Chapter 79.1

The crisp sound of the slap made the people around feel a little bit of a toothache.

Gu Yilin shook her hand and looked at the crowd with some apology.

“Sorry, she was just too despicable; I couldn’t hold back.”

Gao Yan covered her sore face, unable to say a word. She looked tearfully at Qi Yangyan, but he remained indifferent.

“Gao Yan!”

Gao Yan was the old lady’s favorite, so hitting her was like hitting the old lady herself. She glared at Gu Yilin, her mouth spewing curses.

“You filthy bitch! How dare you hit my granddaughter? I’ll fight you!”

Ruan Mingfu chuckled.

“The old lady really has double standards. She calls her granddaughter ‘good girl’ but is harsh on someone else’s daughter.”

“Sister, let’s get revenge for your cousin,” Gu Yilin said, her eyes gleaming wickedly as she looked at Gao Yan, resembling a vicious villain. “Let’s sell her and let this old lady feel the pain.”

Gao Yan clutched her face, looking weak and pitiful while trying to catch Qi Yangyan’s eye.

“No, why are you so vicious?”

“You dare!”

The old lady’s eyes were bloodshot, filled with rage as she glared at Gu Yilin, as if she wanted to fight her.

“You’re quite ruthless when you sell out others,” Gu Yilin said, not afraid of her, “but you can’t bear to sell out yourself?”

Gao Yan started to cry.

“My cousin clearly ran away secretly, how did it become…”

Gu Yilin pretended to raise her hand, causing Gao Yan to tremble, unable to utter a single word.

Mrs. Ruan signaled, and bodyguards quickly moved to grab Gao Yan and drag her away.

She panicked and could no longer maintain her composure.

“Grandma, save me! They want to sell me! Grandma—! No, I don’t want to go with you! Let go of me!”

Aunt Gao rushed towards Gao Yan and hugged her tightly.

“Let go, let go! What does this have to do with my daughter! Let go–!”

It would be strange if the bodyguard listened to her.

The two women struggled fiercely, and for a moment, they actually couldn’t do anything to this mother-daughter duo. Other bodyguards rushed in, dragging both of them away.

Gu Yilin stepped forward and proudly lifted Gao Yan’s chin.

“You were quite good at barking just now. Come on, bark again for me to hear?”

Gao Yan’s eyes brimmed with humiliation.

“Cousin, what do you want to do?” Ruan Mingfu looked at the sobbing mother-daughter pair, her heart as hard as iron. “If you sell them, I’ll support you.”

Before Luan Rong could express her opinion, Uncle Gao, who was beaten half to death, tightly clung to the legs of the bodyguard beside him.

“No, no, you are committing a crime!”

“You old hag, still trying to scare me? I’m not easily frightened,” Gu Yilin said, holding a leaf in her mouth, exuding an air of authority. “Keep talking, and the women will be sold to the deep mountains while the men go to the mines.”

Ruan Mingfu felt a wave of frustration.

This plastic friend of hers was really good at boasting. In this day and age, where would you even find a black market? Worried that her arrogance would land her in trouble, Ruan Mingfu tugged at her sleeve.

“Tone it down a bit.”

“Oh~”

Gu Yilin pouted and spat out the leaf she had in her mouth.

“Oh heavens,” Old Man Gao cried out from the ground, lamenting his plight, “At my age, I still have to endure this kind of bullying. Is there no justice left in the world…?”

With his head full of gray hair and a face marked by time, his tears drew sympathetic glances from those around him.

Although the old lady has done many evil things, Uncle Gao is still a good person.”

“It’s sad to see someone his age being treated like this…”

“Indeed, if it were my dad, he would fight these people tooth and nail!”

“…”

Among the villagers, some were foolish, while others were more level-headed.

“If Uncle Gao had kept a better handle on his mother, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point.”

“Who can you blame? It’s the old lady’s wrongdoing. That’s her own granddaughter! Even if they’re not related, she shouldn’t be doing such immoral things.”

“Such misdeeds!”

