Hours after the banquet, Chen Meili was admitted into the hospital with a swollen face, split lips, multiple bruises and two black eyes.
After treatment from the doctors, Mother Chen walked into the ward to find her daughter wrapped up in bandages like a mummy and sitting on the bed with a lost look in her eyes.
As soon as Chen Meili set eyes on her mother, she leaped from the bed in tears. "Mother!"
Mother Chen just stood still and began sobbing. Even at this moment, she still could not believe it was her daughter she'd seen in that video. "Meili..."
Chen Meili painfully moved to the edge of the bed. "Mother, you have to take me to brother Tao! It's all a misunderstanding. I did this for him, it was all for his sake! I'm sure he'd understand when I explain things to him!"
Mother Chen froze and looked at her daughter incredulously. "Even now you don't admit to your mistake?!"
Chen Meili shook her head stubbornly as more tears fell. "You have to believe me mother! I didn't want to do it! It- it was brother Tao's family! If they hadn't pressured me then I wouldn't have done it!"
Mother Chen closed her eyes. What was this? Even if her daughter had been pressured to do it the first few times, what about the numerous other times before and after the triplets were born?
She opened her eyes and stared at the young woman on the bed helplessly. "Meili, have a good rest. It's already so late. I need to return home to check on your father and brother."
Chen Meili froze. "You want to go to the Han home together with them and talk to brother Tao? That's good. I'll have a good rest then." She touched her face. "When do you think it'll heal? I don't want brother Tao to see me like this."
Mother Chen remained silent and walked out of the ward.
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The very next day, Chen Meili stubbornly insisted on returning to the Han mansion before her injuries were healed. Seeing this, Mother Chen had no choice but to forcefully drag her over to the Chen home.
Over the next two days, the Chen mansion was filled with Chen Meili's screams and request to see Han Tao -making life very unbearable for the people who resided within.
Father Chen simply ignored the existence of his once precious daughter that had brought nothing but shame and disgrace to the Chen home whilst Chen Bai rarely left his room. When the screams got too much, Father Chen had the servants lock Chen Meili up in her room.
On the third day, the Chen mansion was very quiet.
Mother Chen gently pushed Chen Bai on his wheelchair in the direction of the dining room with Father Chen behind them. As soon as they walked in, she froze.
Chen Meili standing in front of the floor to ceiling window and looking outside with a smile.
Father Chen frowned and gave his daughter a once over. Since she wasn't screaming, he saw no reason to pay her any more attention so he walked past her directly to the dining table.
Mother Chen saw her husband's attitude and her heart turned sour. Even if Meili had made mistakes, wasn't she still their daughter? How could he be so indifferent to her?
There was a lump in her throat as she walked closer to Chen Meili and asked, "Meili, are you alright? What are you doing here?"
Chen Meili's smile turned brighter as she faced her mother. "I'm waiting for brother Tao. He must be coming to get me soon. I'm sure he's realized by now that I was deceived my Uncle Gu."
Chen Bai scoffed and eyed his sister. It was already bad enough that she'd trampled upon the dignity of the Chens and made them lose face in public. Now she was trying to push the blame onto others. What deceit?
His mind trailed to Chen Meili's moans and enthusiasm in the video and he shuddered in disgust. That wasn't the appearance of a person being deceived!
Chen Meili inadvertently caught the disgust in Chen Bai's eyes and she sneered. "What is with that look? Even with your state, you still dare to judge me?!"
"Meili!" Mother Chen screamed with wide eyes.
On the other hand, Chen Bai's chest heaved as he tried desperately to keep his anger in check. Unfortunately, he didn't succeed and soon started twitching.
"Bai'er!" Mother Chen's eyes widened even more and she rushed back to Chen Bai to check on him.
At the dining table, Father Chen looked from his sick and disabled son to his useless slut of a daughter and lastly, to his rapidly aging wife. What was this? His appetite was lost and angrily, he dropped his utensils and walked out.
Chen Meili watched her father go and then blinked as her mother held her elder brother's head through his brain lag before turning to look out the window like none of that concerned her.
Staring in the general direction of the Han mansion, her eyes turned red. Without looking back, she said, "Mother, do you think brother Tao is not here yet because Aunt Rong and Han Yi are stopping him?
-Are they afraid I would blame them for hitting me? They have nothing to worry about. Really. I understand that they were very angry back then. It was uncle Gu who had deceived all of us..."
At Chen Meili's words, Chen Bai's head twitched even harder.
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Chen Meili stood at the floor to ceiling window in the dining room for hours until night fell. When she was about to turn away, she spotted a car driving into the Chen mansion and her eyes brightened immediately.
