Chapter 93: Uncle Still Loves Me Best

Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Uncle Still Loves Me Best

"Go on," Tao Junhao said, smiling as he patted his nephew’s head. "Secretly give the other meat pie to your sister. Don’t let Tao Xue and Tao Tao see, or they’ll throw a fit. Your uncle doesn’t have enough money to buy them one too."

"I know! I definitely won’t let them see." Lin Jia Bao nodded with a wide grin. ’Uncle still loves me and sis the best,’ he thought. Clutching the hot meat pie, still in its wax paper bag, he ran off excitedly to find Lin Jiayi.

Tao Junhao watched him run off with a smile, then turned and headed for the kitchen. He saw his mother bustling about and leaned against the doorframe, his voice sharp with irritation as he immediately began to chide her. "Mom, what’s gotten into you? Why are you taking it out on a child?"

"Did that little bastard run to you tattling?" Mrs. Tao’s face fell as she heard her son’s question. She asked grimly.

"Little bastard? Mom, have you lost your mind? How can you just say things like that out loud?"

Tao Junhao jumped, quickly glancing out the door before rolling his eyes. "They’re the Lin family’s children! So what if my brother-in-law broke the law and went to prison? As long as their grandfather is the factory director, we have to treat that brother and sister like royalty."

"Hmph. And what if they aren’t of the Lin family’s blood? Am I still supposed to wait on them hand and foot?" The memory of the humiliation she had endured earlier that day filled Mrs. Tao with such rage she felt the urge to strangle her shameless, idiotic daughter—the fool who had brought disgrace to eighteen generations of their ancestors.

Didn’t her daughter know how good she had it all these years? Her own family catered to her, coddled her, all because she’d gotten incredibly lucky and married into the Lin family. Because the Lin Family valued her, her own family also reaped enormous benefits. Why would she throw away such a good life to do something so stupid?

"The rumors are all over town. We’re the only ones who’ve been kept in the dark. Everyone is saying your sister had an affair. That the fraternal twins she bore aren’t from the Lin family, but from someone with the surname Gu."

"Mom... you... are you serious?" Tao Junhao was dumbfounded. "My sister really did something like that?"

"I’m afraid it’s more than likely true. Do you even know why your brother-in-law is in prison?" Mrs. Tao was frantic with anger.

"Why?" Tao Junhao asked automatically. His vision swam, and a single thought dominated his mind: ’It’s over. My brother-in-law’s father still has something on me... He’s not someone to be trifled with. Now that my sister has done something like this, he’ll definitely want revenge on our family. Is there any way he’d let me off the hook?’

Mrs. Tao didn’t notice her son’s odd reaction. Spitting with rage, she fumed, "It’s because your brother-in-law found out the two children aren’t his! He couldn’t take it, so he grabbed some sulfuric acid and threw it on the adulterer."

As she spoke, she grabbed a corner of her apron and scrubbed at her hands, her voice trembling with fury. "I knew something was off! Why else would your brother-in-law’s father act so strangely the moment there was trouble? He dumped your sister and her two kids back here without a second word and hasn’t checked on them for days. And have you noticed? Your sister’s temper has cooled down a lot lately. You don’t see her flying off the handle and cursing at people anymore. Instead, she’s walking on eggshells. I thought she was just frightened by everything, but it turns out she has a guilty conscience from doing something so shameless! Besides, I’ve had my suspicions for years. How could both of the children she gave birth to look exactly like her, and nothing at all like your brother-in-law?"

"So what do we do now? He’s definitely going to come after me for this." Tao Junhao paced back and forth, the extraordinary fear and anxiety on his face piquing his mother’s suspicion. She blinked, confused. "What could he possibly get revenge on you for?"

"A few years ago... I... I was tricked. Someone took me gambling, and I ended up losing a huge sum of money. In the end, I had no choice but to embezzle public funds. It was discovered later, and my sister’s father-in-law was the one who helped me cover for it." Tao Junhao decided to come clean. The secret had been weighing on him for so long it had become a sickness in his heart. He had a gut feeling that if he didn’t tell his mother the truth right now and get her help in figuring out a plan, he was truly done for. He would spend the rest of his life rotting in prison.

’No. I still have a good life ahead of me.’

’The Lin Family hates my sister—’

"What? You gambled and embezzled public funds?" Mrs. Tao’s eyes flew wide. She slapped him and burst into tears. "How could you do something like that? Have you forgotten your father? That he died young because his gambling almost got you and your sister sold off? How could you dare to get mixed up in that?"

"I was tricked! I didn’t know he was taking me to a place like that at first. I wasn’t thinking straight back then! After I learned my lesson, I haven’t touched it once in all these years," Tao Junhao cried out in anguish, squatting down and clutching his head. "I lost the money and was afraid of what you’d say, so I secretly took the public funds... I thought... I thought..."

"You... you... What can I even say to you? Did you think public funds were just yours for the taking? What are we going to do now?" Tears streamed down Mrs. Tao’s face. She knew, of course, that their in-laws had covered for her son for the sake of her daughter and grandchildren. But now, it was that same daughter and those grandchildren who had brought shame upon the Lin family. Her son-in-law was in prison because of it. It would be a miracle if the Lin family was willing to let them off the hook now.

"Why is my life so hard? I thought both of my children had finally made something of themselves. Other families were envious of us, and then... It’s all that damn girl’s fault for not being satisfied! If she hadn’t done something so stupid, everything would still be perfectly fine." When Mrs. Tao first heard the rumors, her immediate fear was that her son and daughter-in-law would lose their jobs. But now she realized losing their jobs might be the least of their worries. The most terrifying possibility was that her son could... She couldn’t bear to think about it. Gritting her teeth, she spat, "When she gets back, I’m going to teach that damn girl a lesson she’ll never forget."

She lost all mood to continue cooking. After pacing in a couple of circles, she looked at her son and said uncertainly, "Do you think... maybe we should go to them?"

"And say what?" Tao Junhao’s smile was more pained than a grimace.

That was right. What could they possibly say? For the Lin Family, this was an unbearable humiliation. No matter what they said now, what good would it do?

Mrs. Tao clutched her chest, feeling a dull, throbbing ache. "What’s going to happen to your sister and those two children? Worst comes to worst, our family can move back to the countryside. But we can’t just let them follow us and bring this shame back to our old hometown. Would you have to support them from now on?"