Chapter 122: Seeds of Doubt, Atmosphere of Unease

Although the wives were filled with righteous indignation and felt sympathy for Wang Chunling, as they kept talking, their conclusions all eventually led to the same sigh:

“Sigh… this is all the Zhou family’s private matter. No matter how much we say, we can’t interfere…”

Because they couldn’t interfere, all they could do was watch helplessly as Wang Chunling suffered in a pit of fire, tormented and powerless.

Everyone lowered their heads in sorrow.

But just at that moment, a powerful and resolute voice rang out.

“Who said this is just a family matter?”

Chu Yue raised her head slightly, her gaze clear and bright. Her delicate chin lifted with pride, her expression calm yet filled with unwavering determination.

She swept her eyes across all the wives and asked in return, “Li Jinhua has already resorted to buying and selling children—how can that still be considered a private family matter? That’s human trafficking. That’s a crime!”

“Chu-girl… you… I… We all know you’re right, but—”

Chen Fengying spoke in a daze. She had always been the most hot-tempered and least afraid among the wives, yet at this critical moment, she faltered. She wanted to stop Chu Yue from saying what she was about to say.

But Chu Yue said firmly, “If I’m right, then I have to stand up for what’s right!”

The wives were all stunned by Chu Yue’s presence. How could such a young, fair-skinned girl give off such an aura—one that made people feel they had to look up to her?

Zheng Yue’e asked cautiously, “Chu-girl, what are you planning to do? Are you really going to report this to the police? That won’t do, that really won’t do. If you report it to the Public Security Bureau, you’ll completely fall out with that family. We all live in the same courtyard—seeing each other every day. If things go sour, how will we live in peace?”

Chu Yue replied coldly, “I’m not going to report it to the police.”

She had already weighed the pros and cons in her heart. First, the police might not be able—or willing—to get involved in matters within the military family compound. There could be jurisdictional issues that would make them hesitant to act.

Second, even if a case were filed, the real person who needed to report it was Wang Chunling. But with Zhou Zhijian’s spineless filial piety, he would definitely pressure her to withdraw the case, and then everything would just be swept under the rug.

There was no breakthrough from inside Wang Chunling’s home, so the only way was to apply pressure from the outside.

Xia Xiaolan, who had been quietly observing Chu Yue’s calm demeanor, was captivated by the brilliant light in Chu Yue’s eyes and asked in a low voice:

“Chu Zhiyue, do you have a plan?”

Everyone turned to look at Chu Yue.

Chu Yue nodded and glanced around at the wives again. “Yes, I have a plan. I want to drive Li Jinhua out of the compound and send her back to her hometown.”

Chen Fengying asked nervously, “What are you going to do?”

Chu Yue’s plan was simple: spread fear and anxiety, and turn Wang Chunling’s issue into every woman’s issue in the compound.

“Sisters, have you thought about this? If Li Jinhua was willing to sell her own granddaughter for money, what makes you think she wouldn’t snatch up another child from the compound and sell them the next time she’s desperate for cash? Girls are cheap—but boys, boys are valuable! They’re worth a lot!”

“Wang Chunling was lucky this time. She didn’t take too many sleeping pills, so she woke up quickly and was able to search for her child immediately. But what if next time, Li Jinhua sells a child to someone from out of town, or worse, a trafficking gang? In just half a day, that child could be on a train and gone. The world’s so big—where would we even begin to look?”

“My Yuanbao is my whole world. If I lost him, I don’t even know how I’d go on living! If I have to keep living in the same compound as Li Jinhua, I’ll never feel safe. Would you feel safe? I’m going to tell Sister Song and ask her to stand up for justice!”

Among the sisters-in-law present, women like Chen Fengying, Zheng Yue’e, Huang Aifang—they all had children at home, some even more than one.

After hearing what Chu Yue said, they suddenly exchanged glances with each other, their eyes filled with fear and uncertainty.

Chen Fengying spoke with a trembling heart,

“Chu girl… it couldn’t possibly go that far, right? That old hag Li Jinhua… she can’t be that heartless, can she?”

Chu Yue didn’t respond to Chen Fengying’s question.
Whether Li Jinhua would actually go so far—each of them had their own answer in their hearts.
But what they all shared now was the same silent, uneasy glance at each other.

That day, the sisters-in-law had arrived in a fury of righteous indignation, but by the time they left, it was with heavy hearts and worry.

Xia Xiaolan, who hadn’t been married long and didn’t yet have children, wasn’t burdened with the same fears for now.

As she was leaving, she was the last one to go, and uncertainly asked Chu Yue:

“Comrade Chu… this is your plan? Will it work?”

Among so many people, only Xia Xiaolan truly understood the deeper meaning behind Chu Yue’s words.

Chu Yue replied,

“I don’t know either. We’ll have to let time give us the answer.”

But the seeds of fear and doubt had been planted.

All Chu Yue could do now… was wait for them to take root and grow.

After seeing Xia Xiaolan off, the courtyard returned to quiet.
Chu Yue tiptoed to glance into the neighboring courtyard belonging to Song Hongmei.

Song Hongmei hadn’t come back yet.

Chu Yue frowned—her entire plan couldn’t succeed without Song Hongmei.

---

What happened next went more smoothly than anyone could have expected.

That very night, the words Chu Yue had spoken to the sisters-in-law began to spread like wildfire, passed from mouth to mouth until they reached every corner of the military compound.

Even Li Jinhua herself had heard about it.

Since getting put in her place last time, Li Jinhua no longer dared to confront Chu Yue directly. Instead, she went around the compound shouting and cursing.

“You little heartless, soulless thing! Saying bad things about an old woman like me behind my back? I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice! What are you—some little country brat—doing talking about me?

All stepmothers are evil, huh? You’re so black-hearted, you’ve got coal in your belly! With someone like you, I bet you’d stick needles into the kids one day!

You’re accusing me of kidnapping? Of being a child trafficker?! If I catch you, I’ll tear that mouth of yours apart!

A little village girl like you—what contribution have you ever made? Living so well here, eating and drinking fine—all because of your man!…”

Everyone knew exactly who she was cursing.

A sister-in-law happened to walk by and couldn’t take it anymore. She shot back mockingly:

“Chu girl just happens to be lucky, married to Commander Lu, eating well, living well—what, are you jealous, Li old lady?

If you’re that jealous, why don’t you go make your son a commander too!”

Li Jinhua’s face turned red and her neck thick with rage, and she launched into a torrent of abuse at that sister-in-law.

Even though it was supposed to be the festive New Year season, the atmosphere in the compound had been thoroughly poisoned—all thanks to Li Jinhua alone.

But what Li Jinhua thought was her righteous counterattack had, in fact, played perfectly into Chu Yue’s trap.

The more arrogant and loud Li Jinhua acted, the more she amplified the fear and unease already spreading among the compound’s women.