Qiao Tingyan was the only one who knew how scared he was when he heard Han Yichen say that he wanted to call the police. He was not scared about the Han family making trouble regarding Han Xuehan’s dowry, but if they investigated their family, there was a very good chance that they would end up finding something. If even the smallest evidence of him being a human trafficker were found, then he would end up being executed. Then no amount of money would have been able to save his life.

Compared to that, sending those devils away with just one thousand yuan would be enough. At least he wouldn’t have to worry about being executed. Unfortunately, his mother could not understand something so simple. Her mind was fixated on those thousand yuan, and she could not see the bigger picture, which was simply too much. Only he knew how scared he was when Han Yichen insisted that he was going to take them to the police station; fortunately, the village head interrupted, or else they would be done for.

He glanced at Xiao Ai, muttered a hurried excuse me, and then dragged his mother to one side. Once he was quite sure that no one could hear him, he curled his fingers around his mother’s arm even more tightly and scolded her fiercely. "Have you lost your mind, Mom? Have you forgotten what we do? We can still arrange a thousand yuan, but if that family called the police, then we would have been executed! Do you think we are living too peacefully? Is that why you are causing trouble for me?"

Only then did Mother Qiao remember their side occupation, and her face turned pale. Of course, if the police investigated their family, then they would find not only their hidden savings but also the gold and silver that they stole from their victims. Those things were her life savings, but at the same time, they were too conspicuous. If the truth came out and their savings were found, they would never be able to explain the source of these savings.

"Oh dear, what a slight!" Old Madam Qiao patted her chest in relief. Fortunately, fortunately, she did not insist on fighting with the Han family or else they would be in really big trouble. At that moment, she had forgotten that she was the one who was insisting on causing trouble, and it was all because of the old village head that she was able to escape this tragic outcome.

But!

She frowned and asked her son, "Do we really have to give that little hussy a thousand yuan?" She was used to stepping on Han Xuehan; how could she suddenly treat her well?

Qiao Tingyan also knew what his mother was thinking. He shook his head and said in a low voice, "Don’t think about it too much. Han Xuehan’s mother does not like her much, given that her father came here alone; my mother-in-law must be unaware of this situation; she will definitely send Han Xuehan back once she finds out the truth."

Qiao Tingyan was not very worried. Even if Han Yichen took Han Xuehan away, it was clear that the one who made the decisions in the Han family was Meng Yunhan because she was the one who arranged the marriage between him and Han Xuehan. Since that was the case, why would he be worried about Han Xuehan not returning? Once Meng Yunhan sees Han Xuehan, she would be so upset that she would chase her out of the house on her own.

Does he still need to worry about Han Xuehan? 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Old Madam Qiao’s face brightened, and suddenly she looked like she had finally seen the light. She clapped her hands together and said in a loud voice, "You are right! How can I forget about her? As long as that woman is still in the Han family, she will definitely not allow Han Xuehan to divorce you."

When Old Madam Qiao thought of Meng Yunhan, she could not help but sneer. Did Han Xuehan think that she would be able to escape? Of course not! She was destined to work as a horse and ox for her family.

*

Han Xuehan had no idea that Old Madam Qiao and Qiao Tingyan were actually banking on her own mother to send her back to their family. At the moment, she was resting in a small room of an inn that Han Ruochen had opened for their family.

"Sister, eat this," said Han Ruochen as she handed her a bowl of congee. She knew that in the Qiao family, her sister had never eaten a good meal. Her stomach must have weakened a lot due to long-term malnutrition. She could not allow her sister to eat meat for the time being. A warm bowl of rice porridge soaked in chicken soup was a much better and comforting meal for her sister.

When Han Xuehan saw the warm bowl of porridge, she could not help but shed a few tears.

Even though the meal was considerably simple, only Han Xuehan knew that this meal was her first warm meal in countless years. In the Qiao family, she was only given the leftovers. Forget about chicken; even the chicken soup was not something that she could get. Even the bones were fed to the pigs, but she was never given a single bite.

When Han Ruochen saw her like this, her eyes could not help but turn red with grief. She said to her in a soft voice, "Sister, I know that you are upset because of the Qiao family. But you should try to forget what has already happened and try to move on with your life."

She sucked in a breath and continued, "I know that it is really easy to say and difficult to actually do it, but as long as you are willing to do it, you will be able to continue moving forward."