There was something strange in the way everyone looked at the Huo family, and many people subconsciously distanced themselves from them.
Fan Xiaowan also silently moved two steps away from Zhou Qianqian.
Zhou Qianqian felt a chill down her spine at Huo Pengyi's gloomy gaze. Her years of understanding made her know clearly what he was thinking:
If the Huo family was really implicated, she would definitely be the scapegoat!
"No!" Zhou Qianqian felt a huge panic in her heart, and she couldn't help but scream, "This is not true at all, Ning Shaobai, Ning Shaobai is talking nonsense!"
"It's you," Zhou Qianqian suddenly thought of something and said excitedly, "It was you who reported it, right?"
"It was because of that bet. It must have been because of that bet! He deliberately reported it to harm me!"
At this critical moment, Zhou Qianqian's brain turned quickly, but unfortunately she still couldn't come up with an idea. "She felt that she couldn't get the Huo family's old house, so she did this to harm me!"
Huo Pengyi frowned, "What Huo's old house? What bet?"
Zhou Qianqian didn't care to hide it anymore, "Ning Shaobai said he wanted to take over the Huo family's row of old houses! I was so angry that I made a bet with him."
Huo Pengyi realized something and frowned, "Then what?"
Zhou Qianqian hesitated when she saw Mrs. Huo’s disapproving look.
Fan Xiaowan has already spoken for her.
"Uncle Huo, I can testify to this. I personally saw Zhou Qianqian and Brother Shao Bai make a bet. Brother Shao Bai said that he must get that row of courtyards. If he can't get it, Xia Mian will give the current courtyard to Miss Zhou."
"If he gets it, Brother Shao Bai will reveal Mrs. Huo's secrets or something..."
Huo Pengyi didn't care about Mrs. Huo's secret at all. He just looked at Xia Mian with an expression that didn't want to accept the answer, "Miss Xia now has a yard..."
Fan Xiaowan tilted her head and said, "She said that she relied on her status as Chenchen's savior to force Madam Huo to sell it to her."
Then he turned to Zhou Qianqian for confirmation, "Really?"
Zhou Qianqian was obviously very confused at the moment. She nodded hurriedly, "Yes, it was Ning Shaobai and her who forced me to do this."
Xia Mian rolled her eyes. "Ms. Fan, who did you learn this bloody slander from? When did I force you to buy the Huo family's yard?"
"That yard was purchased with my real money, and I signed a formal purchase contract with the previous owner, Ms. Zhou Qianqian, to complete the transaction."
Xia Mian looked at Zhou Qianqian's appearance and sighed, "To be honest, before I made a deal with her, I never thought that she was such a liar and troublemaker, otherwise I would never have dealt with her."
Fan Xiaowan cursed inwardly, but tilted her head in confusion and asked, "Aren't you living in the courtyard of No. 2, Building 3, Goldfish Lane now?"
Xia Mian said generously, "Yes, what's wrong?"
Huo Pengyi said in a deep voice, "That is our Huo family's ancestral home!"
"But I transferred the property from Zhou Qianqian." Xia Mian said, "How come your Huo family's ancestral home is in Zhou Qianqian's name?"
"Could it be that Zhou Qianqian is the biological daughter of your Huo family?"
Mrs. Huo and Zhou Qianqian's faces changed slightly. Huo Pengyi couldn't answer, so he could only turn around and ask Mrs. Huo angrily, "What's going on?!"
Mrs. Huo wiped her tears and said, "It was Ning Shaobai who threatened me. He hated me because of Xiaoyun's painting and wanted to take revenge on me. At that time, I thought that Xiaoyun was our daughter-in-law after all, and even if he was angry, it was only temporary. So I told Qianqian to transfer the house to him. No matter what, let's let the siblings calm down first."
“Who knew he would actually give it directly to the little girl from the Xia family to insult us.”
The Huo family had just been exposed, and everyone felt that it was only natural for the Ning siblings to take revenge on them, and this statement did have some credibility.
But Xia Mian refused to admit it. "You're saying this as if it's my fault?"
"Whether you are guilty or remorseful, or someone has caught you, that is your own problem."
"And I spent real money to buy the yard from the owner Zhou Qianqian. What did I do wrong?"
Rong Xin said, "I can testify to this. I wrote the contract for them. I bought it for 70,000 yuan, which is slightly higher than the market price."
