Chapter 380: Done One's Utmost

Meng’s Mother stood up as she spoke, lunging at Meng Qiaofei. She grabbed her arm, tears and snot streaming down her face. “Was it easy for me to raise you all these years? Your father died early, and I raised you and your brother all by myself. Do you have any idea how much I suffered?

“Now that you’ve married into the Xu Family and are living a good life, you’ve forgotten your own family? Do you have a conscience?!”

Meng Qiaofei stumbled from the pull, instinctively shrinking back. However, Meng’s Mother gripped her so tightly that her fingernails nearly dug into her flesh.

“Mom… let go first,” Meng Qiaofei said, her voice carrying a suppressed tremble.

Meng’s Mother refused to let go, crying even louder. “I won’t! If you don’t help your nephew resolve this today, I’ll kneel right here and never get up!”

THUD. She fell to her knees before Meng Qiaofei, dragging down her slender wrists hard enough to leave red marks.

A mother kneeling to her child was a taboo that would shorten the child’s lifespan.

Yang Xun frowned. He immediately stepped forward, pushing Meng’s Mother away to shield Meng Qiaofei behind him. Xu Feifan, standing to the side, reacted a step too late, his expression somewhat awkward.

Meng’s Mother stumbled back from the push, sobbing uncontrollably. “You’ve been married into the Xu Family for so many years, but what benefits have they ever given us? Your brother wanted a job in their company, but Xu Yue made all sorts of excuses. Now they’re even coming after us over a pot of grass. The Xu Family simply looks down on the Meng Family!”

Her voice was shrill. She slapped her thigh as she cried, her wails echoing throughout the entire mediation room.

Wu Sinic also wiped her tears on the sidelines, hugging Meng Xiaobao as she sobbed. “Our Xiaobao has such a bitter life, ending up with such a heartless aunt who just watches her own nephew get bullied.”

“Stop arguing. This isn’t a wet market!” Officer Liu frowned as he intervened.

The surroundings instantly quieted down.

Only then did Meng Qiaofei speak again, her tone icy. “Mom, are you done?”

Meng’s Mother was taken aback by her tone and looked up. Seeing an unprecedented coldness and alienation on her daughter’s face, panic momentarily flared in her heart.

“Do you have no idea how much debt I’ve paid off for our family and how much money I’ve given you over the years? How do you have the nerve to say you haven’t taken advantage of the Xu Family?” Her voice wasn’t loud, but every word was painfully clear. “Why did I marry Xu Feifan in the first place?

“It was because you couldn’t pay back your debts, and they were going to break my brother’s legs. I had no choice but to beg the Xu Family for help.

“In all the years we’ve been married, I’ve sent money home every month. I paid your hospital bills when you were sick. I covered the losses when Zehai’s business failed. When Xiaobao was born, I gave you another hundred thousand yuan.

“I can honestly say I owe you nothing.”

Meng’s Mother’s face turned pale and then flushed. Her lips trembled as she tried to retort, but she couldn’t find the words. Everything her daughter said was true; without her, heaven knows what state the Meng Family would be in right now.

Meng Qiaofei turned to Yang Xun and Xu Yue, her face full of apology. “Yang Xun, Yueyue, I’m sorry. My family is in the wrong here. Handle this however you see fit. You don’t need to spare my feelings.”

“Meng Qiaofei! You ungrateful wretch!” Meng’s Mother seemed completely enraged by those words. She sprang to her feet and raised her hand, delivering a vicious slap.

SLAP!

The crisp sound exploded in the mediation room. Meng Qiaofei’s head snapped to the side from the impact, a red welt rapidly blooming on her left cheek.

“What are you doing?!” Xu Yue shot up furiously, hurrying over to check on Meng Qiaofei’s injury. “Qiaofei! Let me take you to the hospital.”

“I’m fine.” Meng Qiaofei forced a smile, looking coldly at Meng’s Mother. “What right do you have to hit me?”

Her stare made Meng’s Mother’s skin crawl. She subconsciously took a half-step back, though her mouth remained unforgiving. “So what if I hit you? I’m your mother! I can hit you if I want to! You unfilial daughter, turning against your own flesh and blood to help outsiders bully your family!”

Meng Qiaofei sneered. “I’ve done everything humanly possible for you. From today on, I won’t give you another dime. Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me!”

“Qiaofei, let’s go,” Yang Xun said in a deep voice.

He carefully packed up the flowerpot and escorted Xu Yue and Meng Qiaofei out of the mediation room.

As the three reached the end of the corridor, Meng’s Mother’s heart-wrenching screams echoed from behind them. “Meng Qiaofei! If you abandon your brother, don’t ever call me your mother again!”

Meng Qiaofei’s footsteps faltered, but only for a fleeting second. Without looking back, she continued walking forward.

Stepping out of the police station doors, the afternoon sun washed over their faces. Meng Qiaofei stood on the steps, closing her eyes as she let out a long breath.

“Qiaofei, are you okay?” Xu Yue asked with concern, gently squeezing her hand.

“I’m alright. If it wasn’t for what happened today, I wouldn’t have been completely disillusioned.” Meng Qiaofei smiled faintly, having firmly decided to sever ties with her bloodsucking family.

That afternoon, Xu Yue officially hired a lawyer to file a civil lawsuit for intentional damage to property. The lawyer moved swiftly, gathering the surveillance footage, Zhang Bo’s appraisal report, the mediation records, and a full set of evidence to submit the case filing application on the very same day.

Two days later, the court summons was delivered to the Mengs’ home.

Staring at the red seal on the document, Meng’s Mother slumped into her chair like someone had extracted all her bones. She couldn’t speak for a long while.

Still harboring a sliver of hope, she asked around about the price of the Nine Nether Cold Jade Grass. Upon hearing that a sapling of the plant had been destroyed, her contacts urged her to pay up and settle immediately. They warned her that she had to show a good attitude, otherwise taking it to court would likely cost her even more.

Meng’s Mother cried until her eyes were completely bloodshot, looking as though she had aged ten years.

Subsequently, Meng Zehai contacted Xu Yue to request mediation. However, neither Xu Yue nor Yang Xun showed up; they simply sent their lawyer to negotiate. In the end, for Meng Qiaofei’s sake, Yang Xun agreed to let the Meng Family pay a compensation of two million yuan, which could be split into twenty-four installments.

Of course, the most important factor was that the Nine Nether Cold Jade Grass had been saved. Otherwise, Yang Xun certainly wouldn’t have let them off the hook so easily.

But to the Mengs, two million was still a staggering sum. Even with installments, they had to pay over eighty thousand a month. None of them had jobs right now, leaving them with no choice but to eat into their savings.

“What do we do… We’re completely ruined.” Wu Sinic sobbed continuously, even feeling resentment toward Meng Xiaobao, whom she had spoiled since birth.

Meng Zehai sat on the edge of the bed, his head buried in his hands. “What else can we do? Let’s just sell the factory first,” he said in a muffled voice.

The Meng Family listed their small factory for sale, but half a month went by with no buyers. The factory was small to begin with, its equipment outdated, and its location remote. Coupled with Meng Zehai’s poor management over the years, there was even a sum owed to suppliers on the books.

They couldn’t sell it, and keeping it open wouldn’t make them a dime.

Meng’s Mother worried so much that she couldn’t sleep for nights on end, a string of blisters breaking out on her lips. She dragged Meng Zehai around to see several brokers, but the moment they heard it was the Meng Family’s factory, they all shook their heads and waved them off.