Chapter 79 ☆ Interrogation (Part 2)

Lin Wangshi was always vicious and mean, and no one tried to persuade her. She cried for a long time and was a little out of breath. Liu Min hurried forward and said, “Mother, don’t be sad.”

At this moment, Cheng Nuonuo spoke up, “Auntie Lin, Sister Yaoyao, please stop arguing. We are discussing Ranran’s marriage today, so let’s not talk about anything else for now.”

“Yes, yes!” Lin Wangshi suddenly understood, rubbed her dry old face, and jumped up, saying to Cheng Yaoyao, “Why are you interrupting? We are talking about my granddaughter now! Lin Dafu! Do you cadres care about this?!”

Lin Dafu deeply disliked Lin Wangshi’s character, but he had to say to Cheng Yaoyao, “Cheng Zhiqing, this is not something a girl like you should interfere with.”

Cheng Yaoyao snorted, “What if I say that I did go back to the village with Lin Ranran last night?”

“What! You’re talking nonsense!” Lin Wangshi exclaimed anxiously.

Cheng Nuonuo asked, “Sister, why were you alone outside so late yesterday? Was there anyone with you?”

Just as Cheng Yaoyao was about to speak, Zhang Aihua grinned and said, “It must have been Xie San who was with her. Everyone in the village knows they’re a couple now. Wherever Cheng Zhiqing is, Xie San is also there.”

Someone in the crowd said sarcastically, “Oh, the grove was really lively last night, two pairs of wild mandarin ducks^[1]refers to sort of lively or scandalous activity happening in the grove the previous night. !”

Xie Zhao suddenly glared at the crowd with a cold gaze, causing the man to shrink back and hide.

Han Yin, anxious, climbed onto the stage and whispered in Cheng Yaoyao’s ear, “Yaoyao, I know you have good intentions, but don’t put yourself in trouble just to help others.”

Cheng Yaoyao hesitated, and Cheng Nuonuo also said to Lin Ranran anxiously, “Ranran, Sister Yaoyao is so good to you. You must not wrongly accuse her to clear yourself.”

Lin Ranran looked around, her eyes filled with fear. She bit her lips tightly and said nothing.

Cheng Yaoyao sneered at Cheng Nuonuo, “You’re so sure I’m wronged, do you think Lin Ranran had something to do with someone last night?”

Cheng Nuonuo said innocently, “I didn’t say that.”

The secretary frowned and said, “Young Cheng Zhiqing^[2]refers to Nuonuo., Lin Ranran is living with you now. Didn’t you prove to the Lin family that Lin Ranran didn’t go home last night?”

Cheng Nuonuo’s lie was exposed. Her face didn’t even turn red as she said, “Yes, I didn’t see Ranran come back all night, but I didn’t say Ranran must not have been at home…”

Cheng Yaoyao said coldly, “Say it again. Are you really sure you didn’t see Lin Ranran return to the room all night? You didn’t lie?”

Cheng Nuonuo remained calm, “Yes.”

Cheng Yaoyao looked down at the audience and smiled without saying anything. Cheng Nuonuo followed her gaze and saw Shen Yan appear in the audience at some point, with an ugly expression on his face. It was clear he had heard everything that had just happened.

Cheng Nuonuo’s heart skipped a beat, and she could no longer maintain her innocent smile. She avoided Shen Yan’s cold gaze and didn’t dare to say a word.

Cheng Yaoyao turned to Lin Dafu and said, “I did meet Lin Ranran last night and sent her back to her home. As for why she couldn’t get into the house all night, I don’t know.”

The Lin Wang family and Zhao Hai immediately shouted loudly, “You’re talking nonsense!”

“Shut up!” Lin Dafu shouted at them and said to Cheng Yaoyao, “Besides you, was there anyone else last night?”

The air suddenly grew quiet as everyone held their breath, waiting for Cheng Yaoyao’s answer.

Cheng Yaoyao glanced at Xie Zhao, whose deep eyes seemed to offer her infinite strength and protection. Cheng Yaoyao smiled slightly and said loudly, “It was Xie Zhao. I was with Xie Zhao last night. We ran into Lin Ranran at the intersection around ten o’clock.”

