Chapter 461: Let Everyone Settle the Matter of Twenty-Eight Years Ago

As soon as the words fell, Song Shiwei staggered, her lower back crashing into the incense table, scattering fruits all over the floor. The commotion drew the attention of every member of the Gu Family.

Song Shiwei was stunned.

Gu Yinxue was also stunned. She had thought no one would ever tell the person involved about such a matter, but Jiang Lai actually knew?

Then this return wasn't for the memorial ceremony at all—it was most likely for what happened back then.

Gu Yinxue worried the flames of conflict would spread to her, and she wanted to leave.

"What are you backing away for?" Jiang Lai suddenly called out to Gu Yinxue, her gaze shifting from Gu Yinxue to Song Shiwei. "A mother who's been so good to you, a mother you love so much—shouldn't you be going over to support her at a time like this?"

Gu Yinxue froze.

Jiang Lai's gaze seemed to see through everything.

She calmly went over to support her mother, whispering in her ear as a reminder: "Everyone's watching. This is the ancestral hall, not our home. Mom, can you please calm down?"

If she'd known it would be this easy to set her off, she should have had Wu Ma feed her mother the real medicine yesterday. Just a tiny spark and she flares up like this—she really is seriously ill.

Song Shiwei looked at the pairs of eyes all fixed on her, just like that period shortly after she'd gotten married, when every eye in the Gu Family was staring at her belly, and her own family's eyes were staring at it too.

Every pair of eyes was so dark and heavy.

Song Shiwei trembled, saying "okay" over and over, trying hard to calm herself down, warning herself that she absolutely could not cause trouble on such an important occasion.

Jiang Lai suddenly stood up, holding three sticks of incense that had just been lit, and extended them toward Song Shiwei. "At the Qingming ancestral rites, isn't there something you want to confess before the ancestors? Like how, twenty-eight years ago, you…"

"Jiang Lai!" The old man, supported by someone, rushed over to stop her, panting heavily. Fortunately, he managed to prevent Jiang Lai from finishing her sentence.

Just as the old man was about to breathe a sigh of relief.

Jiang Lai said, "Are you trying to stop me from telling everyone how, twenty-eight years ago, my biological mother abandoned me in a heavy snow?"

She said it so calmly.

In front of the Gu Family's ancestors, in front of all the children, grandchildren, and even sons-in-law of the entire Gu clan.

The old man couldn't catch his breath and nearly passed out on the spot.

He had stopped everyone else, but he couldn't stop Jiang Lai, the person directly involved.

Jiang Lai's voice was neither loud nor soft, but it was enough for everyone present to hear. For a moment, the crowd erupted in uproar.

Gu Hai instantly furrowed his brow.

Tang Yun was so shocked she raised her hand to cover her mouth.

Gu Jin, holding Youyou, suddenly tightened her arms, hurting her daughter. Youyou squirmed and said, "Mommy, you're hurting me." Gu Jin didn't react at first, only letting go when her husband reminded her.

Youyou reached out and wrapped her arms around her father's neck, her big, dark eyes looking at everyone who had frozen in place. Curiously, she asked, "Are we playing one-two-three, wooden statue?"

Her father said no, and told Youyou to be good and not talk for now. Youyou had no choice but to cover her mouth with her hand, but she suddenly saw that her mother's eyes were red.

Gu Jin had previously thought it was fine that Jiang Lai hadn't grown up in the Gu Family. She'd thought the baby swap might have been another path heaven chose for Jiang Lai. But how could she have been abandoned?

Her own mother had endured the disdain of her in-laws and the coldness of her husband without ever thinking of abandoning her. She had told Gu Jin that "Jin" meant beautiful jade, that her Jin'er was a piece of beautiful jade that everyone would love.

So much so that after her mother passed away, no matter how unhappy she was in the Gu Family, remembering those words from her mother still brought her warmth.

Clearly, when she was little, Aunt Song Shiwei had cared for her and looked after her. She shouldn't have disliked girls. How could… how could Jiang Lai have been abandoned?

Wasn't it a baby swap?

At the time, everyone in the Gu Family except those who knew the truth believed the baby swap story.

The baby swap had already shocked the entire family, but no one expected something even more earth-shattering.

Jiang Lai, this daughter, had actually been abandoned by Song Shiwei.

Abandoned—those two words weighed a thousand pounds.

Jiang Lai said them lightly, but they landed heavily on everyone's hearts.

Song Shiwei could no longer stand steadily, half-leaning on Gu Yinxue. In front of her, Jiang Lai still held out the three sticks of incense meant for the ancestors.

The drifting incense smoke choked her. Song Shiwei coughed violently, not daring to meet Jiang Lai's eyes, only denying over and over: "Nonsense, you're talking nonsense. I didn't. I told you, it was a swap, a swap!"

The last three words were almost a low roar, like a self-deceiving shot of adrenaline.

"If it was a swap, why have you never dared to look me in the eye?" Jiang Lai said casually. "What are you afraid of? Haven't you had nightmares? In the midnight hours, haven't you heard a child crying?"

By sheer coincidence, Song Shiwei really had had such dreams, especially recently.

Song Shiwei's fingers were trembling uncontrollably.

Gu Yinxue didn't dare to speak at a time like this. She was afraid the flames of conflict would turn on her in the next second. Right now, she just wanted to make herself invisible. But the moment she moved even a little, Jiang Lai's dark, casual gaze would sweep over her, making her heart jump in fright.

For an instant, she thought that look came from Ke Zhongyu.

"Jiang Lai!" The old man recovered a little and scolded her. "Today is Qingming, the day for ancestral rites. How can you disrupt the ceremony? This is disrespectful to the ancestors!"

"I didn't start it." Jiang Lai lifted her chin slightly, pointing it toward Song Shiwei and Gu Yinxue. "She was the one who lashed out at me first."

Old Master Gu hated that he hadn't driven Song Shiwei out when he saw her this morning. But driving her away in front of so many people would make him seem heartless, so he'd had to let her stay, with someone watching her. Everything had been fine until now—how could she have flared up right when they were offering incense!

He was really fed up. Was Song Shiwei even taking her medicine properly? Gu Sen had spent a fortune on a psychiatrist, and they still couldn't cure this lunatic.

What a sin.

What a sin!

Old Master Gu took a deep breath, ready to play peacemaker. "Song Shiwei, you're not feeling well. I told you not to come, to stay home with Gu Sen, but you insisted. Now that you're here, can't you just keep quiet? And Jiang Lai, this is your biological mother. As an elder, it's nothing for her to say a few words to you. The ancestral rites are what's important. We'll talk about other things later, alright?"

"I think now is a good time too." Jiang Lai swept her gaze across the crowd. "In front of the ancestors, in front of everyone in the Gu Family, why don't we settle the matter of how, twenty-eight years ago, I was abandoned in a heavy snow by my biological mother, and then twenty-eight years later, was recognized under the pretext of a baby swap? How about that?"

At this, Gu Kai, who was half the head of the Gu Family and didn't know about the past, stepped forward and pressed Jiang Lai: "What do you mean by that? You can't just throw around the word 'abandoned'! Jiang Lai, we know you have grievances from being left outside for twenty-eight years, but you can't just spout nonsense!"

Jiang Lai looked at Song Shiwei. "Still don't dare to look at me? Mo—ther."

"Ahhh!!!" Song Shiwei suddenly went mad, raising her hands to cover her ears. "Don't call me, don't call me! Stop crying! What's there to cry about! Stop crying, stop crying…"