The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 767 - 766 Ou Liya’s Trial

Chapter 767: Chapter 766 Ou Liya’s Trial

After settling her daughter to sleep, Shen Mingzhu went to the living room to call La Shiran.

"Manman, it’s me."

"Mingzhu, Guoguo is okay now, right?"

"Yes."

A simple expression of concern made Shen Mingzhu unable to hold back her tears.

What had she done to deserve such a sincere friend?

"Manman, thank you for your help. How much did it cost to hire Polar Fox? Give me a number, and I’ll transfer the money to you as soon as possible."

"There’s no need to worry about these things between us. I was really sorry you couldn’t come for Jiujui’s full moon celebration. When you have time, bring Guoguo over to play."

"Yes, definitely."

After speaking with La Shiran, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but go back up to her daughter’s room on the second floor.

Sitting beside the bed, looking at her daughter quietly lying there, she felt she could never get enough.

In just twenty-four hours, her daughter’s once chubby cheeks had thinned.

She had always wanted to control her daughter’s weight, but now that her daughter had actually lost weight, she felt full of heartache and guilt.

If she hadn’t insisted on taking her daughter out with her to get some exercise by taking out the trash, her daughter wouldn’t have met with this undeserved disaster.

She reached out and touched her daughter’s smooth forehead, and Shen Mingzhu made a decision in her heart.

...

Pei Tang’s psychological resilience was still rather strong; he had basically recovered to normal after resting for two days, and when his friends came to visit, he could vividly recount how he had bribed and turned the kidnapper.

To calm public discussion and various opinions, the London police announced the kidnapping case had been solved with the fastest speed.

The three kidnappers would be tried in London Court, and since Ou Liya was of Chinese nationality, she would be extradited back to her home country for sentencing.

With the case dust settled, the father and sons prepared to return to their homeland.

...

"Why have you packed all your clothes? Are you going somewhere far?"

Pei Yang returned to the bedroom and saw Shen Mingzhu stuffing clothes into a suitcase from the wardrobe, puzzled.

Shen Mingzhu continued to busy herself with what she was doing, replying, "I’m going back with all of you."

Hearing this, Pei Yang was overjoyed, "Then how long do you plan to stay?"

Shen Mingzhu turned and looked at him, "I’ve already applied for withdrawal from school, I don’t plan to come back to London to continue my studies for now."

Pei Yang’s smile faltered, "Why quit all of a sudden, did something happen?"

Although he really wanted to keep his wife by his side, he wished more for her to fulfill her desires and do what she loved.

"Nothing happened, I just want to go back and accompany Guoguo."

Knowing she hadn’t walked out from the shadow of her daughter’s kidnapping, Pei Yang stepped forward to comfort her, "If you’re really worried, we can hire a personal bodyguard for Guoguo when we’re back. You’re already halfway through your studies, and you’ll graduate in a few months. Isn’t it a pity to give up now?"

Shen Mingzhu said, "I’ve thought it through. Right now, I don’t want to think too much about the future. I just want to do what I most want to do at present, which is to accompany Guoguo and ensure she grows up safely and peacefully."

Knowing that she was a person of independence and determination, Pei Yang didn’t persuade her further.

He took her hand and gently pulled her into his embrace.

"No matter what you want to do, I will support and respect it."

"Thank you."

Shen Mingzhu relaxed into the man’s arms.

She disdained reliance on anyone, but the feeling of having someone behind her truly brought peace of mind.

For Shen Mingzhu, the siblings were even more thrilled about her return to the country than one another, barely able to resist setting off strings of firecrackers to celebrate.

By the time she returned to China, it was early September.

She first took Pei Ziheng to the Capital for his university studies, then handled the enrollment procedures for her daughter.

After finishing these tasks, Shen Mingzhu took her daughter to visit the Zhong Family.

Seeing Pei Tang playing joyously with brothers Yan Ruili and Yan Ruize, unaffected by the kidnapping, Zhong Qing remarked with a smile,

"Fortune favors the good-hearted, Guoguo’s safe return this time is all thanks to the virtues you’ve accumulated."

"Such favors are nebulous, but the debt I owe you and your husband is real. I won’t be able to repay it in this lifetime, so I’ll continue in the next."

Zhong Qing was amused by her words.

After visiting Zhong Qing, Shen Mingzhu took her daughter to the Ning Family to express her sincere gratitude to Yan Jing and Zhuang Xueqi.

Even now, she believed that the London police setting up a special task force only five hours after her daughter’s disappearance was due to the Ning Family’s influence.

Facing Shen Mingzhu’s visit, Yan Jing was polite on the surface, yet her gaze carried a hint of scrutiny.

She still suspected that her son had ulterior motives concerning Shen Mingzhu and secretly found it strange; she knew her son, and his tastes never aligned with the virtuous wife and good mother type that Shen Mingzhu represented.

After the visit, Zhuang Xueqi saw the mother and daughter out.

During the golden autumn, the chrysanthemums in the Ning Family’s flower bed bloomed with vibrant competition, and Pei Tang happily ran over to look.

Zhuang Xueqi stopped and said to Shen Mingzhu, "Thank you for taking care of my mother and Xiao Xu during this time. Xiao Xu, especially, has grown a lot."

Shen Mingzhu modestly replied, "I didn’t do much. On the contrary, thanks to you, our entire family was able to stay in such a nice house in London."

Zhuang Xueqi looked at her, "I’m very glad I listened to your suggestion back then to invest a portion of my private assets. It turned out to be a safety net for my mother and Xiao Xu."

The Zhuang Family had been under financial strain due to blind expansion and investments over the past two years, and the disaster involving Northern Airlines was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

With the unveiling of the compensation plan for the victims, not only were the Zhuang Family’s assets and accounts frozen, but they were also deeply in debt.

However, the sum of money with Shen Mingzhu at least ensured a life free of financial worries for the mother and son of the Zhuang Family.

"It’s not so much advice, just my personal belief that women should always leave themselves a way out, no matter the circumstance."

Zhuang Xueqi, in a leisurely manner, expressed her curiosity, "I’m very curious, what kind of way out have you left for yourself?"

Shen Mingzhu pointed to her head, "My way out is right in here."

Zhuang Xueqi let out a scoffing laugh, about to speak, when the Ning Family’s butler came to deliver a message, "Madam, your mother asks for you in the living room."

"Understood."

After bidding farewell to Shen Mingzhu, Zhuang Xueqi returned to the living room.

"Mom, you wanted to see me?"

Yan Jing looked at her with an unusually strange expression, "Xiaoyi just shared some news with me."

Zhuang Xueqi’s heart skipped a beat, "It’s not my dad in trouble, is it?"

"Your father is fine, but this matter involves your father."

Meanwhile,

Shen Mingzhu "coincidentally" met Yan Yi on her way back to the city, who was also heading to Mingyuan.

Learning that Ou Liya was implicated in the crime of treason took Shen Mingzhu by surprise.

Seven years earlier, Ou Liya had taken the "compensation fee" from Zhuang Shiqing and moved to Bay Island Province to start anew.

But she was bought by the local JD Organization, exploiting her mainland identity and job to travel between the two places, transferring intelligence and harming the national interest.

"There’s another matter."

Hearing Yan Yi say this, Shen Mingzhu instinctively responded, "Dr. Yan, go ahead."

"The Northern Airlines disaster was orchestrated by Ou Liya herself."