nashuaworldcup Chapter 291 The whole story
Chapter 291 The whole story
Wan'an Hall Study Room, Xin'an County...
After returning from the Shen family restaurant, Shen Yu'an locked himself in his study.
He was still recalling the scene in the study with Mr. and Mrs. Shen at the Shen Family Restaurant.
Mr. and Mrs. Shen looked at each other, both wondering what Shen Yu'an wanted to tell them.
They were very grateful to their friend, Cao'er.
Upon entering the study, Shen Yu'an respectfully bowed deeply to his parents.
"Uncle Shen, Aunt Shen, I would like to pay my respects to you first."
If Shen Cao really is his sister, then these two are the benefactors of the entire Shen family, and this ceremony should be performed.
When Shen Cao mentioned Shen Yu'an's identity, neither of Shen's parents dared to sit down, much less accept his greeting.
The two quickly reached out and helped Shen Yu'an up.
"Yu'an, what's wrong with you...?"
"Get up right now! What are you doing?!"
Shen Yu'an grabbed their hands, calmed them down in chairs, and then respectfully kowtowed three times to them.
Mr. and Mrs. Shen were extremely uncomfortable; they truly could not accept such a grand gesture.
However, Shen Yu'an insisted that they accept this greeting.
After Shen Yu'an finished kowtowing, he got up and sat down to the right of the two men.
Mr. Shen was really curious about why Shen Yu'an had called them here today and caused all this trouble.
He quickly asked, "Yu'an, why did you call us here and give us such a grand salute?"
Shen Yu'an looked at his parents and said, "Uncle Shen, Aunt Shen, to be honest, when I first met Shen Cao, I was quite puzzled when she said her name was Cao."
"At the time, I thought she was not loved by her elders in the family, which is why she was given such a name."
"But as we got to know each other better, I found that this was not the case. Although the Shen family was poor, they loved their children very much."
"This is a private matter, and I am not in a position to inquire about it."
"But after Grandma Zhou came to me today and told me the meaning of Shen Cao's name, I finally understood."
"Parents who love their children plan far ahead for them. You gave her such a name in the hope that she would grow as vigorously as wild grass."
"These two stories must have other implications."
Shen Yu'an paused for a moment, staring intently at his parents' faces, afraid of missing a single detail.
"You probably wanted to use her name to remind her that grass has a special meaning for her."
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Shen were momentarily stunned.
Although it was only for a moment, Shen Yu'an still noticed it.
He continued, "Cao'er isn't your biological child, is she?"
"Yu'an, why do you say that? How could Cao'er not be our biological child?" Shen's father's voice was somewhat angry. He didn't know what Shen Yu'an's intentions were.
They actually said that Shen Cao wasn't their biological daughter.
Shen Yu'an sensed that his father was somewhat angry, and he became anxious.
"Uncle Shen, please don't worry, I mean no harm."
Shen's father's hand was pulled by Shen's mother, who shook her head at him.
"Listen to what Yu'an has to say next."
Shen Yu'an continued, "Uncle Shen and Aunt Shen, I was being presumptuous just now."
"I'm getting a little anxious too."
"Actually, grass also has a special meaning for our Shen family."
“Our Shen family has a family heirloom jade pendant, which is shaped like a grass.”
Upon hearing about the grass-shaped jade pendant, Mr. and Mrs. Shen could no longer remain calm.
They were somewhat agitated. The grass-shaped jade pendant was the one Shen Cao was wearing around her neck when they first found her.
The jade pendant was entirely emerald green, with a delicate, warm, and incredibly translucent texture; it was clearly a piece of the finest jade.
Such jade must have come from a wealthy family.
They guessed that Shen Cao's identity must be extraordinary, so even though their family was struggling financially, they did not pawn the jade pendant.
So many years have passed, and no one has come looking for her; they've almost forgotten about it.
Seeing the reactions of his parents, Shen Yu'an knew he had guessed correctly.
Shen Cao was indeed not their biological child.
The two looked at each other, their eyes occasionally lingering on Shen Yu'an.
After a long pause, as if they had made up their minds, the two of them gripped each other's hands tightly.
Only then did Shen's mother slowly begin to recall, "Cao'er is indeed not our biological child."
"Actually, if you hadn't brought it up today, we would have almost forgotten that Cao'er isn't our biological child." Mother Shen's words were filled with deep love for Shen Cao.
"I still remember sixteen years ago, when the Great Xia Kingdom was at war everywhere."
“My family and I fled to Xin’an County with our fellow villagers. Xin’an County was full of refugees. We finally managed to settle down.”
"At that time, Chen'er was only two years old."
“Our family of three was starving, and we heard that there were kind people in the city giving out porridge.”
"A bowl of hot porridge, though not very filling, at least makes my stomach feel full."
On the way back, I suddenly heard a baby crying.
"We saw Cao'er in a corner. She must be less than a month old, just born not long ago."
“During such difficult times, she was raised to be plump and healthy, with a round face. When I picked her up, she smiled at me.”
"She looked at me with a smile, her little hand in her mouth, just looking at me like that."
"It made my heart soften."
"But we can't even support ourselves, how can we possibly raise another baby?"
"So we left her where she was and planned to ask around to see if anyone had lost a child."
I asked around, but no one had lost their child.
We simply couldn't afford to raise them, so we went back.
But after I got back, the image of that child's smile kept popping into my mind.
In those times, there were many people who exchanged their own children to eat.
I'm afraid someone will take her away and harm her.
They quickly ran back to look for it.
Thankfully, she's still alive.
I quickly carried her back. All the way home, she didn't seem to know what had happened; she just kept smiling at me.
"At that moment, I decided that as long as I had food to eat, I would never let her go again."
"When we were cleaning her up, we found that she had a jade pendant like that on her."
“At first, my husband and I were terrified. With such an exquisite jade pendant on him, the child must be of noble birth.”
"I was afraid I wouldn't be able to protect her."
"After discussing it, we decided to settle down in a village near Xin'an County."
“We don’t believe that the child’s family would be willing to throw her away, otherwise why would she be wearing such an exquisite jade pendant?”
“My husband’s family was once very prominent. He said that there are many dirty things happening in the backyards of wealthy families.”
"This child must have been secretly taken away and abandoned."
“We were afraid that someone would find out her whereabouts and then try to frame her again, so we went to Stone Village.”
"I stayed in Stone Village for fifteen years."
"So many years have passed, and we have been hoping that the child's family would come forward."
"Finally, the person who can protect her has come first!" Mother Shen seemed to be able to finally reveal this secret, and she felt much more relaxed after she finished speaking.
Fortunately, Cao'er was reunited with her family.