Chapter 25.3

As everyone left, they all wore fearful expressions, glancing at the bloodied Sun Tong, terrified yet relieved that he had taken the brunt of the blame. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gotten off so easily.

Sun Tong was covered in blood and unable to walk when they untied him. The man who had beaten him kicked his father, “You’re dead! Bring your son along with you.”

The Sun family, dressed in rags and covered in blood, was a sight that brought satisfaction to the Zhou family. The murderer was finally about to face justice; Minshan should be able to rest in peace.

Luo Lan felt someone tightly tugging at her clothes. Turning around, she saw it was Zhou Junfang. The girl’s face was filled with fear, and she had no idea when she had shrunk behind her. Luo Lan gently patted her sister-in-law’s arm to comfort her.

“Don’t be afraid.”

The girl raised her delicate face and pretended to be calm as she nodded. “I’m not afraid; they’re bad people—the ones who killed my brother.”

“Right. Bad people deserve to be punished, and we should be happy about that.”

“Sister-in-law, what will happen to the old lady from the south house?”

“She’ll be locked up. I can’t say for sure what will happen.”

“Are you relatives of Zhou Minshan?”

While they were talking, they hadn’t noticed that the man who had been beating Sun Tong had appeared beside them. Zhou Junfang instinctively hid behind Luo Lan when she saw the whip in his hand. Even her mother and sister showed some fear in front of him.

“Yes.”

The man’s gaze was fixated on Zhou Junfang, and Luo Lan instinctively moved to block her more securely. Zhou Junfang was like a soft, delicate little rabbit; she couldn’t let such a man set his eyes on her. Little did she know that the man had already seen Zhou Junfang earlier in the year.

“Oh, hello, I’m Mu Yunli. Twenty-two years old.”

Luo Lan extended her hand. “Hello, I’m Zhou Minshan’s sister-in-law.”

The man’s gaze shifted to her behind. “Is this young lady Zhou Minshan’s sister?”

“Uh-huh.” Luo Lan protected her sister-in-law with one hand while stepping back a couple of paces. This man had a sinister look; even though he was trying hard to smile, his earlier behavior and appearance indicated he wasn’t a good person. When her husband stepped forward, she signaled with her eyes that he could handle it.

“If you have nothing to discuss, we’ll take our leave.”

Without waiting for a response, she turned around to protect her sister-in-law and walked away, also pulling Zhou Junhui along with her. Zhou Junhui was very perceptive and quickly took her mother along to follow her sister-in-law.

The several women hurriedly left and turned a corner, walking far away. Zhou Junhui glanced back. “It was satisfying to see him beat Sun Tong, but let’s not get involved with him.”

Her mother also looked back but saw that those people were already gone. With her son right behind her, her courage returned. “Qingshan, keep your distance from that kind of person.”

After saying this, she warned her daughter and daughter-in-law, “You two should do the same. Once you see Sun Tong and his father face justice, don’t get involved in this kind of thing again.”

Luo Lan and Zhou Junfang obediently nodded. “Understood.”

Because the old lady from the south house had participated in the poisoning, she was locked in a small dark room that night. On their way home, Luo Lan and the others didn’t encounter any neighbors. By the time they finished dinner, the neighbors had heard the news and came to their house.

“Is it true? The old lady from the south house has been locked up?”

“Didn’t she say it was all Sun Tong’s fault, that he threatened her? How come she’s still locked up?”

Zhou Qingshan handled the neighbors’ gossip, saying, “I don’t know. Sun Tong said she sought him out and told him to sneak in at night to harm others.”

“Ah, she’s that bad?”

“Who knows? They each have their own story.”

While he dealt with the neighbors’ curiosity, Luo Lan took the opportunity to go out for a follow-up visit in the evening. The woman she had visited earlier was working, so she had specifically chosen to go out at night.

Most of the women’s work involved mediation. When she arrived, she happened to catch a couple fighting. After a flurry of chaos, she finally managed to use a stun gun to make the man stop and sit down to listen to her.

After spending the entire night talking, the man finally agreed not to lay hands on his wife again. When she came out of that house, it was a bit late. She took a flashlight and avoided the main road, opting for a nearby small path instead.

She had already informed Zhou Qingshan that she would be out for work in the evening, but since it was late, she still worried they might be concerned, so she walked very quickly.

As she shone the flashlight around, she thought she saw two people embracing. From their posture, they seemed to be kissing. Oh my, who was bold enough to kiss in public? This behavior shocked her values, but the clothes looked familiar.