"Mrs. Huo, Zhou Qianqian wouldn't have told you. Did she embezzle the money?"
Zhou Qianqian hastily denied, "Nonsense, it's obviously only 20,000!"
Rong Xin was speechless, "The reason why they gave you a price higher than the market price is that the condition is to pay in installments. Why don't you mention the balance?"
Huo Pengyi said, "That means Miss Xia didn't pay the balance, right?"
He negotiated in a gentle voice, "How about this? We don't want the balance. How about I compensate you with a new building of equal value?"
Xia Mian said unhappily, "No! What do you mean?"
"If I accept it, wouldn't that mean I got this yard for nothing?"
"I am a clean person, why should I bear this false accusation?"
"Besides, who said I didn't pay the balance?" Xia Mian looked at Zhou Qianqian and sneered, "Should I give you the bank transfer record? I transferred the money to you ten days ago. You want to embezzle it and frame me."
Zhou Qianqian said, "Nonsense, where is the money?"
Xia Mian rolled her eyes, "You're being nosy."
Huo Pengyi frowned, "Miss Xia, that is our old house, which means a lot to our Huo family."
"That's strange." Ning Shaobai said, "Why is it that this is the only one in your house that has a special meaning?"
"It doesn't matter if you change the other names, but it's not right for you to bully a little girl like this."
Huo Pengyi frowned, "What do you mean?"
"The row of important ancestral houses in your family has been exchanged for me." Ning Shaobai said, "Now they are all under my name. Did I force you to sell them?"
"Impossible!" Old Madam Huo and Zhou Qianqian said in unison, "Nonsense!"
Huo Pengyi also thought it was absurd, "How is it possible? What do you think of our Huo family?"
"Why is this impossible?" Ning Shaobai laughed sarcastically, "Just like how my sister's paintings inexplicably appeared at an auction, there's nothing strange about our yard being sold."
"Isn't this your family tradition?" He looked at Mrs. Huo and Zhou Qianqian, "If you want to apply for a new project, you need to give a new gift. Director Luo seemed to like Siheyuan very much for a while."
Huo Pengyi looked at Mrs. Huo and Zhou Qianqian suddenly, looking as if he was about to pass out from anger, "You guys!"
Old Mrs. Huo's face turned pale, and Zhou Qianqian didn't dare to breathe.
Huo Pengyi's chest heaved with righteousness, and he looked like he was about to vomit blood. Ning Shaobai laughed, "Uncle Huo, it's just a row of yards, is it that serious?"
"After all, it's not even worth my sister's painting. Why do you look so upset... You didn't feel this bad when my sister's painting was sold."
Huo Pengyi pointed at Ning Shaobai, shaking with anger, "Oh, oh, you really did it on purpose..."
Ning Shaobai said, "Don't follow Zhou Qianqian's example and make random comments. You are flattering me too much. It wasn't me who asked Zhou Qianqian to give the yard to Director Luo."
"Speaking of which, the property certificate of the important ancestral house should be locked up tightly. Zhou Qianqian, an outsider, was able to give the yard away so easily. Are you sure you value the ancestral house very much and don't use it to blackmail us?"
Zhou Qianqian was filled with panic, "That can't possibly be in your hands!"
If the yard was in his hands, wouldn't she have lost the bet? If he revealed her background on an occasion like today, she and Old Madam Huo would be finished!
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Ning Shaobai said, "There is no doubt about this matter. Many people know about it."
"It was Shengming Auction House that introduced me to it. I bought it in exchange for a stamp."
The old man who liked stamps suddenly said, "You're the one who wanted to exchange the 'China's Mountains and Rivers Are All Red' stamp for a yard?!"
Ning Shaobai clapped his hands and said, "Look, I didn't expect someone here would know about it."
He looked at Huo Pengyi's surprised eyes and said, "Oh, I forgot that Uncle Huo also likes stamps. If I had known, I would have exchanged with you directly. We can all be happy. It's obvious that the Huo family is the one who ruined the family, but they blame us outsiders."
"As a result, Zhou Qianqian, who has no clear relationship with our family, has been asked to do something like this. Losing money is a small matter, and who knows what kind of big trouble this will cause."
As soon as he finished speaking, Uncle Ma, the Ning family's housekeeper, suddenly came in from outside with a serious face and whispered something in Old Master Ning's ear.
Old Master Ning glanced at Huo Pengyi, and Huo Pengyi's heart skipped a beat.
