Chapter 181: The An Family’s Past
After listening to Old Mrs. An’s story, Su Qing finally pieced together the history of the An Family’s feuds.
Old Mrs. An had three sons, and she had gradually handed the family business over to them. She had believed that her sons would work together harmoniously to make the business prosper.
But a few years ago, the eldest and second sons had a falling out with An Zhihan’s father over some business matters. Their conflict grew so severe that the brothers were on the verge of becoming enemies. It was only Old Mrs. An’s intervention that prevented things from escalating further.
Old Mrs. An had thought the matter would simply blow over. She believed that even when brothers fought, they could always be reconciled with enough effort. After all, blood is thicker than water.
But what Old Mrs. An never could have imagined was that her youngest son’s family would be in a car accident. Her son and his wife were killed instantly. Although his parents managed to shield him, An Zhihan suffered damage to multiple internal organs and was left with crippled legs. The doctors even declared him to be in critical condition at one point. It’s safe to say An Zhihan had a brush with death.
But even after he was out of danger, An Zhihan’s legs were permanently crippled, and the damaged organs left him with chronic health problems, especially his lungs, which would worsen every winter.
An Zhihan was only a teenager at the time, but he seemed to grow up overnight. Once he had recovered slightly, he secretly had someone investigate the crash. He discovered that the cause of the accident was, in fact, related to his two uncles.
The furious An Zhihan came before Old Mrs. An and Mr. An, demanding justice for his parents.
Her youngest son and his wife had died in a car crash, so of course Old Mrs. An investigated the cause. What she found was naturally more detailed than what An Zhihan had discovered. The accident had happened because An Lizheng and An Likang wanted to teach their third brother a lesson. They had only intended to scare the couple and make them understand that they were the ones who called the shots in the An Family.
But things spun out of control, ultimately leading to a tragedy that not even An Lizheng and An Likang had anticipated.
When they discovered the truth, Old Mrs. An and Mr. An couldn’t accept it. Their youngest son and his wife were dead, and their two older sons were the culprits. If the matter went to the police, both of them would surely go to prison. Having already lost one son, the old couple couldn’t bear to lose the other two as well.
So, when An Zhihan came to them, they said they would only punish An Lizheng and An Likang according to family rules. At the same time, they buried the truth of the accident, publicly claiming that it was caused by driver fatigue.
An Zhihan, of course, couldn’t accept this outcome. But he was too young at the time to do anything about it. In a fit of rage, he left the An Family and moved to Xiyuan County, where he has lived for several years now. In fact, he hasn’t returned to Xiangcheng once. This year was actually the first time Old Mrs. An had seen her youngest grandson in all that time.
Old Mrs. An sighed. "My husband and I handled things unjustly back then. It’s no wonder Zhi Han is so resentful. I don’t know if this rift between us can ever be mended in our lifetime."
Su Qing pressed her lips together. ’To be honest, if I were in An Zhihan’s shoes, I wouldn’t be able to accept it either. My own uncles were the culprits who caused my parents’ deaths, yet they never received the punishment they deserved. Even my grandparents sided with them. Who could possibly endure that?’
Having navigated the brutal world of business for many years, Old Mrs. An was an expert at reading people. How could she miss the look on Su Qing’s face? She said, "I know you also disapprove of what my husband and I did."
Su Qing said, "To be honest, Grandma An, what you did was indeed disheartening."
"I know." Old Mrs. An sighed. "But I had already lost one son back then. I just couldn’t accept my other two sons getting into trouble as well, so I made that decision. I know what I did was wrong, but it’s too late to say anything now. What’s done is done. I came here today to ask for your help."
"What is it?" Su Qing frowned slightly. ’She’s not going to ask me to talk to An Zhihan, is she?’
’Setting aside the fact that she had only met An Zhihan twice—strictly speaking, they were practically strangers, not even friends—even if they were, she could never ask a friend to forgive something like that.’
’If someone came up to her and asked her to forgive Old Mrs. Su, she’d definitely kick them out the door.’
"I heard you often go into the mountains to gather herbs and sell them to Mr. Gong of Hongji Hall, is that right?" Old Mrs. An asked.
Su Qing nodded. She had sold ginseng to Fang Lutian, and he had seen her selling herbs at Hongji Hall, so it wasn’t surprising that Old Mrs. An knew about it.
Old Mrs. An continued, "You see, our An Family was originally from Xiyuan County as well, but we later moved to Xiangcheng. Mr. Gong is my older cousin, and we used to have a very good relationship. But years ago, my husband made a terrible mistake that got my cousin entangled in some serious trouble, and he suffered a great deal because of it. Since then, the An Family and my cousin have had no contact. In fact, he loathes the An Family now. He refuses to have anything to do with matters concerning us."
Hearing this, Su Qing recalled how Mr. Gong’s apprentice had pleaded on An Zhihan’s behalf last time. She asked, "Grandma An, you’re not going to ask me to persuade Mr. Gong to treat An Zhihan, are you?"
"Yes, that’s exactly what I wanted to ask of you," Old Mrs. An said quickly. "Su Qing, you’re a smart girl. You can read between the lines. Honestly, I’m at my wit’s end, which is why I came to you. I’m not demanding anything. I just hope you can find a chance to speak with Mr. Gong and persuade him to treat Zhi Han. Even though Zhi Han is an heir of the An Family, he is the kindest one among us. I don’t want his treatment to be delayed because of our family’s past."
Su Qing looked at Old Mrs. An. "Grandma An, Mr. Gong is your cousin. If even you can’t persuade him, I’m afraid it would be pointless for me to try."
"I won’t blame you, regardless of the outcome," Old Mrs. An said quickly. "I just want there to be a little more hope for Zhi Han’s recovery."
"Alright then, I’ll try," Su Qing nodded.
Seeing Su Qing agree, Old Mrs. An was overjoyed. "Su Qing, thank you so much."
Su Qing smiled. "I’m only going to give it a try."
’Su Qing didn’t have high hopes. After all, Mr. Gong hadn’t even agreed when his own apprentice pleaded with him. She suspected her words would be just as useless.’