Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 212 This is your biological father!
Cheng Wenhui is known for her straightforwardness and sharp tongue. Today, her two simple words left the Yan family father and son, as well as the Wei family mother and daughter, speechless.
Yan Song is already seventy years old this year, and Wei Shi has been a grandmother for many years. Not to mention that the two are relatives, it is already shameful enough for her to be caught cheating by her daughter, son-in-law, and her own son at the same time at this age!
To be caught red-handed by subordinate officials and subjected to sarcastic remarks is truly humiliating!

Apart from Lu Jie, everyone present was burning with embarrassment, but who could effectively counter Cheng Wenhui's sarcasm?

Although Yan Shu was so angry that he felt cold all over and wished he could immediately send people up to tear Wei's face apart and then capture Jiang to question her, he still had his rationality. Putting aside the fact that there were so many people present, even if it was humiliating, losing his temper on the spot would only make him lose more face.

Furthermore, Lu Jie is still here. He is Wei's son-in-law and Jiang's husband. The Yan family may not care about Wei, that wretched woman, and they may not care about Jiang, but they absolutely cannot ignore Lu Jie!

Instead of arguing about these few sarcastic remarks, it's more important to get rid of them as soon as possible and investigate the whole story behind closed doors!

He stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting to Cheng Wenhui: "It all turned out to be a misunderstanding. I am truly sorry to have disturbed Lord Cheng by making him come out in the middle of the night. I will send someone to escort Lord Cheng back to his residence immediately, and I will definitely visit him to apologize another day."

"grown ups!"

As soon as he finished speaking, adopting a humble tone, a constable following behind Cheng Wenhui suddenly stepped forward, holding a brazier in his hand, and walked in front of the group: "I accidentally kicked this in the dark just now and found a few pieces of paper inside. I can't read very well, so please take a look and see if it's alright?"

There were indeed several sheets of paper in the brazier, and they weren't even fully lit. When it was extended, it was placed right in front of Yan Shu, Lu Jie and Jiang Shi, as well as Cheng Wenhui and the prefect!

Upon seeing this, Wei's face turned deathly pale.

He rushed over to snatch it back.

Cheng Wenhui, quick-witted and agile, caught the brazier in her hands, then took the few sheets of paper inside, examined them by the lamplight, and exclaimed, "Oh my! These are talismans for praying for my daughter's well-being! In the dead of winter, in the middle of the night, to come out and burn paper at this hour, Grand Secretary Yan truly has the heart of a loving father!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed to varying degrees.

The one who changed the mind the fastest was Yan Shu, followed by the Jiang family. They both looked at the Wei family at almost the same moment!
Lu Jie was the quickest to respond: "Daughter? What nonsense are you spouting? Everyone knows that Grand Secretary Yan only has one son, Boxian. Where would he get a daughter?!"

The Jiang family, who were the slowest to react, seemed to understand after hearing his words and looked at Wei with surprise!
Everyone knows that Grand Secretary Yan has no daughter, yet he and Lady Wei, who has just given birth to a daughter, went out to burn paper money and pray for blessings in the dead of winter. What does this signify?

"Mrs. Wei, whose daughter is Ming'er?!"

Li's scream pierced the night sky. Ever since she recognized the Yan family as her godfather and successfully married into the Lu family, Jiang had been bullying them all these years. So she was a bastard?
She's not a daughter of the Jiang family at all?!

Wei trembled all over, and screamed at the top of her lungs, "What nonsense are you spouting? Don't make false accusations!"

"You still accuse us of making false accusations? This is what the Imperial Censor himself said!" Madam Li was furious. Not only did they, mother and daughter, take away the Jiang family's property and have affairs behind their backs, but even their daughter wasn't a member of the Jiang family!

"So you, you slut, have been impure ever since you entered the Jiang family!"
"You shameless bastard!"

Without saying a word, she pounced on Wei and grabbed her collar. "You use the name of the Jiang family and occupy the position of the third wife of the Jiang family, but in private you are doing despicable things like selling yourself, and you don't care about the Jiang family at all! I begged you to help the Jiang family's children, but you ignored me completely!"
"How could there be such shameless mother and daughter like you in this world? Do we, the Jiang family, owe you anything? You even want to be buried in the Jiang family's ancestral tomb?"
"Pah, you dare to say that!"

"Even if we, the third brother and the ancestors of the Jiang family, are ghosts in the underworld, we will not let you go!"

After slapping her, Li grabbed her hair and slammed it against her head repeatedly.

Wei was a weak woman, how could she withstand such a beating?
He was knocked to the ground in no time, rolling and crawling around crying as he tried to find a place to hide.

But who can protect her now?

Only Yan Song!
"Master, save me!"

She crawled over and hugged Yan Song's leg.

Yan Song was furious and wanted to make a move, but Yan Shu shouted in a deep voice, even faster than him, "Father, please reconsider!"

Yan Song turned to look at him, involuntarily stopping in her tracks. Wei Shi wasn't the problem; the problem was Jiang Shi, who had married into the Lu family—

Jiang was both ashamed and angry, but she had no choice but to step forward.

But as soon as she stepped out, Lu Jie pulled her back: "What's the deal with the thing in Lao Cheng's hand?"

Jiang was trembling all over, and it took her several attempts to get the words out: "You, we've been husband and wife for over ten years, and you actually believe this nonsense!"
"What are those just a few talismans? What can they prove? Even if my mother prayed for me and my godfather was by my side, it doesn't mean there's anything wrong with my background!"

"Is that really so?" Cheng Wenhui interrupted his words, raising her voice, "This isn't just a talisman; there's also a piece of paper with your and your parents' birth dates written on it—Old Lu, I don't recognize the handwriting on this, but let's see if you and Grand Secretary Yan recognize it?"

He then took out a piece of white paper from the brazier. Several lines of text were clearly written on it, which were the birth dates and times of the three people!
Upon hearing this, the weeping Wei Shi immediately stopped crying and stared wide-eyed at them!
Upon hearing this, Yan Song's expression changed. He quickly glanced down at her and then walked over.
Lu Jie met Cheng Wenhui's gaze, took the paper, and after reading it, turned to face the prefect who was already stunned: "Your Excellency has worked hard. It's just some family matters. I dare not delay your continued stay."

The prefect snapped out of his daze and immediately led his men away from his office.

After leading them all away, Lu Jie finally looked back at the completely bewildered Jiang Shi: "This is your birth date and time, I wouldn't be mistaken about it. I also wouldn't be mistaken about my mother-in-law's birth date and time."

"Furthermore, the birth date and time listed in the column for your biological father are definitely not those of Master Jiang the Third."

"The handwriting looks somewhat familiar to me, but I dare not make a random guess."

"Madam is always meticulous and can notice even the slightest clues. Can you help me take a look? Do you recognize this handwriting?"