Chapter 196 - 183: Each to Their Own Home (Part 2)
Chapter 196: Chapter 183: Each to Their Own Home (Part 2)
Xiao Man hugged Grandma and cried, while sighs filled the air both inside and outside the house. Tang Qingyun closed his eyes, his expression pained.
The subject had been diverted. Mr. Ye and Mr. Wang exchanged a look and breathed a sigh of relief. ’Mr. Tang wants the full truth investigated and announced publicly. The children from the two families must be returned to their rightful places, and it all has to be sorted out in the open! As for everything else, a light touch will do. We’re aiming for an effect of much thunder but little rain. The young lady’s questions were too sharp—we already figured that out from our interviews with Wu Xiaowen and Tang Yaxuan and reported it over the phone. It puts Tang Qingyun and his wife in a bad light, but Mr. Tang’s response was silence. That means we shouldn’t get involved. It’s best to just muddle through if we can!’
Therefore, their plan was to make a swift and decisive move. They would issue the orders, oversee the proceedings, and leave the moment it was finished, without lingering a second longer. As for any complications that might arise afterward—such as the various parties becoming entangled because they couldn’t let go—if they didn’t see it, they didn’t have to manage it. And they couldn’t anyway.
After interacting with Wu Xiaowen and Tang Yaxuan these past two days, it had become perfectly clear to them that this mother-daughter pair was simply inseparable.
Mr. Wang took a letter from his briefcase and handed it to Tang Qingyun. Tang Qingyun opened and read it, his expression growing even darker. He asked no questions. The letter was handwritten by Mr. Tang himself, the calligraphy strong and formal. Its meaning was simple and clear. Though Tang Qingyun had his reservations, he was powerless to resist.
After several procedures, they finally reached the critical moment.
A relevant county leader stood up and announced loudly, "Following a detailed and in-depth investigation, the evidence is conclusive. The children of the Tang and Mo families were switched on a certain date in the maternity ward of Wancheng Hospital. Today, the truth has come to light! After deliberation between the two families, and at the strong request of the relatives, the two children will now, in front of all the villagers, return to their respective homes and be reunited with their blood relatives!"
The villagers outside the brigade office and in the courtyard heard this and burst into enthusiastic applause, showing their approval.
A smile spread across Tang Haocheng’s face as he leaned closer to Xiao Man. "From now on, I can call you my sister!"
Xiao Man shot him a sidelong glance. ’As if I care.’ But then she remembered the mission her friends had given her: they absolutely had to see Tang Yaxuan return to the Mo family! A few of them were probably still craning their necks at the consignment shop, waiting for it to happen. For that, Xiao Man could endure this for now and accept the decision. ’As for actually acknowledging them as family or having some reunion, who could force me to do that?’
Unexpectedly, there was actually going to be a formal exchange ceremony—and who knew what kind of sicko had come up with that idea.
Secretary Mo led Xiao Man to stand beside Mo Guoqiang and Liu Fengying. She looked at the group opposite them: Tang Qingyun with his dark expression, and the tear-streaked mother-daughter pair of Wu Xiaowen and Tang Yaxuan, who were clinging to each other like conjoined twins. Xiao Man cursed inwardly, clenching her jaw and lifting her chin. ’Whatever. First, I have to get that little troublemaking demoness swapped back to the Mo family!’
Mo Guoqiang kept his head down. Seeing her biological daughter sobbing so hard, Liu Fengying’s heart ached terribly, and tears streamed down her face. It was true she had missed her daughter, but she genuinely didn’t want her to return to the countryside. ’A delicate child like her could never survive a life of hardship!’
But when was it ever her decision to make?
It wasn’t that Wu Xiaowen and Tang Yaxuan hadn’t fought back. When they heard they were to be swapped back on the spot, both mother and daughter were stunned, as if struck by a bolt from the blue. Wu Xiaowen even wanted to confront Mr. Ye. ’Didn’t you give me your guarantee? You said this was just a formality, that we would just meet face-to-face to align our stories, and that absolutely nothing else would happen!’
But Mr. Ye and Mr. Wang were preoccupied with an engrossing conversation with several county leaders. They didn’t see her at all, nor did they notice her fury.
She had no choice but to find Tang Qingyun. This was their family’s business, so the two of them had to figure out what to do. But Tang Qingyun offered her only one sentence: "Get ready. We’ll do the exchange for now."
Wu Xiaowen stared at her husband’s cold tone and grim face, too shocked to speak. Tang Yaxuan even cried herself into a faint, but wouldn’t you know it, a doctor was on hand and revived her in less than half a minute.
In the end, she could only try to placate Tang Yaxuan. "This is just for show, something for other people to see. Everything is already clear, so what does one little ceremony matter? Let’s just do what they say for now. Once this is over, Mommy is still taking you home. Who would dare to stop me?"
Only then did a reluctant, sobbing Tang Yaxuan let Wu Xiaowen hold her. Presided over by the county leader, the two mothers stepped forward and formally swapped their daughters back.
Then came the newly issued birth certificates from Wancheng Hospital: one for Tang Manman and one for Mo Yaxuan.
It was also recommended that their household registrations be switched back, though this was only a suggestion, since Xiao Man was currently living with her Grandpa and Grandma.
The reactions of the two girls, now returned to their respective biological parents, were worlds apart. When Tang Yaxuan heard her name read aloud as "Mo Yaxuan," she instantly broke into heartbreaking sobs, her body swaying as if she might collapse. Liu Fengying cried out, "My precious, good daughter!" and tried to hug her, but Tang Yaxuan frantically pushed her away. She turned back around, stretching her hands out toward Tang Qingyun and Wu Xiaowen, and wailed, "Daddy! Mommy! Don’t leave Xuanxuan! Xuanxuan loves Daddy and Mommy! Don’t abandon Xuanxuan... AHHHHH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"
The scene was beyond miserable. It was so pitiable it might have elicited more sympathy than the White-Haired Girl being dragged off to Landlord Huang’s estate, and it actually drew a few tears from the matrons and aunties outside. One after another, they lifted the hems of their blouses to wipe their eyes. "How pitiful. The adults are in the wrong, but the child is innocent!"
Xiao Man, in stark contrast, remained cold and completely indifferent. Wu Xiaowen was sobbing even more heartbrokenly than Tang Yaxuan; her legs grew weak and she nearly collapsed, forcing Tang Qingyun to hold her up and comfort her. Only Tang Haocheng stood right next to Xiao Man.