Chapter 194: Chapter 194

Fu Jianfang turned on the light, but didn’t see anyone on the bed. Clothes and used medication packaging were scattered on the floor.

The farther he walked in, the stronger the smell of medicine, mixed with the stench of decay from lack of sunlight. Fu Jianfang resisted the urge to vomit, placed the tray on the table, and immediately noticed a pile of medicine boxes on the table, along with a bowl of unfinished Chinese medicine.

Mixing Chinese and Western medicine?

Fu Jianfang picked up one of the boxes, which contained ordinary cold medicine, then picked up another white medicine bottle, saw that it was sleeping pills, and was shocked.

Wei Ronghua’s condition was even more serious than she imagined; she actually needed sleeping pills to sleep.

A clicking sound came from behind, startling Fu Jianfang. She turned her head nervously.

The bathroom door opened from inside, and Wei Ronghua shuffled out in slippers, wrapped in a dark gray silk robe. The front was loosely gathered, the belt at the waist was slack, revealing the lace edges of an understrap. Her hair was tangled and unwashed for who knows how long, her face was sallow and dry, her eyes empty and lifeless, her cracked lips seemed to be muttering something.

Fu Jianfang’s heart beat rapidly. After just a few days, how had Wei Ronghua turned into such a ghostly appearance?

Luckily, the maid had warned her in advance, or else she would have been scared to death at such a sudden encounter.

Steadying herself, Fu Jianfang stepped forward with concern, "Sister-in-law, I heard you haven’t eaten anything. I brought you some chicken soup, just freshly ladled from the pot. Drink some while it’s hot."

Wei Ronghua acted as if she didn’t see her, walked right past her, collapsed onto the messy big bed, pulled the quilt over her head, and curled up into a ball.

Fu Jianfang felt a chill in her heart, forced herself to endure the discomfort, walked to the bedside, and continued to play the role of a considerate sister-in-law, persuading, "Sister-in-law, at least eat a little. How can your body recover without food?"

Wei Ronghua turned her back to her, and a hoarse voice came from under the quilt, cold and resentful, "Turn off the light and go out."

Fu Jianfang’s eyes flashed with a light.

Understanding her words meant Wei Ronghua’s mind was still clear.

"If you keep shutting yourself in this room without sunlight, over time, even if you’re not sick, you’ll make yourself sick." Fu Jianfang moved to the other side of the bed, sat near the edge, did not look at her, sighed, and continued, "If Big Brother has a spirit in heaven, seeing you he also can’t rest in peace. If you don’t care about your own health, do you not care about your own son either?"

The body under the quilt stiffened suddenly. Fu Jianfang, noticing this detail when she turned back, thought to herself, Fu Jichen really is her sister-in-law’s weak spot.

Fu Jianfang pressed on, "You stay at home without caring about outside affairs, not knowing how difficult Fu Da’s situation is in the company lately."

Wei Ronghua threw off the quilt, struggling to sit up, her swollen eyes staring at her, "What nonsense are you talking about? Jichen is now the second-largest shareholder in the group, how could he be in a difficult situation?"

"Ah, sister-in-law, you have no idea how bad the rumors in the company are." Fu Jianfang said, "Sometimes, rumors can really bring a person down."

Seeing the fish begin to take the bait, Fu Jianfang placed her hands on her crossed legs, spoke slowly, "These rumors are utterly ridiculous, yet they’re wildly spread, claiming that Fu Da is not my big brother’s biological son. Some directors are pressuring him to clarify or else not sit in that position."

"Nonsense!" Wei Ronghua propped herself up on the bed, coughed while lying sideways on the bedside, her pale face finally gaining a bit of color, but not as a sign of improvement, purely from anger, "They are just jealous of Jichen, who at such a young age became the controller of Jun Mountain."

"I thought so too." Fu Jianfang moved closer, gently patted her back, "But others don’t believe it, and say that Fu Da doesn’t look like the late big brother at all, nor like you, sister-in-law. Maybe he resembles some man you met before marriage. I argued with them, and they said I was covering up for the Fu family’s scandal, nearly driving me crazy."

Wei Ronghua’s breath quickened, she let out a strong cough, sputters of saliva spewed out.

Fu Jianfang stepped back disdainfully, hurriedly pulled out a few tissues to wipe her skirt, her gaze inadvertently glancing over the floor, where instead of saliva were bright red streaks of blood.

Wei Ronghua was so angry she coughed up blood?

