Chapter 15.2

In the military hospital’s cadre ward.

Mei Baoying’s face had been stitched up with seven or eight stitches, and her head was wrapped like a rice dumpling. A young nurse entered and brought in a parcel wrapped in green silk. “Ms. Mei, someone outside sent this parcel in, saying it was for you to wash and change clothes. There’s also a letter here.”

The housemaids at home were all under Cui Pingzhou’s authority; no one would kindly bring her anything. Mei Baoying took the parcel and asked, “Where is the person?”

“They just dropped it off and left.”

Mei Baoying opened the parcel, finding intimate clothing that clearly belonged to girls; it was nothing like a grandmother’s style. Anger bubbled inside her. Who was playing tricks on her? She picked up the letter from the bed; the envelope was blank. She tore it open and pulled out the letter inside.

The handwriting was unrecognizable, but the content shocked her. Mei Baoying tightly shut her eyes.

The writer knew all too well how she had risen to marry Cui Yuanshan.

Her hands trembled violently. That year, while she was caring for Cui Yuanshan’s first wife, she eventually garnered his affection. He promised to marry her once his wife passed away. After that, she gradually swapped out the woman’s medication, hastening her illness. As she watched the woman take her last breath, she rushed into Cui Yuanshan’s bedroom.

The next morning, Cui Yuanshan discovered that his wife had died in the night while he himself had done such a thing. For many years afterward, he could not face his disabled son, pouring all his love onto the youngest child instead.

This matter must never reach Cui Pingzhou’s ears…

Mei Baoying ran to the neighboring ward, looking at her precious son, still in a coma. If that disabled child knew she had swapped his biological mother’s medicine, he would surely kill her.

“Mother, why are you out of bed?” Mei Baoying’s third wife, Tan Xueru, approached her, bringing Mei Baoying’s clothes and daily necessities this time.

“Go find Jiang Hongyu for me,” Mei Baoying instructed.

Tan Xueru was afraid of this grandmother and did not want to go. “Mother, Father has fallen and cannot support us anymore. If the second brother finds out we looked for Jiang Hongyu, I fear it will reveal all the previous matters. Let’s not do it.”

She had never known the second brother’s methods were so formidable. The usually dignified old man had collapsed just like that. Who knew if the fourth brother’s leg had been broken by him?

She was only passing messages in the middle; her husband knew nothing. She was scared and did not want to get involved.

Mei Baoying glared at her, which pulled at the wounds on her face, causing her to grimace in pain. “If it weren’t for the two brothers, the third and fourth, I wouldn’t have ended up in this state. You only need to help me find Jiang Hongyu; you don’t need to get involved in the rest.”

Tan Xueru dared not disobey. The grandmother was doing it all for herself and her youngest son; she wouldn’t bother with the third son, who was a burden. As for herself, she merely thought of the servant she could trust to run errands.

She still went to find Jiang Hongyu. Not daring to go during the day, she waited until nightfall and went to the police family quarters, knocking on Jiang Hongyu’s door.

Jiang Hongyu had just managed to lull her two children to sleep. Recently, she had been feeling short of breath and heavy in her chest, going to bed early each night. Her husband was on night duty at the police station and would definitely not return at this hour.

When she opened the door and saw Tan Xueru standing outside, Jiang Hongyu’s expression darkened. She pulled her into the kitchen, lowering her voice to avoid waking the two children. “What are you doing here? Didn’t we agree to cut all contact from now on? I did as you said and pushed little Jiang Ci down the hill. She didn’t die; she must have a strong fate. I’m not giving you your money back.”

Jiang Ci was alive and still hadn’t reported it to the police. Jiang Hongyu had been on edge for a long time. Several people knew that she had been alone with her niece that day.

On that small hillside, after pushing Jiang Ci down, she panicked and hurried back to join the larger group that was collecting chestnuts.

When Sister-in-law Liu saw her return alone, she asked where little Jiang Ci was.

