When the disciplinary hall personnel from Li Family Village were present, Li Qianfan was no longer Jing Ran's "son" or the younger uncle to Li Zhaoyu and the others.
He was the village chief of Li Family Village!
He represented the Li Family Village of Sijiu!!
Let alone these people, even Li Wujiang, his own mother, would have to bow and salute Li Qianfan if she were present.
Mo Hongti was instantly stunned.
On Li Qianfan's youthful face, there wasn't the slightest trace of fear or trepidation.
He merely nodded faintly, slowly raised his hand, and gestured for everyone to dispense with the formalities.
Only then did everyone raise their heads and look at him.
"Li Zhaoyu, Li Xiangming, Hall Master (Li Xingtang), and Aunt Ran, you four stay."
Li Qianfan gave clear instructions: "The rest of you, go back and rest first. I will notify you if anything comes up."
To Li Qianfan's arrangements, Li Pingshan and the more than twenty other people left without a word, turning around and quickly departing.
The hospital executives who rushed over upon hearing the news also wisely retreated.
"Sister Hongti, how are you feeling?"
Li Qianfan walked to the wheelchair and said to the dazed Mo Hongti, "If you can still hold on, tell me about Ziyu's experience."
Could Mo Hongti hold on?
Even if she could, if she merely wanted to faint, she would have to secretly bite her tongue and force herself to endure.
Currently, this was a golden opportunity for her to get closer to Li Qianfan.
In the ward opposite Su Ziyu's specially-attended quiet room.
Mo Hongti sat in the wheelchair and began to meticulously recount to Li Qianfan and the others what had happened after she encountered Su Ziyu on her way to mourn her mother.
When she mentioned that she was calling Li Qianfan when she was knocked down a mountain valley by a Hummer, she saw Jing Ran pick up her phone.
Mo Hongti didn't pay it any mind.
She continued.
When she spoke of seeing Lan Yunhai riding a horse, dragging Su Ziyu and galloping across the lawn, Li Qianfan's right fist made cracking sounds like popping beans.
When she mentioned how she inexplicably dashed through the horse farm's fence, with her arms outstretched to intercept the galloping horses, her tone was also very calm, as if she were simply bending down to pick up a coin from the ground.
However, anyone with a bit of intelligence would know that Mo Hongti's rush to intercept the galloping horses at that time had a near-zero chance of survival.
"Qianfan owes a huge debt of gratitude for this."
Jing Ran, who was "playing" with her phone with her head down, thought, "I have nothing to repay him with, so I can only offer myself."
As for Li Xingtang and the others, they looked at Mo Hongti with admiration.
Li Qianfan, on the other hand, maintained an unchanged expression.
But who knew what he was thinking in his heart?
"The horses, startled by the thunder, carried me and Ziyu and galloped into the valley over there before stopping. I was afraid of being chased by Lan Yunhai's men, so Ziyu and I hid in the woods. Then we climbed to the mountain top and called you."
It took Mo Hongti a full half an hour to finish recounting everything she had experienced.
Before she could even finish speaking—
Jing Ran placed her phone in front of her: "Mo Hongti, was it this car that knocked you down the valley?"
Mo Hongti looked down.
She subconsciously nodded: "Yes! I caught a fleeting glimpse while tumbling, it was a Hummer. But I didn't notice the license plate, and I can't be sure if this is the car that hit me."
"I can confirm that it is the car that hit you."
Jing Ran said, "Because the owner of this car has the double-surname Murong, and her given name is Mingyuan."
Murong Mingyuan!?
Mo Hongti's eyes widened.
Jing Ran took back her phone and said to Li Qianfan, "Based on the time of Mo Hongti's first call to you, I thoroughly investigated all vehicles that passed by the horse farm during that period. Filtering only for Hummer models, only this one passed by. After hitting Mo Hongti, she immediately returned to the city. She then rushed back to Sijiu overnight. This car is currently at Yongjun Car Dealership in Sijiu. I can see from remote surveillance that the dealership's staff are currently repairing this car."
Murong Mingyuan urgently repairing the car was naturally to erase any traces of the collision.
And by checking surveillance, locking onto the model, and seeing the license plate, Jing Ran could then easily find out who the owner of this car was and where she was currently.
Mo Hongti was shocked.
