Chapter 136: The Hongmen Banquet

Bai Xue held Shi Youxuan's arm, warmly welcoming her into the living room, asking the servants to brew the best tea, wash the best fruit, and bring out the snacks she had brought back from abroad to treat Shi Youxuan.

She also had the chef prepare dinner, go to the countryside to buy fresh organic vegetables just picked from the fields, and use the best ingredients in the house to make signature dishes...

Bai Xue was treating Shi Youxuan entirely according to the standards for a distinguished guest, being incredibly enthusiastic, yet even after sitting for a long time, she did not see Shi Yuke.

She asked, "Auntie, is my sister not home?"

"Oh, she went out shopping; she should be back in a little while."

Bai Xue brushed it off with just one sentence, then changed the subject and showered Shi Youxuan with more praise!

Shi Yuke had indeed gone out shopping; she hadn't lied, but she wouldn't be back in "a little while"—she wouldn't be back until nightfall at the earliest.

Bai Xue had someone call Sheng Yukai; as long as her son returned to discuss the cooperation with Shi Youxuan, it didn't matter if her daughter-in-law came back or not.

However, Shi Youxuan would not let her wishful thinking succeed; with Shi Yuke absent, there was no point in her coming over.

Shi Youxuan stood up to take her leave: "Auntie, since my sister isn't here, I'll be heading back..."

"Don't go yet, A Kai will be back in a moment..." Bai Xue said halfway, then realized it wasn't quite appropriate and immediately changed her tune: "I'll call Yuke and tell her to come back right away."

When Shi Yuke received the call from her mother-in-law and heard that Shi Youxuan had come to the house, she immediately ditched Jiang Siwei and rushed back.

She was extremely anxious the whole way, worried that Shi Youxuan would let something slip about the "gift money," which would be the end of her!

However, after entering the door and seeing her mother-in-law smiling like a Maitreya Buddha, the heart Shi Yuke had been holding in her throat finally settled back down; it was fine, nothing had been exposed.

Shi Yuke knew exactly what kind of person her mother-in-law was—someone who boasted of a noble background but actually had no cultivation at all, turning hostile the moment something wasn't to her benefit, flipping her face faster than turning a page.

Seeing her return, Bai Xue smiled and asked after her, so Shi Youxuan must not have said anything out of line.

"Sister, when did you get back? You didn't even tell me before you returned, so I could have gone to the airport to pick you up..." Shi Yuke ignored her mother-in-law but was very enthusiastic toward Shi Youxuan.

The level of enthusiasm was the same as her mother-in-law's; for a moment, Shi Youxuan even felt that these two hypocritical women shouldn't be mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but mother and daughter!

"Sister, let's go to my room to have a private chat; when dinner is ready, Mother will send someone to call us." Shi Yuke was ultimately feeling guilty, afraid that Shi Youxuan might say something wrong and let it slip, leaving her with no way to explain.

After saying this, she smiled at Bai Xue and added: "Isn't that right, Mom? You go to the kitchen and keep an eye on things; it's a lot of trouble for you to have my family visiting!"

Shi Yuke kept saying "my sister" and "my family," just wanting to use Shi Youxuan's status to add luster to her own face.

Shi Youxuan saw through it, but she wouldn't let Shi Yuke get her way.

"Sister, let's just talk here; there's nothing that Auntie can't hear. You are family, after all; don't be so distant." "Besides, there are kitchen maids for the kitchen, why would Auntie need to go? Even if someone had to go, it should be you, sister; there's no logic in a mother-in-law serving her daughter-in-law..." She was also smiling, smiling even more brightly than Shi Yuke.

Shi Youxuan was speaking from a position of comfort; she didn't live with a mother-in-law and didn't have to acknowledge Wang Yingzhi as one, so she could say whatever she wanted.

Shi Yuke's smile froze on her face.

She wanted to be the good person?