Old Master Ning nodded, and Uncle Ma walked up to Zhou Qianqian and said, "Miss Zhou, please come with me. I need your help with something."
Zhou Qianqian twisted her fingers nervously, looked at Old Mrs. Huo for help, but was finally taken out by Uncle Ma unwillingly.
Everyone seemed to realize something and held their breath unconsciously.
Sure enough, after a while, Zhou Qianqian rushed in in a panic, "No, I won't go with the police!"
In a panic, she didn't care about anything else and shouted to Mrs. Huo, "Mom, Mom, please save me! I didn't bribe you! Those were just ordinary gifts!"
Then he said to Huo Pengyi, "Dad, Dad, I am your biological daughter, you can't just stand by and watch me die... Whether it's sending paintings or the yard, I'm doing it for the Huo family, Dad, Dad! I am your biological daughter, and Huo Xuewen is the son of the Zhou family, you can't not save me!"
Amidst the uproar, Zhou Qianqian was taken away by two plainclothes officers.
"Oh!" Rong Xin whistled, "Is it so exciting?"
Ning Shaobai smiled. The bet was paid off very quickly without him having to speak up himself.
The noise in the hall rose several decibels almost instantly.
"This? What does this mean? Why don't I understand?"
Someone who knows the Huo family explained, "The Huo family values male offspring. I think the old lady replaced her daughter with a son so that she could come back..."
"This is really..."
"This is too absurd. Isn't Huo Xuewen pitiful..."
Ning Shaoyun suddenly walked up to the shaking old lady Huo and said angrily, "No wonder Zhou Qianqian got to the top of our family and bullied us! She even didn't let Chenchen go. So this is the truth!"
"We are not members of the Huo family at all!"
She turned to Huo Pengyi again, and seemed to have understood a lot of things all of a sudden, "And I, I knew it a long time ago!"
Ning Shaoyun was so angry that she was shaking all over, and she said with tears streaming down her face, "No wonder I never cared about Huo Xuewen, and never cared about Chenchen!"
"No wonder Chenchen is in danger," Ning Shaoyun almost roared, "Is it because Chenchen blocked the path of our Huo family's bloodline that you want to get rid of him?"
"You guys deceived Huo Xuewen and me, and in the end you didn't let my child go," Ning Shaoyun picked up the teacup on the coffee table and threw it fiercely in the direction of Mrs. Huo, "You guys, you are worse than animals!"
The scene suddenly became chaotic.
Ning Shaoyun couldn't stop crying, "Do you know that I dream every night that Chenchen was kidnapped. He was just a little kid, with his fingers chopped off and his legs broken, lying in a pool of blood, lifeless..."
Xia Mian was stunned for a moment, not knowing whether Ning Shaoyun really dreamed of Chenchen's appearance in his previous life. She hurriedly supported her, "Sister Ning."
Ning Shaoyun pointed at Huo Pengyi and Mrs. Huo and said, "I will definitely not let you go!"
Everyone was surprised that Ning Shaoyun would suddenly attack, but after hearing what she said, they suddenly felt that just attacking was already considered well-mannered...
"This, this is too ridiculous..."
"He really deserves to be beaten to death."
"It's fine to ruin someone else's life for your own selfishness, but you want to get rid of the child just because he's in the way?"
"This family really lives as they please."
…
Old Master Ning also slammed his cane hard and shouted angrily, "Huo Pengyi, is what Xiaoyun said true?! Is Chenchen's kidnapping related to our Huo family?!"
Fan Xiuzhi subconsciously looked at Ning Shaobai, but saw Ning Shaobai looked at the old man sarcastically and said nothing.
Huo Pengyi had never expected that the scandal that the Huo family had tried so hard to cover up would be exposed under such circumstances. He could no longer bear the charge of colluding with the kidnappers. He gasped and denied it with a trembling voice, "Old man, these are all fabricated stories..."
Ning Shaobai said lazily, "Uncle Huo, there is no need for you to quibble here. With modern medicine, a DNA test can reveal everything. As for the kidnapping..."
He suddenly smiled and asked, "How many rounds of interrogation do you think Zhou Qianqian can withstand?"
When Ning Shaobai said this, he glanced at Fan Xiuzhi, but there was no change on the other person's face.
As expected... there should be no flaws in it.
But Mrs. Huo turned pale and fainted...