The crowd erupted in uproar, with a discussion ten times more lively than before. Then a pleasant and clear voice sounded, not too high nor too low, but it suppressed the crowd’s noise: “With Xie Zhao and me as witnesses, isn’t that enough to prove Lin Ranran’s innocence?”

“Bah! Don’t be…” Lin Wangshi, intimidated by Xie Zhao’s fierce gaze, swallowed her curse words and continued, “You went into the woods with a man in the middle of the night and now you testify for others! How can anyone believe what you say!”

Zhao Hai also shouted, “Oh, no wonder when I was whispering to Ranran last night, I kept hearing other noises! It turns out Ranran ran into you guys while heading back!”

Cheng Yaoyao stared at Zhao Hai. “The wind was so strong at ten o’clock, how could you hear anything else?”

Zhao Hai smiled and said, “The wind was strong, but women’s voices are even sharper!”

The crowd burst into malicious laughter again.

Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, “You’re lying! I met Lin Ranran before nine o’clock last night!”

“Well… I remembered it wrong. Nine or ten o’clock is about the same!” Zhao Hai said hurriedly.

Lin Dafu said sternly, “Think carefully. Is it nine o’clock or ten o’clock?”

Zhao Hai stammered, “Nine… Oh no, ten o’clock, it’s ten o’clock!”

Xie Zhao stared at him coldly. “We left the cowshed before seven last night and ran into Lin Ranran on the road at almost eight. There was no strong wind last night!”

Each of Xie Zhao’s words left Zhao Hai speechless.

Cheng Yaoyao took the opportunity to address the crowd. “This guy dared to act like a hooligan in front of everyone and bully the girls from Tianshui Village. Does he really think Tianshui Village is easy to bully?”

The villagers started to curse: “Go back to your village! We will break your legs!”

Zhao Hai’s face flushed, sweat poured down like rain, and he turned to run away, but Lin Wangshi grabbed him and said, “Grandson-in-law, we agreed on a marriage!”

Zhao Hai angrily pushed her away. “Get lost! You made me feed mosquitoes all night for nothing, and now I’m still playing monkey tricks with you! You’ll pay for this at home!”

After Zhao Hai finished speaking, he slid off the stage and ran away amid the villagers’ shouts and curses.

Only the Lin Wang family and Cheng Nuonuo remained on stage.

Cheng Yaoyao smiled at Lin Wangshi and said, “I have a question for you. You asked your granddaughter to go to the next village to deliver something in the middle of the night. What is your intention? And Zhao Hai just said he waited in the grove all night. Who asked him to go?”

Everyone said, “It must have been Mrs. Lin who arranged it!”

“You’ve lost your conscience!”

“Your eldest son just died; aren’t you afraid of retribution?!”

Cheng Yaoyao added faintly, “Today is the Ghost Festival~”

Lin Wangshi’s eyes rolled around, and suddenly she collapsed, rolling her eyes and falling to the ground. Liu Min hurriedly called out, “Mother, what’s wrong with you? I’ll help you back home!”

Zhang Aihua watched with a grin, then quickly took Lin Wangshi’s other arm. Her rough hands and feet almost broke Lin Wangshi’s old bones as the whole family ran away in shame.

Cheng Nuonuo tried to take advantage of the situation and escape, but Zhang Xiaofeng blocked her way and shouted, “You haven’t finished your work yet.”

Cheng Nuonuo laughed dryly. “Squad leader, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Zhang Xiaofeng looked at her with an ambiguous expression and said, “What else can you do besides wrongly accuse someone?”

Cheng Nuonuo rolled her eyes, unsure of her thoughts. Cheng Yaoyao said, “Cheng Nuonuo, didn’t you say that Lin Ranran didn’t go home all night? What else do you have to say now?”

Cheng Nuonuo, a veteran white lotus, ^[3]which is a term for someone who pretends to be virtuous while being deceitful. calmed down quickly and said innocently, “I slept too soundly and really didn’t hear Ranran calling at the door. When she didn’t come back all night, I told the truth. I didn’t mean to wrongly accuse you. Ranran, please believe me…”

Lin Ranran wiped her tears and avoided Cheng Nuonuo’s hand without saying a word.

