Jiang Muyan saw right through Jiang Yucheng’s little schemes. She cast a cold glance at him:
“What are you dreaming about? Your biological daughter stole my life. While I suffered and toiled in this family, she was raised in luxury and comfort. Do you think that’s fair?”
Jiang Muyan let out a scornful laugh at this point, then continued, “I think it’s best to call the police. Let the officers judge this matter and give me justice!”
“No, you can’t call the police! Husband, don’t let her call the police!” Liu Fangmei shrieked.
As she spoke, a flicker of malice flashed in her eyes. If it came to it, she could quietly get rid of this wretched girl—that would eliminate any future trouble.
But remembering the ferocity Jiang Muyan had shown when dealing with her and her son earlier, that wicked thought shrank back, and she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Jiang Yucheng shot his wife a cold look, cursing inwardly: That damn woman kept even me in the dark when she did this. If I’d known earlier, things wouldn’t have come to this.
But it was too late for regrets. With that thought, he turned back to Jiang Muyan:
“Muyan, what do you want us to do so you won’t call the police?”
Jiang Muyan had been waiting for this question. A knowing smile curled at the corner of her lips:
“If you don’t want me to call the police, that’s fine. After all the suffering I’ve endured in this family over the years, asking for some compensation isn’t too much, is it?”
Jiang Yucheng instantly understood her meaning. Though reluctant, he thought to himself that if his wife went to prison, the family would suffer even greater losses.
So, gritting his teeth, he looked at Jiang Muyan:
“Fine. What kind of compensation do you want?”
Jiang Muyan chuckled lightly and got straight to the point:
“I want one thousand yuan in cash and all the ration coupons you have!” She would have asked for more, but she could see this family had only these savings to their name.
“You wretched girl, what are you thinking? We’re not giving you anything!” Liu Fangmei blurted out, forgetting all about the threat of calling the police. That money was their savings from over a decade of hard work, meant for their son’s future marriage.
Jiang Yucheng’s face darkened, and his gaze toward Jiang Muyan grew even colder:
“Muyan, you’re asking for too much! You know your mother is only a temporary worker and doesn’t earn much. The whole family relies on my salary alone, and on top of that, I have to support your grandparents in the countryside. We can barely save anything!”
“Hold on—Liu Fangmei is not my mother. Please watch your words. Besides, if you want to know how much savings you have, just ask Liu Fangmei!”
As Jiang Muyan spoke, she turned her gaze to Liu Fangmei, who panicked and quickly covered her mouth: “Don’t ask me!”
Jiang Muyan smirked wickedly. “Liu Fangmei, how much savings does your family have right now?” She sneered inwardly—the Truth-Telling Talisman’s effects would last for two hours.
“One thousand and fifty!” Even with her mouth tightly covered, Liu Fangmei’s voice escaped uncontrollably.
Jiang Muyan looked back at Jiang Yucheng:
“Choose. Do you want me to call the police and send Liu Fangmei to prison, or give me the money and the coupons?”
Jiang Yucheng glared fiercely at Liu Fangmei, his eyes filled with resentment. Liu Fangmei shrank her neck, feeling both aggrieved and faintly terrified—why couldn’t she control her mouth? Could it be that Jiang Muyan had played some trick?
At this moment, Jiang Yucheng was also quickly calculating in his mind. If Liu Fangmei were to go to prison, their family would lose face in front of others. His son and daughter were soon reaching the age for marriage proposals. If outsiders knew they had a mother in prison, it would be difficult to arrange marriages for them.
Moreover, although Liu Fangmei was a temporary worker, her monthly wage was still 17 yuan. That added up to over two hundred yuan a year, and in five years, they could make up the thousand yuan. No matter how he calculated, this was better than letting her go to prison!
Yet, the thought of handing over all their savings of so many years to Jiang Muyan made his heart ache unbearably.
So, he turned to Jiang Muyan and softened his tone to persuade her:
“Muyan, you’ve been in this family for over ten years. For the sake of our father-daughter relationship all these years, could you ask for less? Look, your brother is about to start marriage talks, and your sister still needs to go to school…”
“Impossible!” Jiang Muyan interrupted Jiang Yucheng without hesitation.
“All these years, I’ve taken care of all the household chores alone. Even if you hired a maid, this amount of money wouldn’t be enough to pay the wages!”
