As soon as the group entered the alley, they spotted Old Madam Lin and Eldest Sister-in-law Lin. The two were crouched at the doorstep of the Jiang Family’s house—one wiping tears, the other looking utterly lost.
"Mom, Sister-in-law, what brings you here?" Lin Yueru frowned. She was the third child in her family, with older siblings above her and younger ones below.
In large families, children often became less cherished.
Moreover, in those times, most households doted on the eldest and spoiled the youngest, leaving the middle ones to bear the brunt of neglect.
And Lin Yueru was precisely that overlooked middle child.
After marrying Shen Xiuwen, she had learned to distance herself from her family affairs. She avoided returning home whenever possible, and when she couldn’t, she made sure to complain endlessly during her visits.
If it weren’t for the lack of suitable alternatives this time, she wouldn’t have even considered asking her nephew from her maiden family for help.
Seeing their devastated expressions, Lin Yueru couldn’t help but wonder—had that fool Baozhu messed things up?
Before she could finish the thought, Old Madam Lin clutched her hand as if she’d found her lifeline.
Sobbing uncontrollably, she wailed, "Yueru, you’re the most capable one in our family! You must save Baozhu this time, no matter what!"
"He’s still so young, he hasn’t even carried on the Old Lin Family’s lineage yet! If he dies like this, how will I face your father in the afterlife?!"
Lin Yueru’s heart sank—she knew it was bad. But she forced herself to stay composed.
"Mom, calm down first. What exactly happened to Baozhu?"
Shen Xiuwen’s face flashed with impatience. He had always looked down on his in-laws.
Back then, they had despised him for being poor and refused to let Yueru marry him.
Later, when he became the Jiang Family’s esteemed son-in-law, they shamelessly pushed their daughter into his bed.
If it weren’t for his genuine love for Yueru and the fact that she was carrying his child, he wouldn’t even spare a glance at these people—they disgusted him.
Glancing around, he was relieved to see no one else nearby. This would’ve been humiliating otherwise.
"Alright, Mom, stop crying. Let’s go inside and talk."
He pulled out his keys, but no matter how hard he tried, the key refused to turn in the lock.
Looking down, he realized—the lock had been changed.
Eldest Sister-in-law Lin, Baozhu’s mother, was impatient by nature. She had no time for beating around the bush.
Every minute wasted meant another minute of suffering for her precious Baozhu.
Knowing her sister-in-law had no real authority in this household, she turned directly to Shen Xiuwen.
"Brother-in-law, my Baozhu’s been arrested by the police..."
"You know Baozhu—he’s timid and cares about his reputation."
"If it weren’t for those troublemakers egging him on, he’d never have stolen from anyone!"
"I’m begging you—please find a way to get him out!"
"He’s my only son. I can’t watch him die!"
With every word Eldest Sister-in-law Lin spoke, Lin Yueru’s heart grew heavier.
The others were equally stunned.
Shen Qingqing reacted first.
Judging by her aunt’s words, they only knew Baozhu had been arrested for theft—but not whose house he’d robbed. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have come here.
The priority now was to get them away before they said anything incriminating.
She quickly stepped forward and took her aunt’s arm.
"Aunt, don’t worry. Cousin’s situation isn’t that serious—"
"Not serious?!"
"The police said they emptied the entire house! The stolen goods are worth a fortune! Even if he doesn’t get executed, he’ll get at least ten years of hard labor!"
What?!
Shen Qingqing could hardly believe her ears.
He… emptied the whole house?
How could he dare?!
Lin Yueru was equally dumbfounded. Mother and daughter exchanged glances, both seeing the same disbelief in each other’s eyes.
Shen Xiuwen sneered inwardly. He’d known his in-laws would only bring trouble.
"Sister-in-law, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but Baozhu’s dug himself into an impossible hole."
"Think about it—who has it easy these days?"
"Stealing everything from someone’s home is no different from murder!"
"Xiuwen, you can’t just abandon us—"
Old Madam Lin began to plead, but Shen Xiuwen cut her off.
"It’s not about abandoning you—it’s that I can’t help!"
"The authorities are cracking down nationwide. Who would dare pull strings now?"
"Mom, don’t blame me. Your son-in-law has his limits."
"And let me give you some advice—desperation leads to poor decisions."
"You wouldn’t want this to affect your younger children’s futures, would you?"