The scene instantly became chaotic. Old Master Ning had a gloomy expression on his face. He just told the butler to send the people away and no longer showed any politeness.
He looked up at Ning Shaoyun, whose face was covered with tears, opened his mouth, and finally just sighed deeply.
"Sister," Ning Shaobai said, "Let Xia Mian take you to your room to rest. Today is Grandpa's birthday, don't ruin his mood."
He glanced at Fan Xiuzhi and smiled slightly, "Aunt Fan has something important to do next, so we can't delay it."
Ning Shaoyun immediately perked up after hearing that. Yes, they had just dealt with the accomplices, and the real culprit was right here.
Ning Shaobai did not hide anything at all. Although everyone did not know what he wanted to do, they could clearly feel that after the Huo family, it was Fan Xiuzhi's turn...
Fan Xiuzhi could not help but clench her fists, and had to admit that she had really misjudged Ning Shaobai. Ning Shaobai had only been back for a short month, and he had done so many things.
Almost everyone present was a shrewd person. The Huo family's face had just been peeled off layer by layer, and the final decline was foreseeable.
Those seemingly unrelated things all have the shadow of the eldest son of the Ning family.
It was obvious that he was definitely not the fool that Fan Xiuzhi said, and people looked at him with new scrutiny and consideration.
After all, Fan Xiuzhi's reputation as a good stepmother has been stripped away. Will she also follow in the footsteps of the Huo family
These people didn't really care about the Ning family's excitement, but they all had cooperation with the Ning family, or were about to cooperate, and Fan Xiuzhi's outcome was related to their interests.
Under everyone's gaze, Ning Shaobai smiled and said, "Sister's gifts have all been given out, but I haven't given any yet."
Old Master Ning frowned and sighed, then asked, "What gift?"
Ning Shaobai said, "It's an imported sound system. I know you love to listen to opera. With this, connected to a tape recorder or CD player, the whole hall can hear the sound, just like you are listening to it live. The effect is amazing."
"It just so happens that it can be used today," Ning Shaobai said, looking at the microphone connected to the small stage. "When you talk to Aunt Fan later, you don't have to speak too loudly. Everyone can hear you."
After saying that, Ning Shaobai took out his cell phone and made a call, "Send them all in."
Soon, people came in carrying four large speakers. Ning Shaobai said to Uncle Ma, "Help them connect the lines. It will be ready in about half an hour. Let everyone try out the surround sound effect. It's great."
Fan Xiuzhi stared at the speakers with vigilance. She now knew that Ning Shaobai would hardly do anything useless, but after thinking about it, she couldn't guess what these speakers could do...
Ning Shaobai smiled and said, "Aunt Fan, why are you so nervous? Don't worry, there is no bomb inside."
Ning Shaoyang frowned, "Brother..."
Ning Shaobai still ignored him. Old Master Ning sighed deeply, patted Ning Shaobai's hand and said, "Since we'll be installing the audio system for a while, why don't you accompany grandpa upstairs?"
In Grandpa Ning's study, the old man said helplessly, "Xiaobai... I know you have resentment in your heart, but don't act on impulse! Now the murderer who kidnapped Chenchen has been found..."
"Grandpa," Ning Shaobai was so angry that he laughed, "You can pretend to be confused, but there is a limit, right? Do I look like a fool?"
The old man sighed and said solemnly, "Xiaobai, what belongs to you, grandpa will not give you less. Grandpa can guarantee this to you, but you also know that Xiaoyang is a good child, after all, we are brothers..."
"So? Just because I'm unlucky enough to be his brother, and he wants to harm us, we have to endure it?"
"Listen to me!" the old man said angrily, "You are all my grandchildren, I will not harm any of you!"
"That Qiongying, her grandfather is the granddaughter of my old friend. She is pretty and capable. She will inherit Gaokang Pharmaceutical in the future. You two should get along well. Fan Xiuzhi is overbearing and is a little afraid of the Gao family."
"Isn't it?" Ning Shaobai said, "Grandpa, are you going to use this trick on me?"
"Fan Xiuzhi is pretty and capable, Huo Xuewen is also handsome and capable... Grandpa, my dad ran away from home and disappeared, and my sister has become a joke, and Chenchen's life is in danger because of this."
"Grandpa, you have such a keen eye that every one of your picks is a rare gem. I don't dare to take the risk."
"I prefer a simple life and don't want to have to clean up the dirty hands of animals every day."
