Chapter 70.1

Zhao Xin abruptly lifted her head. Two men had quietly appeared in the study, and she had clearly closed the door. How could they have made no sound at all?

Zhang Kaiping and Shen Jiming… why were they here at the Pei family’s house!?

The person gripping Zhao Xin’s hand was Zhang Kaiping. She attempted to shake off his grip but found it impossible to escape. She quietly shouted in anger, “Let go of me!”

Zhang Kaiping sneered, “Looks like the fox’s tail is finally showing.”

Zhao Xin retorted, “I don’t understand what you’re talking about. The door to the study was open, and out of curiosity, I came in to take a look. But you two are the ones who accuse me of showing my fox tail. What are you doing here?”

Shen Jiming leaned against the door with his arms crossed and chuckled softly at Zhao Xin’s words. “Aunt Zhao, we’ve been here at the Pei family long before you arrived. You just didn’t realize it. You claim you came in out of curiosity because the study door was open, but we saw you knock Aunt Wu out and sneak into the study to search for things.”

“No need to deny it. Your claim of ‘coming in out of curiosity’ doesn’t hold water. This is a military district, and the study of the leaders isn’t a place you can just enter whenever you want. You’ve been married to Uncle Song for many years, so you should understand this basic principle. Moreover, we saw you enter and rummage through things, so it’s only natural for us to suspect you.”

Outside the door, Jiang Yu helped Aunt Wu up from the ground and pinched her on the pressure point. In a short while, Aunt Wu woke up, clutching her head and saying, “What happened? Did I fall asleep?”

“You were knocked out, Grandma Wu,” Jiang Yu supported her.

“Knocked out? Ouch…” Aunt Wu rubbed her neck, murmuring, “No wonder my neck hurts so much. Who the hell knocked me out?”

At that moment, the study door opened, and Shen Jiming, Zhang Kaiping, and Zhao Xin emerged.

Aunt Wu was startled and quickly rushed to the staircase, calling down, “Nong Nong, come quickly. Something big has happened.”

The voice reached downstairs, and Lu Nong, along with the others, hurried upstairs upon hearing Aunt Wu’s call. Lu Nong had no idea what was going on. She had suspected that Zhao Xin would do something, but knowing that three men were secretly protecting her at home, she didn’t worry too much.

Unexpectedly, something had still happened.

The others exchanged glances and followed Lu Nong upstairs. To their surprise, not only were Aunt Wu and Zhao Xin there, but they also saw Zhang Kaiping, Jiang Yu, and Shen Jiming. Jiang Yu was helping Aunt Wu while Zhang Kaiping, Shen Jiming, and Zhao Xin stood in the study. Zhang Kaiping had one hand gripping Zhao Xin’s wrist while the other held a file bag.

Lu Nong hurried over to Aunt Wu’s side and carefully checked her condition. With concern, she asked, “Godmother, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Nong Nong. I just got knocked out earlier, and my head is still a bit dizzy,” Aunt Wu weakly replied while holding her head.

Sister Zheng frowned and questioned Zhang Kaiping and the others, “What’s going on? How did you three end up here? Who knocked Aunt Wu out?”

“The one who knocked Grandma Wu out is her,” Zhang Kaiping said as he lifted Zhao Xin’s wrist. “She even ran into Uncle Pei’s study to steal something, and we caught her.”

Lu Nong appropriately vouched for Zhang Kaiping and the others, saying, “Sister, they arrived a long time ago and have been playing with my little Huaihuai upstairs.”

“That’s not true,” Zhao Xin shook her head, tears in her eyes, looking innocent. “I only saw Zhang Kaiping and the others suddenly appear and knock out Aunt Wu from behind. Before I could react, they covered my mouth and dragged me into the study…”

“Oh my God!” Huo Xiaoling exclaimed, her eyes wide in disbelief. “Are you saying they intended to do something inappropriate to Xiao Zhao?”

Hearing Huo Xiaoling’s words, Zhao Xin shrank back, her tears flowing more heavily.

“You! You’re talking nonsense! You were the one who knocked out Grandma Wu and sneaked into the study to rummage through things. We caught you red-handed,” Zhang Kaiping released Zhao Xin’s wrist, surprised that she would deflect blame onto them in such a cruel way.

“Shut your mouth! I’ll tear you apart, you foul-mouthed little witch!” Sister Qin couldn’t stand hearing anyone slander her son. She lunged at Zhao Xin and Huo Xiaoling, ready to fight them. She knew her son well and was sure he would never do the despicable things Zhao Xin accused him of.

Sister Zheng stopped Sister Qin, saying, “Stop it. No matter what, we can’t resort to violence.”

“Then are we just going to let them slander my son?” Sister Qin retorted.

Jiang Yu’s mother, Li Lingyi, glared angrily at Zhao Xin, her chest heaving with rage. She turned to her son, Jiang Yu, who shook his head. This made Li Lingyi even more furious.

“It’s not certain whether it’s slander or not.” The woman with triangular eyes said sarcastically.

A chill ran through Lu Nong’s heart. Zhao Xin was too vicious and daring.

