Chapter 22 – The Ruan Family

A dozen Red Armbands blocked the front gate. The man at the front had a fierce, intimidating look as he pointed at Ruan Jianguo’s nose and questioned loudly, “What took you so long to open the door?”

“Are you hiding something in there?”

Ruan Jianguo, long used to being respected due to his wealth, had never been publicly confronted like this before. For a moment, he couldn’t accept what was happening and frowned deeply.

No matter how furious he felt, he could only suppress it for now. “I was just upstairs in the study. I didn’t hear anything, so I was delayed a bit.”

“May I ask who you are?”

“Someone reported that your family is hoarding national assets and exploiting the working people…”

Dashou paused briefly, then spoke again, his voice as cold as ice: “And that you’re planning to flee with a large sum of national property!”

Ruan Jianguo’s eyelids twitched violently, and his expression became visibly uneasy. “Who would make such a false accusation?”

Dashou pronounced each word slowly and clearly: “Your good daughter—Ruan Wenrou. She personally confessed.”

“She even said you’ve already bought boat tickets to Hong Kong and are planning to leave within days!”

Ruan Wenrou had completely cracked under pressure—after just two lashes from the whip, she spilled everything.

“Impossible!” Lin Kangjiao rushed out of the house.

“Wenrou would never say something like that!”

In such a critical moment, she couldn’t let Ruan Jianguo get the idea of abandoning her daughter.

She quickly stepped up to him and whispered, “Jianguo, someone must be trying to slander Wenrou.”

“That girl knows what can and cannot be said. She absolutely wouldn’t say something like that.”

But the next second, Dashou shut Lin Kangjiao up for good.

“Take a good look—this is Ruan Wenrou’s written testimony.”

Lin Kangjiao’s heart sank. Under normal questioning, Wenrou wouldn’t have said anything incriminating. But under torture? She wasn’t so sure anymore.

Ruan Jianguo quickly scanned the confession, his expression turning so dark it seemed ink could drip from his face. Lin Kangjiao silently began praying for Ruan Wenrou.

“She’s just a burden brought in by my later marriage—what would she know?” he said coldly.

Lin Kangjiao’s eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at him.

“I think she just couldn’t stand seeing me living better than her birth father, so she made up lies to frame me.”

“Comrades, you must seek justice for me!”

Dashou almost laughed out loud. If Ruan Wenrou knew she’d been thrown under the bus like this by Ruan Jianguo, she might cry herself dry.

“Whether she lied or not, we’ll know once we search the place!”

“Everyone step aside. Anyone who blocks us will be charged with obstructing justice!”

By the time Sang Feiyu, Ruan Xi, and Ning Zhiyuan arrived, the front of the Ruan residence was already swarming with onlookers. Loud crashing and smashing sounds could be heard from inside.

“Ruan Jianguo, are you messing with me?”

“A so-called West District Porcelain King has this little to show for it?”

“Are you trying to fool beggars?”

The sound of smashing was mixed with a woman’s sobbing. But to Ruan Xi, it was music to the ears.

“You still won’t confess where the goods are, huh?”

“Fine! Take them all back—let’s pry open their mouths properly!”

If one beating wasn’t enough, they’d get a second!

When Lin Kangjiao was dragged out by the Red Armbands, she immediately spotted Ruan Xi in the back of the crowd. Her expression twisted as if determined to drag someone down with her, and she shouted while struggling:

“There’s one more you haven’t arrested!”

“She’s the real capitalist heiress!”

“My daughter and son were both from my first marriage. They have nothing to do with the Ruan family!”

“I—I’ll divorce Ruan Jianguo right now, just please don’t arrest me!”

Hearing her words, Ruan Jianguo’s face turned stormy while being held by the Red Armbands.

Cutting ties at a critical moment? How did he ever marry someone like her?

Ruan Xi stepped forward and slammed the newspaper right into Lin Kangjiao’s face.

“Open your damn dog eyes and take a good look! I’ve already severed all ties with you people!”

Lin Kangjiao snapped out of her shock and glared with venomous eyes. “It was you?”

“You’re the one who reported us, weren’t you?!”

Ruan Xi raised her hand and slapped her across the face. “Don’t you dare try to throw filth on me!”

Lin Kangjiao stood stunned. “You little bitch, how dare you hit me?!”

Under Sang Feiyu’s encouraging gaze, Ruan Xi gave her two more resounding slaps—wham wham!

She was absolutely elated inside!

She had never even dreamed a day like this would come!

Lin Kangjiao broke down. “And you people are just going to let her hit me like this?!”

Dashou looked up at the sky and the ground—anywhere but at her.

The other Red Armbands did the same.

Ruan Jianguo grew increasingly suspicious. When did Ruan Xi become so close with the Red Armbands?

Ruan Wenliang, who had a good sense of the situation, realized Ruan Xi clearly knew these people and immediately cried out, “Sis!”

“Please save me!”

Ruan Xi rolled her eyes in contempt. “When you were cursing at me, you called me a bitch. Now that you need me, you’re calling me sis? Too bad my mother only gave birth to one child—I don’t have a disgusting little brother like you.”

Still, Ruan Wenliang didn’t give up. “Sis, I know I was wrong!”

“Please, beg them not to take me away, okay?”

Ruan Xi completely ignored him and watched as he was dragged away by the Red Armbands.

After witnessing this dramatic downfall of the Ruan family, Ruan Xi felt her mood lift significantly.

“Feiyu, Ning Zhiyuan, thank you both so much today.”

“Come on, let me treat you to dinner at the state-run restaurant.”

Sang Feiyu quickly reminded her, “Your house just got raided—you’d better keep a low profile.”

“And don’t forget to follow up on your job transfer too.”

Ruan Xi nodded. “Got it. I’ll treat you both another time, then.”

Once they parted ways with Ruan Xi, Sang Feiyu turned to Ning Zhiyuan and said, “I want to go with you to the army base. Let’s do the premarital checkup at the military hospital over there.”

Ning Zhiyuan replied, “I was thinking the same thing.”

“I’ll go buy the train tickets for tomorrow then?”

“Mm-hmm.”

When they returned to the guesthouse, Zhao Hui was already waiting for them at the door.

“What took you so long?” she asked, finally letting go of her worry.

Sang Feiyu took her grandmother’s hand and led her upstairs while briefly recounting everything that had happened today.

Zhao Hui was astonished. “You really got a lot done today.”

“And I have another piece of good news for you.”

Sang Feiyu was curious. “What good news?”

“Your uncle’s sentencing just came out.”

“Your uncle and aunt were both sentenced to life in prison and will be sent to the northwest for lifelong reeducation through labor!”

“Tao Ronghua got twenty years of labor reform!”

“Tao Ronggui got fifteen years!”

“Tao Yingying also got twenty years of labor reform!”

She paused for a moment. “Oh, right—almost forgot one thing.”

“The Revolutionary Committee said they haven’t caught Tao Jingjing yet.”

“You’d better be careful when going out from now on—she might try to take everything out on you.”

Sang Feiyu’s eyes widened. “Tao Jingjing hasn’t been caught yet?!”

But Ning Zhiyuan seemed to have thought of something—