No reconciliation, no forgiveness! Mr. Pei leaves with nothing.

Jiang Hua returned to the hall, and the sound of her father talking to Huo Beishen abruptly stopped. He stood up and asked about the situation, "What did the doctor say?"

Xu Qiulan: "The doctor said the young lady is fine, and the baby is also doing well."

Jiang Weiguo smiled slightly and said, "It's good that you're alright. Aunt Xu, take Huahua back to her room. It's cold outside these days, so try not to go out too much. Just bring her the food upstairs when you're done cooking."

Xu Qiulan: "Yes, sir."

Jiang Weiguo turned his gaze to Huo Beishen only after seeing the person coming upstairs. "It's rare for Second Master Huo to come to Yulong Bay. He has also prepared lunch. Why don't you stay and have a meal before you leave?"

Huo Beishen lowered his long legs, his last glance lingering on her until she disappeared from sight. "No need," he said. "Let's get together again next time."

Even after sending away such a plague, Jiang Weiguo's tightly furrowed brows remained uncomfortably furrowed. Jiang Hua watched the cars drive away one by one from her room, changed her clothes, and then went downstairs to have her meal.

Jiang Weiguo: "They've still got their eyes on it."

Xu Qiulan served her a bowl of fish soup. "A child? What use is a child to the collateral branches of the Huo family?"

Jiang Weiguo glanced at her, then shook his head. "Where is Mr. Kagel? Why isn't he with you?"

Jiang Hua took a sip of soup with a spoon. "I told him to get lost. Seeing him makes me feel annoyed."

"After all, he is also one of Huo Tingshan's men. If he stays by your side, even if someone covets you, they won't dare to lay a hand on you."

Jiang Hua laughed. "Coveting me? Who? I already have a child, what else is there for others to covet?"

“Huahua, people’s hearts are unpredictable. Dad is just worried.”

Jiang Hua only then remembered the look Huo Beishen had given her, and coupled with what her father had said, she belatedly realized what had happened. However, she didn't say anything to her father, "I understand."

...

Zhang Cheng glanced at the rearview mirror as he drove. "If Second Master likes it, how about we figure out a way to bring him here without anyone noticing?"

Huo Beishen: "Go on."

Zhang Cheng had been with Huo Beishen for many years. He glanced at Huo's expression and continued, "He's already dead. It's just a woman. It's not a bad thing to keep her by your side. You can even give her another one."

"Besides, how could the main family possibly care about a woman? They'd rather get her first. The main family still needs my elder brother to maintain their influence in the capital. Even if the main family investigates, they wouldn't dare to actually lay a hand on you."

A chilling glint flashed in Huo Beishen's eyes...

Other vehicles followed behind, and for some reason, those in front stopped as well.

Finally, a muffled sound was heard, followed by a terrible scream. Zhang Cheng clutched his leg and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. The man sitting in the car glanced at him with a cold, sinister look in his eyes.

The people behind the car seemed oblivious, and only after the main vehicle had driven far away did they slowly follow and leave the cold, snowy place.

When Huo Beishen returned home, he ran into Yue Simiao coming downstairs. Upon seeing him, Yue Simiao gave him a cold look, saying, "Some people don't even know how to look in the mirror. A toad trying to eat swan meat, do they even deserve it?"

"If you're ugly, why do you go out and show off?"

"Some people who see this might actually think that certain people are truly loyal and devoted, taking care of other people's wives."

"Even if you have the desire, you still have to see if you're good enough for her." Yue Simiao held a fruit platter in her hands and put her phone to her ear, pretending to be on the phone.

When Huo Beishen took off his black overcoat and placed a black iron on the table, Yue Simiao's eyes widened in panic. When she saw the person approaching, she took a step back in fright. However, when Huo Beishen passed by her, he only glanced at the pickled plums on her plate and went upstairs without saying anything.

Yue Simiao gave him a strange look. After seeing him go upstairs, she glanced at the black iron weapon on the dining table and swallowed hard. "What a piece of junk. It's just lying around like that. Doesn't it worry about scaring the children?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the person who had already gone upstairs suddenly came downstairs with footsteps approaching from afar, retrieved the things on the table, and then went upstairs.

Yue Simiao took a bite of the dried plum, slowly walked to the sofa and sat down. She felt that something was wrong, because she was someone who never took things out of the house, so she knew who she had given them to.

