Time flies. In the blink of an eye, the young master of the Henderson Family, John Chou, is already three years old.
"Zane, don't help him. Let him walk on his own."
Henry Henderson glared at his grandson, watching John Chou slowly crawl along the stone path, moving sluggishly and babbling incoherently.
Zane Zhuang looked helplessly at John Chou. The child was already three and a half, yet he still couldn't walk or talk. Other children his age could already say simple words, but John Chou could only make babbling sounds and always seemed vacant.
They had already consulted doctors, who believed it was likely caused by a serious illness when he was younger. Henry Henderson felt uneasy. Over the past three years, they'd tried everything; even Fan Li had been trying to teach John Chou to speak. Yet the child remained dull, unable to understand adults. Zane Zhuang, aside from his duties in the manor, watched over the boy every day.
At that moment, Henry Henderson, seemingly overcome with anger, strode over and grabbed John Chou by the arms, pulling him upright.
"You are the seed of the Henderson Family. One day, you will inherit everything. John, think carefully."
For years, Henry Henderson had repeated these words to the child almost daily, but John Chou never seemed to understand. Now, John opened his mouth, showing his molars, and smiled, apparently clueless about his grandfather's meaning.
Henry Henderson's face flushed red and then pale. He tightened his grip, hurting John Chou, who immediately began to wail.
Zane Zhuang hurried over to intervene.
"Sir, the teacher said that although the child is a bit slow-witted, it's not a big problem. There are ways to remedy this in the future."
Henry Henderson sighed, his eyes filled with disappointment as he turned and slowly walked into the house. It seemed the child truly was born with a defect, completely unlike Eugene Henderson, who was writing and running around at age three—so clever from the start.
Zane Zhuang suspected this might be inherited from Maggie Mute. After all, she couldn't speak since childhood—perhaps it was a hereditary flaw.
Back then, Eugene Henderson married Maggie Mute partly because he was moved by all she had done for him, and partly because circumstances left the Henderson Family with no other choice—they had to marry quickly and produce an heir, even though there were other candidates at the time.
Zane Zhuang remembered the heated argument between Eugene Henderson and Henry Henderson. He was there, unable to stop the father and son from fighting. In the end, Eugene said if he had to marry, he'd choose Maggie Mute.
Though Maggie Mute couldn't speak, she was beautiful and robust. Her muteness seemed to stem from being abandoned by a poor couple as a child. She cried for a long time in the grass until a kind farmer took her in, but her throat was damaged from crying, so she couldn't speak—not born mute. That's why Henry Henderson reluctantly agreed to the marriage.
After a day of play, John Chou was filthy. After the maids bathed him, Zane Zhuang carried him back to Maggie Mute's room.
"Madam, the young master played all day again. He still can't walk."
Maggie Mute shook her head and took the sleeping John Chou, gently patting his back. Zane Zhuang left, but he was troubled—something felt off. The child's bones developed normally, yet he couldn't walk. Watching him crawl seemed strange, and he always acted dull around Henry Henderson.
"Maybe this is happiness, too. If he lacks ability, perhaps the master won't let John compete for power."
As night fell, Maggie Mute locked the doors and windows tightly. Suddenly, John Chou sat up in bed and quickly jumped down.
"Mom, is there anyone outside?"
Maggie Mute nodded, and John Chou giggled.
"I've been crawling all day. I'm exhausted, Mom, can you massage my legs?"
Maggie Mute leaned over and massaged John Chou's legs. He relaxed contentedly in her arms.
"Mom, Grandpa keeps talking about inheriting the family business. What does that mean? I don't want to. I hate it."
Maggie Mute nodded, looking at her son with love. She only wished for John Chou to grow up happy; whether he inherited the family business didn't matter. Whenever she thought of Eugene Henderson, she couldn't bear it.
The next day, Victor Fan was coming. Early in the morning, Maggie Mute carried John Chou to the school in the Henderson Manor. The other branch family members immediately mocked them—a mute woman had given birth to a dull child.
John Chou pouted, clearly annoyed, while Maggie Mute smiled and shook her head, patting his back. John lay on her, biting her shoulder, and Maggie Mute grinned.
