Chapter 52: Exposed

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Exposed

A burst of fury surged through Song Yao’s chest!

Just as the crowd grew incensed and shouts of condemnation erupted—

She took a large step forward and roared, "Yao Yuzhen! Do you even have a shred of humanity?!"

The anger on everyone’s faces instantly flared, all of it directed at her.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You think you have the right to yell at Mrs. Shen?!"

Song Yao didn’t even spare them a glance, turning to push her way out of the crowd.

"Yao Yuzhen, have you forgotten where you came from?"

Yao Yuzhen’s heart skipped a beat, as if someone had seized it in a tight grip!

Her eyes flew wide, and she stared daggers at Song Yao.

’Shen Zhenwu... Did he tell her about this?’

’Impossible! He would never do this to me!’

’He knows better than anyone what I’m afraid of. He knows this is the thorn in my side. He’s always been so protective of me, how could he... how could he dare expose it in public?!’

A middle-aged woman nearby immediately chimed in, "What are you yelling about? How could Mrs. Shen’s background be bad? She’s from a perfectly respectable family, just like the rest of us!"

The words had barely left her mouth when the person next to her tugged her sleeve and hissed, "Stop talking!"

Yao Yuzhen felt as if she had been plunged into an icy abyss.

Forcing herself to hold her chin high, she feigned composure. "Song Yao, no matter what nonsense you spout, no one will believe you! The Shen Family’s assets belong to Shuangshuang! So what if you helped Shen Zhenwu? Does saving a life give you the right to steal someone else’s daughter’s place?! As long as I’m alive, the Shen Family will only ever recognize Shuangshuang as their daughter!"

She spoke in a rapid-fire rush, not even pausing for breath, giving Song Yao no chance to interject.

After she finished, as if certain of her victory, she took Shen Shuangshuang’s hand and started to walk out of the crowd.

Song Yao suddenly raised her voice, shouting at her retreating back, "My father was the one who pulled you out of the gutter, allowing you to live this respectable life you have now! Without him, you would have died in a ditch somewhere! And now you trample on him, slander him, and guard against him like he’s your enemy?! Yao Yuzhen, is your heart made of stone?!"

Every word struck her like a hammer blow. Yao Yuzhen faltered, nearly stumbling.

The faces of the few older people in the crowd who knew the truth changed, and they all fell silent.

In truth, who among them didn’t know? What was Yao Yuzhen’s status back then?

Her family had connections to outside entities, and she had been under heavy scrutiny.

At first, no one wanted anything to do with her, considering her bad luck.

It was Shen Zhenwu who went door to door, begging everyone to go easy on her and be more tolerant.

He had said, "Yu Zhen is innocent. She had nothing to do with her family’s affairs. She’s clean."

Who believed him?

But they couldn’t ignore Shen Zhenwu’s desperate efforts to vouch for her, so everyone reluctantly agreed.

That one nod of agreement lasted for over a decade.

Yao Yuzhen became the well-known Mrs. Shen of Beijing. She was cordial to everyone and handled matters thoughtfully, and gradually, everyone began to treat her as one of their own.

They had even completely forgotten who it was that helped her get on her feet.

More and more of the women began to exchange quiet glances.

They suddenly realized: what they had just heard wasn’t the truth, but a lie.

The air grew frighteningly still.

Shen Shuangshuang sensed something was wrong. Her face turned pale. "Mom... Mom? Why has everyone stopped talking? They’re not cursing Song Yao anymore? What’s going on?"

Yao Yuzhen’s chest felt tight and painful, filled with humiliation and repressed anger.

"Mom! You have to do something..."

Yao Yuzhen clenched her jaw, braced herself, and turned back, slowly walking toward the center of the crowd again.

She looked up and saw all the familiar old faces standing there, their smiles not reaching their eyes.

A chill ran through Yao Yuzhen, as if she’d been plunged into an icy abyss again.

Her heart felt hollow, filled with nothing but bitterness.

’Shen Zhenwu, how could you trust this Song Yao so much?!’

’So much that you even told her my greatest weakness?!’

This time, her hatred for Song Yao was no longer just about Shen Shuangshuang.

