Chapter 40 Forcing the Truth

Qin Ruo didn’t stay where she was. She turned around and went back to the Qin family.

Qin Laotai wanted to stay, but seeing Qin Ruo leave, she stomped her foot and turned to follow her.

Along the way, Qin Laotai looked at Qin Ruo’s back in front of her, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

When they reached the Qin family’s courtyard, Qin Ruo stopped and turned to look at Qin Laotai who was following closely behind her.

“If you have something to say, just say it. I don’t like guessing.”

Qin Laotai’s body trembled. She took a step forward, grabbed Qin Ruo’s wrist, and pulled her towards the house.

Back in the house, she looked around and quickly closed the door.

Qin Zian had gone to the academy, Qin Zimu and the Zhou brothers were still at the scene and hadn’t returned.

Only Qin Laotai and Qin Ruo were left in the house.

“You little wretch, are you hiding something from me? I ask you, is that Bao Gen…”

Qin Laotai finally had the chance. She lowered her voice and asked through gritted teeth what she wanted to ask but dared not.

She had been terrified by Zhu Shi’s crying and pleading at the village headman’s house.

When she heard the village headman was going to send someone to the Qin family to bring people up for questioning, she became even more panicked, which was why she had obstructed him in every way.

Because Qin Laotai suddenly remembered that the day Bao Gen disappeared was the same day Qin Ruo returned from the mountain with a wound on her head.

Her clothes still had bloodstains on them.

At the time, she had just thought that Qin Ruo had gotten into some trouble again.

Later, she heard Qin Zimu say that she had accidentally fallen and injured herself, so she didn’t think much of it.

The reason she asked Qin Ruo this was because Qin Laotai had seen Bao Gen with her own eyes that day, passing by the path leading to the mountain from the Qin family’s house.

Bao Gen had entered the mountain almost at the same time as Qin Ruo and her siblings.

At the time, she had thought to herself, Bao Gen was known for being lazy. He wouldn’t even go to the fields, let alone go into the back mountain to dig for wild vegetables.

Why would he suddenly run to the back mountain?

Qin Laotai was busy at the time and didn’t think much of it. Now, thinking back, Bao Gen had never appeared in the village again since that day.

Didn’t everything fit together perfectly?

If it had been the old Qin Qiuxi, Qin Laotai would have never believed that she could kill someone.

But the current Qin Ruo, combined with her recent behavior, made her hesitant to make a judgment.

She had a nagging feeling that Bao Gen’s disappearance was somehow related to Qin Ruo.

As for Wang Jiaojiao’s accusation that Qin Ruo and Bao Gen were involved, she didn’t believe a word of it.

When Zhu Shi came to propose marriage, Qin Qiuxi had also taken action when she chased Zhu Shi away.

Moreover, she had been even more ruthless than her.

It was clear that the eldest girl had a deep aversion to Zhu Shi and her son.

She was thankful that no one else had seen Bao Gen that day.

“What do you want to ask? Do you want to know if Bao Gen is dead or alive?”

Qin Ruo looked directly into Qin Laotai’s eyes, her face devoid of any expression.

“I, I just…”

“It doesn’t matter if I tell you. He’s dead! The wolves gnawed on him until there were no bones left. I killed him. Are you going to report me to the officials?”

As soon as Qin Ruo finished speaking, Qin Laotai’s legs went weak, and she grabbed the table next to her to keep from falling.

She pointed at Qin Ruo with trembling lips and growled, “How dare you? You’re crazy! Do you know that killing is punishable by death!”

“I know, ha! If I hadn’t fought back, do you think you would still have the chance to reprimand me now?”

“Do you know that if Bao Gen hadn’t died, Qin Qiuxi, who you forced to go into the back mountain to catch fish, would have become a ghost who was almost defiled and thrown off a cliff?”

“Are you satisfied with this outcome?”

Qin Ruo approached Qin Laotai, her fists clenching involuntarily.

Only she knew that the Qin family no longer had the fifteen-year-old Qin Qiuxi.

At this moment, her eyes were sore, and an indescribable emotion filled her chest. It was the emotion of the original owner.

Qin Laotai slumped into the chair next to her, muttering to herself, tears streaming down her face.

“Such a dangerous thing, why didn’t you tell me? If something had happened to you, how could I face your father…”

“Why didn’t you tell me anything? You let that little slut from the Wang family bully you, and she bullied you for three years? Why?”

Qin Laotai covered her face in pain, tears streaming down her fingers.

“Ha! Did you ever care? Or could you even care? Why don’t you worry about your precious grandson first!”

Qin Ruo laughed sarcastically and withdrew her gaze from Qin Laotai.

Half a month after Qin Huaizheng disappeared, Qin Qiuxi faced Wang Jiaojiao’s first beating and scolding.

Remembering Qin Laotai’s words, she couldn’t cause trouble outside, couldn’t bring shame to the Qin family, and couldn’t affect Dalang’s future.

She didn’t fight back, ran home with red eyes, and wanted to find comfort from Qin Laotai.

At that time, Qin Laotai was worried about money because Qin Zian had asked for a new set of clothes.

Before Qin Qiuxi could speak, Qin Laotai grabbed a broom and beat her fiercely.

She beat her while scolding, “Where have you been running off to? Don’t think you can get away with causing trouble just because you know a few tricks! If you affect Dalang’s future, I’ll skin you alive!”

“Your father and mother are gone, your elder sister is like your mother! Can’t you be more sensible? You’re always out in the wild! You have the time for that, you should be thinking about how to earn more money…”

After that, Qin Qiuxi never went to Qin Laotai again.

She avoided Wang Jiaojiao, and if she couldn’t avoid her, she would stand there and take the beating. After all, she could endure the pain.

When Qin Huaizheng was alive, he often taught her, “If you get hit, hit back immediately.”

Under Qin Laotai’s suppression, the original owner’s sharp edges had long been worn down.

Qin Laotai’s head buzzed. She remembered everything that had happened since her son and daughter-in-law were gone.

Her heart felt like it had been hit by a heavy hammer, her lips trembled uncontrollably, she was confused and powerless.

Her granddaughter had become silent and withdrawn, and she always thought it was because of the change in her personality after Huaizheng’s misfortune.

When Qin Qiuxi got hurt outside, the first thing she thought was that the girl was being disobedient again.

Dalang was burning the midnight oil, studying hard for the Qin family’s future. As the eldest sister, she was causing trouble all day long, which made her angry.

Now, thinking back, she couldn’t even remember when the last time she had a heart-to-heart talk with her granddaughter.

She even suddenly remembered that Qin Qiuxi  hadn’t snuggled up to her side for a long time.

She hadn’t called her “Grandma, Grandma” for a long time.

Their daily interactions were basically her talking endlessly, while Qin Qiuxi only responded briefly and clearly.

Thinking about those old memories, Qin Laotai’s tears kept flowing.

“If you have nothing else to say, I’ll go back to my room.”

Qin Ruo ignored Qin Laotai’s tears, her tone cold.

Qin Laotai’s inaction and indifference had indirectly led to the tragedy of the original Qin Qiuxi. At this moment, Qin Laotai’s tears only made her feel disgusted.

Qin Laotai stood up, wiped away her tears, and mustered all her strength to utter a complete sentence.

She choked back a sob and whispered to Qin Ruo, “I was wrong to you before. This Bao Gen matter ends here. If anything happens… I’ll just give my old life for him.”

Qin Laotai suddenly seemed to have aged ten years. Even her usually straight back was slightly hunched over.