In the main hall of the Li family, everyone stared intently at Yan Shouyi.
What did he want to say?
Li Peizong picked up his teacup, wanting to take a sip, but found himself in no mood to do so.
He licked his dry lips and asked, "Yan Shouyi, what exactly do you want to say?"
He saved Li Qing'er, so did he expect the Li family to be eternally grateful to him?
Or was he implying that the Li family was ungrateful?
"What I want to say is actually very simple," Yan Shouyi pointed at Li Qing'er and said, "Your daughter, Li Qing'er, her birth date and time is Yi Hai year, Ren Wu month, Yi Hai day, Wei hour. As for this woman, her birth date and time is Bing Zi year, Ji Hai month, Jia Yin day, Mao hour."
At this moment, Li Qing'er's face turned unprecedentedly ugly.
The crowd did not understand what Yan Shouyi meant. Li Qing'er was just Li Qing'er, wasn't she? How could it be that Yan Shouyi implied that this Li Qing'er was an imposter?
Li Peizong felt extremely flustered. He seemed to have guessed something, but dared not think about it.
Li Qing'er suddenly shrieked, "Quickly drive him out! I don't want to hear him speak anymore!!!"
Several Li family members immediately prepared to help Li Qing'er, but as soon as they made a move, Li Qing'er's mother, Li Fen, suddenly called out:
"Stop! Let him... continue speaking!"
Li Fen's voice sounded somewhat trembling.
Yan Shouyi gave Li Qing'er a deep look.
He had not intended to say the following words.
But Li Qing'er was relentless, and she had insulted him, insulted the descendant of Lu Ban, and even insulted Lin Zitong.
Therefore, Yan Shouyi decided to show no mercy and teach Li Qing'er an unforgettable lesson.
He said lightly:
"I remember what happened that year. The police caught those human traffickers and rescued seventeen children from them. At the same time, they discovered the bodies of three children. Two of them were girls, and one of these two girls had the 'Moon Born Sea' destiny."
At this point, Yan Shouyi paused and looked at Li Peizong.
Li Peizong was clearly growing restless, his pupils trembling.
"The dead girl is the real Li Qing'er, and the eldest daughter of the Li family you see before you is actually a child from an ordinary farmer's family in Licheng!" Yan Shouyi said coldly.
"You're talking nonsense!!!"
Li Qing'er roared, "This is all your fabrication! You have no evidence, and you are not allowed to slander me like this!!"
Yan Shouyi remained unmoved. "With the Li family's capabilities, it's impossible not to find the case files from that year. If they were to pull out the case files and take a look, they would discover that you look exactly like that dead child."
Li Qing'er took two steps back, her legs felt weak, and she finally collapsed onto the ground.
Her secret was not a secret at all. As long as Li Peizong investigated a little, he would know everything clearly.
But she looked too much like the real Li Qing'er, so the Li family had never suspected her.
"You were born into an ordinary family, and the blood flowing in you is not the Li family's. Yet, you call complete strangers 'Dad' and 'Mom,' recognize people you've never met as relatives, impersonate someone else, using her name, to become the 'superior person' you speak of! Have you ever thought about how much pain your real parents have endured over the years, how much guilt they have to bear, but their daughter has transformed into the Li family's young lady, even looking down on the bloodline of her own biological parents!!!"
"Stop talking!!!"
Li Qing'er covered her ears and wept bitterly.
Li Peizong and Li Fen couldn't help but stand up. "Qing'er, what he's saying... is it true?"
Facing their questions, Li Qing'er knew in her heart that nothing she said now would matter.
They would definitely investigate the truth. As long as they investigated, they would know that she was not Li Qing'er at all.
In fact, even a simple paternity test would expose all her lies.
Therefore, Li Qing'er decided to tell the truth and confess everything:
"Dad... Mom... I didn't mean to deceive you, and I didn't have a choice... I was just taking her place, continuing to be by your side..."
Upon hearing this, Li Peizong and Li Fen seemed to have all their strength drained away, and they slumped back into their chairs.
All the Li family members were also extremely shocked. The vast hall was silent, with only Li Qing'er's sobs echoing.
"That year, I was abducted by human traffickers and locked in a dark basement with her. We were very scared because children were being taken away every day. Children who didn't listen, who cried, would go hungry and be beaten. Those cruel bastards even killed two disobedient children right in front of us. You can't imagine what I went through!"
"During those days of captivity, we accidentally discovered that we looked very much alike, so we naturally became friends. While we were locked up, she was always comforting me. When sleeping, she would tell me about her family, her parents, her grandfather, and tell me how wonderful the outside world was, urging me to persevere and wait for rescue. But I was so scared, I wanted to end my life several times!"
