Fang Jingru stared at her face with an unprecedented gaze.

Qiao Qiqi felt uneasy under Fang Jingru's gaze. Just as she was about to speak, Fang Jingru suddenly raised her hand, grabbed her shoulder tightly, and said in an extremely heartbroken tone, "Qiqi, you are my own niece! You are my second brother's child!"

"Wh...what?" Qiao Qiqi was a little confused.

Fang Jingru gazed at her face and repeated, "I have a second brother who went missing when he was five years old. Our family searched for him for many years. My mother cried until she went blind because of this and never closed her eyes until she died. Our family had given up, but then I met you in the office that day!"

Qiao Qiqi seemed to understand. "You mean... I'm your second brother's child? Then what about my father??"

Could he be Fang Jingru's second brother?

Qiao Qiqi had always felt that Lu Xiufen's favoritism was a bit outrageous, and she had even privately suspected it before, but because everyone said that Qiao Weiguo couldn't possibly not be Lu Xiufen's son, she gave up the idea.

Hearing Fang Jingru's insistence, Qiao Qiqi turned to look at Lu Xiufen sitting on the ground, still puzzled: "What exactly is going on?"

Fang Jingru also looked at Lu Xiufen, her eyes filled with resentment. "It's her! I've already questioned her. She admitted that her third son had a serious illness when he was five years old. She and her husband took the child to Heilong City for treatment, but the child's illness was too severe, and he died before the treatment was finished. On their way back, the couple encountered my second brother, who had escaped from human traffickers. After hearing my second brother say that he wanted to go home, they had wicked ideas. Not only did they not send my second brother to the police station, but they also brought him back."

Lu Xiufen's eyes darted around quickly, and she suddenly retorted loudly, "I'm saving him! If I don't save him, he'll be taken back by human traffickers and die."

Seeing that she still dared to argue, Fang Jingru was so angry that her eyes turned red. "You know what you're up to. If I hadn't said that I would give you 1,000 yuan if you told me the truth, why would you have told me?"

Qiao Qiqi said that since Lu Xiufen had kept it a secret for so many years, how could she suddenly admit it? Only when she heard that Fang Jingru had promised money did she understand.

If what Lu Xiufen said is true, that they took their five-year-old child to Heilong City for medical treatment, the child died, and they brought back the child they found, the two children are about the same age. In rural areas, news is scarce, and they were kept at home for a few years before coming out. Given that children grow up quickly and change a lot, if Lu Xiufen told others that this child was her third son, it probably wouldn't arouse suspicion.

However, in order to verify the truth of the matter, Su Shangjin still sent someone to invite the villagers who lived next door to Lu Xiufen back then to inquire.

Upon hearing this, the neighbor nodded in agreement. "Back then, our two families were separated by a wooden fence. Ever since that couple went to Heilongjiang, I noticed that their third son, who used to love playing in the garden, was almost never seen anymore. I asked him about it out of curiosity, and Lu Xiufen said that her youngest son was still not well and couldn't be exposed to the wind, so he had been resting indoors. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but two years later, when the child came out of the house, I felt that he looked very different from before. But children grow up quickly, so I didn't pay much attention to it."

"Look at the mess you've made!" Su Shangjin understood immediately. But he never expected such an outrageous thing to happen within his jurisdiction.

What do you call this? Child abduction!

Qin Baojun brought back the orphans of his comrades from the battlefield, which was considered benevolent and righteous. But what about Lu Xiufen? She encountered children in need of rescue, not only refusing to help, but also taking them home and hiding them. Isn't that child abduction?

Seeing that what she had done back then was being exposed, Lu Xiufen immediately shouted in protest, "No! I really was saving the child!"

Su Shangjin naturally wouldn't listen to her sophistry.

Although this matter has been exposed, it is ultimately a private matter for the Qiao family. Su Shangjin cannot make a decision directly, so he still asked Qiao Qiqi: "Let's have your parents come over and discuss it as a family. Should we go to the police, or just let it go? You can decide."

"You can't call the police! I was clearly saving someone, why should I call the police?" Lu Xiufen was so frightened that her face turned pale. Suddenly, she realized something, turned around, grabbed Qiao Qiqi's clothes, and cried out, "Qiqi, please, for the sake of me raising you all these years, and if your grandfather and I hadn't saved your father back then, he might have starved to death in some remote mountain valley. So I really was saving someone. Please, for the sake of me raising your father all these years, don't hold it against me!"

Qiao Qiqi coldly watched Lu Xiufen's tearful face.

Although she didn't know why Lu Xiufen would bring her father back from Heilong City, after all, there was a severe food shortage in those days, and one more person meant one more mouth to feed. Lu Xiufen was so selfish and self-serving that she would never do such a thing.

Qiao Qiqi couldn't figure out what Lu Xiufen was up to for a moment, but she was sure that Lu Xiufen was up to no good.

Originally, after the two families severed ties, Qiao Qiqi intended to forgive Lu Xiufen this time. She didn't care about her reputation, but she couldn't ignore Qiao Weiguo and Lin Chunying.

But now, upon learning that Qiao Weiguo had been abducted by Lu Xiufen, she pulled her clothes back and looked up at Su Shangjin, saying, "Uncle Su, forget about my parents. I'll take charge of this. Please contact the police station. I need to know her true intentions in bringing my father back."

Su Shangjin frowned, feeling that it would be inappropriate not to inform Qiao Weiguo and Lin Chunying about this matter.

But Lu Xiufen was terrified. Seeing that Qiao Qiqi was serious, she quickly said, "I'll talk, I can talk directly! As long as you promise not to send me to the police station, I'll tell you everything."

As soon as Su Shangjin thought of something, he quickly said, "Then you'd better confess now and be treated leniently. If you don't tell the truth, I'll really contact the police station!"

A flicker of struggle flashed across Lu Xiufen's eyes. She had initially wanted to lie: "I really meant well, thinking that saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda..."

"Uncle Su, contact the police station!" Qiao Qiqi said sternly.

Seeing that Lu Xiufen was beyond redemption, Su Shangjin no longer hesitated and picked up the phone on the table to make contact.

Seeing that the two were serious, Lu Xiufen dared not lie anymore and quickly said, "I'll talk, I'll talk! Don't contact the police station!"

Su Shangjin was only pretending at first. Seeing that Lu Xiufen was scared, he didn't let go of the phone. Instead, he looked at her coldly and said, "You only have this one chance. If you don't say anything, I'll really make the call."