“They say to marry wisely, and now I understand. The Gao family is bound to fall apart because of that old lady…”

Second Aunt Gao held her three daughters tightly, a look of determination flashing in her eyes.

“Xiao Rong was sold by the old lady, and all the money went to Uncle Gao to help him with connections—”

“Shut up!”

The old lady struggled fiercely against Second Aunt Gao, her eyes filled with anger and urgency. If she weren’t being held back, she would have rushed over to tear Second Aunt Gao’s mouth apart.

Second Aunt Gao felt a surge of nameless rage as she looked at the bruises on her body.

Just because Uncle Gao was the eldest son, the whole family had to pave the way for him. The old lady was excessively biased. All the good things in the house belonged to Uncle Gao, and they had no chance of getting even a penny. Now that their home was destroyed, whether Uncle Gao’s family could escape unscathed was uncertain.

She was no longer afraid!

“I have nothing to do with your uncle,” she wiped the dirt from her face, “Xiao Rong, your second aunt still treats you well.”

Hearing this, Xiao Rong fell silent for a moment but eventually nodded.

Seeing this, Mrs. Ruan ordered, “Let them go.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Second Aunt Gao quickly gathered her three children and helped Second Uncle Gao up, “Let’s go.”

She didn’t even bother to collect their belongings, dragging her family away from this trouble-ridden place.

Second Uncle Gao was particularly aware of the situation…

Even if he had feelings for the old lady, the pain from his wounds reminded him.

These people are not to be trifled with!

He immediately suppressed any thoughts of pleading for mercy that had just risen in his heart.

“Don’t leave!” The old lady could not bear to see her second son escape unharmed, angrily shouting, “Come back! Come back here!”

Seeing Second Uncle Gao not looking back, the old lady couldn’t tell whether she felt more sorrow or anger.

“…Why don’t you take your niece away, you heartless bastard!”

Ruan Mingfu glanced at Gao Yan, whose face was swollen and bruised.

Goodness, she really was the old lady’s precious treasure. Even in such a state, she still remembered her.

“Old lady, your second son is allowed to leave because he has nothing to do with this matter,” Gu Yilin sneered. “Your granddaughter is a master at moral coercion, and she’s wearing my cousin’s clothes. How could we possibly let her go!”

Mrs. Ruan turned to the Gao family, “Get her!”

Immediately, the bodyguard moved into action.

The focus of the attack was on Uncle Gao and his son, Gao Genbao.

Seeing Uncle Gao being beaten until he spat blood and couldn’t even speak, Aunt Gao struggled even harder, attempting to bite. Luckily, the bodyguards were experienced and quickly grabbed her by the hair, preventing her from succeeding.

“You bastards, bastards!!”

Old Man Gao’s eyes turned red with anger, clutching his chest as if he were about to collapse.

Qi Yangyan, however, gave a look to the person beside him.

Immediately, someone scooped a bucket of water from the kitchen and poured it over. Old Man Gao jumped up with a somersault, and his movements looked more agile than those of a young man.

Ruan Mingfu: “…”

No wonder they say old people become more cunning; he almost got away with it.

After Gao Genbao and Uncle Gao were beaten, it felt like a blow to the old lady’s heart. She no longer looked at Gao Yan with affection.

She is an old lady who favors boys over girls.

If it weren’t for Gao Yan being clever and providing her with ideas, the old lady wouldn’t have held her in such high regard.

“It was Gao Yan’s suggestion to sell Xiao Rong,” the old lady quickly threw Gao Yan under the bus, “If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have sold Xiao Rong at all.”

“Huh——”

Everyone was genuinely shocked this time.

“How can that girl Gao Yan be so cruel at such a young age?”

“She’s the one that Aunt Gao herself mentioned. It can’t be a false accusation.”

“Don’t say that; I always felt Gao Yan had a strange vibe about her… something unsettling.”

“She bullied my granddaughter when she was three, and when I caught her, she lied through her teeth. Everyone thought a three-year-old wouldn’t lie and believed Gao Yan.”

