Chapter 1329: Investigation, Discovery
Xiao Kang understood why his mother didn't want him to interfere in this matter. Although he felt a little uncomfortable about it, he had to admit that his mother's approach was correct, so he wasn't prepared to force his way into the investigation.
Furthermore, he didn't dare to do so. After all, he hadn't forgotten that the woman before him was his mother. Since his mother didn't want him involved, then he wouldn't get involved.
There was another issue: if his mother didn't personally investigate this matter to uncover the truth, then her suspicion of Ah Mei would absolutely never disappear. Therefore, for Ah Mei's suspicions to be cleared, it was very necessary for his mother to investigate the matter herself.
Although Xiao Kang understood the reasoning, he was still very unhappy. One reason was that neither his mother nor Uncle Yang believed him. The other reason was that he was still very afraid that Ah Mei's identity truly had issues.
He had originally come to discuss what wedding gifts to prepare with his mother, but unexpectedly, things had developed this way. To arrive happily and leave burdened with worries – it would be strange if he felt pleased.
According to Xiujuan's plan, she intended to investigate Ah Mei's identity as thoroughly as possible before returning to Lecheng to congratulate Yang Haoran on his wedding. Since time was too pressing, she dared not waste a single moment.
From Xiao Kang, Xiujuan obtained all the information Xiao Kang had gathered about Ah Mei, and Ah Mei's home address was naturally among it.
After Xiao Kang left, Xiujuan wasted no time. She also left the villa, and the first stop for investigating Ah Mei's identity was Ah Mei's residence in Honghai City.
Upon arriving at Ah Mei's former residence, Xiujuan conducted a careful inspection but found nothing. Ah Mei's former residence was simply too bare; apart from a small amount of old, discarded furniture, the dilapidated old house contained nothing else. Xiujuan naturally had no way to obtain any useful information from the limited discarded furniture.
The first stop yielded no results, and Xiujuan was inevitably a little disappointed, but she didn't fall into despair because of it. Instead, she composed herself and immediately headed to the second stop, hoping to gain some insight there. Her second stop was Ah Mei's neighbors.
Ah Mei had few neighbors, only three households. None of these three households were thriving families with many descendants: one household consisted only of an old couple, another was a middle-aged couple, and the third was a young couple who had moved there during the Chaos of the Underworld.
From the information Xiujuan investigated, these three households, though perhaps not "full of children and grandchildren" in the past, certainly had either their own descendants or their own parents, living together happily. However, the Chaos of the Underworld had caused them to lose their families, which was why they were in their current state.
Xiujuan disguised herself as a distant relative of Ah Mei and even presented some silver coins as a greeting gift, thereby successfully asking these three households many questions. These questions seemed like casual conversation, without any obvious purpose, but if all these questions were put together, it would be found that they were all designed to verify Ah Mei's identity and inquire into her background.
Xiujuan asked very carefully and cautiously, and she listened to every one of their answers with great attention, not daring to miss any detail, not even a single word, an expression, or even a change in their tone. She ignored nothing.
The information she ultimately obtained was the same as what Xiao Kang had uncovered: Ah Mei was indeed a native of Honghai City, and during the Chaos of the Underworld, all her family members had tragically died, leaving her as the sole survivor.
Especially the old couple, when speaking of Ah Mei, sighed ceaselessly, saying that the child had been fated to suffer since childhood; not only was her family poor, but her father was also an alcoholic who would beat and kick Ah Mei whenever life didn't go his way. Yet, Ah Mei was very sensible, taking on the heavy burden of supporting the family even before she came of age, going out to earn money for the household, doing all sorts of arduous and tiring work, suffering greatly. They, as neighbors, saw it with pain in their hearts but were unable to help Ah Mei. One reason was that Ah Mei's father had too violent a temper, and they dared not interfere. The other reason was that their own families were also very poor, so even if they wanted to help Ah Mei, they were powerless to do so.
To summarize in one sentence: Ah Mei's family conditions were very poor, her life was very difficult, but Ah Mei was very sensible.