"Then one day, she told me that she had found a way to escape, but there was only one chance. If we were discovered, we would never be able to escape. I mustered up my courage and decided to escape with her. But during the escape, something went wrong, and she was discovered by the human traffickers. I was terrified at that moment and could only jump out of the second-floor window. By the time I came to my senses, my leg was broken, and I couldn't go back to save her!"
"When the police arrived the next day and rescued those children, I only learned that because she had angered the human traffickers, they had killed her before the police arrived... I was filled with pain and regret, not knowing what to do. I had lost my best friend... Afterward, the police directly sent me into your hands, and I vaguely became the Li family's Li Qing'er! No one recognized my true identity. Although they thought I looked a bit different from before, they attributed it to suffering too much during the days of abduction. So everyone treated me as Li Qing'er. Because Li Qing'er had told me a lot about her family, I was so familiar with the Li family. Even if there were some things I didn't know, everyone attributed it to post-traumatic stress disorder."
"Everyone was very kind to me, taking meticulous care of me. Gradually, I started to consider myself Li Qing'er, calling her father 'Dad,' and her mother 'Mom'... But one day, I suddenly came to my senses and told myself that this was all fake. I was not the person you longed for. But if I told you the truth, you would definitely not be able to accept it. So I understood. Perhaps this was my fate. I should live on for the deceased Li Qing'er, accompanying her family so they wouldn't be sad. Perhaps this was the true reason for my survival..."
It had to be said that Li Qing'er's words were indeed heartfelt and deeply moving.
Even Long Feicheng felt a pang of sympathy, thinking that Yan Shouyi should not have revealed the truth to everyone.
Perhaps it would be best to let Li Peizong and the others believe that Li Qing'er was still alive, let this fake Li Qing'er impersonate the real Li Qing'er, and let everyone live out their lives in a sweet lie.
However, Yan Shouyi shattered all the atmosphere Li Qing'er had created!
"How dare you still lie?"
Yan Shouyi walked towards Li Qing'er, step by step, exuding immense pressure, and said:
"Li Qing'er treated you as a good friend and told you everything about herself, but how did you treat her? That night, I was standing in the alley below. The person who should have jumped down was the real Li Qing'er. But because of your carelessness, your escape plan was discovered by the human traffickers, so you dragged the real Li Qing'er back to delay the human traffickers, and you seized the opportunity to jump down from the second floor!! The reason I didn't expose you directly was that I considered you to be a victim as well, and perhaps in extreme circumstances, survival is your instinct! But now that I know you've impersonated her identity and become the Li family's young lady, I realize that what happened that year was not survival instinct at all, but a meticulously planned murder!"
"You discovered you looked exactly like Li Qing'er, and you heard how wealthy her family was, which is why you conceived the idea of replacing her! But to replace her, you first had to make her disappear! Everything was not an accident. You are the murderer who killed Li Qing'er! You heartlessly abandoned your biological parents, impersonated Li Qing'er, and lived a life of luxury in the Li family!"
"I ask you, when you wore Li Qing'er's clothes, lay in Li Qing'er's bed, and enjoyed the concern and care of Li Qing'er's parents, did you ever feel a moment of guilt? Did you recall the girl you abandoned? Did your conscience ever hurt for even a second?!"
Yan Shouyi walked in front of Li Qing'er, grabbed her hand, and shouted, "Tell me!!!"
Li Qing'er was terrified by Yan Shouyi. She wanted to be stubborn and continue lying, but under Yan Shouyi's sharp gaze, she couldn't even utter half a sentence.
After a long pause, Li Qing'er lowered her head and asked, "You've said so much, just to harm me, haven't you?"
Yan Shouyi released her hand and smiled slightly, not taking Li Qing'er seriously at all.
"No, I said all this just to let you know that you are just one of the 'ordinary people' you speak of. You are nothing noble, nothing extraordinary. Even so... I still won't like you. You can't compare to the person I like."
After speaking, Yan Shouyi turned around with a flourish and strode out of the Li family.
Long Feicheng was stunned for a moment, but he also knew that the good show of the day was coming to an end.
So he took a deep breath and followed Yan Shouyi's footsteps. The two slowly walked out of the Li family's main hall.
No one dared to block their way.
After they left, the Li family remained silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Li Qing'er sat on the ground, utterly dejected.
Li Peizong and Li Fen were filled with disappointment, their eyes holding pain and anger.
They had actually called a murderer who killed their daughter "daughter," and raised her with their own hands, letting her enjoy so many years of comfort.
What profound pain this was.
What immense sorrow this was.
And how vicious and wicked the person who impersonated their daughter was!