Cheng Nuonuo said to Cheng Yaoyao again, “Sister Yaoyao, thanks to you for coming out to clarify. Otherwise, Ranran would have been wrongly accused. Who would have thought you were still outside so late?”

This made everyone look at Cheng Yaoyao. Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Zhao coming back from outside in the middle of the night was much more exciting than the situation between Lin Ranran and Zhao Hai. Who was Cheng Yaoyao? An educated youth from the city. There hadn’t been such a beauty in Tianshui Village for hundreds of years.

Since Cheng Yaoyao arrived in the village, many people had been fascinated by her, but they never imagined she would be with Xie Zhao. Xie Zhao was the son of a landlord! Even the most idle Lin Goudan had a higher class status than him!

Someone immediately said, “What is Cheng Zhiqing doing going out with Xie San so late at night?”

“Then Zhao Hai said he heard a woman’s voice; could it be…”

“Stop talking nonsense!” The educated youth shouted at them loudly, but they couldn’t suppress the crowd’s excitement.

As soon as Xie Zhao moved, Cheng Yaoyao said, “I’ll handle it.”

Xie Zhao shook his head slightly, his eyes full of concern. Cheng Yaoyao smiled brightly and frankly, and repeated again, “Don’t worry.”

Cheng Yaoyao addressed the crowd, “Yesterday, I went to the cowshed to buy goat milk. I saw a cute newborn lamb, so I stayed a little longer. It was only seven o’clock when Xie San and I came out, and it was already dark. I met Lin Ranran on the road and was delayed a bit. I got home at 8:10. You can calculate how long it usually takes to walk from the cowshed to the village. The lamb has a tuft of curly hair on its head and a small notch on its right front hoof. If you don’t believe me, you can check it out, and the people in the cowshed can testify.”

“I was the one who delivered that lamb. There was a cut on its hoof!” someone shouted.

Someone else said, “It’s fast to get back to the village from the cowshed in an hour. If they had something to do, how could they get home so quickly?”

Another person added, “It’s hard to explain why a girl would walk alone at night with Xie San! I heard they were watching a melon field a while ago and stayed there all night…”

“You’re talking nonsense! How could Yaoyao have anything to do with the landlord’s son?!” Shen Yan roared and grabbed the gossiping person.

The man, unwilling to be outdone, pushed Shen Yan away and started hitting him. The villagers quickly separated them, but Shen Yan was an outsider, so the villagers sided with the locals, and Shen Yan ended up with bruises all over his handsome face.

Cheng Nuonuo screamed, ran off the stage, and threw herself at Shen Yan. “Stop fighting! Ah Yan, Ah Yan, are you okay?”

Everyone was shocked by their dramatic embrace, and no one spoke for a while. Shen Yan, beaten so badly he couldn’t move, was unable to push Cheng Nuonuo away, who clung to him like a dog-skin plaster. For a moment, he was too angry and anxious to react.

Onlookers murmured, “Tsk tsk, this Shen Zhiqing is so good looking. Why doesn’t he go with Cheng Zhiqing, but instead falls for this young Cheng Zhiqing?”

“Oh, I remember now. I got up before dawn to collect manure and saw this educated youth, Cheng, returning to the village from the direction of the woods. Why did she come back from outside the village so early in the morning?”

Someone immediately asked, “Could it be that the wild mandarin ducks Zhao Hai heard about were these Young Cheng Zhiqing and Shen Zhiqing?”

“You! I…” Cheng Nuonuo’s face flushed. She lay in Shen Yan’s arms and shook her head in panic. “No, it’s impossible! You must have seen it wrong. Ah Yan and I didn’t…”

Cheng Yaoyao planted her feet firmly, eagerly watching Cheng Nuonuo’s melodramatic performance. “Just watch a little longer, just a little longer…”

Xie Zhao grabbed Cheng Yaoyao’s wrist and mercilessly dragged her away. Everyone’s attention was on Cheng Nuonuo and Shen Yan, and no one noticed that Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Zhao had quietly left.