Chapter 177 Hidden Meaning

His gaze revealed obvious defensiveness and displeasure before slowly landing on his wife, Qiao Wanyin. "Qingqing, what happened? What's going on?"

After saying that, his gaze was fixed on the gleaming kitchen knife in Qiao Wanyin's hand. His brows furrowed deeply, and his voice suddenly became several decibels lower: "What's with this knife? Who gave you permission to hold it?"

"that……"

Qiao Wanyin chuckled twice, a slightly embarrassed smile appearing on her face, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the handle of the knife. "Actually, it's nothing serious. Mom just got home, and I was happy. I was thinking that it's been a long time since the whole family ate together, so I thought I'd kill a chicken to celebrate and make it more lively."

"Killing a chicken to celebrate?"

Fu Li'an frowned even more, his tone full of suspicion, "Using such a big kitchen knife? And now? At this time? Mom just got home, and you're already thinking of killing a chicken?"

His gaze swept back and forth between the kitchen knife and Qiao Wanyin's face, his expression wary, before slowly turning to his mother, Song Yazhi, and Fang Wanyu, his eyes sharp as knives.

He knew his wife too well—Qiao Wanyin was never a flamboyant person. She always shouldered her responsibilities herself. Even if she suffered a great injustice, she would never easily complain, and she would never be disrespectful in front of her elders.

Now that Mother and Fang Wanyu have appeared together, their expressions are off, the atmosphere is eerie, and then there's this knife...

A sense of foreboding suddenly welled up in his heart; nothing good could be coming.

Qiao Wanyin lowered her head, forcing a smile, and quickly pulled back the kitchen knife, hiding it behind her back in a slightly flustered manner. Her voice was soft but carried a hint of barely perceptible tension: "It's okay, Maidong, it's really okay. Don't overthink it, it was just a spur-of-the-moment decision to cook a nice meal."

"Your wife stole our family's heirloom jade ruyi!"

Song Yazhi suddenly stood up abruptly, her voice shrill and loud, as if long-suppressed emotions were finally erupting. Her whole body trembled slightly with excitement. "Caught red-handed! She even threatened me with a knife! I'm calling the police! How can we let this kind of family stay?"

Fu Li'an's eyes narrowed, his pupils suddenly contracted, and a chill ran up from the bottom of his heart.

His gaze first fixed on the jade ruyi tightly clutched in his mother's hand, his eyes filled with complex emotions. Then he slowly turned to Qiao Wanyin, his voice low but carrying an undeniable sense of pressure: "Qingqing, tell me, what exactly is going on? I need you to tell me yourself."

Qiao Wanyin pursed her lips, her chest rising and falling slightly, about to explain—

"Brother Maidong!"

Fang Wanyu suddenly took a step forward, her voice trembling with tears, her eyes quickly welling up with them, looking utterly pitiful. "Don't blame Sister Wanyin, I know she didn't mean it... She probably just thought the jade was pretty and got curious, wanting to play with it for a few more days, she didn't really want to take it away..."

"She's your wife, how could she steal anything?"

Qiao Wanyin, "..."

She stared at Fang Wanyu's seemingly kind but actually smug face, and felt a surge of anger rush to her head.

This person is such a good actor!

They spoke in a high-sounding manner, as if they were trying to exonerate her, but every word they uttered sounded like they were accusing her of a crime!

On the surface, it was a plea for leniency, but in reality, every word she said was an admission that she had committed the crime of "theft"!

I really wanted to rush up and chop her with a knife!

The thought flashed through her mind, and Qiao Wanyin's fingers unconsciously tightened, the kitchen knife making a slight rubbing sound in her palm.

"Sister Wanyu is quite eloquent."

Qiao Wanyin sneered, gripping the kitchen knife even tighter and slowly stroking the cold blade. Her voice was unhurried but laced with sarcasm, "You say you don't steal, but aren't you obviously implying that I'm a thief? That I covet your family's heirloom?"

She looked directly at Fang Wanyu, her gaze sharp as a knife: "I've made myself clear—this jade ruyi was found in Mai Dong's old cotton-padded coat! I never touch that coat; it still smells strongly of mothballs and has been sitting at the bottom of a trunk for years. But this jade—"

She suddenly pointed at the glossy jade ruyi in Song Yazhi's hand, her voice rising abruptly: "There's not a trace of camphor! Instead, it smells like an unfamiliar perfume! What does that mean? It means the jade was just stuffed in! I didn't steal it at all! Someone framed me!"

Fu Lian'an's expression darkened, his eyes grew colder, his chest heaved, and he finally spoke as if he had made up his mind: "Mom, let me see the jade."

Song Yazhi reluctantly handed it over, her movements slow and deliberate, muttering to herself, "The evidence is so clear, yet she still tries to deny it... What's the point of keeping a daughter-in-law like this? She'll only bring shame to the family! I heard her arguing with Wanyu, saying she wanted a piece of this jade too..."

Fu Li'an took the jade, his fingertips paused slightly, and then he carefully examined it.

The jade was warm and smooth, with a faint luster on its surface, but the more closely he looked at it, the more his brows furrowed.

He lowered his head and brought the jade pendant closer, taking a gentle sniff. An unfamiliar sandalwood scent entered his nostrils, a scent he had never smelled at home before.

His brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and a hint of doubt appeared in his eyes.

"Brother Maidong," Fang Wanyu said softly, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze, "Auntie must be tired from coming all this way, her legs must be sore from standing, right? How about... let Sister Wanyin apologize, and then we can let this matter pass and everyone can rest assured."

"past?"

Qiao Wanyin abruptly raised her head, her voice icy, interrupting her directly, "Past? Past what?"

She stood up, looked directly at Fang Wanyu, and said in a firm and unquestionable tone: "I hate people who admit their mistakes without even knowing the facts, and I hate it even more when they muddle through things."

She paused, lowering her voice further but making it more forceful: "Now that this matter has been brought up, it must be made completely clear. There can be no ambiguity, and no compromise."

Trying to smooth things over?

Don't even think about it!

After she finished speaking, she slowly turned to look at Fu Li'an, her tone becoming calm, like a deep pool, its surface undisturbed but its depths hidden beneath: "Mai Dong, do you remember the last time I went back to the city with you? That day, Mom herself said that was when the jade was lost."

She paused, staring directly at him: "We've lived together for so long, spending every day together, have you ever seen me touch this jade? Move it even once? Wear it? Even just take it out for a glance?"

No. Not even once.

Her voice rose slightly, tinged with suppressed anger: "But today, as soon as they came in, they found it in our room, in the drawer of our bedside table. Don't you think that's too much of a coincidence? Too much of a coincidence?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Wanyu's heart skipped a beat, as if it had been gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

Her face paled slightly, and her fingers curled up involuntarily.

But she quickly composed herself and forced a slightly aggrieved smile: "Sister Wanyin, what exactly do you mean by that? Do you suspect that Auntie is deliberately framing you?"

"You're talking nonsense!"

Song Yazhi almost jumped up, her face flushed red, and her voice suddenly rose, "Qiao Wanyin! You stole something but don't dare to admit it, and you even dare to turn around and accuse me of wrongdoing?"