Old Master Ning said angrily, "Isn't it for the sake of justice? What else can I do?!"
"I'm old now, and the reason I can control the Ning family now is because of the old friends who built the empire with me!"
"Once Fan Xiuzhi's investment in Hainan is successful and a cooperation agreement is signed with Moh Company, Grandpa will retire soon. By then, I will be gone and forgotten. Do you think we can still live as relaxed as we do now?"
The old man said sadly, "Xiao Bai, Grandpa can't hold on any longer. I can only find a way out for you."
Ning Shaobai suddenly smiled, "Grandpa, don't you think you are very sensible? You have been balancing everything in the family all your life, caring for every young generation, and leading the Ning family to greater heights. You have done a great job?"
“Today, you will witness its collapse.”
The old man's face changed, and he heard Ning Shaobai say, "Because these are all fake, do you know why?"
"You taught us since childhood to consider the overall situation and the entire Ning family first, but considering the overall situation is based on fairness."
"You just tried to keep things quiet."
"Because Fan Xiuzhi is paranoid and overbearing, and we are reasonable and generous, she just keeps asking us to give in,"
"Are you considering the overall situation? No, you just think that we are people who can give in and allow the Ning family to maintain a little superficial peace."
"And the so-called asylum is even more ridiculous. Are you really offering asylum, or is it just compensation to make yourself feel more at ease?"
"But everything must be based on fairness and justice. Human nature is greedy. If we give in without restraint, those people will only become more aggressive until they lose their bottom line."
"It was you who made Fan Xiuzhi what she is now."
"If you don't intend to correct it, then let me do it."
"I have already withdrawn what I should withdraw. If she dares to offend me in the slightest, I will make her pay double the price!"
"Xiaobai!" Old Master Ning suddenly felt that Ning Shaobai was a little strange. That aura that frightened him...
Old Master Ning couldn't help but wonder if he had made the wrong choice back then. This child would be even better than Xiaoyang...
The old man shook off the thoughts in his mind. At this point, the only thing he could do was to maintain the existing peace.
"What do you want to do?" the old man asked calmly.
Ning Shaobai said calmly, "Don't be nervous. I know you truly care for us within your ability. Besides, we have my dad. As you said, although Ning Shaoyang is a little stupid, he is a good kid overall. I won't ruin the Ning family."
"At most, we're just cutting off the cancer." Ning Shaobai said, "Believe me, after cutting it off, the Ning family will be healthier."
Old Master Ning showed weakness and said, "Xiao Bai, no matter what, come back after Grandpa's birthday banquet, okay? I really won't be biased towards her this time! What belongs to you, I won't take a cent less!"
Ning Shaobai smiled, "Grandpa, do you believe what you said? I believe you can do it, but can Fan Xiuzhi agree to it?"
"You have indulged her into a greedy evil spirit," Ning Shaobai helped the old man tidy up his clothes and said slowly, "Relax, I won't let anything bad happen to the Ning family. Leave the Ning family to Ning Shaoyang to guard well, after all, he is also the heir you carefully trained."
Old Master Ning: …
He can't let go of this worry today.
Ning Shaobai came out of the study and saw Fan Xiuzhi standing at the door.
The calmness on her face was gone, and her eyes were full of vigilance.
Ning Shaobai smiled and said, "Why? Are you worried that the old man will secretly give me some private money?"
"Don't worry. If I say I won't take it, then I won't take it. No matter if it's company shares, they are Grandpa's private property. I won't take a single cent."
"But..." Ning Shaobai looked around, "How come you have time to come up? Shouldn't everyone be here today? Is it because after seeing your true face, they are no longer willing to trust you?"
"Are you very satisfied with cleaning up the Huo family?" Fan Xiuzhi suddenly smiled. "Not to mention that the Ning family doesn't have those messy scandals. Even if there are, no matter what those people say or scold me behind my back, I am still polite to them when I see them."
"Do you know why?" Fan Xiuzhi said, "Because in this world, there is no right or wrong, only interests."
"Unless you are more powerful and wealthy than me, otherwise, I advise you to keep quiet."
Ning Shaobai nodded, "I agree with this, why don't we wait and see?"
"By the way," Ning Shaobai turned back and said to Fan Xiuzhi before going downstairs, "I'll give you a piece of advice. It's best not to take all the credit for Ning Shaoyang, otherwise he will be badly hurt by you."