"MOTHER!"
Thinking that the Han Madam had just fallen to the ground, Fu Lan, Min Yanyu and Han Yuanjun all rushed forward to help her up.
"Don't move her!" The doctor said quickly and when they stopped in their tracks, he turned to his nurse. "Contact the emergency unit immediately!"
"Already done." The nurse said and moved towards the Han Madam with the doctor to administer some quick life saving procedures.
When both doctor and nurse touched the Han Madam though, they froze.
"What's happening?!" Min Yanyu said at that moment. "Get mother off the floor first! I shouldn't be telling you how to do your jobs!"
With the help of the nurse, the doctor carefully turned the Han Madam over and placed a hand under her nose.
She wasn't breathing.
He exchanged a quick glance with his nurse before placing his stethoscope on the Han Madam's chest and listening carefully.
No heartbeat.
The Han Madam's eyelids were partially shut but the doctor still reached for his flashlight and shined it in her eyes.
Dilated pupils.
Fixed eyes.
Relaxed muscles.
Not a single response.
The doctor closed his eyes with a sigh and slowly stood to his feet.
Han Yuanjun's expression turned pale the minute the doctor stood up and Han Tao's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
The doctor locked eyes with Han Yuanjun. "My condolences, Madam Han has passed."
Even when he already knew what was coming, Han Yuanjun was still not prepared for the pain that shit through his heart. Han Tao's eyes widened whilst Fu Lan stood rock still with a trembling figure.
Han Yi and Han Jiao blinked in shock and after taking one more look at the lifeless body of their grandmother, they hurriedly retreated a few steps.
Where she stood, Min Body trembled so much that she directly fainted.
"Mother!"
The Han Madam's burial was carried out three days later.
.
.
.
The Han home became so bleak as everyone subconsciously went about their businesses as quietly as they could.
Han Yuanjun spent a lot of time thinking about the next step and a week later, he decided to confront Han Tao about it during breakfast.
"Han Tao."
Min Yanyu, Fu Lan, Han Rong, Han Yi, Han Jiao and Han Wen all looked over in curiosity. The dining hall had been eerily silent so any form of distracted was very much welcome.
On the other hand, Han Tao's chopsticks froze in midair. He looked to his uncle. "Uncle Jun."
Han Yuanjun placed his elbows on the table and folded his hands in front of his face. "When are you going to bring the twins back?"
CLANG!
The chopsticks dropped from Han Tao's fingers and he lowered his hands to his side.
Seeing this, Han Yuanjun sneered. "You're still unwilling?!" Anger flared through his bones, they'd gone to different hospitals over the past week and the results were always the same. Han Tao was infertile and incapable of ever having children!
Han Tao stared at his uncle without saying anything. He was still not over the fact that he was suddenly infertile. If he were to go to Xu Lifen now, wasn't that the same as asking to be mocked?!
His mind trailed to Xu Lifen's happy expression back at the birthday banquet and his face burned. If he dared to go back to her, she would surely make fun of him!
Han Tao waved at his uncle dismissively. "We'll think of something else."
Han Yuanjun's nostrils flared. "What other options are there?!"
Min Yanyu looked between her son and Han Yuanjun before sighing. "Brother-in-law please take it easy. You know A'Tao only found out about his... Recently so he needs time to digest the news and adjust. I'm sure he'd do what is right in due time."
BANG!
Han Yuanjun stood up and slammed the table in anger, causing everyone to flinch. Next, he pinned Min Yanyu with a glare. "When would that due time be? I was against this from the start but did anyone listen? No!"
He pointed at Han Tao. "Look at him! He's clearly not planning on going to get them at all! He acts as if the twins aren't his blood!"
"ENOUGH!" Han Tao shouted fiercely. "You're also infertile so what are you hassling me for?!"
The eyes of the women widened and they all slowly turned to Han Yuanjun.
The man in question just laughed humourlessly. At this point, he wasn't even angry. He simply sat down and said, "I might be infertile but at least I was not stupid enough to throw away my own children for.. " He paused and chuckled.
"You know what? Nevermind. Since Han Tao wants time then he could have all the time he wants in the world. As for the inheritance..."
He turned to Han Yi, Han Jiao and Han Wen. "You're all unmarried so if any one of you is willing, you could have a child outside marriage.
-On the condition that the twins do not return to the Han family, whichever one of you presents a child, that child would be personally trained by me and become heir to the Han family fortune!"
Han Rong eyes sparkled and she trembled excitedly. On the other hand, Min Yanyu turned pale. "Wha- what do you mean?"
No matter how bad things got, neither of Han Rong's triplets nor their future children were ever considered to inherit because their father was originally from the Gu family. What exactly did Han Yuanjun mean by his words?
Fu Lan eyed her husband in mild surprise. Was he not scared that the triplets would collude with their father and take over the Han family's wealth? She swallowed. "Yuanjun..."
Han Yuanjun turned to his wife. "I'm not changing my mind."
Seated next to his mother, Han Tao's hands trembled. He had forfeited his inheritance to his children because he wanted to focus on being a policeman.
That decision had been made with confidence because he knew the inheritance would end up in his own family so he wasn't worried. Now that he was infertile and his uncle had said this... He couldn't have it!
Life was just like this. When you had something, you took it for granted but the minute that same thing becomes unavailable to you, you want it with all your might.
Han Tao turned to his uncle. "Why can't I inherit?"
Han Yuanjun sneered at him. "I was the first son of my generation but because of my condition, your father had inherited instead.
-If not for the fact that he had died unexpectedly and you and your brother were so young, do you think I would have been able to take over the Han family?!"
Han Tao fell silent at that. His eyes moved to his cousins. Han Yi and Han Jiao had clear unwillingness on their faces because of their strong need to marry and become trophy wives. Han Wen on the other hand.
That always silent cousin of his was staring at him with a clear challenge and ambition in her eyes. Han Tao's heart shook in realization.
Han Wen wasn't just planning on getting a child to inherit, she was clearly planning on manipulating things and claiming the inheritance herself!
Han Tao turned to Han Yuanjun. "I'll get the twins." And then he stood up and walked out.
-------------------
In a more affordable middle class house on City B:
Mother Chen kept glancing at the door every other second. It was so late and yet Chen Meili hadn't returned yet. She looked at the triplets sleeping on the old sofa and sighed.
After losing everything they owned, she'd managed to sneak into the Chen mansion and grab a few of her expensive jewelry before the people from the government got there and closed off the mansion.
With the jewelry she'd snuck off, they'd been able to rent this middle class two bedroom apartment but things weren't going so well.
Everything was so expensive and there was no source of income so the money they had was draining fast. The worse part of it all was that Chen Meili selfishly spent money carelessly buying branded clothes and expensive skin care products in order to 'make herself pretty in case her brother Tao came back!'
At that moment, Chen Meili walked in carrying serveral bags.
Mother Chen stood up eargerly. "Meili, what took you so long? Did you find a job yet?"
Although Chen Meili had been at home for almost two years, she still had an opthalmologist degree and had experience working at an elite hospital.
Although major hospitals would not hire her due to her scandal with Gu Longwei and the Chen family scandal, finding a job in a small time hospital or medical centre in the lower class areas should be possible.
Anticipation filled Mother Chen's heart. "Quick tell me if you found a job yet!"
Chen Meili eyed her mother like the woman was crazy. "Why would I look for a job? Did you forget? Brother Tao specifically told me it was okay not to work and stress myself. He even pays me three times the amount I earn every month so why do I need to work?"