Qiao Wanwan and Jiang Nan exchanged bewildered glances: "..."

"Xu Lai, have you lost your mind? Our lady has nothing better to do than go and kill He Songling?"

"Who are you people? Do you need to kill people yourself?" Xu Lai's tears streamed down her face. "With a little money, there are plenty of people willing to be your executioners! Poor He Yu trusted you so much, thinking you would really let him go, and yet he died such a tragic death..."

“Xu Lai, I don’t know why you think I killed He Songling, but I can tell you that I did not kill He Songling, nor did I instruct anyone to kill him. Since I promised to let you go, I will not go back on my word.” Qiao Wanwan said solemnly, “I hope we can sit down and clear up the misunderstanding, so that you will not be deceived and used by others.”

"Stop pretending! Killing He Yu wasn't enough; you need to kill me to vent your anger, is that it?!" Xu Lai broke down in tears, kneeling before Qiao Wanwan. "Madam Zhan, I beg you! I can die, but I beg you to spare my child... You're a mother too; don't be so cruel as to kill an unborn child. I beg you..."

Qiao Wanwan stared in shock at her flat stomach. "You're pregnant?"

Xu Lai cried, "I'm not afraid of death, I only beg you to let me give birth to my child. If you're willing to spare him, I'm willing to die in your hands..."

Qiao Wanwan stepped forward. "Since you know the feelings of being a mother and what a child means to a mother, then I swear to God with the child in my belly that I absolutely did not kill He Songling."

Xu Lai was taken aback, "...Even if you don't have it, what about Zhan Jingting?"

“My husband doesn’t even care about He Songling, so why go to such lengths to kill him?” Qiao Wanwan said. “I can also vouch for my husband. He always keeps his word and would never do something like letting someone go on the surface while assassinating them behind their back. Besides, you said that we are all-powerful. If we want to kill He Songling, we can do it openly and honestly. There’s no need to do it secretly.”

Xu Lai's mind was completely blank; "How is this possible..."

Qiao Wanwan frowned. "Why are you so convinced that I did it? Who exactly told you that I killed He Songling?"

“Your sister,” Xu Lai blurted out. “She told me herself.”

Qiao Wanwan was taken aback. "My sister... Zaozao?"

"Yes, you only have one younger sister, don't you?"

"Impossible!" Qiao Wanwan's fingertips trembled. "It couldn't have been her!"

“If she hadn’t told me, how could I have believed it?” Xu Lai said. “It was Cheng Zaozao who told me herself that you were the ones who killed He Yu!”

"Madam, why would Miss Zaozao fabricate such a lie to deceive Xu Lai?" Jiang Nan asked from the side. "She's your family member, why would she frame you and Master Zhan?"

Qiao Wanwan felt a sudden dizziness and fell backward!

"Madam!" Jiang Nan quickly caught her. "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing..." Qiao Wanwan felt as if she were in an ice cellar. "Zaozao... why her..."

"Get up right now and let our lady go inside and rest!" Jiang Nan looked at Xu Lai kneeling on the ground. "Go inside and explain yourself. If you dare to lie, you'll face the consequences!"

Qiao Wanwan was helped into the house and sat down in a chair.

“Xu Lai,” she looked at Xu Lai who had followed her in, “explain clearly, how Zaozao told you, what tone she used, I need to know every detail…”

Xu Lai nodded and slowly said, "Zaozao is a very nice and kind person. Her personality is a bit like mine. She's a little timid and introverted, so we hit it off very well and quickly opened up to each other and talked about everything."

“At first, she just comforted me and told me to let go of He Yu’s death. Later, she came to my house several times, but she seemed hesitant to speak. When I asked her what happened, she wouldn’t say. Later, when I pressed her, she finally told me that she had overheard your conversation with Zhan Jingting and that the person who killed He Yu was someone you arranged.”

“I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to call you right then and there, but she cried and said that if I called and asked, we would both die. She wanted to live, but she couldn’t bear the pangs of conscience, so she told me the truth.”

“She’s been so good to me, of course I couldn’t bear to drag her down with me. Besides, I’m very clear that once things are out in the open, I’m not qualified to fight you, let alone kill you to avenge He Yu. That’s why I didn’t make that call.”

"After I calmed down, she asked me what my plans were. I was blinded by hatred at the time, so I said that since you were not on guard against me, I would kill you when you came to my house to see me!"

“Zaozao was very good to you. She knelt down and begged me, saying that she had always treated you like her own sister and begged me not to kill you, but to give you some punishment. I agreed to her request. After thinking it over, I felt that killing the child in your womb would be the greatest punishment for you, and that's why she had no objection.”

Qiao Wanwan closed her eyes in anguish, tears streaming down her face. "Then why didn't you do that?"

“I originally planned that when you came to see me, I would lead you to the balcony, and I would jump off with you in my arms. That way, you would definitely lose your baby, and I wouldn't care about my own life either; I would just go with He Yu…” Xu Lai raised her hand and gently stroked her lower abdomen. “But then I discovered I was pregnant. I'm not afraid of death, but my child is innocent. He shouldn't become a sacrifice for my revenge. He should come to this world and see it. For my child, I must live…”

“I was afraid you would harm me, so I thought of escaping. I packed my bags, took a taxi to the northern pier to create the illusion that I was illegally crossing the border, then changed into men's clothes and disguised myself to take a black cab to my cousin's place, hoping to hide here and give birth to the child. I didn't expect you to find me so quickly…”

"Master Zhan and his wife didn't kill He Songling, let alone intend to kill you. It was all made up by Cheng Zaozao to deceive you!" Jiang Nan was speechless. "Actually, if you had just asked our wife, there wouldn't have been such a misunderstanding! What's even more despicable is that if you hadn't discovered you were pregnant, you might have killed the child in our wife's womb!"

"She lied to me... I almost harmed an unborn child..." Xu Lai's face turned pale with fear. "It's not that I didn't have my suspicions, but she's your dearest sister, how could she frame you?"

"Yes, my dearest sister, the sister I raised with my own hands, why would she frame me..." Qiao Wanwan burst into tears, "Why her... why..."

"I'm sorry..." Xu Lai said anxiously, "I really didn't know she was lying to me. She spoke so convincingly, crying as she spoke, that I felt she was truly struggling between family ties and conscience. I never imagined she would fabricate such a lie to frame you..."