She won't clear her name; she'll throw away all the scum.

As Chen Xiangbei stepped outside, the cold wind blew into his head, making him more alert.

He touched his empty pockets and felt a pang of heartache.

His money, the money he had painstakingly saved, the money he earned by secretly eavesdropping on other people's secrets every night, his hard-earned money, was gone in an instant.

Chen Xiangbei was on the verge of tears, but he had already given it all; he couldn't very well ask for it back—what would that make him?

Chen Xiangbei pouted and slowly walked home.

When he got home, Old Chen was sitting in the house waiting for him, his eyes glaring at him fiercely, more like he was looking at an enemy than a son. "Where have you been?"

Chen Xiangbei: "So where did you go after work?"

Old Chen slammed his hand on the table. "You, as my son, are you trying to tell me what to do?"

Chen Xiangbei: "Aren't you waiting here just to scold me too?"

Old Chen: "You're getting more and more outrageous with your words. Who did you learn that from?"

Chen Xiangbei: "I learned it from you."

As soon as Old Chen got up, Chen Xiangbei took off running.

He was the only child in his family today. His sister might have been there too, but she didn't come out. If he had been beaten, no one would have been there to testify for him. He hadn't done anything wrong today.

Old Chen shouted from behind, "Stop!"

Chen Xiangbei: "No, you're going to hit me."

Old Chen: "I won't hit you."

The two stopped together. Old Chen, who was a bit old, was angered by Chen Xiangbei, and his face turned red. "I'm asking you, did you go and investigate your Aunt Su?"

Chen Xiangbei shouted, "No, I don't know anything about Aunt Su."

He didn't even know if she was Aunt Su or whose aunt she was. How dare someone like her claim to be Chen Xiangbei's aunt? Bah, he wouldn't accept that.

Old Chen: "You clearly went there. Don't tell me that the person who was hanging around your Aunt Su's house asking people if there was something wrong with her family those few days wasn't you?"

Chen Xiangbei answered without any hesitation, "It wasn't me."

Old Chen: "Who else but you?"

Chen Xiangbei shouted, "It must be my second brother!"

Old Chen stepped forward and slapped him across the face. "You're talking nonsense! Now you can even frame others?"

After being slapped, Chen Xiangbei turned around and ran away without hesitation, no matter how much Old Chen shouted after him.

Chen Xiangbei felt that he was really unlucky. His child was obediently coming home, but was slapped. He didn't know who to complain to.

Let this old man live out his life alone; he won't take care of him anymore.

Chen Xiangbei thought viciously to himself, staring at the dark road, not knowing which way to go.

If I go to his mother's place, she and my aunt will definitely ask questions. It seems I should go to my second brother instead. He's the one who made me investigate; it's all his fault.

Chen Xiangbei ran to his second sister-in-law's house.

In the middle of the night, Chen Xiangnan was sleeping at home when he heard a rattling sound coming from the window of his and Tang Jiao's room. The strange noise from the window at this hour was truly frightening; Tang Jiao woke up, clutching her stomach, her heart pounding.

Chen Xiangnan had no choice but to draw back the curtains, and what came into view was... a big toad perched on the window. Only after opening the window did Chen Xiangnan realize that the frog was the same one that Chen Xiangbei was holding.

"Are you trying to die? What are you doing? Where did you get this toad? How disgusting!"

Chen Xiangbei chuckled, "Brother, this is a frog, it's delicious. It's a gift for you, so please let me stay for the night."

Chen Xiangnan slammed the window shut and yelled, "Get out!"

Seeing Tang Jiao's confused look, he comforted her, "Jiao Jiao, go to sleep, it's okay, this kid must have gone somewhere else."

Tang Jiao shook her head. "Let him in. Something must have happened for him to come to us."

Chen Xiangnan had no choice but to get up and open the door.

Chen Xiangbei was still squatting by their window when Chen Xiangnan walked over and slapped him on the head. "Come in. Throw that toad of yours away. Don't bring it in. Go wash your hands. You're filthy."

Chen Xiangbei washed his hands with a pained expression and followed behind him. "When you need me, you ask me to help with the investigation. When you don't need me, you say I'm dirty. You have really bad character."

Tang Jiao also came out, and when she saw the red mark on his face, she exclaimed, "Xiang Bei, what's wrong with your face?"

Chen Xiangbei's eyes immediately reddened. "Sister-in-law, my dad beat me to death for that woman! You have no idea! I only said I disagreed, before I even started yelling, and he just started hitting me, pinning me down and beating me! Waaah~"

Although the actual situation wasn't as intense as he described, that didn't stop Chen Xiangbei from smearing his father everywhere. Who told his father to be so old and still want to have a twilight romance? Not a single member of the family agreed, yet he insisted on going his own way.

Everyone should hate him, Chen Xiangbei thought bitterly.

"Second brother, second sister-in-law, let me tell you, I actually investigated that woman. She's really no good. According to her neighbors, she's a vicious woman..."

Tang Jiao brought over some medicinal wine and a mirror, telling Chen Xiangbei to apply it himself, otherwise it might swell up tomorrow.

Chen Xiangbei initially thought it didn't matter, but seeing how much his sister-in-law cared about him, he actually started to feel wronged. "Sister-in-law, you're so kind. My brother really wronged you by marrying you."

Chen Xiangnan's face darkened instantly. He had kindly taken in this brat, and yet he dared to sow discord between him and the Tang family.

Tang Jiao is distrusting him the least right now. He's been behaving much better at the hospital, but it's still hard for him to gain the Tang family's trust. That's why he's been staying at the Tang family's house recently, trying to win them over with his sincerity.

Whether one is sincere in their heart is not important; what matters is that their actions are sincere, and the Tang family values ​​this highly.

Chen Xiangbei carefully applied the medicated wine to himself, then continued, "That woman is a real shrew. After her husband died, she single-handedly controlled her husband's family. I heard that she used to be a bully in her own family, but after getting married, she became a shrew in her husband's family. She beats up people from both sides."

Chen Xiangnan shook his head. "Impossible, you must be mistaken. That day in front of our dad, she didn't act like a fierce woman at all; she was like a gentle old lady."

Chen Xiangbei: "Tsk, can't you let her pretend for a bit? Otherwise, how will she find a gay man? It's said that she used to know this trick, which is how she was able to marry her dead husband. Otherwise, with her reputation, marriage would be very difficult."

Chen Xiangnan was dumbfounded; there was actually a woman he couldn't understand.

Seeing that Tang Jiao had taken an interest and sat down, Chen Xiangbei had no choice but to continue: "That Yang Su originally didn't want to remarry. She felt that she was doing quite well raising her three sons on her own. No one bothered her and she didn't feel any pressure. But after her eldest son was persuaded to go to the countryside, she couldn't live like that anymore."