Qin Yan's body swayed, her vision darkened, and she nearly fainted.
Qin's Mother supported Qin Yan with an almost distorted expression.
Qin's Father's forehead veins were pulsing, resembling a dethroned lion king, once again emanating a bloodthirsty aura, staring intently at the prey invading his territory. With a single gesture, the Steward nearby received the hint and turned to leave.
Meanwhile, the new lion king, Qin Xian, had already lowered his head to take out his phone and send instructions.
The Li family had not yet realized the gravity of the situation.
Li Zhi, seeing that the Qin family was determined to muddy the waters, couldn't help but stare at Qin Yan, pressuring her: "Just because of such a small matter, you want to make a fuss with me? When did you become so petty!"
Qin Yan slowly raised her head, her eyes filled with desperate bloodshot, causing Li Zhi's heart to skip a beat.
"Why?"
Qin Yan felt nothing but absurdity. She thought he had failed to win back his true love and chose to marry her as a second option due to his responsibility towards the child.
But now she was told that they had been together all along.
So why didn't they divorce? Why did they drag her along? And even blame all the wrongdoing on her! How could he be so righteous about it?
"What do you mean 'why'? Fine, if you really can't accept it, we won't adopt this child. I'll send the child back tomorrow."
Tonight, Qin Yan's strange behavior made Li Zhi feel like he was losing control. After some thought, he decided to take a step back first.
Qin Yan looked at Li Zhi, still with his condescending attitude, and truly couldn't help but feel waves of nausea. The illusion of that once-admired senior finally faded away, leaving only a nauseating true face.
Ji Fei was also disgusted. She didn't know that Qin Yan and the others had heard the truth, but having stumbled upon such big news while the parties involved were still in the dark, she really couldn't hold back from exposing it.
But she couldn't speak directly, so she had to take an indirect approach.
"Send away the child? You said earlier that the child's mother had disappeared, but it seems you're very well-informed about her whereabouts! Could it be that you've been maintaining a relationship all along? It looks like our family needs to investigate whether you and Qiao Meng have been in contact all these years, whether you've met. We can't let my elder sister wear a green hat and raise your child for you!"
Li Zhi was startled, his pupils trembling almost imperceptibly, his tone finally becoming a bit chaotic, "Are you slandering me? My mother was right when she said you have no manners!"
Qin Xian immediately said: "Shut up."
Those two words, though not loud, shot like ice arrows, severely wounding Li Zhi's nerves, causing him to freeze for a moment.
If it weren't for the fact that they couldn't reveal their ability to hear Ji Fei's thoughts, they would have exposed this hypocrite on the spot.
Ji Fei let out a sneer, wagging her finger at Li Zhi, then her long, fair finger suddenly pointed at the silent little boy, "Look at your son's expression before you refute me."
Children aren't as good at lying as adults, and Ji Fei's hypothesis hit the truth, causing the child's expression to become panicked.
Before Li Zhi could react, Qin's Mother quickly chimed in: "Little one, tell us, have you seen your father before? Good children shouldn't lie."
Li Ziqiao finally couldn't hold back anymore, pulling on Li Zhi's sleeve, he said: "Dad, let's go back, Mom, she..."
Li Zhi's breath hitched, and in his panic, he reflexively pulled his sleeve away, but the movement was too big, and he accidentally hit Li Ziqiao's face.
Li Ziqiao fell off the sofa from the hit, shocking everyone present.
On his fair, tender cheek, a very obvious handprint appeared.
The scene instantly became chaotic.
Ji Fei was startled even more, quickly getting up to pull the child to her side, she hadn't meant to implicate the child.
The child had already started crying. Qin Yan's heart softened, seeing that Ji Fei didn't know how to comfort children, she could only take the child into her arms and pat him gently.
Li Ziqiao felt even more upset in his heart. He felt that this aunt was really very gentle and kind, but his parents insisted on bullying her. His conscience really couldn't bear it.
Finally, mustering up his courage, he said: "Mom and Dad have been living together all along, only occasionally separating. They said I'm an illegitimate child, and only by tricking auntie into adopting me could I be seen in public. I don't understand, I really don't understand, but I know all of this is wrong!"