She stammered and asked Jing Ran, "Aunt Ran, are you a hacker?"
Jing Ran appeared modest: "A mere number one in the world, the last surviving 'Lai Wo Liu' (the highest level of hacker), is hardly worth mentioning."
Mo Hongti curled her lips and subconsciously asked, "Why are there no other 'Lai Wo Liu' hackers besides you?"
Jing Ran's tone was ethereal: "If one appears, I kill one. I must ensure that my status in the hacker world is not threatened in the slightest."
Jing Ran was either bragging or simply stating a fact.
Mo Hongti quickly shut her mouth!
She thought to herself, "If I have children in the future, I will never let them study hacking, no matter what."
As for Li Qianfan and the others, none of them felt that Jing Ran was bragging, or that doing so was wrong.
The last person who accused her of doing something wrong was now buried so deep that the grass on their grave was already quite tall.
Li Qianfan sneered slightly: "Murong Mingyuan again, very good."
Li Zhaoyu cautiously suggested, "Madam Ran, should we hack Murong Mingyuan's phone and thoroughly investigate her phone records with Lan Yunhai since she arrived in the provincial capital to find evidence of their collusion?"
Jing Ran coldly retorted, "Does the eldest young master of my Li family, the village chief of Li Family Village, need evidence to deal with that woman?"
Li Zhaoyu immediately shut up.
Seeing his slight embarrassment, Li Xiangming quickly raised his hand: "Young Uncle, Madam Ran, I have something to say."
Li Qianfan nodded.
"Young Uncle, I will analyze the Lan family of Tiandong from an objective perspective."
Li Xiangming's expression was serious: "Setting aside what Lan Yunhai has done to the young madam, one-fifth of the Tiandong Lan family's annual net profit is donated to charity. This money has been put to good use, and more importantly, they have maintained this practice for forty-one consecutive years."
What?
Li Qianfan's expression changed.
Li Xingtang immediately frowned.
Even Jing Ran's expression became considerably uglier.
Mo Hongti also thought of something and quickly said, "Indeed, I've heard before that the Tiandong Lan family is a family of benevolence. It is said that an elder from Sijiu specifically presented the current, albeit retired, Elder Lan with a plaque that read 'Charitable Household'."
Li Xiangming followed up: "Yes. When I visited Elder Lan's old residence this afternoon to congratulate Elder Lan, I also saw that plaque."
If that were the case—
Was it just a plaque?
No!
It was a golden shield, a death warrant exemption that would prevent the Lan family from being wiped out by Li Family Village!!
"Li Xiangming, go and investigate immediately. Have the Lan family been as you described all these years."
Li Qianfan frowned and pondered for a long time before giving the order: "I want a definite answer by noon tomorrow at the latest."
"I'll go investigate now."
Li Xiangming immediately stood up, bowed, and quickly walked out.
"If things are truly as Li Xiangming says, then we cannot slaughter the Lan family."
Li Xingtang spoke: "My Li Family Village has three fears."
First, families of loyalty and filial piety (loyal to the country and people, filial to parents and elders).
Second, families of martyrs.
Third, families of true charity.
Of course.
The three fears mentioned by Li Xingtang did not mean that Li Family Village was truly afraid of these three types of families.
Instead, it was a kind of heartfelt admiration.
Jing Ran frowned and said coldly, "But no matter what, Lan Yunhai deserves to die. As the ancients said, 'The fault of the child is the fault of the father.'"
Her statement set the basic tone for the intensity of the Li Family Village's bloody revenge against the Lan family.
This was on the premise that the Tiandong Lan family was indeed a truly charitable family.
"How about this."
Li Qianfan thought for a moment and said, "Li Zhaoyu, tomorrow morning, you will be responsible for safely escorting Ziyu and President Mo back to Qingyun. After Li Xiangming's findings come in, we will formulate a detailed plan."
He paused.
Li Qianfan looked out the window and smiled indifferently, "The day after tomorrow is the wedding day of Young Master Lan and Murong Mingyuan. I need to think carefully about what kind of gift to give this pair of newlyweds."
Looking at Li Qianfan's expression, Mo Hongti inexplicably shivered.
The thought of wanting to stay that she was about to voice quickly faded.
The night grew deeper and deeper.
Gradually, dawn broke.