That car was one of the cars owned by the Han family!
Father Chen and Mother Chen were in the middle of a conversation in the living room when Chen Meili suddenly sprinted out of the dining room like the house was on fire.
Chen Meili ignored their shocked looks and turned to a nearby servant. "Quick, quick! Go open the doors and welcome brother Tao! Hurry!" Feeling that the servant was too slow, she was about to do it herself but then paused.
"I can't go out there." She muttered and turned to her mother. "If I welcome brother Tao happily, then he'd think I'm not mad at him for letting his Aunt and cousin harm me!"
She walked over to seat on the sofa like a princess and turned up her nose snobbishly. "I won't move from this spot until he apologizes to me for an entire hour!"
The Chens parents merely looked at Chen Meili with strange expressions before exchanging looks between themselves. At that moment, a knock came from the door and they turned their sights to the door.
Chen Meili's legs shook excitedly as a servant went to get the door but the minute she set eyes on the three people that walked in, she frowned. Not to be discouraged, she extended her neck to look behind them but there was no one else.
Her hands trembled. "Where's brother Tao?"
The three Han family servants looked at themselves and then at the babies each one of them carried. The last three days had been chaotic in the Han home. The Han Madam had been hospitalized after getting a stroke.
Madam Min and Madam Fu had been spending time with the Han Madam at the hospital.
Mistress Rong, young mistress Yi and young mistress Jiao had been looking for Master Gu for so long without results. With nowhere to vent, they had been going over to the Gu home to cause trouble.
Master Yuanjun had screamed at young master Han so much that young master Han couldn't bear it anymore and got into a fight with him.
With all these happening, no one had had any time to think about the triplets but without orders, the servants couldn't make a move.
It was just earlier today that Mistress Rong had caught sight of the triplets and tried to strangle them. Fortunately, Master Yuanjun stepped in in time and instructed them to take the babies away from the Han home alongside what was left of Miss Chen's properties that had been destroyed by young master Han.
The eldest servant stepped forward. "Good evening Miss Chen, we were instructed by master Yuanjun to deliver your babies and belongings to you."
Chen Meili sprang up from her seat in shock. "What do you mean by that?! The babies belong to me and brother Tao! He promised to take responsibility!"
She narrowed her eyes. "This is a joke isn't it? Brother Tao is here and sent the three of you first to scare me right?" Without waiting for them to answer, she ran out of the mansion to check if Han Tao was outside.
Father Chen looked to his wife and sighed. Before Chen Meili rushed into the living room, they were in fact talking about the triplets. Although they were very ashamed of how the boys had been concepted, they couldn't deny the fact that they belonged to Chen Meili and, by extension, the Chen family.
At the moment, Chen Bai was disabled and sick in the head so Father Chen had taken over control of the company.
With Chen Bai's state, it was Impossible for him to ever take control of the Chen family's wealth in the future. As for who would do it? They were not particularly against a woman inheriting but Chen Meili was useless in business.
Both Father Chen and Mother Chen were too old to have another child so that was also out of the question. This left well... The triplets.
Father Chen walked towards the Han servants. Although he was along in years, he still had a good while before he became too old and senile. He could use this time to raise the triplets and have them take over the Chen family businesses in the future.
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The minute the Han servants left, Chen Bai watched as his father played with the triplets from behind the wall and his hands clenched into fists. He might have a brain problem but he was in no way stupid.
Besides, it wasn't that hard to see his father's motives.
Chen Bai lowered his head and chuckled. He had singlehandedly taken the Chen business to the height it was today but his father was so quick to look for his replacement.
If the old man had saved it for his own children then that would have been fine... but no. The man decided that giving it to Chen Meili's ill conceived children was a better option. Children that didn't even have pure Chen blood in them!
In the end, Chen Bai chuckled bitterly and moved his wheelchair away.
In a BDSM club somewhere in City B:
Gu Longwei received the news that the triplets had been taken to the Chen mansion. As he gulped down some alcohol, his mind went into overdrive.
The truth had come to light at a very unfortunate time when he had run out of money. He had been able to stay in the club on credit by pulling on a favour from a friend but his time was almost up.
Chen Bai was now useless and Chen Meili even more so. This meant that the triplets would be precious to the Chens. Although the Chens were subpar when compared to the Hans, they were still elites and had good money.
Gu Longwei took one last gulp of his drink before he began packing up the few things he owned. He didn't even consider the fact that the Chens might refuse him from latching onto them because...
No matter how angry they were, they needed the triplets and that was good enough for him.