Meng Liangcai was badly startled by the scream and nearly fell from his chair.
The Qi couple exchanged glances.
What kind of act were they putting on now?
Could they be deliberately causing trouble because they did not want to return the money?
At that moment, Li Yuqin walked out of the room with a dark expression.
She leaned close to Meng Liangcai and whispered a few words into his ear.
The two of them lowered their heads at the same time and fell silent, looking as though the sky had collapsed.
The scene was exactly the same as the day they changed the bride during the engagement discussion.
Lin Xiuzhu snapped, “What are you wasting time for?
“Hurry and hand over the money. After this, we’ll have nothing to do with each other.”
Hand over the money?
They probably would not receive anything today.
The Meng family’s hidden savings were currently lying quietly inside the small wooden cabin in Meng Yao’s spatial realm.
Apart from this house and their barely surviving factory, the Meng family no longer possessed anything valuable.
Li Yuqin suddenly stood and lunged at Meng Yao.
“Was it you? Did you steal all our savings?”
Meng Yao immediately stepped backward.
“Hey, don’t accuse me without evidence. I didn’t take any of your belongings.”
As she spoke, she pulled out her empty pockets and showed everyone.
“Look. You can search me if you don’t believe me and see whether I stole anything.”
Her thin knitted jacket had only two shallow pockets. Beneath it was a white blouse, and she wore a light-brown straight skirt.
Anyone could tell at a glance whether she had hidden anything on her body.
She then opened the bag containing her clothes and dumped everything onto the floor.
Aside from several sets of old clothing, there was nothing else.
After examining Meng Yao, the Qi couple exchanged another glance.
Could the Meng family be staging this entire incident simply because they did not want to return the money?
Qi Shuai impatiently said, “Enough. Your family’s problems have nothing to do with us.
“Hurry and give us our money. Stop wasting our time. Do you think I have nothing better to do?”
Li Yuqin growled, “There’s no money! That little beast stole everything. What are we supposed to use to repay you?”
Had they truly been robbed?
At first, Meng Liangcai thought Li Yuqin was merely being crafty and putting on an act because she did not want to hand over the money.
However, after sharing a bed with her for more than twenty years, he could tell from her reaction that she was not pretending.
Finally realizing the seriousness of the situation, Meng Liangcai rushed into the bedroom.
A moment later, he staggered back out.
Seeing him anxiously scratching his head and pacing around, it was clear that the couple had both collapsed emotionally.
Meng Yao exclaimed, “Oh my, the house was really robbed!
“What are you waiting for? Call the police immediately.
“They can investigate who stole everything and perhaps clear my name at the same time.”
Meng Liangcai stared at Meng Yao, trying to find a flaw in her expression.
However, she spoke so confidently that it seemed as though the matter had nothing to do with her.
“It truly wasn’t you?”
“You need to catch a thief with the stolen goods. Which of your eyes saw me steal anything?
“Even if I had stolen it, I would have hidden far away. Why would I deliberately return for a few old clothes and give you the chance to question me?”
Li Yuqin, who had still harbored some suspicion, suddenly collapsed onto the floor and began wailing.
“We were really robbed!
“Which heartless bastard did this? They stole every last cent we had! How are we supposed to live now?”
Lin Xiuzhu was alarmed and looked toward Qi Shuai.
What should they do?
Would they truly be unable to recover the money today?
Qi Shuai also had a headache and shook his head helplessly.
Meng Yao immediately offered a suggestion.
“Since they don’t have the money to repay you, continue with the marriage.
“It would be such a pity for such a perfectly matched engagement to fall apart.”
As she spoke, she repacked her clothes and headed toward the front door.
She casually tossed the newspaper she had brought into the air.
“Besides, the newspaper has already announced this happy occasion, congratulating the Qi and Meng families on their wonderful union and wishing the couple a lifetime of happiness.
“If you suddenly cancel the marriage, wouldn’t that make you an even greater laughingstock?”
The four people behind her fell silent.
Meng Yao carried her clothes and quickly slipped out of the Meng family’s courtyard.
Li Xiaohu, who had been waiting near the gate, hurriedly took the bag from her hands and asked with concern, “Sister Yao, are you all right?
“Did they bully you?”
Meng Yao shook her head.
“They can barely deal with their own problems. How could they spare the energy to deal with me?”
“Then what about the marriage?”
Meng Yao gave a wicked smile.
“Don’t worry. It won’t be canceled.”
Merchants were naturally self-serving and would never allow themselves to suffer even the slightest loss.
In this life, she intended to personally watch Meng Ying step through the Qi family’s front door.
“All right. Forget about their ridiculous problems.
“Come on. Sister will treat you to lunch. I’m in an excellent mood today, so let’s eat something delicious.”
Li Xiaohu nodded and prepared to follow her.
However, after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped as though his body had been nailed to the ground.
Meng Yao looked at him in confusion.
“Xiaohu? Come on!”
Following his gaze, Meng Yao noticed a group of people approaching from a short distance away.
They were relatives from Li Jianguo’s family who had never kept in contact with them.
In her previous life, these were the brothers who had never appeared from the time Li Jianguo encountered trouble until the day he was buried.
At that moment, Li Xiaohu’s body trembled slightly.
Meng Yao gently held his hand and comforted him with her eyes.
Don’t be afraid. Sister is here.
They had deliberately come at noon, when Zhang Guilan was not home.
They were clearly not here for anything good.
“Ah Hu, you’re home?”
Li Weidong smiled while his gaze unconsciously moved toward the empty rooms inside.
“Is your mother here?”
Li Xiaohu’s expression turned cold.
“No. She went to work. What do you want?”
“Look at this child. We’re your biological uncles.
“We only came to check on you because we were worried something might happen to a widow and her orphaned son.”
His words carried not only mockery but also obvious malicious intent.
“Pah, pah, pah! Who’s going to have something happen to them? Who are you cursing?”
Meng Yao planted her hands on her hips and loudly demanded, “Who are all of you? You look unfamiliar. I’ve never seen you before.
“Why did you come looking for Xiaohu and his mother?”
Li Weidong cast her a displeased sideways glance.
“Who are you, little girl? This is a matter involving our Li family. It’s not your place to interfere.
“Get out of the way.”
At that moment, his younger brother, Li Mao, stepped forward and reached for Meng Yao’s braid.
However, not only did he miss, but Meng Yao also twisted his arm behind his back.
A sharp pain shot through his wrist, causing Li Mao to groan.
“Ouch!”
“You’re a grown man, yet you’re shameless enough to attack a defenseless woman?
“If I don’t fight back, do you really think I’m an easy target?”
Meng Yao’s gaze turned cold.
Under everyone’s stunned eyes, she released his wrist and kicked him fiercely in the lower body.
The force sent him flying directly out of the courtyard.
Li Xiaohu knew that Meng Yao had become powerful, but he had never imagined that her strength would be so astonishing.
Before Li Weidong could react, Meng Yao stepped in front of him and gripped his shoulder.
“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I’m Li Xiaohu’s biological sister from a different father and mother.
“Whatever business you have, you can speak directly to me.”
As she spoke, the strength in her hand increased.
“Go ahead. What did you come here for?”
The pain forced Li Weidong’s knees to bend.
His tall body gradually sank until he was shorter than Meng Yao, and he struggled to speak clearly.
“We-we came to discuss moving the grave…”
“Moving the grave?”
Meng Yao sneered.
“Whose grave are you moving? Yours?”