The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 660 - 659: Solving the Case on the Spot

Chapter 660: Chapter 659: Solving the Case on the Spot

Having understood the ins and outs of the situation, You Zhong cast his gaze towards Shen Mingzhu and asked in an unhurried manner, "Madam, you suspect the third wife, do you have any evidence?"

"The third wife likes orchids, especially Jade Orchids, right?"

This was no secret; You Zhong nodded, signaling Shen Mingzhu to continue.

"The Jade Orchid on the tea table in the VIP room, with its beautiful form and crystal-clear petals, is so beautiful it’s like a work of art. Even an outsider like me can’t help but adore it, yet the third wife, as a lover of orchids, actually had the heart to burn it with a cigarette butt."

Orchids are delicate and extremely difficult to care for; even if a cigarette butt couldn’t damage it, ordinary people would not do such a thing.

Unless, "...compared to this Jade Orchid, there was something even more precious that captured the third wife’s attention, so she couldn’t care less about the life or death of the orchid."

Her voice paused slightly, "Thinking it over, the only thing more valuable than a Jade Orchid was the diamond that vanished into thin air. Suppose Mrs. Wu hid the diamond in the potting soil while the manager wasn’t paying attention, and the third wife took the diamond while snuffing out her cigarette, wouldn’t that be perfect?"

"Nonsense! This is just her one-sided claim; it’s completely unreliable!" Mrs. Wu shouted agitatedly.

You Zhong signaled the bodyguards to restrain Mrs. Wu, keeping her from making any noise, then turned to ask the manager, "Did Mrs. Wu touch the orchid on the coffee table?"

After a moment of thought, the manager nodded.

Immediately, You Zhong asked the manager to take the bodyguards to the VIP room and bring down the orchid, while he approached the third wife himself.

"Third wife, excuse me, but may I have your bag for a moment?"

With an ugly expression, the third wife threw her bag at You Zhong and turned her head to glare at Shen Mingzhu with venom, "If you don’t find anything in my bag today, I won’t let you off!"

Shen Mingzhu silently stood behind La Shiran: Rich sister, I need protection.

La Shiran pinched her hand with amusement and slight annoyance: Don’t worry, as long as I’m here, no one can touch you.

Soon, the manager brought down the light blue Jade Orchid, and the contents of the third wife’s bag were laid out on the table one by one.

You Zhong personally examined each item, not overlooking any.

Everyone held their breath and watched without blinking, afraid to miss the reveal.

By this time, the entire first floor of the jewelry store had been cleared out, leaving only insiders; there was no worry of washing dirty linen in public.

Five minutes later.

You Zhong put down the item in his hands, turned around, and looked at Shen Mingzhu, "I regret to inform you that your speculation is incorrect; neither in the Jade Orchid nor in the third wife’s bag was the lost diamond found."

The third wife seemed to have won a battle, her face uncontrollably smug, "Shiming, she’s your person; what do you say?"

Just as La Shiran was about to speak, she caught a glimpse of Shen Mingzhu making a move, which almost made her exclaim in shock.

"What are you trying to do! Stop her!"

The third wife shouted uncertainly at Shen Mingzhu.

Before the surrounding bodyguards could react, Shen Mingzhu spoke up, "Don’t panic, I just want to perform a little magic trick."

Seemingly sure that Shen Mingzhu couldn’t cause any trouble, You Zhong raised his hand, signaling the bodyguards to step back.

With nothing in her way, Shen Mingzhu held a heavy crystal ornament and walked to the table where the Jade Orchid and the third wife’s belongings lay, and smashed it down on a pebble keychain ornament.

"Crack!"

The pigeon-egg-sized pebble actually split into two, and a nail-sized water drop-shaped blue diamond tumbled out.

"Look, what is that!?"

"It looks like a diamond, the missing Ocean’s Tear!"

"So it really was the third wife..."

"Shh, do you have a death wish?"

The whispering employees immediately fell silent, but their eyes turned towards the third wife, filled with surprise, contempt, and confusion.

So wealthy yet stealing things, even from her own family, and getting caught red-handed.

"Found it."

Shen Mingzhu pointed to the blue diamond that had fallen out of the pebble but did not touch it.

In fact, from the beginning when she accused the third wife, until now when she smashed the pebble, she had not made any contact with the pebble, all to prevent the other party from falsely accusing her of framing.