Fu Jianfang’s heart panicked for a moment, afraid of being blamed, she swallowed her saliva, "Sister-in-law, I believe you. I just mentioned this at the dinner table, and the Patriarch was also very angry. Second brother and they are all on your side. Don’t think too much, your recovery is most important. I won’t disturb you any longer, remember to drink the chicken soup."

She left the room one step at a time, looking back, closing the door, standing outside the door with her lips pursed, yet a mocking smile appeared in her eyes.

In the bedroom, Wei Ronghua coughed to the point of almost passing out, and only after a while did it subside, turning over to lean against the pillow, breathing with her mouth open, her eyes slowly scanning around the familiar and empty room.

Just like it was before Fu Zhengjun left, nothing had changed, except that he was gone.

She still couldn’t accept the fact that her husband had died, always feeling he was still alive, perhaps out socializing, and at some point, he would push open that door, come in and speak to her.

Wei Ronghua closed her eyes, two lines of tears slipped from the corners of her eyes.

Though it was summer, she felt like she was living through winter, cold from body to heart.

Fu Jianfang’s words kept swirling uncontrollably in her mind: Fu Da doesn’t look like the late big brother at all, nor like you, sister-in-law...

In the past, Wei Ronghua had been lazy to deal with Fu Jianfang, annoyed just looking at her, and despised her meddlesome nature, seemingly immune to being swayed by her words. But Wei Ronghua knew deep down, as unreliable as she might be, Fu Jianfang wouldn’t dare bring this up before the Patriarch if it weren’t true.

Since Fu Jichen was very young, Wei Ronghua had noticed that he didn’t resemble her or her husband, nor did Fu Yuling.

She gave birth prematurely, on the brink of death, nearly perishing on the operating table. In the days after the children were born, her health was poor, always somewhat delirious, and upon slightly recovering, she heard that her daughter had congenital heart disease while her son was healthy. The nurse particularly noted that the little boy didn’t look like a premature baby; he was even stronger than a full-term child.

Some things shouldn’t be overthought—the more she thought, the more anxious she became.

Jichen and Yuling were both her children; how could she doubt them? Wei Ronghua told herself this, yet couldn’t help but wonder why neither child looked like them, one so robust, the other with heart disease.

If a fetus has congenital heart disease, it’s generally detected during prenatal screening. However, in her last prenatal checkup before delivery, the doctor said both fetuses were healthy.

Where exactly had it gone wrong?

Misdiagnosis? Impossible.

The doctor who did her checkup was a relative from her mother’s family, particularly attentive to her.

Wei Ronghua’s head throbbed painfully. As she lay down, her head bumped into something hard by the pillow, reaching over she discovered it was her phone. Suddenly recalling something, she opened her contacts and called her mother.

Liu Ying answered her daughter’s call, first concerned for her health, "I heard you’re ill. Your father and I were just discussing coming to the Fu Family tomorrow to see you. How are you doing?"

Wei Ronghua didn’t answer her mother’s question, urgently asked, "Mom, let me ask you, the night I gave birth to Jichen and Yuling, did you see the babies when they were taken out of the delivery room?"

Liu Ying paused for a moment, not understanding why she brought up something so long ago, as her memory wasn’t what it used to be, pondered for a bit before answering, "You gave birth a month early, although the doctor mentioned prematurity was possible with twins, your father and I didn’t expect you to be so early. At that time, we happened to be out of town, and upon hearing the news, we rushed back, arriving at the hospital at about ten in the morning the next day. Both children had been born successfully, and you were out of danger. I remember you slept for a long time, scaring me terribly."

Wei Ronghua was dazed.

She had woken up to see her parents, assuming they had arrived at the hospital the night before. In reality, her parents didn’t see the children first-hand.

Liu Ying, recalling the past, sighed, "Zhengjun was abroad at that time too, right? Fortunately your father-in-law was there, invited an authoritative obstetric expert to save your life, personally stationed at the hospital, watched over the whole night, otherwise we might not have seen you when we got back. Thinking of it now still gives me chills; childbirth is truly like passing through the gates of hell..." Fresh chapters posted on novel⦿fire.net

Wei Ronghua’s heart raced faster and faster, as if a thread in her brain was being pulled, she forced herself to calm down, "Can you still contact the doctor who did my prenatal checkups back then?"

"You mean Auntie Meng Lin? She’s not in Beicheng anymore; we haven’t been in touch for years. I do have her contact information though, but I’m not sure if it’s still usable." Liu Ying felt puzzled by her daughter’s inquiries, "Why are you asking about this?"

Not wanting to explain too much, fearing she might have been overthinking due to her poor sleep and constant worries lately, Wei Ronghua hastily replied, "I want to consult her on a few things."