Jiang Hongyu had lied, saying that Jiang Ci was willful and wanted to go deeper into the mountains to look for wild ginseng. Everyone knew that Jiang Ci knew her way around and wouldn’t get lost, so Sister-in-law Liu didn’t press the issue further.

If investigated thoroughly, her suspicion would be the greatest. Jiang Hongyu had already thought it through; she was Jiang Ci’s aunt. No one would have suspected her even if Jiang Ci had reported it. If she refused to admit it, she would be fine.

Tan Xueru mentioned that Mei Baoying wanted to see her. “It’s not about last time. My mother has something else to discuss with you. You should go to the hospital; otherwise, if she comes looking for you, you’ll be in a worse position.”

Jiang Hongyu’s husband was a policeman at the street police station, and this was the family quarters for police officers. If Mei Baoying came, it would be too conspicuous.

“Mom, who is it at home?” Jiang Hongyu’s eldest son woke up, a seven or eight-year-old boy standing barefoot in the living room, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

“It’s Grandma Qi from downstairs bringing dumplings; we’ll have dumplings for breakfast tomorrow,” Jiang Hongyu told her son, pushing him back toward his room. “Go back to sleep; you have school tomorrow.”

Turning off the lights in the living room, Jiang Hongyu felt her way out with Tan Xueru. When they reached the entrance of the military hospital, Tan Xueru said, “My mother is in a single-patient room on the sixth floor. I won’t go in.”

If Grandma was looking for Jiang Hongyu, it couldn’t be anything good. The more she got involved, the more dangerous it became. Cui Pingzhou could endure; after suppressing things for over ten years, he exploded in one go, defeating her mother-in-law’s strongest support, Cui Yuanshan. She didn’t dare offend someone like him.

She still had children and a husband. Thinking of Cui Pingzhou’s cold, icy eyes when he looked at her in the pitch-black night sent a shiver down Tan Xueru’s spine. After hesitating for a moment, she still decided to go to the Cui family’s mansion.

When the maid opened the door, she looked puzzled. Cui Pingzhou had already allowed Tan Xueru to take her personal belongings; why was she back?

“I need to see the second brother; it’s urgent,” Tan Xueru stammered, pushing past the maid and barging into Cui Pingzhou’s study.

Cui Pingzhou looked up, his gaze icy. “Think carefully about what you want to say. If it weren’t for the third son using his body to protect my mother’s tablet that year, do you think you could still be running around outside safely?”

Tan Xueru’s face turned pale in an instant. That year, when Cui Pingzhou’s mother was laid to rest, Mei Baoying brought the third son to the funeral hall to humiliate the already disabled Cui Pingzhou. In the middle of the night, a fire broke out in the hall, and Cui Pingzhou could only watch in horror as the flames crept toward his mother’s memorial tablet. The third son rushed in, cradling the tablet in his arms, and carried Cui Pingzhou away from the burning hall.

Because of this incident, Mei Baoying disliked the stubborn third son even more, leading her to make Tan Xueru act as the messenger for all matters.

With Cui Yuanshan sent to a nursing home, Mei Baoying lost her support and could no longer enter the compound. The fourth son lay in the hospital, and only she and her husband remained well, all thanks to Cui Pingzhou, who had given them a way out for the third son’s sake.

Tan Xueru said, “Second brother, I also have my own family and children. I’m telling you everything; can you arrange a job for the third son back in our hometown so we can return?”

—o—o—o—

“You want me to harm Jiang Ci again? Why should I help you once more?” Jiang Hongyu shook her head at Mei Baoying’s plan. “I agreed before because they were orphans with no support, but now Lin Wan is officially married to Cui Pingzhou. I can’t risk it.”

Jiang Hongyu looked at the bag of intimate clothing, two movie ticket stubs, and a pen. “If you want to find a little punk to falsely accuse Jiang Ci of having an affair. Why don’t you let your son do it?”

