Wen Yan was overjoyed.
"Mom, believe me, I will make you and my brother happy!" Wen Yan said.
"I know you're a good child... Actually, the Li family can't tolerate me anymore."
"Then I'll find you a place to live." Although she didn't have much money now, she definitely wouldn't let her mother suffer there.
"No need, Mom will live with you. Yan Yan, send me the address."
"But our rented place can't accommodate so many people... Mom, I'll rent a new place for you."
"Okay, then let me see where you live now. I want to see how my daughter is doing."
Wen Yan agreed, "Then I'll come find you after work."
"No need, give me the key, and I'll go see it, tidy up your things, and then look for a suitable place nearby," said Mother Wen.
With that said, Wen Yan couldn't refuse.
At noon, her mother came to get the key.
Wen Yan wanted to go back with her, but her mother refused.
"You still have to work this afternoon, so rest well at the company. I'll just take a look, and I'll leave the key at the security office for you to pick up yourself."
"Mom..."
"Alright, hurry back."
Mother Wen left.
Looking at her mother's slightly hunched back, Wen Yan vowed to work even harder.
After a busy afternoon, Wen Yan returned home.
She cooked dinner as usual, preparing enough for two people.
While the food was cooking, she tidied up the room.
Her mother hadn't tidied the house when she came, but Wen Yan didn't mind.
However, while arranging the bedding, she noticed a drawer was open. She walked over and opened it. Inside were boxes that had held the betrothal gifts.
She couldn't help but think, was that jade bracelet really so priceless?
Wen Yan opened it to take another look, only to find...
The spot where the bracelet had been was empty!
Instantly, a chill shot from her feet to the top of her head.
Had her home been burglarized?
She took out her phone to call the police, but suddenly remembered her mother had visited today.
The strangeness in their phone conversation at the time quickly amplified.
Her mother had always insisted on not leaving the Li family, but now she suddenly agreed and insisted on visiting her daughter's home alone, not letting her return... Could it be that all of this was for...
Wen Yan immediately called her.
However, the call was not answered.
Her premonition seemed to be coming true, and Wen Yan felt like she was about to faint.
She never dreamed that her mother would deceive her into taking the bracelet!
She immediately went out and hailed a taxi back to the Li family's home.
As night deepened, the Li family's yard looked somewhat neglected and eerie.
Entering the living room, Wen Yan saw her mother clearing away dishes.
Compared to Li Mengyao on the sofa, her mother looked like a nanny.
"Mom, when you went to my place today, did you see my bracelet?" Wen Yan grabbed her and whispered.
Mother Wen looked at her with a shocked expression: "Are you suspecting me of stealing your things?"
"I didn't. I was just asking casually."
Wen Yan asked again, "Did you notice where Leng Xunze's bank card went?"
"Isn't it still in that box?" Mother Wen answered instinctively.
Only then did she realize something was wrong.
Wen Yan looked at her calmly, but her eyes seemed to have seen through everything.
She looked at Wen Yan, her face grim: "Are you deliberately scheming against me?"
"Mom, I'm your daughter. Why did you lie to me? Why did you take the bracelet?"
"Betrothal gifts are meant for the maternal family. Is it appropriate for you to keep them?" Mother Wen, seeing that she had been found out, simply confessed.
"But that was his entire fortune. I only married him recently, how could you take it?"
"But you are married. Yan Yan, you are my daughter. Everything Mom does is for your own good. Why are you arguing with Mom over a man?" Mother Wen said earnestly.
Wen Yan's heart ached immensely.
"Where is the bracelet?"
"Don't look for it anymore, the bracelet has already been sold."
Li Mengyao's voice came.
Wen Yan turned and looked at Li Mengyao, grabbing her collar: "Give me back my bracelet!"
Li Mengyao was startled, then looked down at her condescendingly: "I told you the bracelet has been sold, so it's no use looking for me."
"That's not your property!"
"If you have the guts, then sue me. Anyway, it wasn't me who took the bracelet, it was your mother. If you have the guts, sue your mother too!" Li Mengyao sneered.
Wen Yan's eyes turned crimson.
Li Mengyao was doing this deliberately, knowing that she would never sue her own mother.
"Yan Yan." Seeing Wen Yan's distress, Mother Wen pulled her aside, "Don't be angry anymore. Since the betrothal gifts were given to us, they are ours."
"But they shouldn't be used for the Li family. The Li family treated you like this, why do you still..."
Wen Yan was on the verge of tears.
She really didn't know what to say to her mother. Shaking her head, she ran out.
Mother Wen followed anxiously.
Wen Yan's tears blurred her vision, and she fell several times. Mother Wen's heart ached, and she finally grabbed her wrist.
"Yan Yan, is it worth it? Mom apologizes to you, okay? Mom was also for your own good..."
"You always say that, but are you really doing this for our own good?"
Wen Yan turned to look at her, crying hysterically, her vision blurred white: "Did the Li family ever pay a single cent for my brother's medical expenses? His medical expenses were all saved by us working hard. They promised to cover the medical expenses after I married in, but they didn't. Why are you so stubborn?"
More than her mother taking the bracelet, she found it unbearable that her most trusted family member had betrayed her.
Tears streamed down her face.
"I just want you to have a home, a reliance in the outside world. Is it easy for me?" Mother Wen also started crying.
She hugged Wen Yan, and the mother and daughter wept uncontrollably.
Wen Yan cried for an unknown amount of time, her voice hoarse, unable to speak. She refused her mother's request to stay and returned to the rented house like a puppet.
...
Meanwhile.
Yuan Jiamiao had just returned home when he saw his father, who loved antiques, playing with a new toy.
"New find?" Yuan Jiamiao asked casually.
"Yes, come quickly and take a look. The color is truly rare, a treasure of a century, hahaha!" Father Yuan pulled his son over and laughed heartily, "If I show this to them, they'll all be green with envy!"
"Them" referred to Father Yuan's collector friends.
Yuan Jiamiao had some knowledge of these things.
This jade bracelet was clearly a top-quality treasure.
"Where did you get it? How much did it cost?"
"It didn't cost much. I got it from the Li family. They said they had an emerald, and I didn't believe them at first. I didn't expect them to actually bring it to me. The condition was to invest in their family, so I invested ten million, hahaha!" Father Yuan was very proud.
The Li family?
Wasn't that his sister-in-law's maiden family?
A while ago, Leng Xunze had taken action against the Li family, bringing them to the brink of bankruptcy. They had been having an extremely difficult time recently. If they had such a treasure, they would have produced it long ago, so why wait until now?
Moreover, the Li family started as nouveau riche; how would they understand collecting such treasures?
Yuan Jiamiao felt suspicious.
He sent a message to Leng Xunze, along with a photo.