In her heart, she wanted to curse Shi Youxuan from head to toe, but because she needed something from her, she had to keep a smile on her face, her heart and mouth at odds: "Sister is right, I'll listen to you."

Bai Xue was just wondering how to refuse her daughter-in-law when her daughter-in-law's sister relieved her of the trouble, so her smile became much more sincere.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law flanked Shi Youxuan on either side; Bai Xue couldn't go three sentences without mentioning "cooperation" and business, while Shi Yuke desperately tried to steer the conversation toward "sisterly affection"!

She saw it clearly: her mother-in-law wanted to ditch her and connect with Shi Youxuan alone, and she would absolutely not let that happen.

Trying to cast her aside right under her nose? Not a chance.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were locked in a battle of wits, and it was quite lively; Shi Youxuan enjoyed the show so much that she even delayed her plan.

Just before lunch was about to be served, Sheng Jiang and his son returned.

Shi Youxuan immediately dropped her smile and stood up to take her leave: "I'm leaving, sister. The gift in the box is for your wedding."

After saying this, she took a thick red envelope out of her bag and placed it on the coffee table: "This is the gift money; I didn't have time to give it when you got married, so I'm making up for it now."

The air suddenly went quiet; Shi Yuke wished there were a crack in the ground she could crawl into.

"Sister, are you confused? I've already received the gift money, why give more?" She hurriedly picked up the red envelope from the coffee table, stuffing it back into Shi Youxuan's bag while signaling her with her eyes.

The meaning was for her not to talk about it here; the meaning was clear, but Shi Youxuan pretended not to understand: "When did I ever give you gift money?"

After saying this, she patted her own forehead: "It's all my fault for having too much fun out there; I was so busy enjoying the beautiful scenery that I forgot about your wedding... But it doesn't matter if I went or not; we're sisters in name anyway, and our relationship has never been very good. You should be quite happy that I didn't go."

Shi Yuke's face turned red and then white.

She had been clinging to the hope that Shi Youxuan had come here simply to see her, and was just feeling bad about not attending the wedding.

As it turned out, she was here to tear down her facade, and she did it thoroughly!

Bai Xue's expression changed instantly, and she scolded sharply: "Shi Yuke, explain to me what is going on?"

She looked at Sheng Yukai for help, hoping her husband could say something for her; her mother-in-law turning hostile in front of Shi Youxuan made Shi Yuke lose a lot of face.

Actually, losing face and being unable to step down were minor matters; the important thing was that she couldn't explain.

Shi Youxuan was still there; how could she explain?

Not only did Sheng Yukai not help her, but he also pressed her: "Mom is asking you a question, are you going to answer?"

One hundred and fifty million was not a small sum; such a large amount of money was indeed real, and if it wasn't given by Shi Youxuan, where did it come from?

Sheng Yukai wasn't a fool either; he quickly thought of the incident where the Land King data was leaked. He had locked the data securely in a safe, yet it had been leaked without a trace.

Even after investigating the company from top to bottom, they hadn't found the "mole." Could the "mole" have been by his side all along?

Sheng Jiang thought of the same thing.

Both father and son had cold expressions, and the look they cast at Shi Yuke was filled with chill and murderous intent!

The two exchanged a glance; if that were really the case, this woman could absolutely not be kept.

Fine beads of sweat began to ooze from Shi Yuke's forehead; she was so anxious she didn't know what to do. If the truth came out now, not only would her marriage with Sheng Yukai fall apart, but her very life might not be guaranteed...

She began to regret it—regret that she shouldn't have cared so much about face and let her mother impersonate Shi Youxuan on WeChat to fake that screenshot.

She regretted even more that she shouldn't have let Sheng Yukai see the balance on the back of the bank card when he was feeling suspicious!

Now it was all over.

Cold sweat continued to pour down, yet she stammered and couldn't say a word.

At this moment, Shi Youxuan spoke up: "What are you all doing? Although my sister and I didn't have a good relationship in the past, I am still her family; that doesn't mean you can bully her in front of me!"