Seeing that Jiang Muyan showed no mercy at all, Jiang Yucheng felt a surge of resentment in his heart and couldn’t help blaming Liu Fangmei inwardly. If only she had treated this girl better back then, they wouldn’t have ended up in this situation!
While Jiang Yucheng was weighing the pros and cons, Jiang Tianci couldn’t help speaking up:
“Dad, we can’t give her the money. If we give it to her, what will we do in the future?” What he meant was, even if Jiang Muyan reported it to the police, no one had died. At most, his mother would spend a few years in prison.
With so much money at home, was he afraid he couldn’t find a wife? It seemed now that forcing Jiang Muyan to marry Director Zhang was no longer feasible.
However, they could make Jiang Muqian marry him instead. Although Jiang Muqian wasn’t as beautiful as Jiang Muyan, she was younger! By then, his job would be secured, wouldn’t it?
Meanwhile, Jiang Muqian, who had already put down her chopsticks, chimed in after hearing Jiang Tianci’s words:
“That’s right, Dad. If we give the money to Jiang Muyan, what will we do in the future?”
Jiang Muqian thought to herself, why not use force on Jiang Muyan? Once she and Director Zhang were bound together, she would have no choice but to accept her fate!
Jiang Yucheng ignored his children’s words. He was considering more deeply. After much deliberation, he still felt that letting Liu Fangmei go to prison would bring more harm than good. Though he was reluctant to part with years of savings, thinking of his biological daughter made him somewhat resigned.
His biological daughter had been in that family all these years, so her savings must be greater than theirs.
Even if his biological daughter returned, she would surely bring some savings with her. Moreover, that daughter had been raised in a wealthy household and would definitely marry into a better family in the future. The benefits would only increase, not decrease.
Thinking this, Jiang Yucheng gritted his teeth and said:
“Fine, I agree to compensate you!”
Then, he glared at Liu Fangmei:
“Hurry up and get the money!”
A flicker of reluctance flashed in Liu Fangmei’s eyes, but thinking that if she didn’t hand over the money, she would end up in prison, she could only drag her injured arm toward the inner room.
After seeing Liu Fangmei go inside, Jiang Yucheng then turned to Jiang Muyan and asked tentatively:
“Muyan, from now on, just stay at home properly and don’t go to the countryside!”
Jiang Yucheng thought to himself that he must keep a tight grip on this girl to prevent her from disturbing his biological daughter!
After all, no one knew the address of his biological daughter now, and Jiang Muyan wouldn’t be able to search for her biological parents.
If things really didn’t work out, he could just follow his biological daughter’s suggestion and eliminate Jiang Muyan, cutting off the problem at its root. Then, the money and ration coupons could be recovered.
If he had known earlier that Jiang Muyan wasn’t his biological daughter, he would have taken care of her when she hit the wall a few days ago. At that time, it was her own doing and wouldn’t have involved them—how perfect that would have been.
Jiang Muyan looked coldly at Jiang Yucheng before speaking:
“I’ve already signed up to go to the countryside, so your plan might fall through! Also, do you think just because you don’t know your biological daughter’s address, the police won’t be able to find out?”
Jiang Yucheng was taken aback. How could this girl Jiang Muyan seem to read his mind?
He paused for a moment, then forced an awkward laugh. “You… you promised us that once you received the compensation, you wouldn’t report us to the police!”
“Of course! I just want you to know that I’m choosing not to return to my biological parents, not that I can’t! If you try to scheme against me, you’d better think twice!” Jiang Muyan said, her gaze sharpening like a knife.
Jiang Yucheng felt a chill run down his spine under her stare—a cold dread rising from his feet to the top of his head. This girl’s gaze was even more intimidating than the factory director’s.
Just as he was thinking this, Liu Fangmei walked in, holding the money and ration coupons. She handed them to Jiang Muyan, her tone laced with resentment. “Here!”
Jiang Muyan didn’t reach out to take them, instead looking at her with a faint, mocking smile. “It seems you’re still not sincere.”
Liu Fangmei’s eyes flickered briefly before she forced herself to sound confident:
“What do you mean not sincere? This is a thousand yuan—you can count it if you don’t believe me! And here are our ration coupons. These are all our savings!” After speaking, she wondered to herself: Could this girl have found my money and coupons when she took the household registration page today? Otherwise, how would she know I didn’t hand over all the coupons?
“Is that so?” Jiang Muyan raised an eyebrow, her tone tinged with amusement. “Then look into my eyes and say it again.”