The banquet was still held at that four-star hotel.

The guests occasionally whispered among themselves, saying that the mayor was truly incorruptible, unwilling to spend a single penny more to make the banquet more extravagant.

"What do you know? A new broom sweeps clean; of course, he has to put on a show!"

"But neither the Qin family nor the Shao family would only stay at a four-star hotel, right? Although he is the mayor, his son-in-law is in business!"

"Yes, and besides, given his relationship with the four major families, it's fine for him to be a little extravagant!"

"Could it be... that there's some other reason for coming to this hotel?"

Ning Meng listened from the side the whole time.

Her intention? Heh, I didn't see it, but as long as no one held her accountable, she was relieved.

Shao Zhiheng stood on the stage, gently waving his hand, a smile in his eyes.

The music stopped, and everyone turned to look at him. Although Shao Zhiheng was already old, he was well-maintained, with a straight back, an extraordinary demeanor, and a loud voice.

"First of all, welcome to the banquet."

"This election victory is inseparable from everyone's support. I will certainly live up to everyone's expectations and the expectations of the people of Yangcheng. I will do my best to lead Yangcheng to a brighter future!"

The audience erupted in applause, and the guests raised their glasses to congratulate him.

"In addition, I know that everyone is also very concerned about my granddaughter Nuannuan."

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Nuan ran up to the stage and gave her grandfather a big hug. Shao Zhiheng patted her little head and smiled lovingly.

A murmur rippled through the crowd. People knew more or less about Qin Nuan being abducted, and it was truly fortunate that she was able to return in such a short time.

And this good fortune is inseparable from Ding Cheng.

At that moment, Ding Cheng was watching her from a corner, a gentle smile on his face.

"Although there were bad people involved in Nuannuan's kidnapping, she also received help from kind-hearted people. As for the mastermind behind it all, I've already found out!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shao Zhiheng turned to look at Pei Nian.

Ning Meng's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but feel secretly delighted!

So Shao Zhiheng suspected Pei Nian? So my tricks really worked, and I successfully pinned the blame on Pei Nian!

“Yes…” Ning Meng’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough for everyone around her to hear what she was saying. “Ha, like begets like, and the son of a rat knows how to dig a hole. That’s absolutely true! The child of a human trafficker is born to abduct children!”

"Ning Meng, what are you saying?" Bai Zhijin popped up behind her again. "If you want to say something, go up and say it! Speak louder, or no one can hear you!"

"you……"

"Oh, by the way, your classmates back home probably don't know that you paid for your academic credits abroad, right?"

Ning Meng's eyes widened.

They didn't know at first, but after Bai Zhijin made such a fuss, everyone knew!

"Are you out of your mind?" Ning Meng gritted her teeth. "Mayor Shao is speaking up there, and you're speaking down here. Do you want a separate stage set up for you?"

"Ning Meng," Bai Zhijin looked into her eyes and murmured, "Are you angry?"

"..."

Ning Meng was so speechless that she couldn't catch her breath, and rolled her eyes one after another.

But then, suddenly, Shao Zhiheng's deep voice was heard:

"I am very happy today, not only because Nuannuan is back, not only because I can gather with everyone, but also because... I can finally clear Miss Pei Nian's name!"

"What?" Ning Meng's ears rang.

"I know that there have been a lot of rumors circulating these past two days, all saying that Nuannuan's disappearance is related to Miss Pei." Shao Zhiheng's words were firm and resolute. "There was a news article that wasn't released, but a competitor tried to use this scandal to smear me!"

"Right, Miss Ning?"

Ning Meng froze. In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on her, like needles pricking her, and she could barely stand.

"Mayor Shao... what did you say?"

"Miss Ning, do you really not understand what I'm saying?"

Shao Zhiheng smiled, but his eyes were like ice.

The way Qin Yu looked at her was as if he wanted to tear her to pieces.

Parents are not afraid of how cruel others might be to them, but if that person dares to touch their child, the parents will fight them to the death.

Jiang Mianmian and Huo Junyu exchanged a glance and nodded slightly. A moment later, their subordinates brought Ding Daming in.

Ning Meng's expression changed, and she subconsciously avoided Ding Daming's gaze. Ding Daming, who had initially seemed hesitant and timid, suddenly seemed to find his backbone upon seeing Ning Meng, struggling to shout loudly, "Hey... Miss Ning, Miss Ning Meng! Miss Ning! You have to stand up for me!"

"What are you doing?" Ning Meng roared. "What right do I have to make decisions for you!"

"It's just because you made me..."

“Yes, I did give you some money,” Ning Meng said preemptively. “But I saw you were all alone and pitiful. Your son ignores you, and your adopted daughter despises you! That’s why I gave you money, hoping you could enjoy your retirement! I didn’t expect you to be such a worry… You, you’ve offended the Huo family, haven’t you?”

Although Ding Daming was bad, he had never done anything to distort the truth.

I've never seen anyone so twisted and distorted the truth!

He stood there dumbfounded, speechless for a moment.

"Ning Meng, you're really good at making excuses!" Jiang Mianmian sneered.

"Mianmian, what are you saying!" Ning Meng panicked. "This person... this person is clearly Pei Nian's adoptive father! How did this get involved with me? I even reminded you before to stay away from Pei Nian... She grew up in that kind of place, surrounded by human trafficking. This time, the Qin family's little princess got into trouble, it was all the work of that father and daughter!"

"This is Pei Nian's adoptive father, yet he takes orders from you, doesn't he?"

Huo Junyu stepped forward, and his imposing aura made Ning Meng involuntarily take two steps back.

Huo Jingnan also walked to Pei Nian's side and gently took her hand.

Pei Nian took a deep breath, her expression calm and her eyes undisturbed.

"Ning Meng," Huo Junyu scoffed, "You don't actually think this four-star hotel is that bad, and that the security cameras in the backyard can't be fixed anymore, do you?"

"What?"

Huo Junyu waved his hand, and the large screen on the stage slowly descended. Someone immediately went to the control panel to retrieve the surveillance footage.

"The security cameras in our hotel's backyard were out of order for a while," the manager said, walking over to operate them himself. "But they've been fixed a long time ago. After the repair, the cameras were working, but there was a problem with data transmission, so it looked like the cameras had been malfunctioning all along. However, with the help of Huo's technicians, the data has been recovered!"

Ning Meng's face turned deathly pale, and she stared at the screen with wide eyes as if she had seen a ghost.

The guests then realized, "I knew it! There must have been a reason why Mayor Shao chose to hold the banquet at this four-star hotel. So that's how it is!"