"Marriage isn't a trifle. Even if I marry Yan Qiubai, once this matter is exposed, where will the Yan family's face be?"
A hint of mockery flashed across Meng Ruozhao's eyes.
"By then, to safeguard their reputation, the Yan family might be the first to come after the Du family."
Du Feng's face turned ashen and then red. Meng Ruozhao's words were like needles piercing his heart.
Although annoyed, he knew that what she said made sense.
But he was reluctant to let go of his hold on Meng Ruozhao and simply cooperate with her investigation.
"Ruozhao, you can't put it like that. As you said, we don't know if this report is true or not."
"I also believe you're not a foolish child. Maybe all this is just a false alarm."
Du Feng softened his tone and put on a kind - looking face, as if the violent man just now wasn't him. But his goal remained unchanged.
"Moreover, even if it's true, it's all in the past."
"As long as your relationship with Yan Qiubai is stable, the Yan family might overlook a lot for your sake even if they find out."
He still hadn't given up on persuading Meng Ruozhao to get married. In other words, he didn't care about Meng Ruozhao's well - being at all. He didn't care what the Yan family would do to her if the truth came out after marriage. All he cared about was the status of being the Yan family's in - law and immediate benefits.
Meng Ruozhao felt disgusted by Du Feng's selfishness but still calmly replied,
"Getting married isn't just up to my efforts."
"My relationship with Yan Qiubai isn't at that stage yet. Even if I want to keep him steady, I need the right approach.
"Blindly getting married will only make things worse."
Du Feng frowned, deep in thought. He knew Meng Ruozhao wasn't easy to deceive, but he couldn't just watch her slip out of his control. After thinking for a while, he finally relented.
"Since you're so insistent on investigating, I won't stop you. But I'll arrange someone to go with you for safety."
Meng Ruozhao knew Du Feng's intention well. He just wanted to plant a spy to monitor her every move. She sneered inwardly but didn't directly refuse. Instead, she said, "Okay, do as you say."
He could make the arrangements, but how to conduct the investigation was up to her.
Du Feng gritted his teeth and lectured her a few more times, basically telling her to be obedient and not cause any more trouble.
Meng Ruozhao knew he was angry because she hadn't followed his arrangement and couldn't vent his anger for the moment. So she kept silent, listening with her ears while thinking about her next plan.
Who on earth was the person who sent this report?
If it was really her former boyfriend, why hadn't he come to her in the past six months?
She was a bit distracted. Finally, after Du Feng finished scolding, she walked towards her room with a cold face. But before she could enter, Du Xixi blocked her way.
"Sister, how many more surprises do you have in store for us?"
"Not only did you run off with a wild man, but you even had a bastard. And you still want to marry Qiubai?"
"Tell me, if the Yan family finds out about this report, how will they react?"
The palm print on Du Xixi's face from yesterday's slap hadn't completely faded. But it didn't stop her from sneering at Meng Ruozhao. It seemed that she had forgotten that just yesterday she had said they were both pawns in Du Feng's hands. Now that Meng Ruozhao was in trouble, she thought she was superior.
Meng Ruozhao found Du Xixi's gloating expression funny. She gave Du Xixi a cold look and said calmly,
"Du Xixi, you seem eager to see me make a fool of myself?"
"Did you forge this report? So that if I break off the engagement with Yan Qiubai, you can take my place, right?"
Du Xixi blushed with anger at Meng Ruozhao's words.
"Don't spout nonsense! How could I forge a report?"
"It's clearly you who was promiscuous and did such a disgraceful thing, and now you've been caught."
Meng Ruozhao wasn't going to follow her line of thought to refute, as that would only trap her in self - justification. She just smiled faintly, as if the one being called promiscuous wasn't herself.
"I don't know if this is a handle or not. But don't think you can use this to get ahead."
"After all, if Yan Qiubai really liked you, would he be with me?"
Wasn't it just about being annoying? She could do it too!
Most importantly, she had to dispel Du Xixi's idea of making a fuss about this. She was already annoyed enough and didn't want to waste energy on such low - level female competition with Du Xixi.
Du Xixi was hit right in the sore spot and flew into a rage. She raised her hand to slap Meng Ruozhao. But Meng Ruozhao was prepared. She grabbed Du Xixi's wrist firmly and gave it a hard jerk. Du Xixi staggered and almost fell.
"Du Xixi, I'm warning you. Don't think I won't do anything to you."
"I don't have time to entangle with you now. You'd better not provoke me again."
She really didn't learn her lesson. She had just been countered after provoking Meng Ruozhao a couple of days ago, and now she dared to attack directly.
Du Xixi steadied herself and stared at Meng Ruozhao viciously, grinding her teeth.
"Meng Ruozhao, don't be so smug. I won't let this go. I'll surely ruin you. Then let's see how arrogant you can be."
Meng Ruozhao nodded.
"Okay, do as you like."
"But I have to remind you. Don't let your step - father hear you say that, or he'll slap the other side of your face until it's swollen too."
After saying that, she ignored the furious Du Xixi and walked straight into the room, closing the door behind her.
When she was finally alone, she finally let go of her calm demeanor and was overcome with a deep sense of powerlessness.
She had temporarily dealt with the trouble from the Du family. But the matter of the report was like a dark cloud, weighing heavily on her.
But she had to face it after all. So she took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down, and began to carefully sort out this series of events.
If the report was true, what exactly had happened between her and her former boyfriend?
If it was false, who was behind it and what was their purpose?
As she thought, she suddenly wondered if someone within the Du family had forged it to control her.
From Du Feng's attitude of stopping her from investigating and just wanting her to get married as soon as possible.
And the sarcastic expressions of Xia Lian and Du Xixi, something seemed off.
Most importantly, why did this report appear right after Du Xixi lost an order?
Was it all just a coincidence?
Was it a ploy to divert the trouble or to drag her down and create an opportunity for Du Xixi?
It wasn't that she was overly confident and only wanted to find fault with others. It was just that the people in the Du family would do anything for profit.
After much thought, she decided to start with the hospital that issued the report.
If she had really had an abortion, she would surely have an open - hearted talk with Yan Qiubai.
If he couldn't accept it, they should end things before their relationship was made public.
As for whether Du Feng agreed or not, that wasn't her concern.