What infuriated her even more was how easily Song Yao had won Shen Zhenwu’s trust.

Pushing her, his own wife, completely aside!

Yao Yuzhen took a deep breath. "Shen Zhenwu is my benefactor. Everything I have today, he gave me. But even so, does he think he can harm the daughter I carried for ten months, all for some girl of dubious origins? Not a chance!"

Song Yao stepped forward. "You say I have dubious origins? Then why don’t you ask the daughter you cherish so dearly? She recognized long ago that I’m the one with the rightful bloodline! That’s why one moment she sent Ji Xianbei and Ling Qinghan to Shunping Village to capture me, and the next she was rushing to have me silenced! Ji Xianbei—"

She suddenly raised a hand and pointed at the tall man behind them. "It was him! He promised your Shuangshuang to her face that if he saw me, he would kill me on sight!"

As soon as she spoke, the focus of the scene shifted back again.

Shen Shuangshuang immediately jumped up and shouted, "You’re talking nonsense! I never said that!"

"Shouting is useless," Song Yao said calmly.

Shen Shuangshuang stomped her foot in frustration. "Make yourself clear! Where’s your proof? Show us the proof!"

Ji Xianbei immediately chimed in, his voice raised loud. "That’s right! You can’t just make wild accusations like that! If you have no evidence, I’ll report this directly to the Military Disciplinary Committee! I’ll do whatever it takes to clear my name!"

At the mention of proof, Song Yao immediately fell silent.

Her lips moved, but ultimately, no sound came out.

Seeing her silence, Shen Shuangshuang and the others instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

They exchanged a quick glance, the corners of their mouths turning up in a smirk.

Ji Xianbei secretly patted his chest, finally steadying his nerves.

The other day, he had rushed to the Western-style mansion to find Shen Shuangshuang, but she was displeased with his poor handling of the matter and refused to even open the door.

He had stood on the steps for a full three minutes before turning and leaving.

But then, an idea struck him. He immediately turned back and returned to Shunping Village, silencing everyone who needed to be silenced.

After finishing the job, he rushed back to Beijing without stopping.

He happened to arrive just as Yao Yuzhen was throwing a belated birthday party for Shen Shuangshuang. Aunt Zhen had personally requested his presence to lend his support.

How could he not give it his all?

Seeing Song Yao’s momentum crushed, the flicker of a turnaround from moments ago was extinguished in an instant.

"Look at her. She probably doesn’t have any hard evidence."

"Who’s going to believe her when she’s just spouting nonsense with no proof?"

"I’m still siding with Mrs. Shen and Shuangshuang."

"But then again, how does this Song Yao know everything? We don’t even know Aunt Zhen’s full background, so how is she so clear on it?"

"How else? Someone must be pulling the strings from behind!"

"What? She’s really a spy?! Then wasn’t that kid from the Sheng Family wrongly accused?"

Seeing the crowd once again siding with her, Shen Shuangshuang quickly shot Cheng Hai a meaningful look.

Cheng Hai immediately stepped forward, pointing a finger straight at Song Yao. "I knew there was something off about her! Just as I thought, she’s shown her true colors!"

He threw up a hand, his voice booming, "Neighbors, friends! Spies specialize in infiltrating our ranks, and they’ll stoop to any dirty trick! Mr. Shen must have been deceived! We need to apprehend this spy on the spot!"

As he finished his last sentence, his left hand was already resting on the holster of the gun at his waist.

A roar of agreement rose from the crowd below.

Ji Xianbei glanced at the atmosphere, then without another word, strode quickly toward Song Yao.

He leaned in close, his lips barely moving, but his voice pierced Song Yao’s ear like a needle. "Song Yao, this time, you’re not getting away."

A heavy feeling settled in Song Yao’s chest, and her heart sank to the floor.

’I’m outnumbered and alone. I really can’t hold out.’

She gritted her teeth and steeled herself. ’Worst case, I’ll take a beating. I just need to stall for a few more minutes... Xiao Li will be here soon...’

"Who dares lay a finger on the Young Miss?!"

The words had barely faded!

When Xiao Li’s powerful roar erupted from outside the crowd!