Shen Mingzhu looked at the silent You Zhong with a polite smile, handing back the damaged crystal ornament with both hands.

"Sorry for damaging the store’s display. Your company is big, I presume you won’t ask me to pay for it, right?"

You Zhong silently accepted the ornament, handed it to the bodyguard, and then gestured to Manager Tang to take the diamond for testing.

A minute later, Manager Tang’s excited voice rang out, "It is indeed the lost Ocean’s Tear."

Everyone was astonished.

The Third Madame’s face turned deathly pale, as if she could barely stand, she staggered back several steps and was almost about to fall when somebody caught her.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Wu’s face was ashen, she collapsed on the ground like a lump of mud.

She shouldn’t have been blinded by greed, now it was all over, she was done for!

"It was the Third Madame! It was the Third Madame who instructed me to do it, it has nothing to do with me, I didn’t dare to disobey her."

In an instant, Mrs. Wu made the decision to betray her employer to save herself.

The Third Madame sneered contemptuously at Mrs. Wu, her eyes brimming with mockery, yet she couldn’t be bothered to defend herself.

Caught in the mire and seen through, any struggle was in vain.

...

"The Fourth Master ordered me to take the Third Madame and Mrs. Wu back to the old mansion, to await further disposition after the investigation is clear," said the aid.

"I understand," You Zhong replied.

Glancing around, You Zhong chuckled, "The Fourth Lady has made a good friend this time."

Hearing You Zhong mention Shen Mingzhu, La Shiran finally noticed that the space beside her was empty, Shen Mingzhu was nowhere to be seen.

"Where’s Mingzhu?"

"Fourth Lady, your friend left with her husband, and asked me to pass on a message to you."

Upon hearing that Shen Mingzhu had left with Pei Yang, La Shiran immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

You Zhong laughed, "A smart person indeed; knowing she has caused trouble, she made a quick escape."

Of course, Shen Mingzhu had to run; she wasn’t foolish. After stirring up such a big mess, why would she wait around to be dealt with?

Not only did she need to run, but she also had to do it fast.

"Pack your bags as soon as we get back, and we’ll leave immediately!" she said.

Hearing her say this, Pei Yang couldn’t help but be surprised, "So urgently? Our boat tickets are for tomorrow night."

"Forget those, we’ll buy new tickets for the first available departure," she declared.

After speaking, she casually recounted the incident that took place in the jewelry store.

Learning that she had crossed Ao City’s top tycoons, even Pei Yang lost his composure.

Seeing his silence, Shen Mingzhu teased, "Scared?"

Pei Yang pulled her into his embrace and tightened his grip, "Scared my ass, as long as we’re together, even death is worth it."

Shen Mingzhu laughed, "Well, I don’t want to die; I’d like to live a few more years."

In her last life, she had a short life, and it made no sense to have a short one this life as well.

Kissing her forehead, Pei Yang assured, "Don’t be afraid, I’m here. Even if the sky falls, I will hold it up for you."

Shen Mingzhu actually wasn’t afraid; she trusted La Shiran wouldn’t ignore her predicament. Leaving early was just a precaution.

Once they arrived at the hotel, Pei Yang called an old friend of Pei Ke, who dealt in ticket reselling, and secured four tickets for a departure one hour later.

After purchasing the tickets, he told Shen Mingzhu to pack in the room while he went to find Zhou Shuhuan and Qiao Ya.

Luck was on his side; he ran into them just as he descended the stairs.

They had just returned from shopping, hands full of large and small bags, looking quite happy.

"Shuhuan, there’s no time, go upstairs and pack your luggage, we’re leaving immediately!" exclaimed Pei Yang.

Pulled by Pei Yang into the elevator, the pair looked utterly bewildered, "Yang, what exactly happened?"

Pei Yang didn’t have time to explain in detail, he simply told them that Shen Mingzhu got into big trouble and they had to leave Ao City immediately to avoid disaster.

At this, Zhou Shuhuan and Qiao Ya looked at each other in dismay.

When they got upstairs, Qiao Ya didn’t head to her room to pack; instead, she ran to Shen Mingzhu’s room to fish for gossip.

"Sister-in-law, what sort of trouble have you gotten into?"