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

As Chen Xiangbei hesitated, a woman's voice suddenly came from the open window, "Take it all, not a single penny left. Don't hesitate any longer, or you'll be trapped inside and we'll see what you do then."

Chen Xiangbei looked up sharply and saw the head of a simple rural woman peeking out of the window. Her sallow face and rough hair, combined with her slightly wicked smile and the arrogant words she spoke, created a very jarring feeling in Chen Xiangbei.

He recognized her; this woman was Ye Ping, the fiancée Yin Sheng had brought home before. She was said to be the second daughter of a high-ranking leader at a meat processing plant, raised in the countryside since childhood. When they first met her, everyone in the compound said that Yin Sheng wasn't picky at all; such a promising young man had actually chosen a simple, honest countrywoman.

Although her father was a high-ranking official, her simple and unassuming demeanor truly baffled everyone in the compound. Yin Sheng seemed like a clever child; could it be that clever children these days all prefer quiet and introverted people?

At the time, Chen Xiangbei also wondered if Yin Sheng was being threatened by a high-ranking official at the meat processing plant, or if he was being forced to marry her or his future would be ruined. But...

Seeing Ye Ping by the window, who seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold, Chen Xiangbei became interested. This person's inner self seemed so different from her outward appearance. Ye Ping herself was outside whispering instructions, "Hurry up and take it, then go to the bed and find a long hair from your stepmother, put it in the box, put the box back where it was, and then run."

After all this, I guarantee your dad will find out and he'll fight your stepmother. Hurry up, hurry up! What are you standing there for? Don't you want to see them fight? Let me tell you, your stepmother definitely has her eye on this money too. Rather than being swindled by her, you'd better strike first.”

Ye Ping suffered a lot of grievances from being treated differently by her family since she was a child, but the person she hated the most was her stepmother, who is now her father's wife. During the time she was brought back from the countryside, she caused her father countless troubles with her honest and unassuming appearance, but they never suspected her.

Ye Ping is very experienced in doing such shady and evil things.

Under her direction, Chen Xiangbei stuffed all the money and tickets into his pocket and put the box back in its place.

He had just finished doing all that when he heard a noise outside.

Chen Xiangbei's heart skipped a beat. He climbed out of the window and squatted down in the corner to face Ye Ping.

Ye Ping gave him an appreciative look and whispered, "I won't tell anyone, don't worry. I have to go find Yin Sheng now. You can go do whatever you need to do."

She sneaked away and returned to the Yin family home, saying to Old Madam Yin and Yin Sheng, "Your compound seems quite interesting."

These words opened up a floodgate of conversation for Old Man Yin, and she began to talk animatedly. The Old Lady Xia she spoke of was undoubtedly an important figure, which made Ye Ping's heart burn with excitement.

At first, Old Mrs. Yin had doubts about her son's judgment, especially when people whispered that her future daughter-in-law wasn't presentable, which made her even more uncomfortable. But Yin Sheng brought the girl over several times, and each time she chatted with the girl, Old Mrs. Yin felt very comfortable. Soon, she selectively forgot about Ye Ping's appearance, and she felt that her future daughter-in-law... was quite good.

Chen Xiangbei clutched his chest and ran through the street, feeling a pang of panic. This was the first time he'd ever stolen so much money, and it was his father's money no less. Worst of all, he'd even learned to frame someone. This caused a dull ache in Chen Xiangbei's conscience, and he was even afraid to face Old Lady Xia.

He felt somewhat sorry for his mother. She helped others every day, couldn't stand injustice, and had the purest of hearts. He felt that his behavior was as shameless as a rat's, and if his mother found out, she might be heartbroken in the middle of the night.

But since he'd already stolen it, he couldn't just return it. Chen Xiangbei stopped running and, when he came to his senses, he was already standing at... his second sister-in-law's parents' house.

The money on his chest felt unusually hot, causing Chen Xiangbei's face to flush red. Chen Xiangbei didn't know whether he should go in and tell his second brother that he wanted to share the money, but doing so felt strange.

Last time, his second brother took money from Yang Su and hasn't shared it with them yet. They were supposed to be business partners, so how could he have pocketed it all? Chen Xiangbei hesitated again.

He used to disregard whether his second brother's actions were right or wrong, but now Chen Xiangbei believed he still had some ability to distinguish right from wrong.

So when Tang Jiao, heavily pregnant, came out and called him, he greeted her briefly, then turned and ran away.

Tang Jiao couldn't figure out what her brother-in-law Chen Xiangbei was thinking every day, so she simply gave up.

As he ran, Chen Xiangbei first went to Old Lady Xia's compound and found that there were many people in her family. He felt that it was not a good idea to go to her place with so much money in his pocket, and his mother obviously did not want to have anything to do with his father. If he gave the money to his mother, he would definitely have to explain where the money came from. If he said that he stole it, his mother might be furious.

Giving it to his mother wouldn't work either; Chen Xiangbei was at a loss.

He walked down the street with a worried look on his face. The clothes he was wearing were the spring clothes that Grandma Xia had made for the whole family last year. They were tattered and worn, and no one would have guessed that he was hiding such a large bundle of banknotes on him.

"Xiang Bei, what are you doing here?"

As soon as Chen Xiangbei turned around, he saw the burly Qiao Shan approaching, carrying his tool bag.

"Brother Qiao Shan, what are you doing here?"

Qiao Shan chuckled, "I finished the work early with my master today, so he told me to go home and rest for the night. I was just about to go home."

Chen Xiangbei's eyes lit up. "What about Sister Qiao Yi?"

Qiao Shan: "She should be at home today too. My dad picked her up yesterday."

Chen Xiangbei: "Then I'll go home with you."

Qiao Shan was stunned for a moment: "Huh? You were kicked out by my Master Xia?"

Chen Xiangbei rolled his eyes at him, "Brother Qiao Shan, you don't say anything nice anymore. How could my mom kick me out? I... I just need to talk to Sister Qiao Yi about something."

"Alright then, let's go." Qiao Shan, unsuspecting, let Chen Xiangbei follow him back.

The two slowly made their way to the Qiao family's house. Chen Xiangbei thought a lot along the way and finally came up with an idea that was neither clever nor stupid. After having dinner at the Qiao family's house, he pretended to leave. When it got dark, he went to the back door of the Qiao family's house and hid the money on the roof of their back room.

But as soon as he hid and jumped down, Chen Xiangbei slapped himself again. If he could hide money on someone else's roof, why didn't he hide it at his mother's house? He could have just kept it a secret from her.

After working for most of the night, Chen Xiangbei finally managed to hide the wallet in an oil paper bag under the eaves of Grandma Xia's backyard.

He checked it several times, looking up and down, left and right, to make sure no one could see it before leaving satisfied.