She won't clear her name; she'll throw away all the scum.

Chapter 402

Grandma Yu's mind was completely consumed by her son, grandson, and her husband who had been dead for who knows how many years; there was no room for anyone else. To her, her daughter-in-law and granddaughter weren't even worthy of being called human beings.

She deeply resented those who didn't help her family, especially Zheng Qianlan and her son. Despite bearing the Yu family name, they never associated with them. The mother and daughter lived a life of luxury, yet they never gave them a single penny and watched helplessly as their line died out. This was a woman with an extremely vicious heart.

If her son hadn't married that wicked woman Zheng Qianlan, the Yu family would have been full of children and grandchildren long ago, and she wouldn't feel so guilty when she saw her old man in the future.

Now look what happened! That slut gave birth to a daughter and ran away without divorcing her son, forcing him to find another son outside the family to carry on the family line.

Yes, that child wasn't Yu's father's at all. Given Yu's father's limited abilities, even a widow wouldn't want to be with him. At a time like this, who would be willing to take such a huge risk and mess around with a man who has a wife, daughter, and no money? Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?

If it weren't for the hardship the mother and son were going through, the woman wouldn't have wanted to take the risk. But her son needed money to get married and have children, so she approached several old bachelors who couldn't find wives or didn't have sons. She asked them to be her son's godfathers or biological fathers, and to help him with his funeral arrangements. In return, they needed to raise money for their son's wedding.

Yu's father was one of them.

He simply thought that his son's future children would take his surname, and that as long as the Yu family line continued, it would be worthwhile.

Little did she know, that woman had made countless promises to various men, and the children she bore would take their surnames.

Who can testify to what is said verbally?

Yu Yan was furious when she heard her grandmother cursing her mother: "I can't get married not because I don't have brothers, but entirely because you two are wicked bastards who deserve to be struck by lightning. I was dragged down to my death by you."

Grandma Yu: "If you listened to me, would you still be unable to get married? I've already found you a good man, but you insisted on running away. I even tried to set you up, but you cut the strings. And you still say it's not because of you and your mother. You and your mother are just worthless, looking down on this and that, with ambitions higher than the sky."

The man standing nearby said, "If your grandma hadn't said you were a factory worker, I wouldn't have given you a second glance."

Yu Yan felt dizzy when she heard the man's words. He looked down on her. Putting aside his appearance and family background, wasn't his ambition even higher than hers?

She retorted, "You say I'm ambitious, but I think you're the one who's a toad trying to eat swan meat."

Man: "Of course I want to eat swan meat if I can, but since I can't have it, I can only eat chicken like you. Don't try to play tricks on me, just come with me. I won't let you starve. I've already paid the bride price. We've come this far, what are you still shy about?"

After saying that, the man tried to pull her away, but Yu Yan yelled and hid behind Qiao Shan, "Get out of my way! She accepted your betrothal gifts, so why are you marrying my grandmother? What does it have to do with me?"

Man: "Your grandma, you're so old, I wouldn't even take you if you paid me. What nonsense are you spouting?"

After a few words of argument, Qiao Shan recognized her. They had met once before, and Qiao Shan had even eaten her pancakes. Chen Xiangbei, on the other hand, was completely unaware of the commotion that had taken place in his mother's yard earlier. He hadn't witnessed anything of it; the group of them had all gone home after moving and having dinner.

So when he heard Qiao Shan say that Yu Yan lived in the same courtyard as his mother, Chen Xiangbei's eyes lit up and he made up his mind to help her.

Chen Xiangbei was really disappointed in Yu Yan. Living in the same courtyard as her mother, she hadn't learned anything good. What kind of nonsense was this argument? What a waste of such a nice environment.

When arguing, what's the most important thing? It's not getting yourself involved.

No matter how unreasonable she is, when others talk about you, you should directly criticize them instead of dragging yourself into it. Once you do, you'll end up getting caught up in the mess and might even end up thinking that she's a problematic person.

But it's different when you talk about other people. If you point out their flaws and they try to explain, then keep talking. If you talk too much, people will think that the other person is the only one with problems. Even if you're arguing, the people involved will focus on the other person's own shortcomings. Wouldn't that give you a better chance of winning?

Having worked with his mother several times, Chen Xiangbei had learned from these arguments and fights and developed a good habit of analyzing the loopholes in other people's words.

So, when Yu Yan explained that she and her mother had done nothing wrong, Chen Xiangbei spoke up: "Ma'am, we're not talking about those messy old things anymore. We're talking about how you kidnapped this girl and forced her into marriage. What era are we living in now? It's a time of freedom of marriage. How are you any different from those old-fashioned feudal people?"

Those who know, you seem to have some semblance of humanity; you've probably heard our neighborhood committee's propaganda. Those who don't might think you're some kind of spy from some era, deliberately trying to slow down our country's progress. Listen to what you just said—what utter nonsense!

Do you disregard the laws of our country, and the leaders of our public security bureau, women's federation, and neighborhood committee? Is our country not ruled by the people, but by your absolute authority?

Grandma Yu was caught off guard by the long string of words about law and progress, and her mind went blank. She was illiterate, but she knew it was a huge accusation, suddenly being leveled against her. An old woman like her couldn't afford such a harsh label. If someone heard this, even if she felt she was innocent, such a serious offense might send her to a farm for re-education.

Grandma Yu immediately retorted, "Bullshit! When did I say I wanted to be in charge? When did I say I didn't care about your leaders and laws? This is my family matter, what business is it of yours? Are you bored out of your mind, wandering around here at night? Are you some kind of hooligan trying to harm some girl?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiangbei knew he could apply the formula. He remembered how his mother had spoken so confidently about spreading rumors when his older sister was sent to the countryside. He recalled how his mother had insisted on finding out who was spreading rumors at the factory; her efforts were so impressive they could be the subject of a book.

As his mother's favorite youngest son, how could he not understand how damaging this matter was? So he blurted out, "Report it to the police, Brother Qiao, I want to report it to the police! My innocence, my reputation, everything I have has been ruined by this old comrade! Brother Qiao, did you hear that? Comrade Yu, did you hear that too? I've been slandered! I'm so young, and I'm going to be killed by this kind of rumor! I don't want to live anymore, sob sob sob."

Grandma Yu was stunned again.