Chapter 17

After Song Qian’s condition stabilized, Song Yeping immediately went to the police station to report the incident. Pei Ji’an asked Xiao Zhou to drive, and he followed along, but then Pei Zheng also wanted to join.

Lu Nong: “…” Should she go or stay behind?

Just kidding, of course, she would go with them.

Staying here to exchange glances with Mother Pei and Pei Mingxia was not an option.

Upon arriving at the police station, Song Yeping explained the situation, and the police took it seriously. Several families had already reported incidents of their children being hospitalized after drinking arsenic-contaminated milk powder. The most severe case had resulted in a child passing away despite rescue efforts.

Together with the police, they went to Aunt Sun’s house.

Aunt Sun was promptly arrested.

She hadn’t gone anywhere since Song Qian’s incident. She had been hiding at home, likely thinking it was the safest place for her.

But on second thought, where could a middle-aged woman run off to anyway?

Aunt Sun’s family of six lived in a cramped two-room house of about thirty to forty square meters. When the police arrived, Aunt Sun’s son and daughter-in-law were at work, leaving her alone with her three granddaughters and a baby under one year old.

The baby was plump and healthy, standing in stark contrast to his three pale, thin sisters. It was obvious he was being well cared for.

At this moment, Song Yeping finally understood why Aunt Sun had to swap out Qian Qian’s milk powder.

The healthy, chubby baby lay sleeping on the bed, oblivious to the commotion of so many people entering the house. Song Yeping couldn’t help but think of his son, who was still lying in a hospital bed, and his eyes reddened instantly.

What a vicious person! To provide her own grandson with good milk while giving poisonous milk to someone else’s child.

“What do you want?” Aunt Sun said, noticing that Song Yeping was staring intently at her precious grandson. She quickly stepped forward to block his view. “We can’t afford such expensive milk powder. You won’t find any here.”

After saying that, she scolded the oldest of the three trembling girls, “You worthless brat, come over and bring your brother back to the room instead of standing there pretending to be a saint!”

The oldest girl, shivering, picked up her brother, while the other two smaller girls clung tightly to their sister’s clothes as they followed her into the back room.

Lu Nong felt a wave of discomfort wash over her. She sneered and said, “Who told you we’re here to look for milk powder?”

Song Yeping glanced at his brother-in-law’s new wife in surprise. He hadn’t expected her to react so quickly.

Aunt Sun immediately realized she had let something slip. Panic flickered across her face, but she stubbornly refused to admit that she had swapped out Song Qian’s milk powder.

When pressed further, she started making a scene, shouting, “The police are hitting people!”

In the end, the police did not find any milk powder in Aunt Sun’s home, but a neighbor came knocking.

As soon as the neighbor arrived, Aunt Sun’s expression changed. She shouted at her, “Get out, get out, you are not welcome in my house.”

The neighbor was an elderly woman of similar age to Aunt Sun. Ignoring Aunt Sun’s angry words, she happily informed the police that Sun Yuehua’s son would regularly steal a couple of cans of milk powder from the nearby market. Two months ago, the neighbor’s daughter-in-law had also given birth and had bought a can of milk powder from Aunt Sun at a high price.

After using the milk powder for less than half a month, the child became seriously ill. Once they stopped using it, the child’s health improved. This prompted them to confront Aunt Sun for an explanation. However, Aunt Sun’s family not only denied it but also attacked the neighbor’s son.

As she spoke, the neighbor wiped away tears. Sun Yuehua’s son was big and strong, while her own son was weak and frail, and he had been beaten to the ground during the encounter, spending three days in bed afterward.

From this point on, the two families became enemies. The half can of low-quality milk powder that the neighbor didn’t throw away was quickly handed over to the police officer by her daughter-in-law.

The neighbor’s daughter-in-law brought the milk powder, and when it was compared with the milk powder brought by Song Yeping, they tasted exactly the same.

“Bah, you old bitch, you can’t give birth to a child without an asshole…”

Sun Yuehua glared viciously at the old lady next door, spitting out a stream of filthy curses. Then, turning to the police officer with a sorrowful expression, she said, “Comrade police, she lied to frame me. Our two families have a bad relationship. You can’t take what she said seriously.”

Everyone present was stunned by this sudden change in attitude. Even Lu Nong felt enlightened. It seemed that the nanny didn’t fully show her abilities in the little red house.

Song Yeping felt frustrated and turned away, thinking about how such a cowardly person had deceived Pei Mingxia and harmed her son. He was both pained and disappointed, wondering if Sun Yuehua had ever called Pei Mingxia a fool in her heart. (You’ve revealed the truth.)

The neighboring old lady was not one to sit around and do nothing. She spat in Sun Yuehua’s face, pointing at her nose while cursing, “Pah, pah, pah, Sun Yuehua, you are still pretending in front of me. If I don’t peel off your face, I won’t be named Wang… You son-loving bastard, look at what you have done to your granddaughter and daughter-in-law? You have no conscience. Catch them quickly and don’t come out to harm people again.”

