The second year after Fang Zixin disappeared, Yu Rong left the Fang family. The second son, Fang Zidong, was only five years old that year and had no memory of his mother. The eldest son, Fang Zixu, also had only vague impressions of his mother.
After not seeing each other for many years, and with no maternal bond, the two brothers showed extreme indifference to their mother's return.
...
Fang Yue's will had several inheritance principles: the existing property was to be divided among the three sons. Fang Yue's fixed assets (cold chain industry and real estate) were valued at 10 million yuan, and bank assets were 25 million yuan, totaling 35 million yuan. The eldest son, Fang Zixu, would receive the fixed assets and five million yuan, the second son, Fang Zidong, would receive 15 million yuan, and the remaining five million yuan was to be used to search for the third son, Fang Zixin. Once found, any remaining funds would be given to Fang Zixin.
Upon seeing this will, Fang Zixu and Fang Zidong went to the police station, where they were told that the possibility of finding their missing third brother, Fang Zixin, was very low. Both brothers were relieved, as they wouldn't have to share five million yuan with a brother they hadn't seen in years.
...
However, it was at this moment that Yu Rong returned.
The distribution of the inheritance changed. The will stated that if the wife, Yu Rong, returned to see Fang Yue through his final days, a second plan would be executed. All the inheritance would be divided equally between the wife and the two sons. The wife, Yu Rong, would receive 20 million yuan, and the remaining fixed assets and five million yuan would be divided equally between the eldest and second sons, with the eldest son receiving 10 million yuan and the second son receiving 10 million yuan.
The problem arose here. The two sons felt that their father might have been confused when making the will. He didn't have 40 million yuan to divide. Thus, the two brothers privately agreed not to execute this will. But they soon discovered another problem. For years, they had no mother, and they always heard from relatives that their mother had divorced their father. When they consulted a lawyer, the issue became acute. The lawyer asked them to provide proof of their father's divorce from their mother. If there was no divorce certificate, the marriage was still legally valid, and Yu Rong was, by law, the primary heir. This meant that if the will was not executed, all the money would go to their mother, Yu Rong. The two brothers would not receive a single penny.
This was a situation they could not accept.
The two brothers still had to execute the will; they still had hope. The will had one more condition that was beneficial to them. If their mother returned to see their father through his final days, and if the third son was found before Fang Yue's death, the inheritance would be divided among the three sons. The eldest would receive the fixed assets plus 10 million yuan, the second would receive 15 million yuan, and the third would receive 10 million yuan.
This distribution method seemed reasonable: the eldest son, who managed the family business, received more, with 10 million yuan in fixed assets and 10 million yuan in bank assets. The second son, who took care of their father and was not good at business, directly received 15 million yuan. The third son, who hadn't been seen for years, received 10 million yuan.
However, the problem was here: this distribution required 45 million yuan, and old Mr. Fang Yue did not have that much money.
...
In this situation, the eldest son, Fang Zixu, found a lawyer, Su Jingran. After understanding the situation, Su Jingran had the brothers sign a private agreement. This agreement would reallocate the inheritance if it was less than 45 million yuan.
The eldest son would receive fixed assets plus 5 million yuan. The second son would receive 15 million yuan, and the third son would receive 10 million yuan.
This principle for distributing the inheritance was that the third son was the key point, so his 10 million yuan was a sure thing.
Currently, Fang Yue's remaining total assets were 35 million yuan. After deducting 10 million yuan, 25 million yuan remained. The second son would actually receive 10 million yuan from the bank assets, and the eldest son would receive five million yuan. However, the eldest son had to provide shares worth 2.5 million yuan from the fixed assets to the second son.
In reality, this meant that the third son would take 10 million yuan, and the remaining 25 million yuan would be split equally between the eldest and second sons, with each receiving 12.5 million yuan.
...
Under these circumstances, the eldest son, Fang Zixu, and the second son, Fang Zidong, could accept it. If the third son were not present, they would have to split the nonexistent 40 million yuan equally with their mother. With their mother's priority, the remaining inheritance for the eldest and second sons would be fixed assets worth 10 million yuan and bank assets of five million yuan.
After splitting the fixed assets, they would each only receive 2.5 million yuan.
Therefore, weighing the pros and cons, they found the third son and prioritized the third will plan plus the private agreement.
From beginning to end, their calculations had one inevitable condition: finding the third son before Fang Yue's death. Before this, the two brothers had already consulted the police station, and the probability of finding the third son, Fang Zixin, who disappeared twenty-five years ago, was close to zero.
It was precisely because of this that Su Jingran saw an opportunity and found me, asking me to impersonate Fang Zixin, the third son of the Fang family.
...
This was the whole story. I came to the Fang family with the identification results.
Everyone was present: Yu Rong, the second son Fang Zidong, Fang Zidong's wife Zhou Mengjiao, the eldest son Fang Zixu, and his wife Li Xiuhua. Fang Zidong and his wife were civil servants, refined and cultured. Fang Zixu was a businessman, greasy and portly, his belly overflowing his waistband. Furthermore, Fang Zixu's wife, Li Xiuhua, did not appear to have high social standing. Upon meeting me, she pointed at me with a forced smile and said, "This young man is quite refined, how could he be from your Fang family?"
