224: Chapter 224: The Truth of That Year 224: Chapter 224: The Truth of That Year “This incident happened more than a decade or two ago, who would still remember it, don’t you go spreading nonsense!”
The middle-aged man lowered his voice and chided.
The woman pursed her lips and murmured, “If no one remembers, why have we been hiding and changing our names for over a decade?”
“Click!”
Suddenly, the door was opened from the outside.
Both of them were startled.
Soon, they saw a tall and slender figure entering.
They watched as Su He approached them.
The woman was wearing a camel coat, her features exquisite and radiant, almost surreally beautiful, but…
The chill emanating from her was oppressively intense, making one shudder.
The couple looked at her, at a loss for words for a moment.
Su He gazed deeply at the two, then sat down on a sofa opposite them.
As the couple was inwardly anxious, Su He began to speak.
“I apologize for summoning you in this manner.”
The couple, listening to her clear, cool voice tinged with regret, were a bit stunned.
They hadn’t expected her first words to be an apology.
The man reacted more quickly, hurriedly waving his hands, “No, no, not at all, there’s no need to apologize, we haven’t been hurt.”
It was obvious this woman was someone wealthy and powerful, the nobility oozing from her was overwhelming, such a person they couldn’t afford to provoke.
But they couldn’t recall ever crossing paths with someone like her, so why were they brought here?
“I’d like to ask, why have you brought us here?
My spouse and I have always kept to ourselves and never caused any trouble,” the man said.
Su He reassured them, “There’s no need to be nervous, I brought you here because there is something I want to understand.”
The man asked, “Wha…
What is it?”
Su He was silent for a few seconds, her gaze deep as she watched them, then her red lips parted slightly, she said four words: “The matter concerning Ms.
Qiu.”
Seeing their stunned expressions, Su He added another sentence, “Or perhaps I should use another name, Li Qiujie.
You should be familiar with this name, shouldn’t you?”
The couple were both taken aback, hearing someone mention their mother’s name in front of them for the first time in over a decade.
Su He was in no hurry, she had time to wait for them to recover from the shock.
After a while, the man finally asked, “Who…
Who are you?”
Su He patiently answered his question, “Ms.
Qiu was once my mother’s servant, she practically watched me grow up, after all, she took care of me for five or six years.”
Instantly, the man knew who the woman before him was; his mother had only ever been a servant in the household of one family, that was the An Family of Yue City.
And thus, the woman in front of him was someone from the An Family.
Su He could tell from the expression on his face and the emotions in his eyes that he had guessed who she was.
She smiled lightly, “You just need to tell me the truth about Ms.
Qiu’s death back then.”
Upon hearing this, the couple immediately fell silent.
They exchanged glances.
Su He naturally saw the worry and fear on their faces.
“Don’t worry, no one will know you have met me today,” Su He said, “Even if you don’t tell me today, I won’t do anything to you.
I was young back then, Ms.
Qiu was quite kind to me, naturally, I would not repay kindness with enmity.
I simply want the truth now, to seek justice for my mother and Ms.
Qiu.”
“Most importantly, if this matter is resolved, your family no longer has to live far from your hometown, changing your identities, and leading lives filled with fear every day.”
Su He’s words indeed struck a chord, as they addressed their deepest fears and desires.
The couple had indeed lived in terror every single day for the past decade, hiding in unfamiliar places.
The middle-aged woman was the first to falter, mainly because she really had enough of this skulking, fretful life, fearing that her family might get silenced any second.
“That… I, I mean…” she stuttered.
Before she could finish, the middle-aged man interrupted, “Have you lost your mind?”
With her eyes slightly reddened, the woman looked at her husband and argued, “Enough, Huang Zhong.
I have been changing names with our children and hiding with you for over a decade.
I am really fed up with this kind of life!
Even if you don’t consider me, don’t you think of our children?
Shouldn’t you at least consider the future of the Huang Family’s descendants?
Do you really want your grandchildren to live a life of constant hiding?
Also, Mom died so unjustly, how can you bear to let her die in vain?
Do you know, for these past years, I haven’t had a single night of peaceful sleep.”
Huang Zhong was taken aback by his wife’s sudden outburst.
His wife was usually naggy, but rarely angry.
“I…” he started.
“If you won’t speak, I will,” she cut in.
Su He sat quietly, watching without interrupting.
After the woman had spoken, she turned back to Su He, calmed her emotions, and then asked, “If I tell you, can you guarantee the safety of my family?”