After this sentence, you could hear a pin drop.
After he finished speaking, he clutched Qin Yan's sleeve, chokingly apologizing in a small voice for almost becoming an accomplice in deceiving her.
Upon hearing this, Qin Yan finally broke down in tears.
Li's Mother hurriedly grabbed her son, completely bewildered. "Son, did you really..."
Li Zhi's face had completely changed by now. He dared to do it, but he didn't dare to have it exposed in front of the Qin family.
Still stubbornly insisting: "Nonsense, I never thought the child would be taught to be like this, actually lying to frame me. He just wants me to be with his mother, that's why he's playing these little tricks. Qin Yan, you don't suspect me too, do you?"
Li Ziqiao looked at his father, who was full of lies, in disbelief.
If it weren't for Ji Fei's gossip skills, the Qin family might have been fooled by Li Zhi's righteous act.
But now, Li Zhi was like a clown jumping around.
Li Zhi wouldn't easily admit it. In his view, everything was just Ji Fei's lucky guess. His public image had always been good, and he had been very careful for these nine years, never leaving any evidence.
The Qin family was the same. If they really knew something, they would have dealt with him long ago.
And how much credibility did a child's words have?
Moreover, Qiao Meng was about to be arranged to go abroad. Even if the Qin family became suspicious later, they wouldn't be able to find her.
Li Zhi was frantically thinking of countermeasures.
Suddenly, Qin Yan stood up unexpectedly, grabbed the half-eaten fruit platter from the table, and smashed it over Li Zhi's head.
The fruit platter was quite heavy. With a loud bang, it scared Li's Mother and Li Ziqiao, who both cried out.
Li Zhi's head was instantly bloodied, with fruit and broken pieces of the dish scattered all over him. His refined glasses were also knocked off. He held his forehead, staring in shock at the usually gentle woman who had suddenly erupted.
"Have you gone mad!" Li Zhi felt a mix of shame and anger at being challenged by someone he considered beneath him.
"Li Zhi, I have never wronged you, it's you who has wronged me! It's you and Qiao Meng who have treated me like a fool! It's you who have no conscience!"
Finally, Qin Yan shouted at the top of her lungs. Along with her shout, years of suppressed grievances also burst out. Everything seemed to suddenly become clear.
Li Zhi was truly panicking now. He knew he couldn't suppress Qin Yan anymore, and could only stammer: "You... you're wrongly accusing me, I..."
Before Li Zhi could finish, Qin Xian suddenly threw his phone onto the table. A video call had been initiated.
A shout came from the phone, "Let go of me, who are you people! This is trespassing!"
On the screen was a room, and Qiao Meng, dressed in home clothes, was being forcibly seated in a chair.
"It's Mom!" Li Ziqiao became anxious.
Li Zhi's face also changed dramatically, and then they heard other voices from the phone.
"Mr. Qin, we found it. There are Mr. Li's work documents and traces of his life here, as well as some photos. It's a place where a family of three lives..." The person inside reported in a businesslike manner.
At this, Li Zhi was completely stunned. Before he could react, a whip suddenly lashed out.
It struck Li Zhi's face directly, leaving a bloody mark. Li Zhi let out a miserable cry and stumbled back several steps, but the whip followed, continuously making cracking sounds.
It was a riding crop, brought by the Steward for Qin's Father.
Years of cheating, and even attempting to make Qin Yan raise their illegitimate child – his own daughter suffering such insult – even a well-mannered man like Qin's Father was enraged to the point of wanting to kill.
Li Zhi fell to the ground in a mess, facing the furious Qin's Father. He was in a daze, not even thinking of running away.
Li's Mother cried out and threw herself forward to save her son. Li Ziqiao also rushed over, "Don't hit my dad, don't hit my dad, please, don't hit him!"
Seeing the child shielding his father from the whip, Qin's Father finally stopped.
By now, Li Zhi was covered in unsightly whip marks, the pain making his whole body twitch.
"Divorce, Li Zhi, I want to divorce you!" Qin Yan's voice finally came, as if torn from her throat.