Luo Lan: System, is that Zhou Junhui?

System: Yes. Oh my, what a juicy piece of gossip! Who is Zhou Junhui with? Is it that person from last time?

The two had already noticed someone and turned to run in the opposite direction, moving quickly and disappearing from sight. Luo Lan worried that her sister-in-law might do something reckless, so she turned off her flashlight and chased after them.

Whether it was her sister-in-law or not, she would find out when she got home. After losing track of the two, she quickly ran back to her own home along the small path. The gate to the yard was slightly ajar, and she pushed it open, leaving it that way.

Not returning to her own room, she went straight to the room where her two sisters-in-law lived. The door was open, and it was clear inside. Zhou Junfang was sitting and reading. Upon seeing her enter, she put down her book with a puzzled expression.

“Where’s your sister?”

“She went out.”

“Where did she go?”

“She said she had something to do at a colleague’s house.”

Her mother-in-law heard the commotion and came out of her bedroom. “What’s wrong, Lan’er?”

“Where did Junhui go? Why hasn’t she come back yet?”

“Yeah, why hasn’t she returned? She said she was going to a colleague’s house, and it’s been an hour.”

As they spoke, Zhou Qingshan also came in. Seeing her return, he didn’t say much. Since she hadn’t caught anyone and didn’t dare confirm from a distance, she didn’t mention it and went to the kitchen to fetch water to wash up.

“Was your follow-up visit successful?” The man poured some hot water into her cup.

“It should be considered successful; at least I stopped a fight.”

“Isn’t this work a bit trivial?”

“It’s fine; it’s just women’s affairs—talking about trivial matters.” There were points to earn from gossiping, and although the issues on the surface were conflicts and fights, the underlying situations varied from household to household. The system was quite interested.

“You came back in such a hurry; did something happen with Junhui?”

“I saw two people on the road just now, but I couldn’t see clearly who the woman was from a distance.”

“Was the other one a man?”

“Mm.” As she spoke, she remembered her visit to his workplace today and reminded him, “I heard your colleague say that someone seems to have set their sights on you. Be careful.”

Upon hearing this, the man sighed. “I know.”

The couple didn’t go to bed after washing up; instead, they waited in the main room for Zhou Junhui. It wasn’t long before she returned, entering the house as if she were sneaking in.

“Where have you been?” Zhou Qingshan’s voice startled her, making her shiver.

“I didn’t go anywhere.”

“Your sister-in-law saw a man and a woman on the road earlier; was that you?”

“No. I was at a colleague’s house learning to knit a sweater. Where did my sister-in-law see them?”

Did she see wrong? Luo Lan looked at her clothes again; they seemed a bit different. She had just entered, so she wasn’t very familiar with her sister-in-law. Maybe she really did see wrong.

“It was on the small road to the east. I thought it was you; I must have been mistaken.”

“I wouldn’t be that reckless. What would I be doing with a man out on the street at night?”

“As long as it wasn’t you, that’s good.” Zhou Qingshan continued, “Go wash up.”

She turned to go to the kitchen for water, while Zhou Qingshan spoke with his mother. “Junhui is getting older; Mom, can you talk to your sister about finding someone suitable for her?”

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.” The woman sighed. “Qingshan, do you think Sun Tong will really be executed?”

So, her mother was still worried about this. Zhou Qingshan comforted her, saying, “He definitely will.”

“Then I can rest easy. Did you know about this early on? How did you find out, and why didn’t you tell me?”

Her expression became agitated as she spoke. Luo Lan quickly poured her some warm water. “Mom, don’t get worked up. We didn’t tell you because we were afraid it would upset you. Now that the criminal is facing justice, you should feel comforted.”

As she spoke, tears began to flow. She had been holding back her emotions all night, not wanting to worry her children. However, her heart was too shaken, and this pressure needed to be released for her to find peace.

“My Minshan can finally rest in peace.”

“Mom, if you want to cry, go ahead.” Zhou Qingshan had heard from the doctor that intense emotions needed to be expressed, and proper release could aid recovery.

The woman’s long-held emotions finally broke through at her son’s words. She covered her face with a handkerchief and wept silently. Since the incident with her child, she had been tormented by self-blame every moment. Today, the murderer was finally caught, and justice was about to be served.

Luo Lan and her husband stayed silently beside her. Hearing the commotion, Zhou Junfang also came out from the other room. The little girl stood there, holding a handkerchief, her posture of crying exactly mirroring her mother’s.