Su He replied, “Of course, your son and daughter have also been secretly protected by my people, nothing will happen to them.”
The woman said, “Alright, I’ll tell you everything.”
“The real cause of my mother-in-law’s death wasn’t a natural car accident; she was run over deliberately.
That accident was just a cover-up.
When my mother-in-law left the An Residence, she was prepared to face death.
She knew she might not make it home safely, so she called us in advance to take care of some things.
She said if she ever died, we shouldn’t seek out the truth behind it, to let the dead remain dead.
She also left us a sum of money, telling us to take the children and leave our hometown for somewhere no one would recognize us.
Besides, she left us some documents and a recording.”
Su He frowned slightly, “Where are those documents and the recording now?”
The woman said, “We were afraid they’d be discovered, so we buried them with my mother-in-law’s ashes underground.”
Su He asked, “Do you know the contents of those documents and the recording?”
The couple nodded, “We do.”
It was precisely because they knew the contents that they had been living in fear for so many years.
Su He didn’t ask why they hadn’t handed the evidence to the police back then because she clearly understood that in this dog-eat-dog society, the powerless could only swallow their grievances in the face of certain situations.
—-
Two days later.
Su He had just come out of the operating room when Jiang Feng was already waiting for her outside.
As soon as she emerged, he approached her, “Young Madam, we have brought back the items.”
Ten minutes later.
In Su He’s office.
She looked intently at the somewhat yellowed documents and the recording pen, which seemed to have been used for quite some years, sealed in a plastic bag in front of her.
“Young Madam, I’ve had the recording pen checked, there’s no damage,” Jiang Feng reported.
After all, it was a miracle that the device had been buried underground for over a decade and still worked.
It’s also thanks to how well Huang Zhong and his wife had preserved it, wrapping it tightly to prevent corrosion.
Su He glanced at him and said, “Alright, thank you for your efforts.
You can go back now, there’s no need to stay here.
If I need anything, I’ll contact Fei Xu.”
Jiang Feng agreed, “Alright, Young Madam.”
After Jiang Feng left the office, she picked up the yellowed documents on the table.
It was only two pages.
After glancing over the content, her brows immediately furrowed.
It was a confession letter, written by Ms.
Qiu, and the recorded content made her frown even deeper as she read.
It turned out Ms.
Qiu carried so many secrets; no wonder she met such a tragic end.
However, what surprised her was that the An Family was actually hiding such a secret.
After watching, she took a long time before picking up the recording pen and pressing the play button.
The office was utterly quiet, a familiar voice sounded.
She listened for a full five or six minutes, then couldn’t continue.
It turned out that in their eyes, human life was so worthless, it really was an eye-opener for her.
“…”
At four in the afternoon.
Su He took leave and went directly to the An Residence.
Before going to the An Residence, she called An Chengyuan.
An Chengyuan, who was at An Group, was somewhat surprised when he received her call.
And Su He didn’t say anything in the phone call, simply telling him clearly and directly to come to the An Residence immediately.
He, who originally had a meeting in the afternoon, could only push it off directly.
While Su He was on her way to the An Residence, Jiang Yan also received the news.
When Su He arrived at the An Residence, Chen Shurong was somewhat surprised.
She thought that Su He had made up her mind.
She greeted her with a smile and looked at Su He kindly and warmly: “Girl, are you here to see Grandma for something?”
Su He looked at her kind yet hypocritical face, tugging at the corner of her mouth, feeling neither cold nor warm: “Yes, indeed I am here for something.”
“Then have a seat first, I will let the servant prepare some fruit you like,” said the Old Madam with enthusiasm.
Su He looked at her indifferently, busying herself with preparations—as if she really cared deeply for her granddaughter.
Immediately afterward, Chen Shurong looked towards the housekeeper and said, “Go to the kitchen and bring out some of the fruits that the Miss enjoys.”
The housekeeper responded and turned to leave.
“Girl, how about staying home for dinner tonight?
Grandma asked the kitchen to make the dishes you enjoy.
Grandma has always been looking forward to the day you could come back, so that our family could be reunited.
You coming today makes Grandma truly happy.”
Su He watched her self-indulgently speaking.
And Chen Shurong also ignored her indifferent demeanor, to her, as long as Su He was willing to return to the An Family, nothing else mattered.
“In a bit, I’ll have someone call your dad and have him come over for dinner tonight.
