From the moment Long Xiao opened His mouth, the Zhuang Family had already leaned toward Him. Now that the time, place, and people were all lined up, they had practically concluded that Liang Rong was the mastermind behind it.

Ten million seventeen years ago—that was a huge sum. For Her to be able to put up that much money, the other party had to be someone She utterly loathed.

"Liang Rong, Ah Ning treated you so well. Why did you have to do this to Her?" Mrs. Zhuang said, heartbroken and furious. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Back then, because the Zhuang Family and the Liang Family didn’t end up becoming in-laws, Mrs. Zhuang had always felt guilty toward Liang Rong. After all, even if arranged childhood marriages weren’t fashionable anymore, they were the ones who broke the promise first.

So later, whenever Liang Rong came to the Zhuang Family, she was always accommodating toward Her. And that child Ah Ning was also sensible, treating Her like an older sister.

Later, when she found out her son had a child with Liang Rong, she did hate them for hooking up, but given they’d had an engagement before, and the child came before her son married Ah Ning, she swallowed her anger and accepted Her.

Who could have thought they were all blind, bringing a wolf into the house.

Liang Rong looked at Mrs. Zhuang with a face full of grievance, shaking Her head hard. "Mom, I didn’t. It wasn’t me."

She turned to Long Xiao and accused Him, "Mr. Long, all talk and no proof—what evidence do you have?"

Long Xiao had long anticipated She would say that. He looked at Zhang Jin sitting to the side. "Uncle Zhang, I’ll trouble you."

In an instant, everyone’s eyes fell on Zhang Jin.

Zhang Jin put down his teacup and looked at Mr. Zhuang. "Back then, when Miss Liang came to have the boss sign the contract, I was there too. It was exactly as my nephew said—Miss Liang gave the boss a photo and then told him to find someone to secretly photograph indecent pictures of the woman in that photo."

"Just because of one sentence from you, you think you can smear my mom? Keep dreaming!" Zhuang Chujiao said angrily, then turned to the old man. "Grandpa, you absolutely can’t listen to this old geezer’s nonsense. My mom is innocent."

Mr. Zhuang’s face darkened, the fury in his eyes about to erupt.

Then they heard Zhang Jin beside him give a low chuckle. "Old Chief, don’t blame me for being rude, but your family style is getting worse with each generation. If this keeps up, the Zhuang Family will be ruined by these juniors sooner or later."

"What did you say? Someone come, throw this old bastard who’s full of lies out for me!" Zhuang Chujiao roared, her face turning green then white.

The smile on Zhang Jin’s face vanished. He looked at Her coldly, his eyes dark and vicious like a poisonous snake. "I, Old Nine, have roamed Beijing for so many years, and no one has ever dared talk to me like that! Little girl, today I’ll let it slide for your grandpa’s sake."

Zhuang Chujiao shuddered from fright and hurriedly hid behind Liang Rong, not daring to say another word.

As for the others, when they heard the name Old Nine, they all froze.

Especially Mr. Zhuang and Zhuang Zeyang. Back then, Beijing wasn’t peaceful; there were many forces on the streets. The biggest force was the Qinghai Gang, and this Old Nine, also called Mr. Zhang Jiu, was the gang’s second-in-command. But everyone knew that even the boss at the time had to address him as Uncle. Rumor had it he was the true soul of the entire Qinghai Gang.

In short, once the name Mr. Zhang Jiu was mentioned, no one dared show less than three points of respect.

"So it’s Mr. Zhang Jiu. An honor," Mr. Zhuang suddenly spoke, though his expression was far from pleasant.

Zhang Jin knew he was in the wrong. After all, the one the Qinghai Gang had harmed back then was no one else but the Zhuang Family’s daughter-in-law.

"I admit that what happened back then caused the Zhuang Family, and Miss Zhuang Ning, severe harm. Things are as they are; I have nothing to defend myself with. So when I learned of my nephew Long Xiao’s request, I made a special trip back to Beijing to make everything clear."

Zhang Jin paused for a moment, then said solemnly, "I swear on my name, Old Nine, that not a single word I’ve said is false. If I’m lying, may I die a miserable death!"