“You’re her aunt; if you report her personally, people will believe you,” Mei Baoying tightened her grip on Jiang Hongyu. “You took my 2000 yuan; if I tell your father, you’ll be in serious trouble.”

If Grandpa Jiang found out that Jiang Hongyu had taken money and then implicated his precious granddaughter, he would cut ties with her.

Jiang Hongyu had always been jealous of Jiang Ci; she was Grandpa Jiang’s daughter. Why did her father treat his granddaughter better?

“No, you can’t tell my father.” Jiang Hongyu broke out in a cold sweat; it was better to agree with Mei Baoying. “This is the last time; I won’t get involved in your family’s mess anymore.”

Jiang Hongyu picked up the green silk bag, turned, and left. The entire way, she was restless. When she opened the door, she found the lights on at home. Her husband had returned.

“Aren’t you on night duty tonight?” Jiang Hongyu stuffed the bag into the trunk. “Why are you back at this hour?”

“I came home to change clothes. I’m going to Qu Shui Bridge later to find Xiao Ci and gather some information.”

Sun Changshun entered the room and saw that the two children were asleep. He closed the door behind him and said, “Ji Laifeng is going to the police station to provide a witness statement. She said she saw someone push Xiao Ci while going up the mountain, causing her to fall down the slope. Our bureau chief is taking this seriously and wants me to handle this case personally.”

“Ji Laifeng? Can we trust what she says? She’s angry because I exposed her affair with Liu Erzhu back then, and now she’s retaliating by falsely accusing me.” Jiang Hongyu immediately spat out without thinking when she heard Ji Laifeng’s name.

More than ten years ago, Ji Laifeng was introduced to Sun Changshun by different matchmakers. At that time, Sun Changshun had taken a liking to Ji Laifeng.

However, Jiang Hongyu was very fond of Sun Changshun. At that time, he had just retired from military service and was working as a police officer at the local police station. He was tall and handsome and quickly made his way into her heart.

She ran to report that Ji Laifeng was involved with a good-for-nothing. The Sun family immediately agreed to the match with the Jiang family.

For this, Grandpa Jiang grew to resent his daughter. He blamed her for her poor character, believing that she had ruined another girl’s reputation over a few pieces of clothing, especially at the time she was supposed to be engaged.

For many years, Grandpa Jiang ignored his daughter.

Sun Changshun had been a police officer for over a decade and was very perceptive. He sensed something was off about Jiang Hongyu’s words and instantly grew suspicious. “No one said it was you who pushed Ji Laifeng…”

Jiang Hongyu was left speechless.

It was her carelessness. The mention of Ji Laifeng threw her off balance. Coupled with her guilty conscience and the fact that she had been called over by Mei Baoying to prepare for another morally dubious task, she ended up slapping herself in frustration.

“No, I thought Ji Laifeng was framing me. You know, after we got married, she was forced to marry Liu Erzhu, and later, when Liu Erzhu died, she became a widow. Of course, she held a grudge against me. I thought she was trying to frame me this time.”

As Sun Changshun locked eyes with her evasive gaze, a chill ran down his spine, and he turned to leave.

Jiang Hongyu panicked. It was all because of that damned Jiang Ci. Why hadn’t she died when she fell off the mountain? She had been hesitating about whether to go through with the task Mei Baoying had assigned her, but now that she had let something slip in front of her husband, she made a quick decision and took the bag from the box and left.

—o—o—o—

“Uncle, why are you here so late?” Jiang Ci asked as she brewed tea. “Uncle, this is the cloud and mist tea harvested this year. I saved some for myself, so I’ll make you a cup to try.”

“Alright.” Sun Changshun took a sip and savored the rich flavor. It was unlike the ordinary tea available in the market, which explained why the old man treasured it so much and was reluctant to share it with others.

“Where’s your mother?” he asked.