Li Xiuhua was right. Fang Zixu was greasy and portly with large nostrils and mouth. Fang Zidong, although elegant in demeanor, also had a broad forehead and large features. How could someone like me, with a high nose bridge and narrow eyes, be from the Fang family?
"Sister-in-law, environment can change a person, but medical reports don't lie."
Could this really be true? I didn't think so. The eldest was the kind of businessman who smiled affably and was inscrutable. The second had no particular expression, surprisingly calm, like a detached bystander.
In my eyes, neither of these brothers was easy to deal with.
At this moment, the eldest son, Fang Zixu, came over and put his arm around my shoulder: "Brother, do you drink? We brothers are meeting, let's not stop until we're drunk."
I smiled slightly: "Can I see my father first?"
The second son, Fang Zidong, said coldly, "He's almost dead, what's there to see? You've been abducted for over twenty years, there's really no need to see him."
This was hardly the words of a son, and I found it unpleasant to hear. At this moment, Yu Rong, who had been silent, spoke up: "Eldest, let me speak to the third son alone for a moment."
"What can't be said in front of everyone? I've already booked a restaurant. After a few words, we'll head to the restaurant and discuss the inheritance while drinking."
Yu Rong was a very thin old woman, appearing younger than sixty, her face haggard. But I always felt that she wasn't as she seemed. From the moment I met her, I had a strange feeling that this family was not quite right, though I couldn't pinpoint why.
Blocked by Fang Zixu, Yu Rong, whose face had been cold, suddenly lost control of her emotions and pointed at my nose, saying, "You're not my son Fang Zixin at all, you imposter, you're just here to claim money."
Yu Rong's accusation caused everyone in the family to panic. It turned out everyone knew I was fake. Except for Yu Rong, everyone else defended me.
"Mom, don't say that. Perhaps the third son is different from your impression, but the medical report doesn't lie," said the second wife, Zhou Mengjiao.
"Stop babbling. Are you afraid of losing money? The money isn't yours," indeed, Li Xiuhua, who seemed particularly greedy, also strongly tried to stop Yu Rong.
"Mom, we have evidence here, so don't say such things. It's a joyous occasion for the whole family to reunite with our brother," Fang Zixu stepped in to smooth things over.
Fang Zidong observed with a cold eye: "You say he's not the third son, do you have any evidence? We have a paternity test. If you have no evidence, shut up. This house is surnamed Fang, and it's not for you to spout nonsense."
Yu Rong trembled with anger: "I've only come back to see your father because he's dying. You think I want his money? Humph, who wants your Fang family's money? A paternity test, ha! Let me tell you, the third son was not born to me and your dead father. The third son is someone else's seed."
...
Only by finding the third son could the will they desired take effect, which was why there was this paternity test charade. From their reactions, they all knew I was fake? Li Xiuhua seemed guileless and blurted it out immediately. She was then covered by the second son's wife, Zhou Mengjiao. The eldest son, Fang Zixu, was all smiles, clearly eager to resolve the inheritance issue after one meal. As for the second son, Fang Zidong, he didn't seem happy, perhaps coveting the ten million yuan he might lose.
...
Yu Rong's furious roar made everyone's faces show a hint of panic.
If it were proven that I was not the third son, according to the will, the inheritance would be reallocated.
"Whether the third son is my father's seed or not is not for you to say carelessly. You abandoned your husband and children, and didn't return for so many years, only to come back for money now. As for whether the third son is our brother, science has already provided the answer."
The second son, Fang Zidong, spoke coldly, without panic. The eldest son, Fang Zixu, also showed aggression: "If you keep babbling, I'll smash your mouth. Do you really think of yourself as a mother? You're nothing."
...
In my eyes, this was truly a farce. I had already made arrangements and said with a smile, "Eldest brother, second brother, don't be angry. After all, we haven't seen each other for many years, and it's reasonable for our mother to be suspicious. I originally thought I had a family, but now I've become an illegitimate child, how dramatic. However, I don't care. How about this: whether I am my father's son or not, my father can explain when he wakes up. Based on the current situation, as long as I can prove I am my mother's son, then I should still be the third son of our family."
The eldest son, Fang Zixu, was about to retort, but the second son stopped him. It seemed the brains of this family were the second son, Fang Zidong. Fang Zidong maintained his cool, emotionless demeanor and said, "Yu Rong, that promiscuous woman, doesn't even know which man gave birth to her son. But the child came from her womb, that much is true. Let the third son undergo a test with her, and we'll first prove this boy is Fang Zixin."
Proving I am Fang Zixin, don't joke. They would have to go to the blood center to find Dr. Zhang Qin to falsify the results. By then, the results would not be the same. The third son you want would still be there, but he would change from me to Zhang Qin's younger brother, Zhang Feng.
When drawing blood, Yu Rong was with me, and she whispered to me, "You couldn't possibly be my son."
"Your eldest and second sons probably don't think so."
"My son is already dead. When Fang Yue found out that child wasn't born to me and him, he went mad and killed that child with a cleaver."
My heart skipped a beat. This was something I had not expected. How could this happen?