Li Shichuan’s heart tightened. He looked nervously at Lu Shiman. “Who told you that?”
Lu Shiman shrugged. “People on the street. They said she was getting all flirty with a man today.”
“Seems like… some guy called Laizi?”
“Really strange… why would anyone be called Laizi?”
“Tch.” Li Shichuan clenched his fists. It wasn’t impossible.
Back in the village, Li Laizi had been a lazy troublemaker, always stealing chickens and petty thefts.
If Hongmei hadn’t gotten pregnant with his child and been forced to marry Li Laizi, they wouldn’t have had any connection at all.
That man was difficult and shameless.
If he really threatened Hongmei… who knows what could happen?
“I understand. Leave this to me,” Li Shichuan said, taking a deep breath.
If it really was a plot between Hongmei and Li Laizi, then he would only take Weimian with him to Hong Kong.
She was obedient, pretty, and could be of some help in Hong Kong.
But first, he had to get the gold back.
Lu Shiman raised an eyebrow, giving a helpless nod.
“Fine.”
“I’m going to rest now.”
After all the chaos today, she was tired.
Once Lu Shiman left, Li Shichuan slammed his fist onto the table, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes.
Li Weimian and Xiang Hongmei huddled together in tears, the sheets damp, yet they could do nothing to explain themselves.
“Mom, I think it’s that wretched Lu Shiman behind all this.”
She thought it through. It couldn’t have been them. Only someone as malicious as Lu Shiman would frame them.
Besides her, she couldn’t think of anyone else who would target them.
“But… is that pig-brain even capable of this?”
Xiang Hongmei doubted it. Lu Shiman might be spiteful, but capable of orchestrating something like this? She wasn’t so sure.
They’d been at the Lu household for a year. Lu Shiman really was dangerously stupid. She might blunder her way into trouble with a single snide remark.
Causing chaos, yes—she could believe Lu Shiman’s abilities there. But scheming? Xiang Hongmei remained skeptical.
Li Weimian hesitated, “Maybe tomorrow I’ll sneak into her room and search.”
What if Lu Shiman was just pretending to be dumb? What if they’d all been tricked?
Lu Shiman didn’t flinch at their suspicion. Her room was cleaner than her face.
There were no modern-day cameras. With her space ability, even if the police came, they couldn’t find a thing—not to mention a half-baked amateur like Li Weimian. She could turn the house upside down and still find nothing.
The next day, while Lu Shiman was still asleep, a commotion rose from downstairs.
She perked up, listening carefully—but the noise was chaotic, impossible to make out clearly.
Resigned, she climbed out of bed and quickly got dressed.
By the time she stepped outside, the chaos downstairs had reached a fever pitch.
The floor was a mess. Xiang Hongmei’s face was swollen like a steamed bun, and Li Weimian’s cheek bore a clear handprint.
Li Shichuan didn’t look much better. His face was ashen, his hair matted with blood in places.
Opposite him, Li Laizi’s eyes gleamed with ferocity. His clothes were torn, but his presence was far stronger than Li Shichuan’s.
Lu Shiman raised an eyebrow at the spectacle. So much for the mighty Li Shichuan.
“Quite lively,” she said lazily.
Li Laizi glanced at Lu Shiman, his eyes darkening.
“Call the police, Manman,” Li Shichuan said coldly.
“No!” Xiang Hongmei shouted anxiously.
“Li Er’gou, you’re useless as always. A woman’s right by your side and you still think of me?” Li Laizi smirked, eyes full of provocation.
Li Shichuan’s eyes reddened. His nails dug into his palms. Looking at Xiang Hongmei, his gaze grew cold.
“All those years I raised your daughter for nothing, and I ask for a little payback—so what?”
Li Laizi glanced at Li Weimian, then at Lu Shiman.
“Miss Lu, see that woman? That’s your stepmother. This is your biological sister. When your deadbeat father and your mother got involved, he was already entangled with Xiang Hongmei, and even fathered Li Weimian out of wedlock.”
“If he hadn’t paid me a hundred coins back then to marry Xiang Hongmei, she’d already be dead in a pig cage.”
Li Laizi’s face darkened. If it weren’t for the money, would he willingly shoulder such a burden?
He looked at Lu Shiman, eyes flickering. He didn’t know why she involved him, but probably to destroy Hongmei and her daughter.
Li Shichuan’s face turned pale and red in waves. He glanced at Lu Shiman anxiously.
Lu Shiman raised an eyebrow. This guy was surprisingly cooperative. She had planned to prolong the game, yet Li Laizi had already set the stage perfectly.
With the stage set, it’d be a waste not to use it.
She blinked, feigning shock, eyes fixed on Li Shichuan with a complicated expression.
Her eyes turned red. “Really?”
Her tone was incredulous but soft. Li Shichuan felt guilt prick his conscience.
“Can we trust him?”
“Li Er’gou planned twenty years ago to marry into a wealthy family, scheming for inheritance!”
“Do you think he’s a good man? Hmph.”
Her tone of contempt left Li Shichuan utterly ashamed.
“No wonder… no wonder he’s so good to Li Weimian,” Lu Shiman murmured.
Then she stepped forward and slapped Li Shichuan across the face.
“How can you face her? How can you face your father?”
“Do you even have a heart?”
Another slap, then another—she didn’t give him a chance to react, and after several strikes, her hand stung from the force.
Li Shichuan froze, lips moving, but he couldn’t utter a word in the face of Lu Shiman’s cold gaze.
His little schemes had been exposed by Li Laizi. His dark side was laid bare, trampled like he was beneath their feet.
“What heart could he have? A wolf’s heart, a dog’s lungs,” Li Laizi sneered.
“Slapping him a few times won’t help. Better make him kneel at the Lu family graves to atone.”
“Maybe the money that went missing… he hid it himself, just to frame old man,” Li Laizi scoffed.
He only wanted a few thousand coins for fun. Why steal from someone’s secret chamber? Did he think bullets were in short supply?
He was greedy, not stupid.
Lu Shiman’s eyes widened. Li Laizi’s words weren’t wrong—he was the perfect accomplice.
“Miss, want me to tie him up and bring him over? You give me fifty coins, how about it?”