Chapter 245: Chapter 245

All three family members were stunned when an unfamiliar woman suddenly appeared at home, especially Qin Zhen who simply couldn’t believe it and stammered, as his eyes opened wide, "You, who are you?"

Seeing his son’s impolite inquiry, Qin Shouren frowned with disapproval and only then introduced her to the three of them, "This is Yang Huan, Aunt Yang, a colleague of mine who came over today to help out."

Qin Xi gave a smile and greeted, "Aunt Yang."

Li Xianglu also smiled as she greeted her, then tugged at Qin Zhen beside her.

Qin Zhen felt wronged. Didn’t Dad promise that as long as he wasn’t married, he wouldn’t remarry? Why break the promise?

Meanwhile, Yang Huan kindly smiled and greeted everyone before returning to the kitchen.

Mr. Qin busied himself settling the children and also went inside.

At this moment, Mr. Qin and a middle-aged man also came in together.

Qin Xi’s expression suddenly became cold, and even Qin Zhen, who had been sulking, became serious upon sighting the middle-aged man with a hooked nose, high cheekbones, a somewhat pale complexion, and lips and eyes somewhat resembling Mr. Qin.

Li Xianglu had heard about Qin Shouhan but had never met him; presumably, this man was him.

Mr. Qin smiled upon seeing the three enter, recalling yesterday’s gathering with many distinguished guests from the high ranks of the capital, he didn’t expect Li Huai Ren’s influence to be so large.

Qin Xi called out indifferently, "Grandpa," without addressing the man who had just come in.

Without a word, Qin Zhen leaned back on the sofa, while Li Xianglu followed Qin Xi’s example and only greeted, "Grandpa."

The man’s eyes suddenly narrowed when he saw Li Xianglu, and his face broke into a smile, "You must be Xiao Xiang, right? I apologize, I have not been in good health recently, so I didn’t attend your wedding. Your granduncle wishes you and Qin Xi a lifetime of happiness together."

Li Xianglu’s eyes curved into a smile, "Thank you."

Seeing Qin Zhen and Qin Xi not calling out to his eldest son, an irritated Mr. Qin thought better of scolding them, given the significance of the day, and called for Qin Shouhan to speak in another room.

Li Xianglu watched as Qin Xi’s expression turned instantly colder and reached out to touch his hand, only for him to grasp hers tightly, a smile lingering on his face.

Qin Zhen muttered, "Shameless to even show up."

Qin Xi said nothing, while Li Xianglu started to understand the situation; Qin Miao had admitted during interrogation that the incident involving Yu Wei’s injury a year ago was planned by her and Ma Lingling, who was then still in school. During the interrogation, only Qin Miao’s photo was shown to the mastermind, not Ma Lingling’s, hence Ma Lingling was not implicated.

Furthermore, the mixer that Lu Anna was deceived into attending was also orchestrated by Qin Miao, who had been the one to take Ma Lingling away, fearing that Ma Lingling, if caught, would expose her complicity.

And then there were the incidents where Li Xianglu was framed at school: the rope from the climbing equipment being cut, the missing costumes, and the foreign language club’s office being tampered with to look like a theft—all had been plotted by Qin Miao and Shen Yuehong. Of course, they had collaborators.

However, compared to Qin Miao’s other acts, these were minor. In relation to the already established charge of espionage, they were indeed trifles.

By the end of January, newspapers reported the busting of a major espionage case connected to Qin Miao.

She had been instructed to verify an address, which, Grandpa Li later informed, was a military arsenal storage location in the capital. Qin Miao became involved with a man responsible for delivering food supplies to the warehouse. Her task was only peripheral, to ascertain a rough location, but the eventual investigation led to the discovery of one ton of explosives. If this arsenal were to be bombed, half of the capital could be affected, and if the weapons were seized, it could even lead to a small-scale war.

As a result, Qin Miao was directly charged with espionage, and she confessed that the extra money Qin Shouhan had, was given by her and had nothing to do with Mr. Qin.

When the three men of the Qin Family learned of this, their expressions were dark. With Qin Miao taking responsibility, Qin Shouren was completely exonerated.

And when his eldest son confessed to failing to properly educate his daughter, Mr. Qin forgave his son. Now that his son’s daughter had been punished, why hold the innocent eldest son accountable?