Chapter 8 – A Bit of Green on the Head

Wei Ci tilted her head, her soft white little hand propping up her chin as she looked at Meng Wa across from her, eyes filled with confusion.
“Then why are you stuck in the basement with us?”

Meng Wa gave a bitter smile.
“I was only helping them watch over you, while quietly soothing your emotions so you wouldn’t cry and scream and bring more trouble.”

Wei Ci’s fair fingertips tapped at the dimple on her cheek, and then she chuckled with a knowing tone:
“A woman’s mouth—nothing but a liar’s tongue.”

Her aunt had said it right: the prettier a woman was, the better she was at lying. Well… except for herself. She was the most adorable, kind little angel. Her aunt said so. Although she didn’t really know what an angel was. Auntie had said it was someone with wings—but wasn’t that either a bird-person or a monster? Why call it an angel?

Meng Wa’s face stiffened. She hadn’t expected this girl, who looked like such a little fool, to see right through her.

Wei Ci waved her chubby little paw with a smile. Her slightly baby-fat face carried an expression of mock profundity, so transparent it almost made the nearby policeman and Wei Qingfeng laugh out loud.

“You’ve got three parts truth, three parts lies, and the rest is all nonsense. Better not say it—it’s too fake.”

Meng Wa fell silent. She had thought her words were flawless.
“How did you see through it?”

Wei Ci blinked innocently.
“Mm… intuition?”

I don’t believe you for a second!

“Fine, then tell me—why did you want me brought here? What is it you really want to say?”

Meng Wa clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles went white. She wrestled with it for a long time, even tasting blood in her mouth before she finally forced the words out, her tone halting:
“If I tell the truth… can you promise me one request?”

Wei Ci didn’t answer, but glanced at the young policeman sitting straight-backed beside her.

“You can speak,” the officer said. “As long as it doesn’t violate laws or regulations, anything within the scope of the law and humanitarian principles can be considered.”

Meng Wa ignored him completely, her eyes locked stubbornly on Wei Ci, leaving Wei Ci puzzled.

Was she supposed to be special somehow? Why was this woman placing all her hopes on her?

“…Go ahead.”

Best to hear it first. Someone else would deal with it anyway. Whether it could actually be done was another matter entirely.

Meng Wa exhaled in relief, finally relaxing her tense shoulders. Her gaze turned vacant, and she began to recount her entire story.

She really had once been a girl who was trafficked. She really had been singled out and kept by the gang leader. But what she had said before—about failing to escape because she dragged the others down—that was a lie.

“They planned to run away. But me? Because I’d already been taken by the boss, because I’d already lost my body to him, I had no way to leave. And I couldn’t accept it. We were all kidnapped—why should they get to stay clean, to escape, while I had to stay behind, filthy and humiliated?”

So, she had betrayed them. She told the traffickers about the escape plan. When the girls made their run, they were caught red-handed. Their fates were miserable beyond words. To this day, she still remembered the despair and venom in their eyes when they looked at her.

The smile vanished from Wei Ci’s face. She looked at Meng Wa, who was lost in her own world, with cold indifference, disgust flashing through her eyes. The others present were even more furious, their eyes practically spitting fire, itching to rush in and slap her.

Meng Wa forced a twisted smile, her whole body trembling. Her gaze turned deranged as she shouted:
“Do you think I’m cold-blooded? Hahaha! Then they deserved it! You think they were such good people?”

Back then, she clearly hadn’t been the prettiest or the most graceful. Why had she been chosen to be sent to the boss’s bed? It was because of those women! The boss had originally set his eyes on another girl. But that girl had claimed her father was a factory director, so they pushed her out instead. She had been forced to take that girl’s place. So of course she hated them. What factory director father? Hah! They were sold off to the mountains anyway. What good was being a factory director’s daughter then?

Everyone fell silent, and even Wei Ci quieted down.

Meng Wa’s expression grew calm. Her gaze swept across the people in the room before finally settling on Wei Ci.
“I’ll tell you everything I know. I only have one request—find my daughter and bring her to my parents!”