After the neighbor finished her tirade, the police finally spoke to Sun Yuehua, saying, “Sun Yuehua, watch your tone! We will easily find out where your son bought that milk powder. You should confess honestly. If you cooperate, you may receive a lighter punishment; otherwise, you will face the consequences.”

Seeing her son getting dragged into this, Sun Yuehua panicked. “Comrade police officer, this has nothing to do with my son. I replaced Qian Qian’s milk powder, and I also bought the inferior milk powder from the market. This has nothing to do with my son, comrade police officer.”

The old lady next door and her daughter-in-law felt a sense of relief, and then a young police officer asked them to step outside. The daughter-in-law whispered worriedly to her mother-in-law, “We have completely offended Sun Yuehua today. What if they retaliate later?”

The old lady reassured her with a glance and told the young officer, “Comrade police, we have more clues to provide. My son found out last month that Sun Yuehua’s son Zhao Dabao not only bought this inferior milk powder from others, but also resold it at a high price!”

Amitabha, when Sun Yuehua and her son are in jail, not only will their family not have to live with such a bad neighbor, but even Sun Yuehua’s daughter-in-law can remarry with her daughter and son, and they will no longer be beaten by Zhao Dabao. The mother and daughter can live a decent life, and she can be considered to have done a good deed.

The young police officer’s expression changed, and he immediately took their statements seriously, asking them to detail what had happened.

Inside, Song Yeping gritted his teeth and asked the question he wanted to know the most: “Do you know that this milk powder is poisonous?”

“I…” Sun Yuehua’s gaze shifted nervously. “The person who sold the milk powder said it wouldn’t harm anyone after drinking it for a month or two. It’s not much different from the milk powder at the supply and marketing cooperative.”

“If it’s harmless, then why don’t you give it to your grandson?”

Sun Yuehua fell silent, her expression innocent, but inside she complained. Wasn’t it because Song Qian’s milk powder was better?

Her grandson had drunk low-quality milk powder before without any problems. Rich kids are so delicate that they can’t even drink cheap stuff.

Sun Yuehua felt deep regret. If she had known that Song Qian would react so strongly, she wouldn’t have switched out all the milk powder. If she had only switched half, it would have provided some cover.

She had always been careless. Back in the little red house, if she had only switched the milk powder, Pei Zheng and his father might not have noticed. Even though Mother Pei couldn’t stand any dirt, she couldn’t possibly keep a close watch all the time; Sun Yuehua would have found a way to get away with it.

“Sun Yuehua, please come with us to the station,” the police officer said.

“What about my son, comrade police?” In the end, Sun Yuehua was still worried about whether her son was okay, completely ignoring what would happen to her at the police station.

Lu Nong was also curious about Sun Yuehua’s fate. On the way back, she hesitated for a moment, then gave Pei Zheng a knowing look. Pei Zheng approached her.

“What do you think will happen to Sun Yuehua in the end?” Lu Nong asked.

“She should go to labor camp. She stole things from the master’s house and fed the child low-quality milk powder knowing that it was poisonous. If anything really happened to Xiao Qian, her behavior would be considered deliberate poisoning and murder.” Pei Zheng replied.

“Of course, Pei Xiaozheng, you are worthy of being a top student preparing for Peking University.” Lu Nong teased him.

“Ha,” Pei Zheng detected that her praise contained more teasing than sincerity. He straightened up (his chest adorned with a school emblem) and glanced disdainfully at Lu Nong, saying, “You’re just sour grapes because you can’t have it.”

“Haha, me? Sour grapes?” Lu Nong chuckled, giving Pei Zheng a meaningful look. “Please remember what you said, so that some people won’t cry in the future.”

Pei Zheng nearly burst out laughing. “What are you talking about? Me? Crying? That’s not happening in this lifetime.”

The two joked in front of Pei Ji’an, while Xiao Zhou, who was following behind, broke out in a cold sweat. He wondered when the two had become so close. How could a stepmother and stepson joke around like this?

Lu Nong and Pei Zheng continued their banter all the way to the car. They finally quieted down once Pei Zheng sat in the passenger seat, while Lu Nong and Pei Ji’an took the backseat.

As soon as they got into the car, the atmosphere fell silent.

The summer night was a bit cool, and Lu Nong had left without a coat, only wearing a shirt. She hadn’t noticed while walking, but now that she was in the car, she felt goosebumps all over and sneezed loudly.

At that moment, a military jacket that still held warmth was draped over her shoulders. Lu Nong was taken aback and looked at Pei Ji’an beside her.

“Um, thank you.”

She curled up inside the jacket, and the scent of Pei Ji’an lingered on the fabric.

“You’re welcome,” Pei Ji’an said lightly.

Xiao Zhou, watching the scene unfold in the rearview mirror, glanced over at Pei Zheng, who was absentmindedly toying with his school badge. He didn’t seem to notice the interaction happening in the back seat, nor did he care at all whether Lu Nong sneezed or not.

Xiao Zhou twitched his mouth. If Pei Zheng could come to his senses, he would twist his head off and kick it like a ball.