When the Side Character Gets a System and Travels through Difference Worlds

Chen Cui answered without hesitation. "His surname is Qi, and he’s not a member of the Chen family. Naturally, Qi Chen is closer to you."

The words flowed from Chen Cui’s mouth with increasing ease, while Qi Yaosong’s face grew progressively paler. As the hall fell deathly quiet, Chen Cui finally sensed something was wrong and peeked at Chen Xi and Tan You.

Chen Xi had already given up trying to get answers from Qi Yaosong or Chen Cui. She might as well ask Tan You; at least Tan You would tell her the objective truth.

"Mother, what on earth is going on?"

Chen Yue looked to Tan You, and only after Tan You nodded did she wave her hand. "Bring in the old couple from the Zhang family. And bring up the midwife as well."

At the mention of the midwife, Chen Cui began to struggle wildly. Yue Rong stepped forward, casually tore a corner from his robe, wadded it up, and stuffed it into Chen Cui’s mouth, silencing her completely.

Soon, an elderly couple, perhaps in their sixties or seventies, walked in supporting each other. They were accompanied by a rather stout old woman.

An Wen disliked the old woman the moment he saw her. He lowered his gaze and simply stood quietly to the side. ’I trust my aunt to reveal the truth, rather than letting these people spout nonsense.’

Once everyone was assembled, Tan You took a sip of tea before speaking softly. "Genetically speaking, An Wen, these two elders should be your grandfather and grandmother."

An Wen’s eyes flew open, and he stared intently at the frail, elderly couple before him. He seemed to be searching their faces for some resemblance to his own, but it was no use. They were far too old, with none of their youthful features remaining.

The elderly Zhang couple also stared, their eyes wide with astonishment. They looked at An Wen, then back at Qi Chen. "Lady Tan, surely you must be mistaken? Qi Chen is Yaosong’s son... All these years, Yaosong has treated Qi Chen so well, and the wife he married later has doted on him..."

Tan You scoffed. "Is there anyone in this world who wouldn’t treat their own son well? She is Qi Chen’s biological mother. Is it not perfectly natural for her to be good to him?"

"Qi Yaosong had long been unfaithful. He was having an affair with Chen Cui even before Lady Zhang became pregnant. That poor woman... she gave everything she had to deliver her son, only to die without ever getting to see him."

"Qi Yaosong also bribed the midwife, and she’s kept the secret all these years. Lady Zhang didn’t have to die. But the midwife took Qi Yaosong’s silver and deliberately delayed her aid, causing Lady Zhang to hemorrhage and bleed to death."

Chen Tianshui was left reeling from the torrent of revelations. In the end, it was the shrewd, elderly Third Grand-uncle who spoke. "Lady Tan, are you saying that Chen Cui was having an affair with Qi Yaosong all those years ago, back when he was still married?"

"Chen Cui and Qi Yaosong murdered Lady Zhang and switched their son with hers. Then they sent Lady Zhang’s child—An Wen—to the clan, passing him off as her own son?"

"Meanwhile, her own son was suddenly transformed into Lady Zhang’s posthumous child?"

Tan You clapped her hands. "Third Grand-uncle is as sharp as ever. Woman Liu, I haven’t falsely accused you, have I?"

The midwife was already trembling like a sieve. She had kept this secret so well, telling no one for all these years. Yet this Lady Tan before her spoke as if she had witnessed it all firsthand, recounting every detail with vivid clarity.

Tan You tapped her fingers together. ’Well, I did spend all those years with the Dark God. I was bound to learn a thing or two, wasn’t I?’

When the elderly Zhang couple saw the midwife’s reaction, then looked at the collapsed forms of Qi Yaosong and Chen Cui on the floor, they understood everything. The old woman of the Zhang family lunged forward to attack Chen Cui, who struggled to spit out the cloth gagging her. "You dare touch me!"

"I am a relative of the imperial family! If you touch me, your entire clan will be executed!"

The old Zhang matriarch froze for a moment, then flew at Chen Cui with renewed fury. "I don’t care if you’re the emperor himself! I will have revenge for my daughter! My Wan’er... you died such a horrible death!"

Since Chen Cui was restrained, even a frail old woman was enough to leave her face a mess of scratches.

Qi Yaosong’s eyes darted about. "Your Majesty," he began, "I... I was simply not in my right mind back then... that’s how I came to make such a terrible mistake..."

Chen Xi watched Qi Yaosong’s whole dramatic performance with a blank expression. Only after the Zhang matriarch had vented her rage did Chen Xi finally speak, her words directed at Chen Cui. "Aren’t you curious why you haven’t seen your mother and father since you arrived?"

A shiver ran through Chen Cui. ’How could I have forgotten about Mom and Dad? If they were here, they would never stand by and watch me suffer like this!’

"Where are my mother and father? I want to see them! And my eldest brother! They would never abandon me!" she cried, growing agitated. A flicker of hope even appeared in her eyes.

A strange, unsettling smile touched Chen Xi’s lips. "Oh, you want to see them? You can go meet them in the underworld, then."

Chen Cui froze, and then immense panic washed over her. "What... What do you mean by that?"

Auntie Cuihua interjected, her words sharp and fast. "When you brought An Wen back to the village all those years ago, you left without saying a single word. Your mother and father were worried you were having a hard time out here, so they kept forcing your eldest brother to go out and search for any sign of you."

"He had no time to manage things at home; your sister-in-law had to handle everything by herself. Then, one time, your brother took Brother Fu with him to look for you. On the way back, they ran into bandits."

"Neither your eldest brother nor Brother Fu ever came back. By the time they were found, their bodies had already started to rot. The shock was too much for your mother and father. They passed away soon after."

Chen Cui was stunned silent for a long moment before she let out a wretched wail. "Dad! Mom...!"

Chen Yue glared at her. "Shut up! If you make another sound, I’ll cut out your tongue!"

Chen Cui was terrified into silence, her eyes fixed on Chen Yue in fear. When she had brought An Wen back all those years ago, Chen Yue hadn’t even been born, and Chen Xi was just a babe in arms. She never imagined that upon their reunion, their statuses would be worlds apart.

The old patriarch of the Zhang family was a merchant, after all, and he was shrewd. After hearing Auntie Cuihua’s account, he knew there was no chance Lady Tan would side with Chen Cui.

He immediately dropped to his knees. "Lady Tan, my daughter died a terrible injustice! I beg you, Your Ladyship, to grant our family justice!"

Chen Xi stared hard at Chen Cui, tears finally breaking free and streaming down her face. "Justice? You ask my mother to grant you justice, but who will grant us justice? My father and my eldest brother are dead! My grandparents are dead!"

"Because of Qi Yaosong and Chen Cui’s affair, four members of the Chen family died! And my mother..."

Tan You glanced at Chen Xi. ’I knew it. The girl had something weighing on her, and now she’s finally snapped. Heh, what a coincidence that I returned right at this time.’

She cleared her throat softly. "The aggrieved parties are all here. Although Chen Cui is a member of the Chen family, even the emperor is subject to the same laws as a commoner. No one is above the law."

"Take Chen Cui, Qi Yaosong, and Qi Chen to prison. Transfer the case to the Ministry of Justice. This trial must be held in public."

Chen Tianshui hesitated. "Lady Tan, this is a family scandal. We shouldn’t air our dirty laundry in public..."

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