Chapter 97

Chapter 97

"Is there a medicine in this world that can make someone exhibit symptoms of a stroke after taking it?"

On the way back, Ye Mingzhao, sitting in the passenger seat, remained silent for a long time before suddenly uttering this sentence.

Chu Hengyi, who was driving, slowly raised a question mark in his mind. Taking advantage of the few seconds waiting for the red light, he quickly glanced at Ye Mingzhao: "Do you think Zhou Heting's sudden stroke was due to poisoning?"

"Can't rule out that possibility." Ye Mingzhao knew his thoughts were quite cynical, but he still couldn't believe that the biggest enemy of the Ye family in the original story would fall so easily to such a ridiculous reason as being angered into a stroke by his family.

If Zhou Heting lacked such composure, he wouldn't have spent over twenty years plotting against the Ye family. If Ye Mingzhao hadn't learned about the Ye family's fate from the original story and thus become wary of Zhou Heting, Zhou Heting might have succeeded in his schemes.

How could such a person possibly be angered into a stroke by a family dispute?

Moreover, the timing of Zhou Heting's stroke was too coincidental, happening right at the critical moment when the Zhou family was fighting over the family assets.

It could be said that if Zhou Heting hadn't had a stroke, no matter how much Zhou Heting and the rest of the Zhou family made a fuss, they wouldn't have been able to control Zhou Heting. But now that Zhou Heting is lying in bed after a stroke, and Zhou Heting's wife is just a paper tiger who only knows how to scold and bluster, it's uncertain who will end up with the Zhou family's assets.

As the traffic light turned from yellow to green in the last few seconds, Chu Hengyi started the car and laughed, "Hearing you say that makes me suspicious too."

Chu Hengyi speculated wildly: "—Could it be that our parents were involved, directly causing Zhou Heting, that old fox, to have a stroke to eliminate future troubles?"

Ye Mingzhao slowly shook his head. Knowing Chairman Ye and Mrs. Ye, this couple wouldn't do something so unnecessary. They wouldn't risk their reputation just to poison Zhou Heting.

Chu Hengyi's heart stirred: "Then are you suspecting Zhou Heting?"

Ye Mingzhao didn't respond, but according to the principle that the one who benefits the most is the most suspicious, Zhou Heting was indeed quite suspicious.

"Don't you think his reaction at the hospital was too exaggerated?"

It was as if he was deliberately putting on a show, that heartbroken look, so convincing that even Ye Mingzhao had no doubt about Zhou Heting's deep parental love. But he clearly remembered that Zhou Heting wasn't close to his parents. Zhou Heting had been in charge of the Zhou family for so many years, yet Zhou Heting and his wife had always lived in their rural hometown. Zhou Heting explained to the public that Zhou Heting and his wife were too old to leave their hometown, so they had the youngest of the Zhou family stay in the countryside to take care of them and fulfill their filial duties.

However, this time, when Zhou Heting was urged by Chairman Ye to fight over the family assets with Zhou Heting, his actions were unusually swift.

Chu Hengyi secretly clicked his tongue: "It can't be, they say even a tiger doesn't eat its own cubs. Zhou Heting wouldn't poison his own son over a few billion, would he?"

Ye Mingzhao remained silent, his suspicions instinctive, lacking concrete evidence.

Chu Hengyi, however, took this matter to heart and had the dagger conduct a private investigation to see if any clues could be found.

By the time they returned to the Ye family, it was almost noon.

Mrs. Ye looked at her two sons, Ye Mingzhao and Chu Hengyi, returning together with a troubled expression, unsure of how to articulate her feelings.

Being relatively conservative parents, Chairman Ye and Mrs. Ye had initially opposed the two children being together. After all, in the eyes of Chairman Ye and Mrs. Ye, Chu Hengyi and Ye Mingzhao were both their children. But provoked by outsiders, Mrs. Ye acted impulsively and agreed to the two being together.

What made it worse was Ye Mingxi, the young informant, who immediately relayed everything the couple had said verbatim to Ye Mingzhao and Chu Hengyi, rendering Chairman Ye and Mrs. Ye completely passive.

"...None of them are without their worries." Mrs. Ye cursed in her heart, pulling Ye Mingxi's ear to reprimand him for his loose tongue.

Although Ye Mingxi hadn't agreed to help Ye Mingzhao and Chu Hengyi test Chairman Ye and Mrs. Ye while filming on set, after he finished filming and returned home, he bore the brunt for the smooth official announcement of their relationship—his ears turned red from Mrs. Ye's pulling.

Later, when he updated the trio in their group chat, Ye Mingxi specifically asked Ye Mingzhao and Chu Hengyi for compensation: "You two are in love, yet I'm the one being scolded and hurt. Isn't that unfair?"

Fortunately, Ye Mingxi's sacrifice of his ears was worth it, at least Ye Mingzhao and Chu Hengyi faced significantly less pressure upon returning home.

"Mom!" Ye Mingzhao smiled and leaned in front of Mrs. Ye: "It's been months, yet you still look as radiant as ever. I'm relieved."

"It's been months, and you two have lost weight and tanned a lot. It seems you've had a hard time outside." Mrs. Ye reached out and pinched Ye Mingzhao's ear, sighing silently: "I've asked the housekeeper to prepare your favorite dishes. Eat well later to nourish yourselves."

Ye Mingzhao nodded meekly.

Chu Hengyi quietly took a seat on a nearby armchair.

Mrs. Ye glanced at Chu Hengyi and asked, "Have you two been to see Zhou Heting?"

Ye Mingzhao nodded slowly and then shared their speculations from the road with Mrs. Ye.

Mrs. Ye was silent for a moment before sighing, "If it's true, then Zhou Heting really has hit a rough patch."

