CHAPTER 174: CHAPTER 174: ADDING FUEL TO THE FIRE

Shen Xian stormed up to Han Yue and, without a word, slapped her several times.

"The evidence is ironclad, and yet you dare to argue? You were clearly jealous of that woman’s beauty, wanted to ruin her face, and ultimately caused my son’s death!"

"If Shen Linmin hadn’t leered at her, would I have been driven to cause trouble for that woman? He provoked me first!"

Han Yue was terrified of going to jail. Jail was full of all sorts of people, and even if her dad had connections, he couldn’t protect her around the clock. She had to shift the blame onto others.

Zhang He intervened, "Please come to the station to discuss the specifics of the case. Miss Han, you must understand one thing: even if others were at fault, their wrongs don’t warrant death. You, however, are unequivocally guilty of manslaughter. Neither you nor your family can argue this charge away!"

"Take her away!"

Jian Meixue cried out, "No! You can’t take my daughter!"

"You can’t take me! My dad won’t let you get away with this!"

Han Cheng wished he could silence these two right now. Utterly useless, only good at causing trouble.

Shen Xian glared venomously at Han Cheng and Jian Meixue, his voice ominous, "Whatever my son suffered, the person who harmed him will suffer the same!"

Han Cheng felt a chill. "Shen Xian, don’t let anger cloud your judgment. The tragedy has already occurred; how many more tragedies do you intend to create to fill the void?"

"I’m suffering, and I won’t let anyone else be at ease either."

Everyone exited the Han Family home like a receding tide.

Jian Meixue stared blankly at the ransacked living room, a desolate smile on her face.

"Are you satisfied now? Yueyue has been taken away! My only child is gone! I’m telling you, if anything happens to my Yueyue, I won’t go on living!"

Han Cheng looked at her with sorrowful eyes. "Even if you and your daughter die, it will be because of your own foolishness! There was room to de-escalate things, but you two insisted on making it more complicated!"

"It’s obvious you didn’t want to offend the Shen Family, so you pushed our daughter out as a scapegoat! And now you’re trying to blame me!"

Jian Meixue didn’t believe a word he said.

"You blockhead! You’re in agony over losing your daughter, driven to despair—do you think others don’t feel the same? The Shen Family just lost Shen Linmin; the entire family is grieving, yet you two have the audacity to tell them their son deserved to die! If that isn’t stupidity, what is?"

Being yelled at seemed to calm Jian Meixue somewhat.

She asked flusteredly, "So... what should we do now?"

Han Cheng, his head throbbing, retorted, "You ask me? Who am I supposed to ask?" It was already a tricky situation, and now they’d made it even harder to handle.

"If you don’t do something, our daughter is doomed!" Jian Meixue frantically wiped her tears. "Honey, our daughter has been pampered since birth; how can she endure such an ordeal? She must be terrified. For our daughter’s sake, we have to think of something!"

"What were you doing earlier?"

Jian Meixue didn’t dare utter a sound.

Han Cheng sank wearily onto the sofa, deeply pondering how to manage the situation.

"First, go to the station and pull some strings; make sure no one gives Yueyue a hard time. Remember, no matter how much they try to provoke you, don’t lose your temper. Every time you get angry, Yueyue will suffer more. You absolutely must remember that!"

Jian Meixue nodded repeatedly. "Don’t worry. This time, I definitely won’t provoke anyone."

"Then hurry up and go."

Jian Meixue looked at Han Cheng skeptically. "What about you? What will you do?"

Han Cheng glared at her. This mother-daughter duo was clueless enough in normal times. He had married into his wife’s family. After Han Hu’s biological mother died, he had effectively changed his father-in-law’s family name to his own—Han. Han Hu’s biological mother had been a strong-willed and intelligent woman. When she was alive, his days had been constantly tense; he was always on edge. That was why he preferred women who were a bit less clever—simpler, even. Only now, in a crisis, did he realize that neither Jian Meixue nor Han Yue had any ability to solve problems; they only knew how to create more trouble.

Han Cheng retorted sharply, "I’m going to figure out how to apologize to the Shen Family! Or do you plan to go to the Shen Family while I go to the station?"

"I..." Jian Meixue fell silent again.

Her voice trembled as she said, "I’ll go see Yueyue."

Han Cheng didn’t bother to respond. He didn’t bother to remind her that she almost certainly wouldn’t be able to see Han Yue. The Shen Family had considerable influence; in their fury, they would undoubtedly use it to suppress them.

The villa returned to silence.

Han Cheng sat motionless and made a call to a private investigator.

"Have you found out who that woman is?"

"We haven’t found any information."

"Add two million! Keep searching!"

He needed to find a scapegoat for Yueyue! It would have to be some ordinary citizen, someone with no power or background. He could send her for plastic surgery to make her look like Yueyue, then send her in to take Yueyue’s place. His daughter had to live well! As for whether other people’s daughters lived or died, what did that have to do with him?

「 」

Han Hu closely monitored Han Yue’s case, secretly applying pressure to ensure the Han Family couldn’t make a move.

At the same time, she gave her mother’s old will to a cousin from her clan.

Lian Yingting.

Yes, her mother’s surname was Lian.

Her maternal grandfather had only one child, her mother.

Her mother had loved a thankless wretch, loved him so much she had given her life for him.

The Lian Family had once been quite close to her mother and her. However, her mother had been so utterly infatuated with Han Cheng that she completely ignored her Lian relatives.

Over time, the Lian Family had stopped interacting with them.

Later, when she entered the entertainment industry, her uncles and aunts from the Lian side had even tried to provide her with resources. Back then, she had been proud, insecure, and overly sensitive, feeling as if they were trying to humiliate her. One wrong step had led to another. In the end, it had all culminated in her tragedy.

Lian Yingting looked at the unfamiliar woman before him, his guard up. "Who are you? Why do you have my aunt’s will?"

If his aunt had married out of the family, he and Han Hu would be maternal cousins.

If his aunt’s husband had married into the Lian family, he and Han Hu would be paternal cousins.

His aunt had been dead for nearly twenty years, and now, suddenly, a stranger appeared with her will—and right when the Han Family was in deep trouble. If he, Lian Yingting, believed her so easily, then all his years in the business world would have been for nothing.

Han Hu looked at the handsome, composed Lian Yingting. Despite her best efforts to restrain herself, her eyes couldn’t help but redden.

"Apart from you, I didn’t know who else to give this to."

Lian Yingting’s eyes were filled with skepticism.

He searched his memory again for any trace of the woman before him but still came up empty.

"If you don’t tell me who you are, I’ll have to ask you to leave."

Lian Yingting finished speaking and pressed the intercom.

"Secretary Li, could you please help..."

Han Hu gently took his hand, stopping him. Her eyes, filled with tears, gazed at him.

"I am Han Hu."

Lian Yingting was stunned but remained disbelieving. Han Hu’s villa had burned to the ground. Even if she had somehow escaped the fire, she couldn’t possibly have been completely unscathed. Otherwise, with reports of her death circulating, she would surely have come forward to refute them if she were alive and well. He himself had represented the Lian Family in investigating the fire scene. Multiple expert evaluations had concluded the fire was purely accidental, and Han Hu’s DNA samples had been recovered from the scene. There was no dispute about her death. He had even been the one to erect her cenotaph.

Secretary Li entered the room. "President Lian..."

Lian Yingting said, "Please bring this lady a glass of milk and a slice of strawberry cake. She’ll need to stay a little longer."

"Understood."

Han Hu trembled slightly, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.

He still remembered her childhood favorites...