All this information pointed to one thing: not only was there no problem with Ah Mei's identity, but she was also a sensible child who had suffered since childhood. This information also made Xiujuan wonder if she was truly being overly paranoid, as Xiao Kang had said, and that Ah Mei's identity was actually completely fine.
Back at the villa, Xiujuan locked herself in her room and meticulously reviewed the information she had gathered that day several times, checking for any new discoveries, but she still couldn't find anything amiss.
“Was I truly overthinking it? ”
Xiujuan thought so, but then she gently shook her head, dismissing the idea.
“It’s not necessarily that I’m overthinking. After all, it wouldn’t be difficult to fake all of this. Whether it’s Ah Mei’s persona, or the nearby neighbors, all of it could be faked, and it wouldn't take much effort to do so. ”
After thinking it over, Xiujuan finally decided to go talk to Ah Mei, to see if she could find anything on Ah Mei herself.
Before this, she had also spent time alone with Ah Mei, but as Xiao Kang had said, Ah Mei was extremely respectful towards her and handled everything perfectly. Not only had she found nothing during her time alone with Ah Mei, she couldn't even pick out a single flaw in Ah Mei.
However, today she still decided to go talk to Ah Mei again. Even though her previous interactions with Ah Mei had yielded no results, it didn't mean this time would be the same.
Xiujuan wasn't determined to only stop after finding a problem with Ah Mei. Just as she had told Xiao Kang, this matter was too significant, and its impact on Yang Haoran was extraordinary. Most importantly, it also involved her son, so she dared not be negligent in the slightest. She had to be one hundred percent certain that there was no problem with this woman, Ah Mei, before she could rest easy.
Truth be told, Xiujuan secretly hoped that Ah Mei's identity had no problems, because she could see that her son had fallen for Ah Mei, and deeply so. If Ah Mei's identity truly had issues, it would definitely be a huge blow to Xiao Kang, and that was a result she didn't wish to see.
Hope was one thing, but she wouldn't lose her rationality because of her inner desires. Therefore, what needed to be done had to be done, and what needed to be clarified had to be clarified. Only then could she feel at ease and truly accept Ah Mei as her prospective daughter-in-law.
Xiao Kang was not in the villa, either because he had gone out to clear his head due to his low mood, or because he had public business to attend to at the Death God Temple.
Ah Mei, however, was in the villa. Having nothing much to do, she had planted quite a few flowers and plants in the backyard after moving in, using this to pass the time. At this moment, she was diligently tending to these flowers and plants in the garden.
Xiujuan's sudden arrival startled Ah Mei, who was focused on squatting and loosening the soil. Ah Mei quickly stood up, looking flustered. Disregarding the mud still clinging to her hands, she hastily bowed to Xiujuan, timidly uttering a greeting.
“A. . . Auntie,”
A delicate voice came from Ah Mei's lips, her timid demeanor giving off an impression of pitiful vulnerability, as if she were a powerless, weak-willed young girl who could only be bullied. In contrast, Xiujuan seemed like a malicious woman, arrogant and puffed up with success.
Xiujuan didn't speak immediately. Instead, she first glanced at the flowers and plants growing in the garden and the soil that had been loosened a little over halfway, before finally turning her gaze to Ah Mei.
“You've taken good care of these flowers and plants. It’s clear you’re a very meticulous person,” Xiujuan said, her tone remaining as cold as ever.
Ah Mei said nothing, seemingly too intimidated by Xiujuan to speak.
“I’m a bit bored and have no one to talk to. Go wash your hands first, then come walk with me and we’ll chat,” Xiujuan said. This time, Ah Mei didn't remain silent. She softly hummed in affirmation, then went to a nearby sink to wash her hands. As the faucet was turned on and clear water flowed, the mud on Ah Mei’s hands was quickly washed away. In a short while, Ah Mei’s hands, once covered in mud, became fair, smooth, and delicate.
This sight entered Xiujuan’s eyes, and her brows immediately furrowed slightly!
Comments