"Wait a minute—"
Eldest Sister-in-law Lin couldn’t make sense of the overly refined words. She only asked one question.
"Comrade Officer, are you saying that my Baozhu was put up to this by her?"
"Yes."
"You wretched Lin Yueru!"
Upon learning the truth, Eldest Sister-in-law Lin was so furious she could barely breathe.
"So it was you who ruined our Baozhu! I’ll beat the conscience out of you, you heartless wretch!"
Even after hitting her, her anger remained unquenched. In a fit of rage, Eldest Sister-in-law Lin exposed all of Lin Yueru’s dirty secrets.
Back then, the Lin Family had indeed looked down on Shen Xiuwen for being poor, but the real reason was that Lin Yueru had been stringing him along while searching for a better match, desperate to climb the social ladder.
Even the so-called "framing by her family" later on was all a lie.
It had all been orchestrated by her.
Even the fertility drug had been bought by Lin Yueru herself!
At these words, Lin Yueru’s face turned deathly pale.
She opened her mouth to explain, but Shen Xiuwen calmly helped her up instead.
What was done was done—what use was dredging up the past now?
Would the stolen items magically return?
Besides, Lin Yueru knew too much about him. If she were arrested and couldn’t keep her mouth shut, the entire family would be dragged down with her!
Patting her hand gently, Shen Xiuwen soothed her in a soft voice, "I was wrong just now. I shouldn’t have doubted you."
But the kinder he acted, the more uneasy Lin Yueru felt.
"Xiuwen, I—"
"Let’s not bring up the past. I believe in you."
Earlier, he had acted impulsively, but after calming down, Shen Xiuwen had pieced everything together and realized there were far too many inconsistencies in this matter.
He admitted his wife had her share of cunning and cleverness.
But to suggest she had conspired with outsiders to empty their home?
Impossible!
She lacked the nerve, and there was no reason for her to do so.
As for that fool Lin Baozhu—even with ten extra brains, he couldn’t have come up with such a meticulous plan.
So the problem still lay with those other people.
And as for the stolen goods, liquidating or transporting them all in just two days wouldn’t have been easy.
Shen Xiuwen suspected they had likely hidden everything somewhere.
At this point, losing his temper wouldn’t help.
Better to swallow his rage for now, wait until the items were recovered, and then deal with them slowly.
With this in mind, Shen Xiuwen turned to the officers with an apologetic expression.
"Comrade Officers, could there be some misunderstanding here?"
"My wife is timid and kind-hearted—she would never incite her own nephew to do such a thing."
"And as for Baozhu, though he’s a bit reckless at times, he’s not a bad kid at heart."
Seeing her son-in-law change his tune, Old Madam Lin quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes! Comrade Officers, our Baozhu isn’t that kind of person."
What was going on?
The officers exchanged puzzled glances. Just moments ago, this family had been at each other’s throats—how had they suddenly united?
"Comrade Shen, are you saying you won’t pursue this matter further?"
"That’s right!"
Shen Xiuwen gave a bitter smile. "After all, we’re family. If this escalates, how can we face each other afterward?"
"Baozhu is still young and impulsive. Should we condemn him forever for one mistake?"
"In the end, we elders share the blame too—we failed to raise him right."
"As long as he returns what he took, I’m willing to give him a second chance!"
"Pah—what nerve!"
Jiang Si couldn’t hold back a scornful laugh.
"It was the Jiang Family’s belongings that were stolen, and I was the one who reported it to the police. And now you’re the one ‘willing to give him a second chance’? What does this have to do with you?"
Shen Xiuwen’s face flushed red. "…Must you speak so rudely?"
"Shut your mouth. I haven’t even gotten to you yet. Did you leave your brain back in your hometown when you went out?"
"Let’s get this straight—your wife and her nephew emptied my house. Instead of helping me, you’re scolding me?"
"Since when do you side with outsiders?"
"Or was this all your idea in the first place?"
"You—how dare you slander me like this!"
"If it wasn’t you, why are you so worked up?"
Jiang Si rolled her eyes and shoved him aside.
"This doesn’t concern you. Don’t waste the officers’ time!"
Shen Xiuwen was so furious he nearly choked, his fingers trembling.
"Do you have to humiliate everyone like this? Don’t you understand the principle of leaving room for reconciliation?"
"No, and I don’t care to."
"All I know is, if you leave room for scum, they’ll only get worse!"
With that, Jiang Si smirked. "Officers, take them away. Investigate this case thoroughly. I’m the one calling the shots here, and I won’t settle!"