If you don’t want to see other people, I won’t call them, and just the three of us eating would be fine,” said the Old Madam.
This time, Su He did respond: “Then I’ll have to trouble Grandma to call them over.
After all, it’s only considered a reunion dinner if there are more people.”
Having said this, she lightly tugged at the corner of her mouth, briefly smiling faintly.
Seeing that she wasn’t joking and nothing was amiss, Chen Shurong nodded and said, “Okay, Grandma will let them know in a moment.”
Upon hearing this, Su He smiled without responding.
Not long after, An Chengyuan arrived at the An Residence.
The Old Madam was stunned to see him: “Why are you back here?”
She hadn’t even asked the housekeeper to notify the others yet.
An Chengyuan looked at her, calling out with a voice void of emotion and neither warm nor cold: “Mom.”
He immediately turned his gaze to Su He, who was sitting on the couch.
He did not say that he had rushed back because of Su He’s call but used a different reason: “Came back to pick up some stuff.”
Even though he no longer lived in the old house, there were still some items left in his room there.
Therefore, Chen Shurong did not think much of it and said, “That’s good timing.
Susu came home today, and we are having a family dinner tonight.
I’ll let the housekeeper inform the rest to come over shortly.
If you aren’t in a hurry, have dinner before you go, so you don’t have to come and go.”
Hearing that there were other people coming, An Chengyuan imperceptibly furrowed his brows, what exactly did Hehe want to do?
At this moment, Su He just happened to look up and their glances crossed, her gaze calm as water, betraying no emotions.
It was just a glance before Su He shifted her gaze away.
At this time, the housekeeper came out with a plate of fruit.
“Miss, the fruits are all cut and ready, all your favorites as specially instructed by the Old Madam.”
The housekeeper placed the fruit plate in front of Su He.
The Old Madam looked at her with kind and loving eyes, smiling and saying, “Have some fruit to tide you over for now, it’s still a while until dinner.”
Su He slightly narrowed her eyes, looking at the fruit plate in front of her, lips curling into a sardonic smile.
All her favorites?
The Old Madam saw she was staring at the fruit plate without moving.
Just as she was about to say something else, her eldest son’s voice fell: “Who told you Hehe likes mango?
She’s allergic to mango, do you want to kill her?
Take it away immediately!”
An Chengyuan’s expression darkened as he glared at the housekeeper.
The housekeeper’s heart skipped a beat, standing there completely dumbfounded.
Chen Shurong was even more so, her face suddenly stiffened.
She did not know that Su He was allergic to mango…
“Um, Susu, Grandma forgot you’re allergic to…”
She hadn’t finished her sentence when Su He interrupted her: “It’s fine, it’s normal for Grandma at her age to occasionally forget some non-critical matters.”
Hearing the latter half of her words, Chen Shurong felt even more embarrassed.
An Chengyuan cast another deep look at Su He.
Meanwhile, Su He was avoiding his gaze.
Her mango allergy was something that very few people knew about, but almost all the servants at the An Residence were aware.
Because at the age of three, she accidentally ate mango once, and had a severe allergic reaction that almost led to asphyxiation.
Luckily, there was no danger in the end.
Since then, her mother and father have forbidden any food containing mango from the house.
Chen Shurong was there at the time, so she obviously knew; she just didn’t pay much attention to it.
Forget it, these little things weren’t worth her fussing over.
Following that, not long after, An Xiao and Lin Yue also arrived one after another.
But when they saw Su He sitting in the living room, they were all stunned.
As soon as An Xiao entered the door, she questioned upon seeing her: “What are you doing here?”
No matter what Su He’s identity was, An Xiao couldn’t stand her.
Su He glanced at her with a cold look and didn’t deal with her.
An Chengyuan frowned, sternly chided: “An Xiao, what kind of question is that?
As an elder, is that how you should treat your niece?”
An Xiao was actually a bit afraid of her big brother, but she couldn’t control her own mouth.
Just as she wanted to say something more, Chen Shurong gave her a glare, and she shut up.
The last to arrive was An Chengming.
He didn’t want to come back, but knowing that Su He was there, he still came.
“Uncle.”
Su He called upon seeing him.
Among all the people there, she only called out to An Chengming.
An Chengming also looked towards her, his usually cold face showed a gentle smile: “Yes, how have you been lately?”
Su He replied: “Pretty good, thank you for your concern, Uncle.”
An Chengyuan watched from the side and frowned but said nothing.