zhu.
Those people may not be family.
But Meng Zhu is definitely family.
Meng Zhu would never have guessed that Meng Yao would find out she’s not the Meng Family’s biological daughter.
"Little sister, don’t be upset, I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I only kept it from you because I was afraid you’d feel upset knowing this." Meng Zhu hurriedly explained.
Meng Yao: No, I’m not upset, really.
"Big sister, I know you mean well for me, I’m alright." Meng Yao said.
Meng Yao’s forlorn appearance in Meng Zhu’s eyes seemed like she was pretending to be strong.
Meng Zhu’s eyes turned red, "The Meng Family wronged you."
"Big sister, I really am okay. I just wanted to confirm if Xiaoshu misheard." Meng Yao said.
Meng Zhu’s tears rolled down, "Rest assured, in my heart, you are always my real sister."
Finally, Meng Zhu finished being emotional and started to explain everything she knew.
Of course, she found out halfway through.
When she accidentally overheard their mother talking about it with the elder brother, Meng Yao was already twelve, and somewhat sensitive. Though she asked their mother about it, after deliberating, she chose to keep it a secret.
"I heard mom say a pendant was around your neck. It’s uncertain whether it’s still there now. The pendant was quite delicate, engraved with the character Yao, hence they named you." Meng Zhu said, "Apart from this, nothing else is known. Mom said those who brought you were thoroughly covered, and had it not been for the silver, she would have thought they were traffickers."
So, there’s basically no information.
"Do you want to find your biological parents?" Meng Zhu asked cautiously.
"If I get the chance, I definitely would like to. But right now, there isn’t a hint of information, even if I want to, there’s no way." Meng Yao said.
"I’ll help you check with mom to see if the pendant from those years is still around." Meng Zhu thought over and asked.