Meng Jianhua’s booming voice could be heard across half the Meng residence.
While shouting, he stole glances at Meng Pengtao and Lin Hanqiao, whose faces had instantly turned pale.
Guilty consciences making them cowardly, they panicked upon hearing those words.
They feared their misdeeds had long been discovered by the old lady.
Lin Hanqiao even cursed the old lady silently in her heart.
Thinking she couldn’t let anyone rest in peace even after death.
“Just a shabby book and an old note, is it worth all this fuss, Third Brother?”
Meng Pengtao forced composure, speaking impatiently to brush the matter aside.
“Shabby book? That was Mother’s memento for me! That note must be her warning me! Did one of you take it? Hand it over immediately!”
In the past, Meng Jianhua wouldn’t have bothered with them.
But now he was relentless, behaving like a shameless rogue, his eyes hook-like as he stared at his elder brother and sister-in-law.
Lin Hanqiao hurried to mediate: “Oh Jianhua, it must’ve gotten mixed up somewhere during tidying. After breakfast, I’ll have the maid search thoroughly for you!”
“Search? We must search! Right now!”
Meng Jianhua rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to turn the house upside down.
As the situation threatened to spiral out of control, Old Master Meng emerged with his cane, his head throbbing from the noise, and scolded with a dark expression.
“What’s all this racket! So early in the morning! Jianhua, just an old note – if it’s lost, it’s lost. Stop making such a scene!”
Only when the old master spoke did Meng Jianhua reluctantly quiet down, though he continued muttering.
“It’s different… Those were Mother’s words…”
“Fine, I’ll listen to Dad. Before I leave later, have the maid search again.”
Meng Jianhua appeared to stand down, mumbling under his breath.
But Meng Pengtao and Lin Hanqiao were inwardly thrown into turmoil.
They had no appetite for food, their minds consumed by those ten characters, wondering if the old lady had left other contingencies.
If their scheme came to light, they would truly end up with nothing.
Breakfast concluded hastily. Meng Jianhua yawned about going out to sober up and wandered out.
Meng Pengtao and Lin Hanqiao had no mind to pay him any attention.
Exchanging anxious looks, they hurriedly slipped into the second-floor study one after another.
Even locking the door from inside.
In the study, Lin Hanqiao could no longer maintain her superficial composure. Clutching Meng Pengtao’s arm, her lowered voice trembled.
“Pengtao! Did you hear what Third Brother said? Mother… did she really know something? What was tucked inside that ‘Compendium of Materia Medica’? Could there be others…”
Meng Pengtao’s mind was equally tangled, but he forced steadiness. “What’s there to panic about? Mother’s been gone how long? Besides, the factory accounts were handled discreetly. What could that good-for-nothing third brother possibly uncover?”
“But what if?”
Lin Hanqiao’s eyes reddened with anxiety.
“If the old lady really left something, and Third Brother gets hold of it and reports to Dad, we… we’re finished!”
“Never mind the factory – we might not even be able to stay in this household! You need to think of something quickly!”
While they fretted in the study like ants on a hot pan, Meng Jianhua hadn’t gone far at all.
Crouching behind the old locust tree in the courtyard, he watched the two sneak into the study, a cold smirk curling his lips.
Before long, he turned and went to the backyard to find the old man sunbathing and listening to the opera warbling from the radio.
“Dad.”
Meng Jianhua leaned in, feigning mystery.
“I just… thought I heard Big Brother and Second Sister-in-law arguing in the study? Their voices were quite loud, and I’m feeling a bit uneasy. Should you go check on them? I’d hate for them to be quarreling over my trivial matters.”
The old man, who had been squinting while listening to “Shajiabang,” furrowed his brows at these words.
He turned off the radio and rose with his cane. “What’s all this noise? I’ll go see.”
Meng Jianhua promptly offered a supporting arm and guided the old man toward the main building, heading straight for the rose bushes outside the study window.
It was a quiet spot where they could still hear the commotion inside the study.
Inside, Meng Pengtao, agitated by Lin Hanqiao’s nagging, snapped impatiently, “Enough! Stop going on about it! The priority is to figure out how much Third Brother actually knows!”
“Also, we need to search that camphorwood chest in Mother’s room again carefully! We absolutely cannot leave any evidence behind!”
Outside the window, the old man halted abruptly upon hearing this, his face darkening.
Camphorwood chest? Searching for what? Evidence?
Lin Hanqiao’s voice trembled with tears, “I’m just scared! How could the old lady, who never said a word while she was alive, leave such a trap for us in the end? Isn’t she trying to ruin us? Pengtao, you have to handle this—the factory relies entirely on you now. What if…”
“What if nothing!” Meng Pengtao cut her off irritably.
“As long as there’s no concrete evidence, what can Third Brother do with mere accusations? As for Dad… hmph! As long as the factory depends on me, he won’t dare touch us! The key is to stay calm!”
“Stay calm? How can I stay calm! Every time I think about it…”
Lin Hanqiao’s voice rose shrilly again.
Just then…
A sharp shattering sound from the living room abruptly cut through the tension in the study and startled the old man and Meng Jianhua outside.
They saw Meng Feifei standing frozen in the center of the living room, holding her enamel mug printed with a double happiness symbol. At her feet lay shattered glass and a puddle of water.
She had evidently been fetching water and accidentally knocked a glass off the table.
The noise had startled her, but she was even more terrified by the sight of her grandfather, grim-faced beside the rose bushes, and Meng Jianhua standing nearby with his arms crossed and a mocking smile.
Stammering, she said, “Grandpa… Third Uncle… I-I didn’t mean to…”
The interruption silenced the voices in the study.
Then came hurried footsteps and the sound of the door swinging open. Meng Pengtao rushed out first. “What happened? What’s going on?”
Then, they saw the old man and Meng Jianhua outside the window, the terrified Meng Feifei in the living room, and the mess on the floor.
The air instantly froze.
The old man’s eyes blazed. Those fragments of conversation were enough for a man of his age and experience to grasp the truth.
These two had likely been cooking the books behind his back!
And they were even coveting what his late wife had left behind!
They even had the audacity to shift blame!
The old man said nothing, only snorted heavily, his face so stormy it seemed ready to pour. He thumped his cane hard on the ground, turned, and strode toward his room.
His retreating figure radiated profound disappointment and fury.
Meng Pengtao and Lin Hanqiao watched the old man’s retreating back, their hearts sinking to the depths.
It’s over… the old man has… become suspicious!