“She’s at Uncle Cui’s discussing the details of the wedding. She’ll be back later,” Jiang Ci replied. “Uncle, do you have something to discuss?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Sun Changshun set down his teacup. “Ji Laifeng came to the police station. She said that during the last community event, she saw someone push you when they were sent to the mountains to pick chestnutsm. I came to find you to get more details.”

As for why Ji Laifeng had not spoken up back then but was now coming forward, she had said she was afraid of retaliation. Now that Jiang Ci had become Cui Pingzhou’s daughter, naturally, no one dared to turn against her and bite back at this witness.

“Did Ji Laifeng say who pushed me?” Jiang Ci recalled that Ji Laifeng had not been present at the time. How did she know that Jiang Hongyu had pushed her?

“She said she couldn’t see clearly because it was too far away, but she thought it was a woman,” Sun Changshun quickly asked, “Did someone really push you?”

“Uncle, I was indeed pushed down the slope.”

“Then why didn’t you go to the police station to report it at the time?” Sun Changshun said angrily. “Someone with such a vicious heart who has harmed you once will surely do it again. Why didn’t you say something earlier, you silly girl?”

Ji Laifeng was afraid of retaliation, but what was Jiang Ci afraid of? If Grandpa Jiang knew someone had harmed his granddaughter, wouldn’t he go after them fiercely?

What was the use of saying it? That person would deny it without evidence and might even turn the accusation back on her. However, the timing was right now to speak out.

Jiang Ci forced a smile and said, “Uncle, how do I explain? That day, after I got separated from the main group, I was with my Auntie. When I rolled down the slope, the only person behind me was my Auntie Jiang Hongyu… How could I report it? Would anyone believe me?”

Sun Changshun was at a loss for words. The usually composed man felt his hands tremble. Jiang Hongyu? Her panicked behavior tonight, combined with Jiang Ci’s words earlier, made him certain that the person who pushed Jiang Ci was indeed Jiang Hongyu.

Why would she push her own niece?

Sun Changshun stammered, “I’ll be going now… I’ll find the people who went into the mountains that day… I’ll investigate further.”

“Okay.” Jiang Ci walked him to the door. “Uncle, you will handle this fairly, right?”

“I… will.”

“Brother Chuan, Liu Xiaozhu came back late at night, sneaking around while carrying a bag. I caught him. He must have wanted to sneak some stuff to sell at the Heishui River market, which breaks our rules. He needs to be taught a good lesson.”

Jiang Dasheng had no qualms about dealing with rule-breakers. He had all thoroughly subdued the local ruffians.

However, he underestimated Liu Xiaozhu.

“Where’s the stuff?” Gu Qingchuan was skeptical that this good-for-nothing had the guts to do something like that. “Show me.”

Before Jiang Dasheng had a chance to unwrap it, Liu Xiaozhu pulled out a green silk bag from the cabinet. “This is it. Let’s see what good stuff is inside that made Liu Xiaozhu so nervous.”

Gu Qingchuan ripped open the package. Inside was a tin box the size of a palm. He lifted the lid, revealing two movie ticket stubs. Ten years ago, he took seven-year-old Jiang Ci to watch a film. Had she really kept those stubs for so long?

Gu Qingchuan gritted his teeth, the sound echoing in the quiet room. Liu Xiaozhu had stolen Jiang Ci’s things? He felt an intense urge to kill that scoundrel.

There was also a Baile pen, brought back by his grandfather when he studied abroad, which Gu Qingchuan had later gifted to Jiang Ci. They had even carved the characters “Chuan” and “Ci” into the pen cap. His hands shook so much that he could barely remove the cap.

Looking further, he found a layer of black velvet. As he lifted it and saw what was inside, Gu Qingchuan bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. “Where is Liu Xiaozhu?”

If he dared to look at what was in that bag…

“He’s squatting under the bridge. If you don’t say anything, he won’t dare to move,” Jiang Dasheng said, curious. “Movie tickets, a pen—what’s underneath that’s got you so worked up? Let me see.”

He reached to pry it open, but Gu Qingchuan snapped his hand away, pushing him back. “What are you looking at? It’s not for you to see.”

