Qiao Mei pondered over the details. What happened to the Jiang family was exactly the same as what happened at their courtyard house not long ago. They were both cases of wrongful accusations.
“This matter… was done by He Ning?” Qiao Mei asked hesitantly.
Xia Zhe nodded and said, “That’s right. He was the one who reported it. At that time, everyone was looking for the person who reported the Jiang family. By right, if the Jiang family was doing something like that, they would have covered up their tracks very well. Furthermore, they did not have any enemies. Who would be willing to offend someone like that for no reason? Later on, it was He Ning himself who came forward and admitted that he was the one who did it.”
“The Jiang family raised them for so many years and yet they’ve turned around to bite the hand that feeds them and return kindness with ingratitude. Aren’t they afraid that the neighbors will gossip behind their backs? How dare he admit to it?” Qiao Mei said.
“Compared to being criticized, he’s more willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals,” Xia Zhe said with a sneer.
“That’s true.” Qiao Mei could see He Ning’s character more clearly now.
“At that time, he described in detail what he saw at the Jiang family’s house. He even said that the Jiang family gave him a sum of money to keep quiet about this matter, and that he reported them out of a guilty conscience,” Xia Zhe said.
As if he could have a guilty conscience?
He Ning would probably think that he had executed the move well and even felt smug about it.
“So you’re going to do the same thing now? Let He Ning suffer the consequences of his actions?” Qiao Mei asked.
She felt that such a plan was a little inappropriate and too crude. A meticulous person like He Ning would not fall for it. Besides, this was He Ning’s usual trick and no one was more familiar with it than him.
“We’re not the ones doing it. We’re just helping to make the arrangements,” Xia Zhe said with a smile.
“I’m guessing that you must have made an anonymous report, but will He Ning let someone into their house? Elder brother told me before that He Ning was involved in politics when he was still in good health. He still has a lot of connections.” Qiao Mei was a little worried.
“We found the descendants of the Jiang family from back then,” Xia Zhe said.
“Who is it? Isn’t everyone from the Jiang family in hiding? How did you find them? This must be something you’ve been plotting for a very long time!” Qiao Mei looked at Xia Zhe in surprise. It seemed that they had long made preparations to counterattack the He family.
“Back then, the Jiang family also helped us a lot. We’ve always wanted to help them secretly, but they’ve managed to hide themselves very well. There was no news from them at all and we only found them recently,” Xia Zhe said.
If He Ning could make up a story back then, then so could the Jiang family. They just needed to reverse the roles of the characters in the story.
Qiao Mei’s eyes lit up. “Then are they willing to come out and testify? After hiding for so many years, they should be living a peaceful life now. Why would they give up their current peace and quiet to fight the He family for us?”
“If they don’t come out to testify, then their descendants will all have to continue to live their lives hiding like rats in the gutter. The Jiang family will come forward for the sake of their descendants,” Xia Zhe said.
It made more sense for the Jiang family to make the accusation and submit the report. Every injustice had its own perpetrator.
“Then who’s the one coming forward this time?” Qiao Mei asked curiously.
This person must be a heavyweight.
“It’s the son of Jiang Yan, the eldest son of the Jiang family. His name is Jiang Shu. Eldest Aunt was the one who made the arrangements. They all just returned yesterday and he’s probably already in the courtyard of the He family’s old house.” Xia Zhe seemed a little emotional when he said this.
The reason why Xia Xiu remained single was also related to this matter. Xia Xiu joined the army when she was very young. One year, she met the second son of the Jiang family, Jiang Jin.
The two of them helped each other out on the battlefield and subsequently developed feelings for each other. At that time, Xia Xiu was already very outstanding and decisive at work and did not behave like a 19-year-old girl at all. She would only lower her guard and reveal her innocent side when she was with Jiang Jin.
“Then did Eldest Aunt end up with him?” Qiao Mei asked.
“No, Eldest Aunt also had no choice at that time,” Xia Zhe said regretfully.
Later on, Jiang Jin’s family arranged for him to go home and inherit the family business and the two young people could only correspond via letters. Xia Xiu had only just managed to receive the blessing from Xia Jun and Wu Min to get married when that disastrous event happened to the Jiang family not long after.
At that time, the Xia family was still a family of nobodies and did not have the ability to help the Jiang family. Moreover, the entire issue was so serious that no one could fully protect them.
Xia Xiu had no choice but to give up on this marriage and she remained single for the rest of her life. Over the years, she continued to secretly investigate Jiang Jin’s whereabouts.