Still feeling uneasy, I picked up my phone and sent a message to a familiar number.

Yue Simiao: Are you alright?

Jiang Hua had dinner not long before lying down on the bed, closing her eyes, stroking her lower abdomen, with soft music playing on her phone. Suddenly, she received a message from an unknown number, glanced at it, and ignored it.

Seeing that she hadn't replied yet, Yue Simiao was afraid that she would suffer a terrible fate, so she sent another message: Be careful of Huo Beishen.

A short while later, she received a reply: Yue Simiao?

Ok.

Jiang Hua frowned: What's wrong with Huo Beishen?

Yue Simiao then told her about the minor celebrity: Yao Yao has disappeared, something must have happened to her. He's not a good person, I'm afraid he might do something to you.

Jiang Hua: I'm fine.

Yue Simiao: I'm glad you're alright.

"Hmm." Just as Jiang Hua finished replying to the message, Xu Qiulan came into the room with a plate of dried plums. "These were just delivered. Sour for boys, spicy for girls. I think Miss will definitely like them."

During Jiang Hua's pregnancy, her diet didn't change much, and she didn't have any particular cravings. She was just normal. She tried a piece of dried plum and found it not too sour, and it actually tasted quite good.

Xu Qiulan: "You shouldn't eat too many dried plums; it should be eaten in moderation."

"Oh, by the way, Miss. Mr. Kagel is back; he's right outside the door."

"Let him in."

"Yes, Miss."

Jiang Hua sat up and placed the dried plums in her hand on the bedside table.

Kagel spoke first, "The entire Jinsha Shallow Bay area has been cleaned up. Madam can go back to live there anytime she wants. Your and Young Master's belongings are all still as they were."

Jiang Hua: "I want to meet the Zhou family."

Kagel: "If the lady wishes to see me, she can see me anytime. I will arrange for the best bodyguards to accompany her."

Jiang Hua: "Tomorrow."

Kagel: "Yes."

...

The next time Jiang Hua saw Zhou Yan was in the police station's detention room. Because of what happened at the wedding, she was going to be detained for a year and then sentenced.

The moment Zhou Yan saw Jiang Hua, her numb and empty eyes were instantly filled with hatred. She was shackled and wanted to rush to her in anger, but a window separated them, preventing her from hurting her again.

The moment Zhou Yan looked at her noticeably protruding belly, her eyes seemed to blaze with the fury of a wild beast, as if it wanted to tear her apart. "Pregnant? You're pregnant!"

"Jiang Hua! You shameless woman, you killed him, and you even got pregnant with another man's bastard child! He loved you so much... How could you betray him like this!"

Looking at her disheveled appearance, Jiang Hua felt a pang of guilt. "Regarding the Zhou family, I said I would exchange a life for a life, let alone... you killed two of my children."

"You think that's enough! Let me tell you, you and his child should never have been born. Even if they died, it was their own fault. Let me tell you... your Jiang family should atone for the Zhou family's sins for the rest of your lives!"

“I don’t need you to look at me with such pitiful and sympathetic eyes. Stop with your fake concern.”

"You killed him! Once I get out, I'll definitely kill you when I get the chance."

"And the bastard in your belly."

She's gone mad!

Jiang Hua: "This is his child."

Upon hearing this news, Zhou Yan's eyes widened in disbelief and shock. She couldn't believe it. "No...it's impossible. How could you be pregnant with his child? You're lying to me! You must be lying to me!"

“He doesn’t love you at all. How could he allow you to get pregnant with his child?”

Jiang Hua looked at her, who was in a state of frenzy, and said, "So what exactly do you want from me? You don't want me to have another man's child, but it seems even harder for you to accept that the child I'm carrying is his!"

"Zhou Yan, do you like Pei Zhan?"

"You like her!" Jiang Hua's question was answered with certainty.

Zhou Yan, having her thoughts exposed, decided not to hide them anymore. "Yes! I love him. I love him more than you can imagine. I'd even give up my life for him. Can you?"

“You can’t. You’ll just hide in the Jiang family, behind him, and enjoy everything he brings you.”

"What makes you think you deserve all his love!"

He shouldn't love you!

“He should be with us. My mother and I are his family.”

Seeing her appearance, Jiang Hua could imagine how he had lived in the Zhou family all these years.

"Is your so-called love just imposing your own hatred on him? Making him work for your Zhou family?"