“Why can you see it and I can’t?” Jiang Dasheng rubbed his sore arm, growing even more curious. If he couldn’t look at it, then Liu Xiaozhu would be doomed if he had seen it.

Under the Shitou Bridge, the water had receded to only a few meters wide. Liu Xiaozhu thought to himself that today was indeed unfortunate. It was his first time doing something bad, and he had been caught by Jiang Dasheng, landing in Gu Qingchuan’s hands.

It was all Jiang Hongyu’s fault for convincing him that this method would definitely allow him to marry little Jiang Ci. His uncle, Liu Erzhu, had done the same to marry his second aunt, Ji Laifeng. He knew that Jiang Ci was about to become Cui Pingzhou’s daughter, which meant she was Gu Qingchuan’s fiancée…

Initially, he wouldn’t have dared, but little Jiang Ci was too beautiful. He lost his head and thought that as long as he could marry her, he wouldn’t mind dying. At that moment, seeing Gu Qingchuan’s cold eyes, which seemed ready to kill, he suddenly felt that living was better.

“Did you look at what was in the bag?” Gu Qingchuan kicked him into the mud.

“No, I really didn’t.” Liu Xiaozhu scrambled to his feet, not even bothering to wipe the mud from his face. “I hadn’t even made it home when Brother Dasheng stopped me, and then the stuff ended up in your hands. I really didn’t have time to look.”

Liu Xiaozhu was relieved that he hadn’t looked. With the murderous look in Gu Qingchuan’s eyes, he figured that if he had, he would probably be lying in bed for three months from a beating.

Gu Qingchuan relaxed his fists and coldly asked, “Who gave it to you?”

“Jiang…” Liu Xiaozhu thought about how Jiang Hongyu had repeatedly warned him and decided to lie, saying it was Jiang Ci who had given it to him. But he knew that wouldn’t fool Gu Qingchuan; if he said that, he’d probably end up lying in bed for half a year.

His life was at stake, so he decided to tell the truth. “It was Jiang Hongyu who gave it to me.”

Again, with Jiang Hongyu? Gu Qingchuan had already pieced together most of the story. “What did she say when she gave you the stuff?”

If he said those words, he would likely be beaten. Liu Xiaozhu stammered, “Brother Chuan, those were Jiang Hongyu’s words; I was just repeating them. Please don’t hit me.”

“Speak!” Gu Qingchuan commanded.

“Jiang Hongyu said the bag contained little Jiang Ci’s belongings and claimed they were gifts from her. She mentioned that she would come over at midnight with her husband, Sun Changshun, to personally accuse her niece of having improper relationships…”

Jiang Dasheng could no longer bear to listen. He, too, shared the surname Jiang, and little Jiang Ci was technically his younger cousin. He charged at Liu Xiaozhu and gave him a good beating.

Liu Xiaozhu cried out in pain. “I didn’t say it! It was Jiang Hongyu who said it!”

Gu Qingchuan closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his gaze was filled with ruthlessness. “Dasheng, keep a close watch on Liu Xiaozhu. I’ll be back soon.”

Jiang Dasheng didn’t dare to ask anything. After Gu Qingchuan left, he kicked Liu Xiaozhu several times. “You’re looking for trouble, huh? How dare you think of targeting little Jiang Ci?”

The cold wind jolted Liu Xiaozhu back to his senses, and he deeply regretted trusting Jiang Hongyu’s words.

Half an hour later, Gu Qingchuan returned, still holding the green silk bag. However, the contents had been switched out for Jiang Hongyu’s personal belongings.

Gu Qingchuan spoke slowly, enunciating each word. “Take the bag back with you. Do not open it or look inside. When Jiang Hongyu comes to find you, firmly insist that this bag was personally handed to you by Jiang Hongyu. You are not allowed to say anything more.”

He kicked the bewildered Liu Xiaozhu. “If you understand, hurry up and get lost!”