“She’s been this malicious since childhood…”

Gao Yan pressed her lips together, her heart filled with hatred for the old lady.

“Grandma, to save Dad and my brother, you can’t push all the blame onto me.”

The old lady had no idea that she could be outsmarted again, which nearly made her faint from anger.

“Shut up! This was clearly your idea!”

There was a vacancy for the position of director in the factory where Uncle Gao worked, so he thought about trying his best. But it would cost 2,000 yuan to get the connection, and the old lady couldn’t afford that much money. Second Uncle Gao’s three daughters were still young, so she set her sights on Gao Yan.

Who knew that Gao Yan had seen through the old lady’s plan in advance and came up with this idea.

Luan Rong was taken away but managed to escape by chance. Unfortunately, her luck ran out when she encountered Gen Ergou, leading to the later events.

Luan Rong finally understood.

The old lady was not a good person, and Gao Yan was even more dangerous—like a poisonous snake.

“Grandma, you can’t wrongfully accuse me…”

“Throw these two to the police,” Mrs. Ruan had no time to listen to their arguments. “Yangyan, this matter is in your hands now.”

“I understand.”

Gao Yan was startled and almost lost her composure.

“Cousin, I’m innocent! It was all Grandma’s idea.” As she walked by Luan Rong, she seized the moment and grabbed Luan Rong’s hand. “Don’t you remember when you first arrived? I played with you every day, and I even took you—”

“Ah!!!”

Before she could finish, Mrs. Ruan kicked her away and shielded Luan Rong. “Are you okay?”

Luan Rong shook her head.

As long as she stayed close to Mrs. Ruan, she felt safe.

With Mrs. Ruan by her side, she feared nothing!

Luan Rong leaned her head gently against Mrs. Ruan’s back, feeling a deep sense of attachment.

Mrs. Ruan’s strength was no joke. Gao Yan, who had fallen to the ground, felt as if her insides had shifted. The pain curled her body like a shrimp, and her eyes, hidden behind her hands, burned with resentment.

“Yan Yan!”

The eldest aunt, seeing this scene, was terrified.

She hurried over to help Gao Yan up and, seeing her pale face, was filled with sorrow.

“Luan Rong, I believe we’ve treated you well. After your father passed away, we didn’t abandon you! Your eldest uncle’s opportunity is rare, and who knows when the next one will come… You’ve lived with the Gao family for free, yet you can’t even show a little gratitude?”

Ruan Mingfu: “…”

Gu Yilin: “…”

She leaned toward Ruan Mingfu.

“Sister, I’m out of words to describe her.”

Gratitude? Does she think letting Grandma sell her off so they can use the money to get ahead is showing gratitude?

What a ridiculous idea!

This logic would make even Huang Shiren^[1]a notorious character from Chinese folklore bow to the eldest aunt and call her his master.

Even Old Man Gao thought it made sense.

A big family should work together for success.

“Luan Rong, your grandfather knows you’ve been wronged, but you must be more understanding.”

“But… the 1,500 yuan my father saved was given to Grandma on my first day here.”

Luan Rong’s voice was soft, yet everyone present heard her clearly.

Silence enveloped the room, an unusual silence.

Then it erupted.

“How much? Did I hear you right—1,500 yuan?”

“That woman is utterly heartless…”

“After taking so much money, she still couldn’t accept her granddaughter and even sold her off… How wicked!”

“She’s lost all sense of decency!”

The onlookers began to view the Gao family with disdain.

“What did you just say?”

This was the first time Old Man Gao had heard of such a thing. He jumped up and questioned the old lady.

“Is what she said true? Did Xiao Rong really give you 1,500 yuan?”

The old lady pressed her lips together.

Her face turned guilty as she looked around, unable to meet Old Man Gao’s gaze.

His face flushed red with anger as he shouted, “Speak!”

Everyone around waited for the old lady’s answer in a tense silence.

“It’s true,” the old lady said quietly, “but later, the eldest came to me crying about being broke, so… I gave him all the money.”