Logically, he was right. But Lin Baozhu was the Old Lin Family’s eldest grandson.
As the saying went: the youngest son and the eldest grandson were the apple of an elder’s eye. How could Old Madam Lin simply give up?
"Xiuwen, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have judged you so harshly before. I’ve truly learned my lesson."
"If not for my sake, then for Yueru’s—please help us this once."
"After all, we’re family. Blood runs thicker than water."
"If something happens to your wife’s family, it’ll reflect poorly on Qingqing’s marriage prospects, and Qingyue and Qing'an’s chances of finding wives too. Isn’t that right?"
Old Madam Lin’s words carried a double meaning—both a plea and a veiled threat.
In the past, Shen Xiuwen might’ve cared.
But now, they were set to leave for Hong Kong in two months, and Jiang Si was heading to Heilongjiang next week for rural labor.
Trying to blackmail him with this was laughable.
Just as Shen Xiuwen was about to retort, a mocking voice sounded behind them.
"My, what a lively gathering."
They turned to see Jiang Si supporting an elderly man in a Zhongshan suit, accompanied by a fierce-looking middle-aged man.
"Uncle Third, what brings you here—"
Shen Xiuwen’s eyelids twitched as he forced a smile. He shot Jiang Si a glare, realizing all his previous warnings had been in vain. Who knew how much she’d already told Uncle Third while he was away?
"What, am I not allowed to visit?"
Uncle Third snorted. If it weren’t for Jiang Si’s sake, he’d have drawn his knife on this bastard already.
"Uncle Third, of course you’re welcome. I was just concerned about your health—"
"Enough! The sight of you makes me sick. And the rest of you—why are you all crowding the doorway? Move aside."
Only when Jiang Si pulled a key from her bag did Shen Xiuwen remember.
"Jiang Si, why was the lock changed?"
"Oh? Didn’t the neighbors tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"Our house was robbed. The day after you left, a bunch of thieves cleared us out."
"The police said it was likely an inside job. Otherwise, the timing wouldn’t be so convenient."
At this point, Jiang Si didn’t yet know all five suspects had been caught. She only knew these people had been brought by Shen Qingqing and her mother, so she casually mentioned it.
But her words struck like thunder.
The house was emptied…
An inside job…
Could it be—Lin Baozhu had robbed the Jiang Family?
In an instant, Shen Xiuwen’s mind felt like it had been blasted apart by a firecracker, his heart shattering into pieces.
At that moment, he couldn’t care less about maintaining his composure. Like a wild horse breaking free from its reins, he bolted out in a flash.
Upstairs, downstairs—he tore through every room in the house.
The main target was the hidden compartment in the storage room.
Jiang Si didn’t stop him. After all, a knife only hurts when it’s plunged straight into the heart.
She just wondered if her scumbag father could still manage to smile for the rest of his life after seeing the things he’d painstakingly prepared cleared out in one fell swoop.
Whether he could smile or not, Jiang Si didn’t know.
But one thing was certain—Lin Yueru’s days of comfort had come to an end.
Because when Shen Xiuwen emerged, his face was as dark as ink, his gaze laced with venom as he glared at everyone.
Without a word, he strode forward and delivered a heavy slap across Lin Yueru’s face.
“Was it you?!”
“Dad, please calm down—” Shen Qingqing tried to plead for Lin Yueru, but Shen Xiuwen wasn’t in the mood to spare anyone’s feelings today.
“Stay out of this! Shut your mouth!”
He had poured so much effort into gathering those treasures, only for his own wife to invite a wolf into their home!
That was wealth an ordinary person couldn’t accumulate in a hundred lifetimes!
Gone!
All of it—gone!
Lin Yueru reeled from the slap, stars dancing before her eyes. She hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.
All she had wanted was to make life harder for that wretched girl in the countryside.
Besides, Baozhu wouldn’t dare do such a thing!
There had to be some misunderstanding.
“Xiuwen, listen to me, it’s not what you think…”
“I really didn’t—”
Before she could finish, several police officers walked in with stern expressions.
They had only met Jiang Si before, so they first briefed her on the situation before asking,
“Which one of you is Lin Yueru?”
Jiang Si was all too eager to help. “The one lying on the floor right there.”
The officers nodded and promptly pulled out handcuffs.
“Lin Yueru, you are under arrest for instigating criminal activity. The evidence is conclusive—come with us.”