Wei Ci was speechless. Wasn’t this giving her way too much credit? She was just an ordinary little illegitimate girl—what could she possibly do?

She turned to look at the young policeman beside her. He jolted upright at once, sitting ramrod straight, suddenly serious.
“We will do everything in our power to help!” he promised solemnly.

But Meng Wa ignored him. Her eyes stayed fixed on Wei Ci, waiting for her to give the promise.

Wei Qingfeng rolled his eyes at Meng Wa, his tone sharp:
“What kind of brain disease do you have? My little sister’s just a weak girl. How’s she supposed to find your daughter for you?”

Meng Wa’s gaze dimmed.
“But she managed to lead those women and children out safely. She managed to bring down all those beasts at once. She must be able to help me find my daughter.”

Her daughter had been sold when she was only one month old. It was the greatest agony and resentment she had carried all these years.

Wei Ci waved her little hand dismissively, puffing herself up with false bravado.
“I’m just a little girl. Pulling a few tricks is one thing, but finding someone? That’s impossible. You should tell the police what you know. They’ve got the people for it!”

She pointed with her pale little finger at the officer beside her, her face filled with certainty and trust.

Her aunt had always said: no matter where you are, if you run into trouble, look for the people with golden stars on their hats and shoulders. You could trust them wholeheartedly. Wei Ci believed her aunt wouldn’t lie to her.

The young policeman quickly straightened his uniform, putting on his most reliable look, and nodded seriously in guarantee.

Meng Wa’s eyes went distant. After a long pause, she let out a bitter smile and nodded.
“Alright. I’ll confess.”

Wei Ci was promptly dragged out of the interrogation room by Wei Qingfeng. What followed wasn’t suitable for them to hear—better to avoid suspicion. Wei Ci pouted, disappointed. She had wanted to know the rest. She was like a cat, cursed with too much curiosity.

Not long after, the results of the case came out.

There wasn’t enough evidence to convict Wei Qingmiao of participating in human trafficking, so she was released.
But Wei Qinghao from the third branch of the family was proven guilty of trafficking women and children—there was both witness and material evidence. He was arrested immediately, and word was he could be sentenced to over ten years of labor reform on the border farms.

When she heard the news, Third Aunt of the Wei family fainted on the spot. When she woke up again, she was already sitting with the rest of the family on an ox cart headed back to Ma Gou village.

“You little whore! You bringer of disaster! Why didn’t you die out there? It’s all your fault my son ended up like this—I’ll kill you!”

Wei Ci was pulled tightly behind Wei Qingfeng’s back. Third Aunt lunged at her but missed, nearly pitching headfirst off the cart. Wei Third Uncle broke into a cold sweat, terrified.

“Third Aunt, be reasonable! My sister didn’t cause this. We’re the victims here. You’re trying to get revenge on the wrong person!”

But Third Aunt was pounding her chest and wailing at the top of her lungs. She had only one son and one daughter. Now her precious son was locked behind bars, with no telling when he’d ever get out again. If she died before then, she’d never see him for the rest of her life.

“My poor boy! That cursed brat ruined him! How am I supposed to live like this?”

Wei Qingfeng quickly covered Wei Ci’s ears so she wouldn’t hear such vile words. She was still young—she couldn’t be corrupted by this filth.

In the corner, Wei Qingmiao’s eyes flickered. She glanced at Wei Ci, who was being protected like a treasure by Wei Qingfeng. A flash of jealousy and hatred crossed her face. But before she could say anything, darkness closed over her vision. The next second, she was slammed down onto the ox cart. Her head cracked painfully against a raised handle, making her cry out in agony as her face went deathly pale.

Third Aunt had her hands clamped tight around Wei Qingmiao’s throat, her face twisted with veins bulging like a demon’s.
“Bitch! You’re the one who ruined our family, you jinx! Why don’t you just die—die!”

The ox cart, meant to seat only six or seven people, instantly erupted into chaos. The sounds of fighting and cursing mixed with the steady clop-clop-clop of the ox’s hooves, echoing into the distance.