After a massive downpour had swept through more than half of the Tiandong region last night, the sky today was exceptionally blue.
The air was also exceptionally fresh.
A sparrow flapped its wings and flew to the windowsill outside the glass, its chirping sounds gently bringing Su Ziyu, who had slept for a full 20 hours, out of a dream where Li Qianfan was the protagonist.
She slowly opened her eyes, looking at the silhouette of the little sparrow on the curtains, a faint smile lingering on her lips, letting her thoughts flow slowly.
Recalling the dream, she wondered how her little husband could be so wicked.
But suddenly—
A refined and elegant mature face appeared in Su Ziyu's mind, as if it had crawled out of a cesspool.
Lan Yunhai!
That was Lan Yunhai's face!!
The happy smile on Su Ziyu's lips instantly froze.
All the tender feelings were as if blown away by a strong wind, disappearing without a trace.
"Where am I now?"
"Was I defiled by that beast?"
"Where is my mother?"
"Qianfan—"
"Qianfan, where are you!?"
Su Ziyu thought these words in panic and suddenly sat up.
She was now in her own boudoir.
Since Li Qianfan married her, this was the first time she had slept in the bed she had slept in for many years.
Birds sang and flowers bloomed outside the window, and the faint sounds of children running and playing downstairs could be heard.
There was no Lan Yunhai.
Apart from a slight pain in her feet (scratched by rocks), she felt no discomfort anywhere else on her body.
The bedroom was silent.
In a beam of sunlight filtering through the gap in the curtains, fine dust danced enchantingly.
In this quiet world, there was no little man she couldn't bear to let go of for even a second in her dreams.
Su Ziyu felt a flutter of panic.
She couldn't understand, if Li Qianfan wasn't by her side, how could she have slept so soundly and peacefully.
"He must be in the kitchen, cooking for me!"
Su Ziyu thought to herself, and quickly got out of bed.
She felt a slight pain in her soles immediately, but she paid it no mind.
Su Ziyu walked quickly to the door, calling out as she opened it, "Qianfan, where did you go?"
Then.
Su Ziyu saw her mother, Ning Xiaolan, sitting silently on the sofa, looking at her with a cold glint in her eyes.
The moment mother and daughter's eyes met, Su Ziyu froze.
Ning Xiaolan had never looked at her like that before!
Her mother's gaze made Su Ziyu tremble, her eyes darting around, quickly glancing towards the kitchen and the master bedroom.
"No need to look."
Ning Xiaolan spoke, "Your father went to work this morning, and Qianfan is still in the provincial capital handling matters for you and hasn't returned. This morning, President Mo from Victoria personally sent you home. Now, it's just you and me at home."
Su Ziyu pursed her lips, her flickering gaze landing on the side table.
On the side table—
Lay a belt.
"Su Ziyu."
Ning Xiaolan said softly, "Come here."
Su Ziyu immediately had a premonition.
She didn't dare to go over.
But she dared even less not to go over.
She stepped on her injured feet, lowered her head, and slowly walked over.
Before Ning Xiaolan could say anything, she obediently knelt on the cushion that had been prepared for her.
Ning Xiaolan raised her hand, picked up the belt, and asked, "Su Ziyu, I ask you, who am I?"
Su Ziyu replied with a trembling voice, "You are Mom."
*Pia!*
The leather belt in Ning Xiaolan's hand fiercely whipped Su Ziyu's backside.
The pain made her tremble like an electric shock, her face instantly turned pale, yet she bit her lip hard, not daring to utter a single word.
"No."
Ning Xiaolan then spoke, "I am not your mom, I am just a street sweeper. Because no daughter would bravely face an insurmountable danger alone while hiding it from her mother."
"Mom."
Su Ziyu's tears flowed, "I was wrong."
*Slap!*
Another whip fell heavily.
Su Ziyu finally couldn't hold back and let out a scream.
Yet she saw tears sliding down her mother's cheeks.
Ning Xiaolan sobbed uncontrollably, "Su Ziyu, do you know that your strength and bravery almost led me to be violated by another man? And possibly even filmed! It would have made me too ashamed to face your father, even if I died a hundred times. And to meet the ancestors of the Su family!"
— — —
After Mother Lan began to teach, Ziyu was in for trouble.