Hou Mingzhu’s expression was one of genuine impatience.
Even though she and Helian Yue were good friends, after so many unpleasant events, one after another, even Hou Mingzhu was starting to lose her patience.
Friendship didn't mean everything could be overlooked, and Hou Mingzhu's patience was not infinite.
Ye Tiancheng gave a wry smile, "I'm afraid we can't leave for now."
Hearing Ye Tiancheng say this, Hou Mingzhu knew that there must have been some significant trouble, and it was closely related to their side.
Hou Mingzhu frowned, "What happened this time?"
Ye Tiancheng thought about his wording and then recounted all the previous events to Hou Mingzhu, starting from Mo Huaifeng's appearance, the mistaken room, being caught by him, then Helian Yi and the others bursting into the room and catching them in the act, and then later him coming to find Xiao Huli, going to find Pang Zi together, and finally discovering Pang Zi and Helian Yue in the same room.
Even then, Ye Tiancheng hadn't told Hou Mingzhu his suspicions about these events and the possible motives of the people behind them. Hou Mingzhu immediately reacted, "Does their Helian family want to pair you and Ah Yue together?"
Hou Mingzhu's face instantly turned extremely unpleasant.
Ye Tiancheng was her husband. They were legally married, with a marriage certificate. This was a very formal marital relationship, and it was different from Ye Tiancheng's previous status as a son-in-law to her.
With this layer of relationship, and Helian Yue being her good sister,
With these two factors combined, for the Helian family to do something like this showed they completely disregarded her.
Seeing Hou Mingzhu so angry, Ye Tiancheng quickly comforted her, "Don't be angry, don't be angry. It's not worth getting upset over these people. I'll be more careful in the future."
Hou Mingzhu asked with a serious expression, "Does Ah Yue know about these things?"
Ye Tiancheng was stunned. After a few seconds, he replied, "I don't think so. After all, she and Pang Zi were in the same room, and then..."
He hadn't had time to say what he saw when he found Pang Zi and Helian Yue in the same room.
Hou Mingzhu exclaimed, "Are you serious?"
Ye Tiancheng nodded with a bitter expression, "Yes, what shouldn't have happened has happened, and I don't know if it's over yet. Because the situation was quite awkward, it was too late to stop it. The Helian family wouldn't dare do anything to Pang Zi at this critical moment, so I didn't interfere, thinking that Pang Zi would contact us when he woke up. But Pang Zi hasn't contacted us yet."
Hou Mingzhu's mood became very complicated.
Frankly, Hou Mingzhu would naturally feel uncomfortable knowing what the Helian family was plotting behind the scenes. But knowing what happened to Helian Yue also made her feel a bit distressed.
Precisely because they were sisters for many years, Hou Mingzhu knew what kind of person Helian Yue was. She would definitely be very upset if something like this happened.
If it were anyone else, Hou Mingzhu would definitely go to rescue and comfort her good sister. But the current situation was very complicated. She couldn't help but care about Helian Yue, but when it came to other matters, she was somewhat hesitant to act because of her own feelings, and ultimately wouldn't do anything.
At the same time, Hou Mingzhu was also very clear about what this meant.
Her relationship with Helian Yue was over.
Hou Mingzhu subconsciously raised her hand and rubbed her forehead. Ye Tiancheng quickly reacted, stepped forward, and began to massage her forehead. Hou Mingzhu was slightly stunned, leaned gently into Ye Tiancheng's embrace, and remained silent for a long time.
After an unknown amount of time, Hou Mingzhu finally spoke.
"I don't think I can get angry anymore."
Ye Tiancheng knew this was a normal reaction. After all, the people involved were special. It was impossible for Hou Mingzhu not to mind, but to say she was angry, Hou Mingzhu probably couldn't muster the anger.
He then roughly explained everything he knew and his deductions based on it to Hou Mingzhu.
After listening, Hou Mingzhu confirmed Ye Tiancheng's suspicions, "Your guess is probably nine out of ten correct. It's likely all these things. It should be the Helian family, especially their elder, who believes you have great value for them to win over, that's why they did this."
"We had a very strained relationship with the Helian family before. To be honest, to truly mend relations, you and I both know it's impossible. They should understand this, which is why they ultimately chose to do this. Sacrificing Ah Yue for the benefit of the Helian family is not uncommon within a family."
Ye Tiancheng's mood became complicated, "I really don't understand what you rich people think. If it were me, and I had to sacrifice Qingcheng like this, I definitely wouldn't be able to do it. If anyone dared to suggest it, I think I would get so angry I'd hit them."
Hou Mingzhu said helplessly, "If it were me, wouldn't it be the same?"
Saying that, Hou Mingzhu added, "We don't need to worry too much about this. With the two of us here, no one above us can suppress us. We will definitely not sacrifice Qingcheng's happiness. We will let her grow up well and absolutely will not trade her for any benefits."
Ye Tiancheng knew very well how much Hou Mingzhu loved their daughter and knew that Hou Mingzhu was telling the truth.
Ye Tiancheng said, "I just don't know what to do about Pang Zi and Helian Yue in the end. This kind of thing suddenly happened, and neither of them wanted it. It's truly terrible."