Her plan obviously hurts her own side while hurting the enemy. Slandering Zhang Kaiping and the other two will incur the wrath of the Zhang, Jiang, and Shen families, who will fight her to the death in the future.

But if the matter is not investigated clearly today, even if there is a little ambiguity, Zhao Xin’s people are present, and they go out and leak a few words to others. Even if there is no evidence, Zhang Kaiping and others will be branded as rapists, and their future prospects will be ruined.

Lu Nong’s expression shifted. “You claim they intended to harm you, but why isn’t your hair disheveled and your clothes messy?”

It seemed Zhao Xin’s dirty trick was a hasty response to Sister Zheng’s questioning, and she hadn’t thought through the details about her hair and clothing.

Everyone turned to look at Zhao Xin. If she had been assaulted, why was she so clean and composed? There wasn’t even a wrinkle in her clothes to suggest she had struggled.

Sister Qin sternly questioned Zhao Xin, “Exactly! Tell us, besides your excessive tears, how do you resemble someone who’s been assaulted?”

Zhao Xin clenched her fists. “I… they hadn’t arrived yet. Aunt Wu woke up, and Zhang Kaiping hurriedly took out a document from Chief Pei’s drawer and stuffed it into my hand, accusing me of stealing something… and then you came up.”

With that, Zhao Xin bowed her head and started to sob.

Huo Xiaoling, unable to bear it, went over to hug Zhao Xin tightly and shot a fierce glare at Zhang Kaiping. She gently patted Zhao Xin’s back, saying, “Don’t cry. Sister Zheng will give you justice. None of these despicable animals will escape!”

Sister Qin’s furious gaze shifted to Huo Xiaoling, and Li Lingyi narrowed her eyes. Huo Xiaoling was truly oblivious to the situation.

Lu Nong slowly processed Zhao Xin’s words and suddenly recognized a critical flaw. She gradually spoke up, “You say my Godmother woke up on her own, but that’s not the case.”

Lu Nong made way, exposing Aunt Wu to everyone’s sight. Everyone saw an obvious pinch mark on the philtrum under Aunt Wu’s nose, which meant that Aunt Wu was indeed pinched awake by someone.

“Yes, I was woken up by Xiao Jiang. He told me I had been knocked out.” Aunt Wu nodded repeatedly.

The crowd expressed doubt. If Aunt Wu was awakened by Jiang Yu, it contradicts Zhao Xin’s account. Logically, if Zhang Kaiping and the others had knocked out Aunt Wu to harm Zhao Xin, why would Jiang Yu wake her up?

If they wake up Aunt Wu, their evil deeds will be exposed.

Aunt Wu slapped her thigh and exclaimed, “Oh! I just remembered. They couldn’t have harmed anyone. I went upstairs with Zhao Xin, and I was knocked out from behind right after we turned the corner. The rooms were all in front. There’s hardly any space here for three big men. The one who knocked me out must be Zhao Xin.”

Zhao Xin’s expression twisted for a moment, but she quickly forced herself to return to normal. She realized that both Zhang Kaiping and Shen Jiming had been in the study and hadn’t noticed that Aunt Wu was awakened by Jiang Yu.

However, she was quick to react and immediately changed her story. “I misspoke. I didn’t know how Aunt Wu woke up. After they dragged me into the study, Jiang Yu went out alone, perhaps out of guilt… that’s when he woke up Aunt Wu.”

Sister Qin scoffed. “You’ve contradicted yourself. First, you said all three of them intended to harm you, and now you’ve reduced it to just two. Next, will you say it was just one person?”

Huo Xiaoling looked at the still sobbing Zhao Xin and then at the furious Sister Qin, and for the first time, doubt appeared on her face.

“Actually, it’s easy to find out the truth. There’s one person who can prove it,” Shen Jiming suddenly spoke up.

Sister Zheng asked, “Who? Is there someone else present?”

“Him.”

Everyone turned to where Shen Jiming was pointing. At the end of the hallway, a small head peeked out from a room, staring wide-eyed at the group. A little white dog lay at its feet.

Shen Jiming said calmly, “Sister Lu Nong has already mentioned that we are here to coax Huaihuai. He has seen everything that just happened, and children do not lie. Let him tell everyone who is actually lying.”

The woman with the triangular eyes was now somewhat skeptical of Zhao Xin. While she loved gossip and had a sharp tongue, the severity of the accusations—whether it was rape or falsely accusing three children of raping her—was too heinous for her to accept.

Deep down, the woman with triangular eyes didn’t want Zhao Xin to be the villain. So she said, “How can we take a child’s word seriously? Can he really understand what he’s saying? Besides, it’s hard to ensure you’re not influencing him to lie.”

“Aunt Su, whether Huaihuai can express himself clearly is up to him. If he says something, it can serve as proof,” one of them responded.

“Are you saying that we knocked out Aunt Wu, kidnapped Zhao Xin, woke Aunt Wu up, and then persuaded Huaihuai to lie in just a matter of minutes? Do you think we are supernatural beings?”