As the officers escorted Lin Yueru into the police car, Shen Qingqing finally snapped.
"Jiang Si, you ungrateful snake!"
"My mother took care of you for years—have you no shame?"
"My cousin didn’t steal that much! It was you, wasn’t it?"
"This whole thing was your doing from the start!"
"You’re framing them!"
The female lead’s instincts were sharp, it had to be said.
But so what? She had no proof.
Jiang Si snorted and immediately rushed outside. "Officers, I formally accuse Shen Qingqing of withholding information and shielding a suspect!"
Shen Qingqing nearly fainted from rage. "Officers, I didn’t—"
"Oh? Then how can you be so sure your cousin didn’t steal anything else?"
"I—I was just guessing!"
Without hesitation, Jiang Si raised her hand again.
"Officers, Shen Qingqing knows nothing yet slanders me. I suspect she’s covering for the criminals!"
"Also, I just remembered—she and her mother left together after I withdrew money that day."
"Given these points, she should absolutely be taken in for questioning!"
Shen Qingqing was speechless.
What stunned her even more was that the officers actually took Jiang Si’s words seriously.
"Comrade Shen Qingqing, please cooperate with our investigation. You’ll need to come with us."
And just like that, both mother and daughter were taken away.
Old Madam Lin and Eldest Sister-in-law Lin stood dumbfounded, glancing between Shen Xiuwen and Jiang Si—who should they beg now?
Before they could speak, Uncle Zhong swept them out with a broom as if they were trash.
Old Madam Lin, indignant, sat at the doorstep and began wailing.
"Xiuwen! What kind of bandits are these? I’m your mother-in-law! How dare an outsider throw us out?"
Jiang Si didn’t tolerate their nonsense. She flung a basin of cold water at them.
"Raise a shameless daughter, and you have the nerve to cry about it?"
"One more word, and tomorrow I’ll take a megaphone to your neighborhood and broadcast all your family’s dirty secrets!"
Shen Xiuwen initially wanted to say a few more words, but seeing the situation, he could only press his lips together and swallow his words.
Did he really think playing the coward would let him off the hook?
Wishful thinking!
Jiang Si turned around, her gaze sweeping over her scoundrel of a father and his two sons, cutting straight to the chase.
"I've already rented this house to Third Granduncle."
"Will you leave on your own, or should I have Uncle Zhong throw you out?"
Shen Xiuwen was momentarily stunned.
"Can you stop causing trouble? Isn’t the family in enough chaos already?"
Causing trouble?
Jiang Si smirked. "I’m being polite right now. If you don’t leave, don’t blame me when you’re tossed out later."
Seeing she wasn’t bluffing, Shen Xiuwen’s heart sank.
"How can you treat me like this? I’m your father!"
"We’ve severed ties. Stop trying to claim a relationship."
Jiang Si enunciated each word coldly, "I don’t have a father like you—one who lacks basic paternal decency!"
"This is our home! What right do you have to rent it out or kick us out?" Shen Qingyue protested.
"What right?"
Third Granduncle struck Shen Xiuwen’s leg with his cane. Though over sixty, years of martial arts training and recent rejuvenation from spiritual spring water made the blow unbearable.
Shen Xiuwen dropped to one knee on the floor.
Third Granduncle scoffed, "If not for Jiang Si’s sake, do you think you’d even be allowed to stand here and speak?"
"'What right?' You ask? Tell me, what right does she have?!"
Shen Xiuwen had no retort. He could only watch as Uncle Zhong forcibly escorted him and his two sons out.
"Waaah—"
The moment they stepped outside the Jiang Family’s gates, Shen Qing’an burst into tears.
Just days ago, he’d been happily traveling back to their hometown with his father, mother, brother, and sister.
Why had everything changed upon their return?
Their belongings were stolen, his mother and sister arrested by the police.
Now, even their grand Western-style house belonged to someone else.
"Dad, where do we go now?" Shen Qingyue asked hesitantly.
He wanted to ask when they’d fetch his mother and sister, but Shen Xiuwen’s stony silence made him nervous.
Shen Xiuwen took a deep breath, patted his head, then pulled his younger son into an embrace.
That damned old man—one day, he’d repay today’s humiliation a hundredfold!
As dusk fell, the three found temporary lodging at a state-run guesthouse nearby.
Uncle Zhong, assigned to keep watch, observed them for over an hour.
Just as he prepared to report back, a familiar figure caught his eye.
Heading out so late?
Could it be, as Jiang Si had speculated, that this fox had other hiding holes?
Alert, Uncle Zhong steeled himself and quietly followed—
