"Mother has severed ties with that side. Even if relatives from there come to visit in the future, we should be polite to them if they are, but if they cause trouble, we don't need to consider Mother's feelings. We should just treat them like strangers and handle them as we would any other person."

Zheng Yunwan finished drinking the water and put down the cup: "I understand, Sister Yunying."

Looking at her profile, Xiao Yunying suddenly asked, "Is it really just some ordinary thugs causing trouble?"

Zheng Yunwan reached for the teapot to pour water again: "Really? They're just thugs asking for money."

Xiao Yunying pressed down on the teapot, stopping her from pouring more water: "Stop drinking. Are you really that thirsty? You've been pouring and drinking water ever since you came in, and you don't even dare to look me in the eye. Yunwan, do you know the people who caused trouble?"

Zheng Yunwan's eyes flickered. She put down the teapot and turned around: "Sister Yunying, I was arguing with them for too long and rushed back without even having a drink of water..."

Xiao Yunying didn't give her a chance to continue, and asked directly, "Where's the pearl hairpin in your hair? It's the one I bought for you last time. You've been wearing it a lot lately, including this morning. I saw you wearing it in your hair before I left. Why is it gone now?"

Zheng Yunwan's eyes widened as she touched the back of her head, finding only a wooden hairpin remaining.

She seemed to just realize it, and said in a surprised tone, "Oh no, it probably fell off when I was struggling with that woman."

Xiao Yunying's eyes sharpened: "Yunwan, you shouldn't have lied to me. You're not good at lying. Your surprised expression didn't look convincing at all."

Feeling guilty, Zheng Yunwan avoided her gaze and lowered her hand. Finally, unable to withstand her sharp eyes, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Sister Yunying, I shouldn't have lied to you."

Xiao Yunying pulled her down to sit: "Now tell me what happened, do you know the people who caused trouble?"

Zheng Yunwan's face paled as she recalled the two people jumping and causing trouble in the store. All the unpleasant memories from the past flooded her mind.

"My brother was the one who caused trouble, and my mother was the one who was pulling at me. They saw me doing accounts with the shopkeeper at the counter and thought I was the owner of the shop, so they went to Shijinfang to cause trouble."

"I'm so sorry, Sister Yunying. It's all my fault. If they hadn't seen me like that, the shop's business wouldn't have been disrupted."

"What kind of talk is that!"

Xiao Yunying said in a serious tone: "Do you think I'm angry about the little bit of money I lost? I'm angry that you were bullied but didn't tell me. Did they take your hairpin? If I hadn't asked you, would you have continued to give them jewelry and money just to stop them from causing trouble?"

Zheng Yunwan's eyes reddened as she listened to these words.

Although Sister Yunying's tone was stern and sounded like she was scolding her, the underlying meaning of her words was that she cared about her.

I misjudged things this time. Sister Yunying was right. Her family is a bottomless pit. They'll definitely come back for more benefits this time. I can't keep this a secret for long.

But she really didn't know what to do. Those people were like leeches; once you got entangled with them, you couldn't easily shake them off.