Hou Mingzhu thought for a moment and reminded Ye Tiancheng, "Even though this happened, Ah Yue is still part of the Helian family, and she is the daughter of the patriarch. No matter how much she loses after this, things won't get any worse for her. But we need to protect Pang Zi. It would be bad if they took their frustration out on him."
Ye Tiancheng nodded, "I know. That's why I've already warned the Helian family patriarch. As long as he has a brain, he definitely won't harm Pang Zi."
"After this matter is resolved publicly, we should all leave. This is really not a good place, and we shouldn't have been held back here all this time."
Hou Mingzhu had no objections. The facts had already proven that staying with the Helian family would not lead to anything good, and Hou Mingzhu truly didn't want to stay any longer.
Ye Tiancheng clarified everything with Hou Mingzhu and then checked the time, realizing it was very late. He said to Hou Mingzhu, "At this hour, if we don't sleep, we won't have energy tomorrow. Let's rest for a while. You should go to sleep early too. If there's anything else, it will be tomorrow's business."
Hou Mingzhu nodded, then asked Ye Tiancheng, "Are you staying to rest too? Don't get too tired."
Ye Tiancheng thought for a moment and said, "I don't know if there will be any other issues on my end. It might disturb your sleep. I'll go to Xiao Huli's place. That way, I won't be too far from you."
Seeing that Ye Tiancheng had an idea, Hou Mingzhu didn't object and agreed with his statement.
Then, Hou Mingzhu saw Ye Tiancheng out. Ye Tiancheng returned to Xiao Huli's place. Xiao Huli hadn't returned yet, but they hadn't locked the door when they left, so Ye Tiancheng could enter without being blocked outside.
However, after waking up, Ye Tiancheng had no sleepiness. Perhaps he had been feeling drowsy for a while, and after regaining some energy, it wasn't easy to fall asleep again. Ye Tiancheng decided to sit in the room and play on his phone, waiting for news from Xiao Huli or Pang Zi.
Xiao Huli returned around 3 AM.
Hearing the knock on the door, Ye Tiancheng went to open it and saw Xiao Huli returning. After entering the room, Xiao Huli briefly told Ye Tiancheng about his findings.
Xiao Huli told Ye Tiancheng, "I went out to gather some information, and it's basically confirmed that the Helian family patriarch didn't arrange this. However, it's highly likely that Helian Sheng did it."
"Helian Sheng arranged for people to plan the drugging of you, and also to arrange the rooms, but the person arranging the rooms made a mistake. That person, oh, that person you don't know the name of, his name is Mo Huaifeng, a distant relative whom the Helian family considers to be freeloading."
"When Mo Huaifeng bribed the servant, that servant only knew the wrong room number. The room they were supposed to arrange was on the ninth floor. They made a mistake with your room, Brother. And the person Mo Huaifeng bribed also knew the wrong room, which led to Mo Huaifeng's mistake."
"These servants only knew part of the plan and didn't know the full extent of what was being done. The reason that servant knew the wrong room number but didn't know you would be inside is also for this reason."
"I think that to be able to do this, it's basically confirmed that it was done by someone within the Helian family. The only person who could make the Helian family patriarch speechless, or even approve of it, I think it can only be Helian Sheng."
After listening to Xiao Huli's account and analysis, Ye Tiancheng thought about it and concluded that this was the most likely scenario.
Ye Tiancheng said, "I understand. Thank you for your trouble, Xiao Huli."
Xiao Huli shook his head and said, "What's the trouble with asking a few questions? It's nothing for me. It's good that I can help you, Brother. By the way, have you told your wife about this?"
Ye Tiancheng replied, "Yes, I told her. Mingzhu's mood must be complicated. However, our intention is to leave this place as soon as this matter is resolved. There's nothing good happening here day after day, it really makes it unbearable to stay."
Xiao Huli also sighed, "I really don't understand what they're thinking, trying to match you with the Helian family's eldest daughter. If they really succeed, how can it end well? Sister-in-law would definitely be very upset, and might even cause a scene with them. Aren't they afraid of offending the Hou family?"
Ye Tiancheng shrugged, "For the sake of profit, as long as they think it's worth it, it doesn't seem too strange. If the loss from offending the Hou family is less than the profit they can gain, then why wouldn't they do it?"
Saying that, Ye Tiancheng explained to Xiao Huli the possible reasons for the Helian family's actions.
"Tsk tsk," Xiao Huli shook his head repeatedly, "They completely didn't consider that you, Brother, might not cooperate with them at all. I don't know where they get their confidence from, thinking that everyone will be manipulated by them."
"Perhaps they've been in high positions for too long and don't consider others' thoughts," Ye Tiancheng said.
In a way, this could be considered a common problem for those in high positions. They lack empathy and tend to be arrogant and self-centered. Even those with better tempers can't avoid having similar issues without realizing it.
Moreover, within their circle, everyone thinks the same way, so they don't see it as a problem. However, for those who enter their circle from outside, they certainly can't empathize and will find it incomprehensible and unacceptable.
Xiao Huli asked Ye Tiancheng again, "How is Brother Pang Zi? Has he contacted you?"
Ye Tiancheng shook his head and replied, "No, I don't know what the situation is over there."
As for Pang Zi's situation, at that very moment, Pang Zi had already woken up for some time, but because of the complexity of the situation, he was still in that room and hadn't left.