Xia Wen followed Xia Mao back to the Xia family residence with a dejected expression. Xia He and Xu Lan were anxiously waiting for them at home.

"Xia He? You're back?" Xia Wen said in surprise.

Xia Xiu looked at Xia Wen with a furious expression. If she had not brought Xia He out of the detention center in time, both Xia He and Xia Wen could be dead by now!

From the moment Xia He was sabotaged and sent to the police station, Xia Xiu had already received the news. Under her interrogations and investigations, she found out that this matter was not as simple as it seemed. Bian Zhuo had honestly told her the truth about the matter and gave her the background.

Not long ago, Bian Zhuo had a sudden windfall. The Bian family ran a small business, so how could they suddenly have so much money? Someone had bribed Bian Zhuo and asked him to use the money to pay off the people from the art troupe. The person said he would also help Bian Zhuo to complete the task. If Bian Zhou succeeded, he would be able to replace the Xia family and take over the Xia family's position.

"Bian Zhuo was too useless, so he asked Bian Ding and Yang Xin to put pressure on the people in the art troupe both internally and externally. Most of them were from ordinary families and they did not want to lose their jobs or get into trouble, so they were forced to follow the instructions given," Xia Xiu said.

"But why didn't they control Deng Fan? Deng Fan has never heard anything about this," Xia He asked curiously.

"What can one person do? Can one person be more credible than a group of people? Besides, that kid Deng Fan is so upright. If he knew about this, he would definitely report it to the police. Why would he sit on it?" Xia Xiu said.

"It's all my fault… I didn't protect my younger sister well, nor did I protect my family," Xia Wen said apologetically.

Xia Xiu looked at Xia Wen with heartache. Xia Wen was the child she thought most highly of. She did not expect him to make such a mistake when it came to this matter, but then again, she could not blame him. No one was free from making mistakes. He had been so stressed from all the recent family matters that he probably could not cope.

"Go and take a rest. We'll talk about your issue once you get some rest," Xu Lan said.

Xia Wen shook his head stubbornly. He had not caught the mastermind yet and had not made the person who harmed the Xia family pay the price. How could he rest now?

"Get back to your room! Who can you protect in your current state! You can't even protect yourself, so what's all this talk about protecting your family!" Xia Mao said angrily.

Sensing trouble, Luo Yu hurriedly grabbed Xia Wen and dragged him into the room. If they moved any slower, Xia Mao's fist would have landed on Xia Wen!I think you should take a look at pandasnovel.com

"Mother… Qiao Mei, is she really…" Xia He asked in a choked voice.

Xu Lan looked at Xia Mao. She did not know how to tell Xia He about this. Ever since Xia He returned, she had been crying. Whenever she thought about Qiao Mei and saw Qiao Mei's things, Xia He could not stop herself from crying.

Xia He felt that if she had not acted on impulse, Qiao Mei would not have been attacked, leading her to give birth prematurely. Then, Qiao Mei would not have died and the two children would not have been motherless from the moment they were born.

pandasnovel.com She was the culprit. It was all her fault.

Xia Mao and Xia Xiu looked at each other. Now that they knew who the real perpetrator was, there was no need to hide the truth about Qiao Mei's matter from Xia He.

"Qiao Mei is not dead," Xia Mao said.

"Sob sob sob… It's all my fault… Don't lie to me… I know that Qiao Mei died because of me. How can I face Xia Zhe!" Xia He continued sobbing.

Xu Lan held Xia He's shoulders and said slowly, "Qiao Mei is not dead! She's still alive and well! Don't cry! Otherwise, you'll make bad things come true!"

"Huh? Still alive?" Xia He asked.

"This is all part of your grandfather's plan. He told us not to tell anyone about this at first, not even you and Xiao Wen. Your grandfather suspects that there's a traitor in the family and he's still investigating it very thoroughly. Who knows that Xiao Wen… that he'll make such a misstep…" Xu Lan said with a deep sigh.

"Traitor in the family? Do you mean those people are colluding with our people?" Xia He asked.

"Yes. It was the gardener who hurt Qiao Mei and it was your Auntie Fan who recruited the gardener, so it's definitely suspicious," Xu Lan explained.