When all the womenfolk in the family were asked to come out of the main house, Qiao Mei also came out of the kitchen to cooperate with the investigation. All of Section Chief Chu’s subordinates went into the house to do the search. The floor tiles in the house were all pried open and examined bit by bit. Qiao Mei did not feel any heartache when she watched the Cao family’s side of the house collapse, but she felt upset now as she saw the house being stripped bare. This was a historical building. Once it was damaged, it could never be returned to its original state.

Even if the Cao family’s side was not pulled down by Qiao Mei, it would still be considered unsafe for habitation as the foundation had been made unstable by their digging. However, if the house remained standing, the Cao family would continue to occupy it. She had no choice but to pull it down.

When Xia Xiu received the news about what happened, she rushed over from the army unit and only managed to reach the house now. As soon as she entered, she saw the Xia family members standing outside and the people inside digging away. On the way, she had already learned the whole story and so she did not ask much.

“Oh, Eldest Aunt is here.” Qiao Mei smiled at Xia Xiu, who arrived much later than the others.

Xia Xiu looked at Qiao Mei and asked, “How are you? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Qiao Mei shook her head. She thought it seemed that Eldest Aunt was still quite fond of her, given that Eldest Aunt checked on her as soon as she entered the house. The earlier misunderstanding was something they could put behind them.

“I’m fine.” Qiao Mei looked at the floor tiles and sighed silently.

“It’s alright. There are probably cracks on the old floor. Take this opportunity to put in a new floor,” Xia Xiu said grandly.

Qiao Mei looked at Xia Xiu and smiled. It seemed that Eldest Aunt was quite an easy person to get along with. Xia Xiu did not have Xia Fang’s gentle temperament and she was more capable and forthright. She looked a little fierce but was actually very protective of her loved ones.

“I haven’t had the chance to apologize to you for what happened the last time. I believed in slanderous gossip without checking it out and ended up maligning you,” Xia Xiu said as she looked at Qiao Mei seriously.

Qiao Mei could tell that Xia Xiu really wanted to get along well with her and said gently, “It’s fine. It was just an oversight on the part of Eldest Aunt. I don’t blame you.”

The kitchen was in a mess, so Qiao Mei could only bring out everything to cook outdoors. When Xia Zhe saw this, he hurriedly went over to help out. Before long, the fragrant dough soup was ready.

Of course, Section Chief Chu and his team did not get a share of the food. They could only smell it but were unable to eat it and it made them feel terrible.

Xia Mao deliberately stood at the door to drink the soup. He was overjoyed to see them working on an empty stomach.

In the end, they did not manage to dig out anything by the time night fell. Wei Huai brought Section Chief Chu with him to apologize to the Xia family, and then they announced in front of the neighbors that someone made a malicious report against the Xia family but nothing was found in the house.

There were experts everywhere in the courtyard at the moment. If none of them managed to dig anything up, there must be nothing underground.

Wei Huai left with Section Chief Chu and his team, and Xia Wen sent off all the experts who were his colleagues. Xia Mao and Xia Xiu went to deal with the aftermath of this matter, leaving Xia Wen, Xia Zhe and the remaining womenfolk in the house.

“The repairs for this place won’t be completed so fast. Come stay at my place,” Xia Fang said.

Qiao Mei thought for a moment and shook her head. “I’m worried that I will fight with Kong Li. Aunt, I think we’d better not.”

Xia Wen looked at the courtyard and said, “Leave the repair work to me. Our school has experts in the architecture department and many students. We can get them to come over to help out, and they can also make use of the chance to learn about such buildings.”

Xia Zhe nodded and said, “Thank you, elder brother.”

From the looks of it, Xia Xiu probably intended to get He Ning to hire someone to repair the courtyard. However, he would not dare to use someone that the He family hired. If these people were to plant something inside while repairing the courtyard so as to frame the Xia family, they would find it hard to explain themselves. It was better to use people whom his elder brother knew, as he would be able to check on their backgrounds.

“Let’s go, Xiao Jing. We’ll go make the arrangements now.” Xia Wen held Tan Jing’s hand to leave together.

Tan Jing looked at Zhou Hua reluctantly. She was still waiting for Zhou Hua to ask about the things underground so that she could also benefit from the knowledge.

Xia Wen could tell what Tan Jing was thinking and he looked downcasted. He pulled Tan Jing away without further ado and she had no choice but to leave with him.