The two of them were so shocked by the sight that they quickly took a few steps back. However, both Xu Lan and Liu Fen knew very well that the man lying on the bed was neither Xia Xing nor Xia Wen.
This was because Xia Wen was born with a birthmark on his neck. In the past, they had also heard from Wu Min that Xia Xing had many moles on his back. There was nothing on that man's back, so it was obvious that he was not one of these two kids from the Xia family.
The thing that made Xu Lan so shocked was the actions taken by Qiao Mei and Xia Wen. She had thought that they were just going to spoil the Shao family's scheme and make their efforts go to waste. She did not expect these children to be so cutthroat as to find another man to take part in the dirty deed with Shao Yin.
"See! You have to give us an explanation!" Shao Chun said.
"How do you know who's the person lying on the bed! His back is facing us. What right do you have to blame this on our Xia family!" Liu Fen said.
"If it's not Xia Xing, then it must be Xia Wen!" Huang Ning said immediately.
These few women kept arguing non-stop, making Qiao Mei's head hurt. She picked up a big stick from the side and smashed it on the ground as she said, "Stop arguing! Just go in and see who that man is! What's the point of arguing here!"
The entire yard fell silent. Fortunately, they had not quarreled too loudly just now and the surrounding neighbors probably did not hear them. Otherwise, this alley would be very lively with gossip for a while again.
Xu Lan was the first person to enter the room. She reached out to flip the man onto his back and present his face to everyone. When the Shao family members saw that it was Shao Xian lying on the bed, they gasped in shock.
"How can this be!" Bian Duo said in shock.
"Open your bloody eyes and take a good look! Is this man from our Xia family or your Shao family! Don't wrongly accuse our Xia family!" Xu Lan stood in front of the bed haughtily and pointed at Shao Xian.
Qiao Mei immediately covered her mouth and exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! How can such a thing happen!"
Xia He was still rooted to the spot. She never dreamed that Xia Wen would come up with such a plan. Shao Xian and Shao Yin were cousins. The two of them could not be in a relationship. This was going against society's morals and values!
Qiao Mei quickly stepped on Xia He's foot to make her come back to her senses. Xia He immediately yelled out, "Huh! Then how can she still get married! How can your Shao family do such a thing!"
Shao Yin had been pretending to be asleep the entire time. She was waiting for the moment when they would be caught in the act. However, from the contents of the conversation happening around her, things did not seem to have gone as planned.
She quietly opened her eyes and realized that it was not Xia Wen lying beside her, but Shao Xian. She was so shocked that she jumped up and wrapped herself tightly with the blanket.
"Ah!!!"
It would have been better if she had not tugged at the blanket because when she did that, she basically caused Shao Xian to be exposed to everyone. Shao Xian was completely naked, but Shao Yin was not wearing a stitch as well. Everyone could see that Shao Yin's undergarments were on the floor!
Huang Ning quickly took off her coat and covered Shao Xian's body. Qiao Mei instructed Xu Kang to bring over another blanket to cover Shao Xian. It was not because she was kind-hearted, but more like she was worried that everyone would get an eye stye from looking at such an indecent image!
"This is all a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!" Shao Chun said.
"Misunderstanding? What kind of misunderstanding is this? There's a man and a woman lying naked on the same bed. What kind of misunderstanding is this?" Qiao Mei questioned.
"How can you interrupt when the elders are talking!" Shao Chun shouted.
Xu Lan looked at Shao Chun unhappily and said, "My daughter-in-law can speak for me! Do you have a problem with that?"
"No... no..." Shao Chun said softly.
She did not know that Qiao Mei had such a high status in the Xia family, and that a village girl from the countryside could actually be so highly regarded by the Xia family. What had Shao Yin been doing during this period of time while staying with the Xia family! She did not seem to have found out any of such important information.
The information that Shao Yin sent home did not give any indication of the status of each person in the Xia family. She only said that the Xia family was very particular about family hierarchy and etiquette, which was why they thought that Qiao Mei was not favored in the family. n()o//v-/e//l-.b-.I-/n
"Now it's your family's turn to give us an explanation," Xu Lan said.
"This... Shao Xian and Shao Yin are like siblings. Even if they sleep in the same bed, nothing will ever happen between them!" Huang Ning explained.