"What have you given Pei Zhan all these years in the Zhou family?"

Seeing her like this, one can tell what kind of life Pei Zhan was living in the Zhou family.

"I know, even if I don't want to, that your Zhou family can't give him anything."

“I’ve seen his bank statements from those years. Your tuition fees for studying abroad were saved up by him through the Jiang Group in Shanghai, by scrimping and saving.”

"Including when Zhou Xu was still alive... he was the one who single-handedly supported your entire Zhou family!"

"Zhou Yan, what gives your Zhou family the right to enjoy all this from him without a care in the world?"

"He's such an important person to me, how dare you all take things from him without a second thought?"

“If I hadn’t missed him back then, and I had brought him to the Jiang family, I would have given him the best of everything. It would have been better than those ten-plus years in the Zhou family. With me by his side, his future would have been smooth sailing.”

"Zhou Yan, the Zhou family may be right, but are my children wrong? I lost two children, who should I seek compensation for their lives?"

"Is it my fault?"

"So what should Pei Zhan do? And what fate should the Jiang family suffer in order to quell the hatred in your heart?"

"Isn't what the Jiang family gave you, and everything Pei Zhan did for the Zhou family, enough?"

"What should we do to make this all over?"

Nothing is more terrifying than a person's obsession. Zhou Yan was obsessed with killing Zhou Xu and making the entire Jiang family pay the price for her death. She was also convinced that the Jiang family was the mastermind behind Zhou Xu's murder.

Zhou Yan burst into sharp, unrestrained laughter, "Hahaha...you're scared!"

Jiang Hua asked doubtfully, "Am I afraid?"

Zhou Yan said confidently, "Yes, you're just scared."

"Because you have a guilty conscience, because you owe something to the Zhou family and to A-Xu."

“You’re afraid that this debt will be repaid on your children, which is why you’re telling me all this.”

"You want me to let go! You want me to stop hating you so that you can live with a clear conscience and without guilt."

“Jiang Hua, your body contains A-Xu’s heart.”

"When you wake up in the middle of the night, thinking about Ah-Xu's death, can you... sleep?"

Jiang Hua's true purpose in coming today was to seek reconciliation. The Zhou family was on the verge of collapse, with no one left to rely on. Now, she was the only one left in the Zhou family, living in hatred. Even if her father wasn't the mastermind, that heart was indeed in her body, and she couldn't deny it.

Even if she was the beneficiary, hadn't Jiang Hua given her enough?

Even if the compensation the Zhou family wants is a bottomless pit, Jiang Hua will still satisfy them.

The person who was mainly unwilling was her…

She's the one who wants a fight to the death!

Jiang Hua looked at her with a cold glint in her eyes, "Zhou Yan, you keep saying you want to avenge Zhou Xu, are you sure it's just for her sake, and not because of your own selfish motives?"

"Don't you even have the thought of making Zhou Xu disappear?!"

"Your mother's favoritism towards Zhou Xu, Pei Zhan's affection for Zhou Xu, you actually wish she would disappear, right?"

Jiang Hua didn't miss any subtle emotions in her eyes, as if trying to find any clues or flaws in her.

Sure enough, I saw a fleeting look of panic in her eyes.

Jiang Hua's guess came true. "Falling in love with a man is indeed selfish. You want Zhou Xu to disappear so that their love can transfer to you!"

"You want to replace Zhou Xu, or even become Zhou Xu. That's why... you went so far as to have your face altered. You want to become Zhou Xu, and you're even jealous of Song Qingran."

"So all this talk of revenge is just an attempt to force Pei Zhan to make a choice. The reason you hate me and the Jiang family so much is because you feel that we stole Pei Zhan from your side."

"Your hatred is nothing more than a selfish desire, a reason for your jealousy to truly want me dead."

“You don’t really care about your mother, do you? Zhou Yan… Actually, I’m just like you. You only have one relative left, and so do I. I only have my father left. If I were you, even if he was mentally unstable, I wouldn’t leave my father alone in a mental hospital in a foreign country.”

"For my father, I'm willing to do anything as long as he's alive and well."

"You're so smart, and a top designer who studied at a prestigious foreign university. At Jiang's, you're intelligent, decisive, and efficient. You should have a bright future ahead of you. You can use your own methods to carve out your own niche in the design world. Even without Pei Zhan, your future will be smooth sailing."

"Look at yourself now, what kind of person are you?"