"Daji Village, Daji Village..." Song Jiaping found the name of the village somewhat familiar. He tried to recall, "I remember now. My mother told me she used to live in Daji Village. Later, after my maternal grandmother passed away, my great-grandmother couldn't raise her alone, so she sent her to relatives in Gou Lan Village."
Tianyi asked again, "Did Wu Xiufang live in Daji Village?"
"She probably didn't stay in Daji Village. My mother said she was a native of Gou Lan Village."
Tianyi fell into thought. Some aspects of this seemed to make sense, but Song Jiaping still didn't know that his mother was the true Wu family heiress.
The Huangfu Sisong couple's harm to his family was likely related to Wu Xiufang impersonating Song Jiaping's mother.
Seeing his expression, Song Jiaping guessed and asked, "What's wrong? Did you find something?"
"You only mentioned your maternal grandmother just now. What about your maternal grandfather? Do you know who he was?" Tianyi asked.
Song Jiaping shook his head and said, "My mother said she never met her father. He was gone when she was born. Her mother and maternal grandmother raised her all along."
Tianyi asked, "Did your mother not know who her birth father was? Where is your mother now? Can I see her?"
Song Jiaping choked back his sobs and said, "She passed away just two days ago, which is why I planned to ask you to let them know who my mother and I really are, and what sins they committed, once you surpass the Huangfu Group."
"My condolences," Tianyi thought that perhaps the clue had run cold again. He asked, "Aren't you going to seek revenge?"
"Hatred and revenge have bound me for many years. My mother is gone, and I don't want to be trapped by these things anymore. I want to end everything here, leave Lancheng, and do what I love." When he made this decision, he felt the shackles on him shatter instantly. He had never felt so light.
Tianyi clinked glasses with him, respecting his choice. "It's good to be a doctor, to heal and save people. You'll definitely help many. It's better than living in the shadow of hatred."
"Yes, I think so too. Living with hatred is worse than death." Song Jiaping drank the entire glass of wine in his hand, as if drinking down all his hatred.
Tianyi also drank, hesitating whether to tell him his deduced truth.
Song Jiaping saw that he had something to say but was hesitating and asked, "You asked about my maternal grandparents just now and wanted to see my mother. Is there something related to them?"
Tianyi thought for a moment and felt he should tell him. It was a pity that his mother didn't know the real reason Wu Xiufang wanted to harm their family even until her death. If Song Jiaping still didn't know the truth, it would be too unfair to his family.
"I investigated some of Wu Xiufang's past and found that she very likely impersonated the Wu family's heiress." Tianyi told him about Wu Xiufang growing up in the countryside as a wealthy daughter, how she was later found by her father, and the process of being brought back to the Wu family.
The more Song Jiaping listened, the more he felt something was wrong. He said, "You mean my mother is the heiress the Wu family was looking for, and Wu Xiufang replaced my mother to go to the Wu family and even had a marriage alliance with Huangfu Sisong. She was afraid of her impersonation being exposed, so she harmed us, wanting our whole family to die so no one would expose her."
"You're very smart. You understood as soon as I said it," Tianyi said. "It's a pity I still haven't found conclusive evidence."
Song Jiaping clenched his fist tightly. He had seemed to let go of everything, but now he felt heartbroken. "My mother didn't even know she was the heiress until she died, and that Wu Xiufang lived the wealthy life that should have belonged to my mother, and still treated our family like this. It's utterly wicked!"
Tianyi said calmly, "Man's greed knows no bounds. She got everything that should have belonged to your mother, so she was certainly more afraid of losing it and wouldn't let your family go."
Song Jiaping said indignantly, "But my mother should have known nothing. Otherwise, she wouldn't have focused solely on revenge. If she had known Wu Xiufang replaced her, she would have gone to the Wu family."
Tianyi nodded and said, "Even if your mother knew nothing, and your family didn't know about this, you were still a hidden danger to her, something that had to be eliminated. Otherwise, how could she have impersonated for so many years without anyone noticing or having the slightest suspicion?"
"No, I must go to my mother's old house in Daji Village to find some evidence!" Song Jiaping had decided to let go of his hatred and had reapplied to be a Doctors Without Borders, but now he couldn't swallow this insult.
Tianyi said, "That old house in Daji Village has been demolished. Daji Village has now become a prosperous village where every household builds new houses. It's probably difficult for you to find traces of the past."
Song Jiaping was stunned and asked, "Daji Village has developed so well?"
"Yes, it has developed better than the surrounding villages because someone was willing to invest a large sum of money in their village. And the mastermind behind the construction of this new village is the Huangfu Group," Tianyi told him everything. "Also, the Wu family members are all dead. The Wu family's industries were taken over by the Huangfu Group and no longer exist."
"The Wu family members are all dead?" Song Jiaping shivered, thinking of the reason behind it. "Did she kill all the Wu family members too?"
"I don't know. No matter how we guess, we can't find evidence," Tianyi said helplessly. "Without evidence of her impersonation or her crimes, we can't do anything about her."
"No, she's so wicked, she'll surely be punished!" Song Jiaping now wished he could personally investigate everything.
Tianyi could see his various emotions but thought rationally that even if all the facts were uncovered now, it wouldn't change anything.
Many of the involved parties were no longer alive, and even Song Jiaping's mother, who was most likely the true Wu family heiress, had passed away. What benefit would punishing Wu Xiufang bring to others?
Tianyi reminded him, "Things are not as simple as you think. No matter what punishment Wu Xiufang ultimately receives, those who are gone will not come back to life. Even if you restore your mother's identity as the Wu family heiress, you haven't acknowledged the Wu family. Time has passed, and many things cannot be changed. Since you've decided to let go, leave this matter to me."
Song Jiaping lowered his eyes, knowing that Tianyi's words were the truth.
If he changed his planned future for this matter, it wouldn't change anything.
Most importantly, he loved Mengyao so much. If he personally punished her mother, their grievances would never end.
"But for her own glory and wealth, do those who died unjustly die in vain?"