Mind reading saves the whole family; I'm firmly in the role of a charlatan.

Chapter 394 I don’t understand
Most people, upon hearing this, would instinctively flinch, wondering if it was something they shouldn't pry into, and thus back down.

Du Xiuyuan was no exception. Upon hearing this, his heart skipped a beat, but he couldn't suppress his lively curiosity and nodded firmly.

"If you want to hear it, just tell me. Tell me, tell me. If you're willing to tell me, I'll give you the limited edition figurine I just bought a couple of days ago."

"No need for the figurines, I can tell you, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone else. This is someone else's privacy, and you can't just talk about it without their permission. Like your family's affairs, if those two old guys hadn't come and made trouble, would you have been happy to bring it to school and let people gossip about it?"

Upon hearing Du Anrao's words, the siblings both straightened up and said seriously, "We promise, we will absolutely not tell anyone."

"Their family situation is somewhat similar to yours, but not quite. The main difference is that Ms. Guo's mother is not an only child; she has an older brother. Therefore, her husband did not marry into her family but was a normal married man."

"Then what situation you described that's similar to our family? Could it be..."

Du Anrao met Du Xiuyuan's questioning gaze and nodded meaningfully.

What Guo Meizhen's family and her cousin's family have in common is that both of them married husbands who valued the continuation of their lineage extremely much, and the key point is this emphasis on offspring.

Guo Meizhen's father's family was extremely patriarchal, but for the sake of appearances, they refused to admit it. Guo Meizhen's mother didn't realize it at first, until she gave birth to Guo Meizhen.

“Guo Meizhen’s mother and her family were all employees of legitimate, state-owned enterprises. When she was born, it was during the critical period of the one-child policy. With her status, regardless of whether it was a boy or a girl, she could only have one child. Otherwise, she would lose her job and it might also affect her family.”

Of course, it's also possible that she noticed the Guo family's preference for sons over daughters and worried that if she had another child, especially a boy, her eldest daughter would suffer unfair treatment and be wronged too much.

"In short, Ms. Guo's mother was determined to have only one child, Ms. Guo, but the Guo family was not willing. They only had one son and were hoping to have another grandson to carry on the family line. So, these people began to plot against Ms. Guo for eight years."

"Murder?!"

The people in the car were taken aback: "Sister, you mean that what you said about Guo Meizhen's experiences before she was eight years old was done by her father's side, for the purpose of..."

"Kill her or throw her away, so that there is a reason for Ms. Guo's mother to have another child."

"What if the second child is also a daughter?"

Du Anrao glanced at Du Xiuyuan but did not answer, though everyone already knew the answer in their hearts.

That's why they felt a chill run down their spines. Many people wouldn't even dare kill a chicken, yet these people could scheme and murder their own blood relatives for eight years straight. It was simply...

"Even tigers don't eat their cubs, are these people even human?"

"Never underestimate human nature; some people are worse than animals when they're evil. Do you know why Miss Guo stopped experiencing those despicable acts after she turned eight and became safe?"

Du Yuxi's eyes flickered slightly: "It's because Madam Guo discovered their actions and protected Miss Guo."

This explains why, after her daughter nearly drowned, Mrs. Guo made her suspend her studies for a year and even took several months off to personally send her daughter to her maternal grandparents' home. It's likely that Mrs. Guo had already sensed her husband's family's murderous intent towards their daughter at that time. "That's one reason. I guess Miss Guo's mother sensed something from that near-drowning incident and warned the Guo family, making them realize that their plan to harm Miss Guo and force her mother to have another daughter wouldn't work. So, they abandoned that intention and sought another way."

"Find a different path? How exactly do you mean by finding a different path?"

"Find another woman outside and have her give birth to another son for him."

These are the things Du Anrao discerned from Guo Meizhen's appearance. In Guo Meizhen's brother's palace, it can be seen that she has a half-brother who is about seven years old.

Guo Meizhen is sixteen years old this year. If her younger brother is seven years old, he would have been born when she was about nine years old.

Considering the accident that happened when she was eight years old, it's likely that not long after, her father quickly found another woman to have a relationship with, resulting in this illegitimate child who couldn't be brought into the open.

"This is too much..." Du Xiuyuan said angrily. "No wonder my cousin said that our family situation is very similar to hers. We both found other women to have sons for the so-called purpose of carrying on the family line. The two elders in our families probably know about it and may even be helping to cover it up. It's outrageous and outrageous!"

Compared to her brother's intense grief and indignation, Du Yunni, the older sister, appeared much calmer.

Du Anrao quickly noticed her unusual behavior and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"I don't know."

"What don't you understand?"

"Since they are dissatisfied with their marriage and their children, why don't they choose to end this marriage and start another one? Instead, they choose this immoral betrayal."

"My dad is one thing, he always had ulterior motives. Even his initial approach to my mom was deliberate and purposeful. But Guo Meizhen's father is different. Sister, you just said it yourself, their family is well-off, even seemingly better off than the woman's. Could it be that they're worried the woman will take a share of their assets in a divorce?"

"Indeed, a major reason why many men choose not to divorce is that they don't want their wives to take away their shared assets. Even if the woman works herself to the bone to give birth to their children and manage the household, she still feels that if her husband takes even a penny from her side, she is losing out. But the Guo family isn't really worried about the money; what they're worried about is the connections and convenience that the woman's family can bring them."

As Du Anrao just mentioned, Guo Meizhen's mother is a regular employee with a formal government job.

In fact, it wasn't just her; her parents, along with her brother and sister-in-law, were all in this category.

Because of their existence, the Guo family gained many benefits. They wanted a son, but they couldn't bear to give up the benefits that Madam Guo's family could bring them. So they preferred to keep another woman outside to have a son rather than divorce Madam Guo.

This would be a win-win situation for them, but from the perspective of Madam Guo and her daughter, it was truly disgusting.

"In the end, it's just that they are too greedy. Most people are making choices from birth, but they are only willing to take and not give up. So in order to get what they want and keep what is beneficial to them, they can do anything and commit all kinds of immoral and evil deeds."

Like a gambler, betting on that one in a million chance, and firmly believing that they will be the final winner.