Volume 1, Chapter 61: Go to Her Room and Find Evidence!

"Auntie, the door seems to be locked." Chen Nianke rattled the door handle a few times, but it wouldn't budge at all.

Zhou Manhua's anger was reaching a boiling point, and her expression had turned terribly ugly.

If she didn't have a guilty conscience, why would she bother locking the bedroom door?

"The spare key should be in the study." Zhou Manhua's chest heaved visibly with rage, her voice cold and urgent.

Soon, the two of them found the spare key in the study.

This time, the master bedroom door finally clicked open.

Unable to wait a second longer, Zhou Manhua leaned on her cane and limped inside, glancing around frantically like a headless fly.

"Auntie, what are you looking for?" Chen Nianke didn't know what Zhou Manhua was after. "Let me help you look."

Zhou Manhua had no clear idea herself, but she figured that if Jiang Yunmiao was indeed faking her pregnancy, she would surely find some clues here.

"Just look around casually and tell me if you spot anything strange," Zhou Manhua said, unable to articulate her suspicions precisely.

She rummaged indiscriminately through Jiang Yunmiao's belongings. On the bedside table sat a few bottles of folic acid, calcium tablets, and iron supplements, alongside several parenting books.

In the drawer of the bedside table were various advertising brochures regarding child insurance and umbilical cord blood storage.

The wardrobe was packed with maternity clothes, with a post-partum belly wrap tucked away in the corner.

Everything seemed entirely normal.

Hmph! She certainly kept her thoughts well-concealed and put on a convincing act.

After searching the entire room, she found nothing out of the ordinary.

Zhou Manhua couldn't help but hesitate. Could she have been mistaken? Had she wronged her?

At that moment, Chen Nianke suddenly called out, "Auntie, would you like to come and take a look at this?"

Zhou Manhua gave a start, her heart leaping. Had they found a flaw in Jiang Yunmiao's facade?

She hurried toward the bathroom, leaning heavily on her cane.

"What is it?"

Chen Nianke asked in a somewhat uncertain tone, "If someone is pregnant, they shouldn't need sanitary pads and pantyliners, right?"

"Of course not!" Zhou Manhua walked over excitedly. "Did she use them?"

"I'm not entirely certain, but if she hasn't needed them for over nine months, there's no reason to keep them in such an accessible spot." Chen Nianke pointed to the open cabinet beside the toilet. "I just checked, and the manufacturing date on the package is October. It wasn't something she stockpiled before getting pregnant. Besides, this pack has already been opened and used."

Although Zhou Manhua had strongly suspected it, seeing her suspicion confirmed at this moment still left her deeply shocked!

Stunned for a few seconds, she picked up the pack of sanitary pads and inspected it closely. It was just as Chen Nianke had said.

The ironclad proof was before her eyes! Let's see how Jiang Yunmiao tries to talk her way out of this now.

No wonder Jiang Yunmiao had always been reluctant to go to the clinic she arranged to check the baby's gender! So that was why!

Filled with bitter regret, she thought that if she had known Jiang Yunmiao harbored such malicious intentions, she should have insisted on taking her for a check-up long ago, sparing herself from being deceived for so long!

"Auntie, what should we do now?" Chen Nianke asked with a look of deep concern.

Zhou Manhua's wrinkled face twisted into a fierce scowl. Her grip on the cane tightened until her knuckles turned white, and she hissed viciously, "Since she dared to play us like this, she'll naturally have to pay a heavy price! How dare she even dream of splitting the family assets equally with Yi! She must be out of her mind! I'll make sure she leaves with nothing and ruins her reputation entirely!"

She handed her phone to Chen Nianke. "Help me take pictures of the evidence."

Chen Nianke was thoroughly satisfied with this outcome and Zhou Manhua's attitude, so she eagerly set about preserving the evidence for her.

At that moment, footsteps echoed on the stairs, drawing closer and closer—

A gleam of excited anticipation flickered in Chen Nianke's eyes, the corners of her eyes lifting slightly as a spectator's thrill washed over her.

"Auntie, it sounds like Jiang Yunmiao is back. If she finds out we broke into her room..."

Zhou Manhua let out a cold snort. "So what if she finds out! She spun such a monstrous lie; she's the one who should be terrified! I want to see what face she has left to come back and argue with me!" The muddy depths of her eyes were suffused with malice. She would never let that bitch Jiang Yunmiao off the hook!

Everything was proceeding precisely as Chen Nianke had planned. She twitched her lips, the corners of her mouth curving upward into a radiant smile.

Just then, Jiang Yunmiao reached the doorway. Seeing the two people inside, her expression instantly darkened. Her gaze swept over them one by one, sharp as a blade. "What are you two doing in my room!"

If not for her bad legs, Zhou Manhua would have already slapped Jiang Yunmiao across the face. Glaring at her with fury, she shouted, "He who does no evil fears no ghost. What are you afraid of?"

Instead of getting angry, Jiang Yunmiao laughed. "I'm not afraid of ghosts, but I am afraid of people with ill intentions. What on earth have you been doing in my room?"

"Don't pull that crap with me! A thief crying 'stop thief,' playing the victim first? You know very well what you've done!" Zhou Manhua raised her cane, stopping a mere centimeter away from poking the tip of Jiang Yunmiao's nose. Staring wildly, she unleashed a torrent of shrill, piercing curses.

Jiang Yunmiao stepped back slightly, calmly pulling out her phone to record every single word of her tirade.

"Mom, if you're so eager to experience a prison sentence, feel free to curse a bit more. I promise to grant your wish and let you spend a wonderful New Year behind bars!"

The threat rattled Zhou Manhua, dampening her arrogant momentum somewhat.

Yet, remembering what Jiang Yunmiao had done, she quickly regained her righteous indignation. "You think I'm afraid of you?! If anyone's going inside, it'll be you first! Let me ask you, what on earth is your purpose for faking a pregnancy? What kind of wicked scheme are you plotting?"

Zhou Manhua was fully prepared to burn all bridges today and tear off Jiang Yunmiao's mask once and for all.

Jiang Yunmiao frowned, instinctively shielding her prominent belly with a cold, piercing gaze. "Mom, what nonsense are you talking about? I don't understand a word! Did someone fill your head with malicious gossip?" She shifted part of the blame onto Chen Nianke.

However, to Chen Nianke and Zhou Manhua, this reaction only confirmed her guilt. Exchanging a glance, Chen Nianke stepped forward, putting on a pretense of well-meaning persuasion. "Jiang Yunmiao, we already know the truth. You might as well just confess. If your attitude is good, maybe Auntie will spare you."

"What do you know? What do I need to be spared from? Get out of my room right now!" Intense fury blossomed across Jiang Yunmiao's delicate face.

"If you aren't faking your pregnancy, why would you be using sanitary pads? Don't try to lie your way out of this—that pack of pads was manufactured in October!" Chen Nianke could hardly wait to convict her.

A flicker crossed Jiang Yunmiao's eyes. Her fingers tightened slightly, and her tone carried a hint of exasperation and shame. "How dare you go through my things without permission!"

Chen Nianke and Zhou Manhua became even more certain that she was panicking because she had been exposed.

"What? Feeling guilty? If you're guilty, confess honestly, then divorce Yi, leave with nothing, and get the hell out of here!" Zhou Manhua roared furiously!