Just then, a commotion broke out outside. Ye Mingxi had actually ditched work and come home at noon.

"Anyway, with Dad and big brother keeping an eye on the company, even if I'm not there, it won't affect the company's normal operations," Ye Mingxi said with a smile.

But at home, it was a different story. Ye Mingxi was genuinely worried that without him as a peacemaker, Mom might end up arguing with Ye Mingzhao and Chu Hengyi. If things got so bad that the young couple ran away for love, wouldn’t his ear-splitting efforts be for nothing?

Ye Mingzhao and Chu Hengyi had no idea that Ye Mingxi had spun such a dramatic tale in his head—"a young couple's love being scorned, leading to a dramatic elopement." Mrs. Ye, however, caught onto her second son's wild imagination. She shot him a look, equal parts annoyed and amused, but didn’t bother to argue.

"Since you're back, let's eat first," Mrs. Ye said, calling out to the maid to set another place.

Ye Mingxi rubbed his hands together with a grin and sat down at the table, only to be stopped by Ye Mingzhao: "Did you wash your hands?"

Ye Mingxi paused, speechless.

Chu Hengyi chuckled, "Actually, we didn’t wash ours either."

So the three of them got up to wash up. When they returned, they were surprised to find that Chairman Ye and Ye Mingchen had also come back.

"Dad, big brother?" Ye Mingxi’s surprise seemed genuine. "Why are you two ditching work too?"

Ye Mingchen shot Ye Mingxi a look, "What, only you can ditch work at noon, but Dad and I can’t leave early?"

"Not at all," Ye Mingxi chuckled, scratching his head. "I just didn’t expect workaholics like you to ever bail on work."

Chairman Ye and Ye Mingchen didn’t say another word, their eyes locked on Ye Mingzhao and Chu Hengyi.

The room suddenly grew tense.

Ye Mingzhao smiled at Chairman Ye and Ye Mingchen, greeting them meekly, "Dad, big brother."

Chairman Ye stayed silent, his expression grim, while Ye Mingchen gave Ye Mingzhao a nod.

Mrs. Ye sighed softly and said, "Let’s just sit down and eat."

Ye Mingxi pointed at Chairman Ye and Ye Mingchen’s hands and said innocently, "Dad and big brother haven’t washed up yet!"

His remark instantly lightened the mood.

Chairman Ye and Ye Mingchen gave a helpless look at Ye Mingxi, who was playing the fool, and went to wash their hands.

While the two were away, Ye Mingxi nudged Ye Mingzhao with his shoulder and winked, "You're done for!"

Ye Mingzhao suddenly felt the same helplessness as his dad and big brother. This second brother of his was really something else.

Chu Hengyi couldn't resist either and gave Ye Mingxi a light flick on the head.

Ye Mingxi clutched his head, grimacing in exaggerated pain, his antics almost unbearable to watch. Mrs. Ye sighed helplessly, "Alright, stop fooling around and sit down to eat."

The maid, who had just set an extra pair of chopsticks for Ye Mingxi, brought two more bowls of rice. Everyone sat down in their usual seats. Chairman Ye looked at Ye Mingzhao and Chu Hengyi and asked in a deep voice, "Are the two of you together now?"

Ye Mingzhao and Chu Hengyi exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement.

Chairman Ye was silent for a long moment, then picked up his bowl and chopsticks as if nothing had happened, saying, "Then live well together. Now, let's eat."

The meal was unusually silent. The once lively dining table could only hear the faint sounds of bowls and chopsticks. Ye Mingxi, after hurriedly eating a few mouthfuls of rice, felt that if this continued, he would surely end up with indigestion. So, he racked his brains to come up with a topic to break the silence: "Dad, big brother, do you think Zhou Heting's stroke could have been caused by someone deliberately poisoning him?"

Chairman Ye and Ye Mingchen paused briefly in their eating. Ye Mingchen frowned and said, "Is there really such a drug?"

The Ye family members exchanged glances, clearly lacking knowledge in this area. Mrs. Ye decided to call the family doctor after the meal to inquire about the possibility.

The doctor confirmed that such a possibility indeed existed.

A stroke is caused by the formation of a blood clot in the brain's blood vessels, so the inappropriate use of blood pressure-lowering drugs and anticoagulants that slow blood flow could potentially trigger a stroke. Even the improper use of tonic Chinese medicine could damage the spleen and stomach, disrupting the flow of qi and blood, and leading to a stroke.

"So, there is indeed such a possibility, and Zhou Heting's stroke could have been man-made?"

"The possibility cannot be ruled out," the family doctor replied cautiously.

Then the question arises: if Zhou Heting really had a stroke due to taking inappropriate medication, why didn't the doctors detect it when he was hospitalized?

Ye Mingzhao recalled seeing Zhou Heting's medical records in his attending doctor's office, which noted that Zhou Heting indeed suffered from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and cerebral arteriosclerosis, and had been taking blood pressure medication—

At this thought, Ye Mingzhao had a sudden insight and turned to Chu Hengyi: "Can the dagger get the blood pressure medication Zhou Heting was taking when he had the stroke?"

Chu Hengyi frowned slightly. If the truth about Zhou Heting's stroke was as they suspected, the mastermind had probably already covered their tracks.

"But we can try to follow this lead and see if we uncover anything."

Thus, the pressure was on the dagger.

Fortunately, the dagger did not disappoint, and the experienced private investigator quickly found some clues based on the lead provided by Chu Hengyi. However, the truth was somewhat different from what everyone had guessed—the person who tampered with the blood pressure medication was not Old Master Zhou or other Zhou family relatives, but Mrs. Zhou!