Chapter 48: The Flaw

Qi Yunyan also wore a disapproving look as he pulled Shen Mengli back.

"Shen Mengli, what are you talking about? How could Hehua be a liar? What would she even lie to me for?"

"You absolute blockhead, you'd help count the money after being sold! Do you really think she's only after a bit of your money? She wants you! Once she becomes your woman, given the immense power and wealth of the Prince's Estate, what won't you have in the future? Why can't you see through something so obvious?"

These words caused a subtle flash of emotion across Hehua's face, but it was immediately caught by Shen Mengli.

Hmph, a liar indeed.

"You keep calling her a liar, but where is your proof?"

"If you want proof, why don't you just report it to the authorities? Let the officials investigate, and everything will be crystal clear. Her identity is probably completely fabricated; checking the household registry will expose her instantly."

Hearing the word "authorities," Hehua trembled with fear.

"Miss, how truly venomous your heart is! You actually want to send me to the yamen. I am truly wronged."

Shen Mengli couldn't be bothered to waste any more breath on her. "Are you leaving or not? If you don't leave, I'll summon the bailiffs right now and send you inside to taste prison food."

Seeing that Shen Mengli meant business, Hehua shrank back. "You're slandering me."

Qi Yunyan watched her retreating motion, and with the unnatural expression on her face, a thoughtful look crept into his eyes.

Could everything Shen Mengli said be true?

Was Hehua truly a fraud?

"Since there is a road to heaven and you refuse to take it, yet you insist on crashing through the gates of hell, if you're so bent on courting disaster, I'll give you a push. We're going to report this to the authorities right now."

With that, Shen Mengli grabbed Hehua by the collar and dragged her toward the direction of the magistrate's office.

This completely frightened Hehua out of her wits.

She hurriedly broke free, shoved Shen Mengli away with all her might, and bolted after dropping a single phrase:

"Vile bitch, you just wait!"

Shen Mengli couldn't help wondering if these scammers shared some strange quirk; whenever their schemes were exposed, they all loved to tell people to just wait.

If she really waited here, would any of them dare to show up?

Watching Hehua's hurried, fleeing figure, Qi Yunyan finally realized that he had indeed been swindled.

"Shen Mengli, how did you know that woman just now was a fraud?" Qi Yunyan asked out of curiosity.

"There were three glaring flaws about them."

"Which three?"

"First, the clothes we usually wear aren't likely to be identical, are they? Some people prefer buying fabric to have clothes made, while those who are better off buy ready-made garments. Two strangers are unlikely to wear clothes made from the exact same material because they go to different textile shops, and the tailoring methods differ too. But those two people just now? Their garments were made from the exact same fabric, and judging by the stitching, they were sewn by the very same person. Tell me, how could such a coincidence possibly exist?"

"Second, that Hehua claimed her family was impoverished. In poor households, they can't afford to hire help, so all the heavy and dirty chores are done by themselves. By her own account, she must do physical labor frequently. Yet her hands are fair and tender, without a single callus. They are by no means the hands of someone who does manual labor; instead, they look just like the hands of a pampered young lady of privilege."

"Third, earlier at the entrance of the Treasure Pavilion, I vaguely caught a glimpse of those two standing together and talking. It was obvious they already knew each other, yet they deliberately put on an act of being total strangers. They must have been startled by your lavish spending at the Treasure Pavilion earlier. Like fish catching the scent of bait or starving wolves spotting fresh meat, who else would they target if not you?"

"Of course, there was one more thing that finally confirmed to me beyond a doubt that they were frauds."