Maggie Mute had taught John Chou this—though she couldn't speak, mother and son understood each other perfectly. She used gestures to tell him that for many things, you must learn to endure; if you can't, pinch yourself, or let John bite her shoulder.
Everyone in the Henderson Family secretly mocked the young master, who at three and a half still couldn't speak or walk. Zane Zhuang arrived, and Victor Fan smiled as he entered. All the children in the classroom sat at low tables, flipping through their books.
Maggie Mute stood at the back holding John Chou, who was intently watching Victor Fan read aloud. On a gray stone wall, Victor Fan wrote with charcoal, and John memorized everything. He had a photographic memory; he remembered every word Victor Fan taught and knew their pronunciation. His mind was filled with questions about what Victor Fan explained, but he never wanted to ask his grandfather anything.
Victor Fan kept watching John Chou in the last row. It wasn't the first time he'd noticed the boy's attentive gaze. Unlike the other children, John had a strange brilliance in his eyes. Though he still couldn't speak or walk, Victor Fan was beginning to have doubts.
After a morning of lessons, most of the children went off to play, but John Chou stayed behind with Zane Zhuang. Maggie Mute went home.
"John, repeat after me. One..."
Victor Fan sat in front of John Chou, but the boy had completely changed, flipping through a book as if he wanted to play, nothing like before.
Victor Fan sighed and shook his head helplessly.
The private lesson ended without progress.
When John Chou turned four, the family gathered for a simple banquet and invited Victor Fan. No outsiders were invited, as rumors of the young master's stupidity had spread—he was four and still couldn't speak, could only walk a little before crawling, and always wore a vacant smile.
The entire Henderson Family was ashamed; in the past, John Chou's birthdays were always crowded with guests.
"Where's John?"
Henry Henderson looked angrily at Maggie Mute, who quickly gestured that John was sleeping.
"All he does is sleep. Oh, heavens."
Henry Henderson had lost all hope for the child. Recently, he'd been planning to choose the Henderson Family heir from among the branch family's children. Everyone knew about it, so those children had been working hard to prove themselves.
Victor Fan excused himself from the table, unable to watch any longer. He went straight to Maggie Mute's room, where Zane Zhuang stood guard outside.
"Teacher, what exactly are you planning?"
Victor Fan stormed into the room, his face full of anger. John Chou, who was eating at the table, immediately started giggling and acted vacant. Zane Zhuang shook his head and rushed over to wipe John's mouth and clothes with a towel.
"John, there's a very special snake up in the mountains. Do you want to see it?"
Victor Fan took a small vial from his pocket and pulled out a brightly colored snake.
"I really don't know what else to do. But I've heard this snake can cure stupidity. If it bites you, maybe you'll get better. Forgive me, John—I'm doing this for your own good."
Victor Fan placed the snake directly on John Chou's head, and Zane Zhuang helped coil it around his neck.
"Young master, bear with it. This is all for your own good. Even if you have problems, I have ways to help you."
Victor Fan smiled happily. Suddenly, John Chou cried out, jumped onto the table, shook off the snake, and darted to the window.
Zane Zhuang stared in shock at the fluid movement—nothing like a child who couldn't walk.
"You're lying. You said the snake was poisonous, and poison can kill people."
"So the teacher scared John—scared him into walking! The teacher really does have a way."
Victor Fan immediately glared at Zane Zhuang.
"Scared? Zane, look at John—and listen to what he just said, so clear! He's pretending: pretending he can't speak, pretending he can't walk, pretending to be a fool. John, you're very clever! Did you write these characters?"
Victor Fan picked up a bamboo scroll and examined it. The handwriting was beautiful, very similar to his own, full of vigor. Though Maggie Mute always claimed she wrote it, she couldn't read or write. Victor Fan had tested her a few days ago and confirmed it—the brilliant child was pretending to be deaf and mute.
"Young master, you were pretending..."
Zane Zhuang finally realized and shouted in shock, but John Chou quickly covered his mouth.
"Uncle Zane, can you not be so loud? If Grandpa finds out, it’ll be a disaster. He’ll keep nagging me about inheriting the family business—I’m not interested."