The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 471 - 470 Noble Patronage

Pei Ke was arrested by the police in Ao City.

He was detained by customs officials in Ao City while crossing the border, and they found an expensive batch of diamonds on him.

In Ao City at that time, being a smuggler was a very common grey occupation. There’s a saying, "Law does not punish numerous offenders," so even if one was caught, generally by paying sufficient fines, they could avoid criminal charges.

But this time, Pei Ke ran into big trouble.

The batch of diamonds he was smuggling was loot from a robbery.

Similar robberies had occurred several times in Ao City, and the police had not been able to solve them. Under great pressure, Pei Ke happened to be caught in the crossfire.

Clearly, Pei Ke became the scapegoat.

Once the charges of the robbers were confirmed, he would likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

Adding up several cases, the amount involved exceeded tens of millions.

After understanding the whole situation, Shen Mingzhu also became a bit panicked.

She forced herself to calm down, "Ms. La, could you trouble you with one more thing, please help my uncle hire a decent lawyer, I will hurry over to handle this."

"You might not understand the system and rules in Ao City, here, judicial is greater than the statutory law."

The implication was that lawyers could not settle this matter.

Shen Mingzhu was truly panicked now, her palms breaking out in a thin sweat.

"Ms. La, please show me a clear path. My husband’s parents passed away early, and we have only this one elder left in the world. We can’t just sit by and let an old man spend the second half of his life in prison."

"Alright, wait for my news."

La Shiran agreed so readily that it left Shen Mingzhu feeling unsure.

With such a big issue at hand, would the other party really help her? Or was it just a perfunctory response?

Shen Mingzhu had a mess in her head, but she didn’t forget what was important.

She first called Pei Yang, then called Yan Su to ask her to help with her and Pei Yang’s visas.

Even if the hope was slim, she had to take a trip to Ao City.

Afterward, Shen Mingzhu gathered the heads of each department for an impromptu meeting to arrange work for the upcoming week.

Having finished these tasks, Shen Mingzhu called Pei Wenping, briefly explaining Pei Ke’s situation, and also entrusted the care of her home and two children to Pei Wenping.

By the time she finished everything, it was already evening.

The setting sun was like blood, turning the entire sky red as if it were flames ablaze.

Shen Mingzhu’s heart was just as turbulent as these fiery clouds.

Pei Yang returned to Fengcheng at dawn.

The couple sat together all night, discussing plans and also preparing for the worst.

The visas were obtained at noon the next day.

Shen Mingzhu immediately bought tickets for the earliest flight to Shenzhen City.

Before leaving, Shen Mingzhu made a special call to La Shiran to inform her of their itinerary and asked her to look after Pei Ke until they arrived in Ao City.

"Don’t rush over just yet."

Shen Mingzhu’s heart tightened, "Ms. La, has there been any change in my uncle’s case?"

"Yes, pretty much."

La Shiran’s tone remained light and airy, with a jasmine-like elegance and sweetness that had a calming magic.

"I’ve solved half of your uncle’s problem for you. The other half, you have to solve yourselves."

Shen Mingzhu’s heartbeat quickened, "Ms. La, what do you mean?"

"Your uncle is lucky. Yesterday the police caught two of the main suspects in the robbery."

"The case has been investigated clearly, and it has nothing to do with your uncle. However, he is suspected of smuggling. The police suggest either imprisonment or a fine."

Shen Mingzhu immediately chose the latter, without hesitation, and did not forget to thank La Shiran repeatedly.

La Shiran spoke lightly, but Shen Mingzhu knew it was not that easy.

On the surface, with the main culprits caught, Pei Ke, the scapegoat, became expendable.

But even if they knew Pei Ke was innocent, the police would not easily release him.

That would undoubtedly tell the world that they had arrested the wrong person.

The authorities were always high and mighty, and how could they allow a trivial figure like an ant to tarnish the police force’s reputation.

Mingzhu owed La Shiran a huge favor.

A fine of fifty thousand Australian Dollars, at the current exchange rate, was roughly two hundred and forty thousand.

Shen Mingzhu had only one hundred and ninety thousand in total, still short of fifty thousand.

Pei Wenping had taken fifteen thousand, and the remaining thirty-five thousand were borrowed by Pei Yang.

After all, Pei Ke was his uncle, so he, as a nephew, should contribute some effort and not let Shen Mingzhu bear everything.

While Pei Yang was scrambling to raise money, a cousin visited and advised the couple not to bother with Pei Ke.

"Your uncle, he’s been no good since he was young, always up to theft and trouble, and it’s always Pei Yang’s father who cleans up his messes."

"The reason he went to Hong City in the first place was that he caused trouble, injured someone, and was kicked out by the old man."

"He’s just a rotten person. Why bother with him? You’ve barely saved up some assets, and now you’re going to pour it into this bottomless pit—are you foolish or what?"

Perhaps fearing that Shen Mingzhu would refuse to spend the money to save Pei Ke, Pei Yang hurriedly explained as soon as the cousin left—

"When my uncle was young, he indeed messed around and did a lot of silly things, but he’s not that bad."

"During the famine years, when we couldn’t even eat bark, it was my uncle who stole food from all over so we wouldn’t starve to death."

"The person he injured was a notorious ruffian who often harassed the young girls on the same street; grandfather kicked him out to protect him."

Whether a person is good or bad isn’t determined by what is said, but by their actions.

At least from what she had seen, she didn’t think Pei Ke was a villain.

Otherwise, Pei’s father wouldn’t have been so concerned about Pei Ke, his brother, even on his deathbed.

"Is the money all collected?"

Hearing her question, Pei Yang knew she hadn’t been swayed by the cousin’s words and breathed a sigh of relief.

"We’re still a bit short. I’ll go ask Brother Zhao."

As soon as he finished speaking, he headed for the door, only to be stopped by Pei Ziheng, who had just returned home from school.

"Dad, here."

Pei Yang took the thick envelope that was handed to him and opened it up.

Man, it was all money.

"Where did this come from?"

"Mine."

"How do you have so much money?"

"I saved it."

Pei Yang wanted to ask more, but Pei Ziheng’s face tightened, "Instead of interrogating me, you’d better hurry and bring Uncle back."

That was true.

Pei Yang immediately went to the bank to transfer the money to Ao City, then took a plane to Shenzhen City, and from there, he took a boat to Ao City.

Three days later.

"Mingzhu."

Hearing Pei Ke’s voice on the phone, Shen Mingzhu finally relaxed her tense nerves.

"Uncle, it’s good that you’re okay."

"Yeah, I’m fine."

Pei Ke’s voice on the other end of the phone was slightly choked, filled with gratitude and guilt, "I’ve caused trouble for you and Yang this time. I really have no face to see you again."

"Uncle, don’t think like that. We are a family and should help each other through tough times."

"However, it’s also fortunate that a kind person helped out this time, otherwise we would’ve been unable to do anything. Uncle, please don’t do this work anymore."

"Yeah, I won’t do it again, never again."

For twenty thousand dollars, he almost threw away the rest of his life, and Pei Ke felt both scared and regretful.

After speaking with her, Pei Ke passed the phone to Pei Yang.

Pei Yang told her his return date over the phone and then mentioned another matter, "Mingzhu, there’s another troublesome thing..."