Chapter 437: The child was discarded by Madame Gu herself (extra chapter for surpassing 10k monthly votes)

Wang Peng thought the internal strife within the Gu family had begun.

He was not in the Gu family's social circle, so he did not know how the abandoned baby girl back then had been taken in by the Gu family; he only thought it was because the news hadn't leaked out, otherwise, given the Gu family's tradition of favoring males over females, why would they send people to investigate the matter from years ago? It should have been the usual "cover-up".

He felt that Gu Sen's biological daughter was merely a spark, someone in the Gu family using the matter as a pretext.

Using a pretext as an excuse works well whether in the workplace or at home.

Wang Peng had concealed it for many years; if not for the young man in front of him repeatedly saying "child trafficking," even if it were just a mix‑up or mistaken identity, he would never have spoken up.

China cracks down hard on child‑trafficking crimes; to be slapped with such a label out of nowhere—who wouldn't be afraid?

Since he had already spoken, Wang Peng decided to make an agreement with the person before him.

"I can tell you, but you must agree to a few conditions."

Gu Zhiyan's heart was greatly shaken; he could not believe Wang Peng saying his sister had been abandoned.

Abandoned...

He had never even considered it.

He couldn't even dare to believe it.

But Wang Peng's demeanor really didn't look like he was lying; he stiffened his body and nodded: "What conditions?"

"You cannot record audio or video, nor disclose today's events; after I finish speaking, you leave my house, pretending you never came to see me and never met me."

"You cannot use me as evidence or as a witness; even if you expose me, if the Gu family finds me, I will only deny ever having said anything to you."

Wang Peng clearly knew that a family like the Gu's, tightly knit as a unit, could never drag its internal feud into broad daylight, because each member belongs to and is protected by the family; if the family fell apart, winning the internal struggle would be meaningless.

Therefore, when Gu family members secretly approached him to ask about the past, any exposure would bring other Gu family members to deal with him.

"I need to guarantee my safety and my family's safety." Wang Peng looked at the young man before him, struck by the revelation: "If you agree, I'll speak; if you don't, I'll still say that I know nothing about anything from twenty‑eight years ago—after all this time, no physical evidence remains, and who can judge the truth of what witnesses say?"

Gu Zhiyan also understood that cases from long ago are the hardest to investigate.

He agreed.

Wang Peng: "That child was abandoned by Madame Gu herself."

Wang Peng's opening sentence was like a nuclear bomb to Gu Zhiyan, shattering his existing beliefs.

In an instant, a piercing buzzing sound drilled from his eardrums into his brain, agitating every nerve.

Those words kept circling in his mind like a blade severing his nerves, his blood congealed, his limbs lost strength, and his breathing slowed.

Everyone said it was a mistaken swap, and he truly believed it was.

But that day in the ancestral hall, his father seemed about to say something, only to be stopped by his mother's sudden appearance.

Had his father originally intended to tell him it wasn't a mistaken swap?

After a long while, Gu Zhiyan barely found his voice again, hoarse and dry, staring incredulously at Wang Peng: "Say it again."

Wang Peng looked at his suddenly pallid face and was not surprised either; not only him, but even the Gu secretary from back then trembled and went weak‑legged—this was hardly something an educated woman could do.

"I'm saying, that child wasn't a kidnapping; it was Madame Gu herself who abandoned her."

"Impossible." Gu Zhiyan instinctively retorted; he could not believe his mother would be such a person.

His mother's treatment of her daughter Yin Xue was the gentle kindness he had always envied.

His mother appeared to dote on her daughter so much—how could she possibly abandon her?

Soon, memories from over twenty years ago about his mother and Yin Xue flashed in his mind—the time when his parents brought Yin Xue home from G Province, his mother seemed to dislike Yin Xue as well.

Sometimes she liked her, sometimes she disliked her.

His father said his mother acted that way only when she was ill, when she no longer recognized people.

"I don't know exactly how she was abandoned; I only know that by the time I found out, the child was already gone." Wang Peng looked at him, stricken, and actually felt a bit puzzled: "You and your cousin who just returned home get along well? Hearing that she was abandoned shocks and hurts you this much?"

Invisible as it was, it dealt Gu Zhiyan another blow.

Gu Zhiyan's relationship with his biological sister Jiang Lai was poor.

At first it was downright bad.

"If you don't even know how she was abandoned, why are you so certain it was me… that my sister's mother abandoned her?"

"Your uncle said we split up to search—I drove to the nearby three‑kilometer area, your uncle checked the nearby alleys, and we found nothing; at the time many people were waiting just to catch a glimpse of the child, so your uncle had no choice but to bring back an abandoned infant."

"That abandoned infant still had its umbilical cord uncut, was loosely wrapped in a cotton garment, eyes still closed, looking as if it would die any moment; meeting your uncle was an escape from disaster, so I went to the market to buy scissors and a blanket, handled it carefully, then brought it to the hospital."

The more Gu Zhiyan listened, the colder he felt.

He couldn't imagine the situation back then, nor could he picture it.

"Your uncle originally planned to find the child and then swap her back, but the next day the Gu family learned of it, and the elders strictly forbade an open search, fearing it would affect the family members' prospects."

"Whose prospects?" Gu Zhiyan's voice hoarse.

Wang Peng looked at him as if he were an idiot: "Your uncle's prospects, your uncle's younger brother's prospects—that year the law on abandonment had just changed its nature; once something's nature shifts, it's not easy to evade, and if this got out, where would the Gu family's face go?"

Gu Zhiyan searched his memory for the relevant law and froze instantly.

"But afterward didn't he abandon politics for business? What could it still affect? Keep looking—if you can't search openly, can't you search in secret?"

Wang Peng's gaze flickered.

"Searching in secret isn't easy either; you have to be cautious everywhere, back then surveillance was underdeveloped, you relied solely on manpower and guesswork, and besides, it was Gu Hai's political review period—a sensitive time—so no one dared to increase efforts; after the review passed, the best window to find the child had also passed, and that year G Province saw a huge snowfall that lasted several days."

Gu Zhiyan pressed on: "And then? Even if you ramped up the effort, couldn't you find her? Since you know the child was abandoned, why not inquire at the police station? Wouldn't you go to the welfare institute to ask?"

Wang Peng's throat tightened.

Gu Zhiyan seemed to see something: "You didn't really search, did you?"

Wang Peng averted his gaze.

"Why aren't you searching seriously!" Gu Zhiyan flared, clenching his fists: "My father may have left his post, but you're still here; he trusted you, entrusting you with the duty to keep looking—why don't you take this to heart!"

Wang Peng realized: "You're not Gu Kai's son; you're Gu Sen's son?"