Ye Nian'an couldn't help but feel amused as she watched.

First Zhao Zhaodi came to deliver money, and then Zhao Lijie came over to deliver money as well.

The Zhao family is really rich and powerful.

Judging by the thickness of this envelope, it must contain quite a lot of things.

It seems that although Zhao Zhaodi's house was emptied, these siblings probably still have a lot of wealth hidden away.

Little did they know that Zhao Lijie's heart was bleeding.

The money in that envelope was the family savings that the siblings had painstakingly scraped together.

Now I have to offer it up with both hands; just thinking about it makes my heart ache.

In fact, if it weren't for Zhao Zhaodi's incident, they could have easily turned a blind eye.

As long as the Chu family distances themselves from Zhao Shikai's family and insists they know nothing, they won't cause trouble for innocent civilians.

But Zhao Zhaodi insisted on interfering, and all the plans were disrupted.

The siblings couldn't sleep at night, worried that Ye Nian'an would take her anger out on them.

Over the past decade, they have witnessed many cases of families being destroyed by retaliation, and those with some financial means, especially, are terrified.

After much deliberation, he sent Zhao Lijie to secretly deliver money to show his stance, hoping that Ye Nian'an would not hold a grudge.

This money is too good to pass up.

Ye Nian'an looked at the envelope and tapped her fingertips lightly on her arm.

She was indeed tempted.

After all, who would complain about having too much money?

but--

"Then you must first swear a solemn oath before me..."

Ye Nian'an narrowed her eyes, revealing a dangerous aura: "You know nothing about Zhao Shikai's matter, and you were not involved at all."

"If Captain Jiang finds any evidence, or if I find out something..."

"You have no idea how terrible your fate will be!"

She paused, then slowly added, her voice soft yet sharp as an icicle: "I curse myself to be childless, to be hit by a car, to die from drinking cold water, to be disemboweled, and to die with my eyes wide open in disbelief!"

gurgle—

Zhao Lijie swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing noticeably.

Such cruel and vicious words actually came from the mouth of this delicate, seemingly harmless beauty...

His tone was so flat, it was as if he were just saying the weather was nice today.

It's true what they say, you can know a person's face but not their heart.

But it was precisely this contrast that gave Zhao Lijie an extremely dangerous feeling.

This woman in front of me truly means what she says! And she does what she says!

"OK!"

He gritted his teeth, as if he had made a tremendous decision: "I swear on the lives of my entire family! I, Zhao Lijie, have never been involved in Zhao Shikai's affairs!"

"If I break this oath, may I be struck by lightning, have no descendants, be disemboweled, and die a horrible death!"

He was telling the truth. He was kept in the dark about what Zhao Shikai was doing, so he felt justified in making this vow.

The other siblings were the same. Since Zhao Shikai's crimes had already been exposed and he had been arrested, there was nothing left to hide. They all claimed that they knew nothing and had not participated.

Ye Nian'an stared into his eyes for a long time until beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, then slowly reached out and took the envelope.

Her fingertips touched the rough texture of the paper, and she weighed it in her hand; it was quite heavy.

"I know what you're worried about."

She stuffed the envelope into the inside pocket of her cotton-padded coat and patted it: "If you really weren't involved, I won't bother with it. Let's go."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Zhao Lijie felt as if he had been granted a pardon, nodding and bowing in agreement, and then turned and walked towards the alley entrance.

Her steps were unsteady, as if someone was chasing her, and she wished she could disappear from Ye Nian'an's sight immediately.

I never imagined that Chief Chu's wife would be so terrifyingly intimidating!

Under the gaze of her clear, serene eyes, it seemed as if all one's little thoughts had nowhere to hide!

That's terrifying!

Ye Nian'an clutched the bulging envelope and hummed a little tune as she walked home.

The sunlight fell on her fair and beautiful face, making her feel warm all over.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw Ye Sheng and Chu Xin'er squatting by the stone table talking.

Upon seeing Ye Nian'an return, their faces beaming with joy, they asked in unison, "Nian'an (sister-in-law), what happened? Why are you so happy?"

Ye Nian'an waved the envelope in her hand, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Take a look at this."

She recounted how Zhao Lijie had given her the money.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Chu Xin'er jumped up, rolled up her sleeves, and rushed out: "They dare to come again? Damn it! I'm going to beat them to death!"

First Zhao Shikai, then Zhao Zhaodi, and now Zhao Lijie…

They keep coming to cause trouble, do they really think the Chu family has no one left?

If we don't give "Chu Xin'er" a good beating, I'll write her name backwards!

"Alright, Xin'er."

Ye Nian'an grabbed her arm, smiled, and opened the envelope, revealing neatly stacked bills inside.

The red "Great Unity" and the green "Five Yuan" tickets look like stacked bricks, with their edges looking brand new and crisp.

“We are reasonable and can distinguish right from wrong. We will accept as much money as it comes to us, no matter how much it comes to us.”

"Even if you beat someone up, could you get this much money? Probably not. But these things... are real, tangible benefits."

Ye Sheng nodded: "Niannian is right. These scumbags are giving us money willingly. Isn't this a rare find?"

"Anyway, Old Li and the others, who were the main culprits, have all been arrested. Everything is notarized by national law, so they can't escape."

Chu Xin'er gave Ye Sheng the middle finger: "Tch~ You're such a money-grubber~"

Ye Nian'an then took out the large ten-yuan bills one by one and slowly counted them on the stone table...

"one two three……"

Sunlight fell on her lowered eyelashes, casting a soft shadow, but the corners of her mouth remained upturned, unable to hide her joy.

As Ye Sheng counted them, he couldn't help but gasp: "Goodness, 80 ten-yuan bills and 30 five-yuan bills, the Zhao family is really generous."

"Hmph, they got off too easy."

Chu Xin'er muttered, but her voice softened considerably, and she lightly tapped the bill with her fingertip: "It's just this much money, enough to make them sleep a little more soundly at night."

Ye Nian'an carefully placed the last ticket, and the tickets on the stone table were piled up like a small mountain.

"I just bought some imported skincare products at the State-Owned Building today. They were quite expensive, and I was initially worried about the cost for my family, but now it doesn't seem so bad anymore!"

"Here, my dear, these are Estée Lauder and Lancôme skincare products for you~"