Qin Dafen narrowed her eyes, her gaze vicious as she stared at the man before her.
How outrageous—this little punk actually dared to go head-to-head with their family. Did he really think she had no way to deal with him?
She tugged at the corner of her mouth and let out a cold laugh, then immediately turned the tables. “Comrade, you say my daughter-in-law took an aphrodisiac. Then how do you know that? … Could it be that you secretly met my daughter-in-law in the middle of the night and then fed her the drug yourself?”
Dong Chengpeng instantly exploded with anger. “Hey, you old hag, don’t you dare slander us! My regimental—”
Before he could finish, Huo Qichuan cut him off sharply. “Xiaopeng.”
Qin Dafen folded her arms, her mouth stretching into a sinister grin. “If you know what’s good for you, hurry up and hand her back to us. Otherwise, even if this old woman has to go complain to the police station, I won’t let this end.”
“You—!”
Dong Chengpeng was choked speechless. He turned back and lowered his voice to persuade him. “Brother Huo, scoundrels like this are hard to deal with.”
What he meant was: stop tangling with them and just return the woman quickly.
But Huo Qichuan didn’t budge at all.
He remained calm and fearless. “Fine. Then let’s all go to the police station and get to the bottom of it.”
“You! You rotten brat!”
This completely flustered Qin Dafen. She lowered her head, her eyes darting rapidly as she desperately searched for a way out.
At that moment, Miao Miaomiao slowly regained consciousness in his arms.
The instant she opened her eyes, she saw a strange, handsome face enlarged right before her. Startled, she stumbled back and cried out, “Ah—who are you?!”
Miao Miaomiao struggled free from his arms, clutching herself defensively as she looked at him in terror.
“Comrade, you’re finally awake—this is great,” Dong Chengpeng hurried forward. Pointing at the Shen family, he said to her, “Your family wants to take you back, but my brother here refuses. The two sides are at a stalemate. Now that you’re awake, hurry and tell us—how should this be handled?”
Miao Miaomiao looked dazedly at the two men, then turned her gaze to the Shen family standing off to the side. Without the slightest hesitation, she raised her voice and accused them loudly, “Good comrades, they’re bad people! They drugged me and tried to force me to marry a village bachelor so they could get a high bride price. They’re evil—arrest them quickly!”
Her finger pointed straight at Qin Dafen.
Qin Dafen instantly flew into a rage. “You damn girl, you’re slandering us! Who said we drugged you? Did you see it? Do you have any evidence? If you dare falsely accuse your mother-in-law without proof, just wait—tomorrow I’ll report you to the village ancestral hall and have you severely denounced!”
Miao Miaomiao glared at her angrily. “You say I have no evidence? Then dare you go back to that room with the village chief and take a look? The whole room reeks of medicine, and Lu Laosan—the one who tried to violate me—is knocked out and hidden under the table!”
“Ah—”
Qin Dafen sucked in a sharp breath and slowly retreated behind Shen Cuiping, while Shen Cuiping anxiously shook her. “Mother, what do we do? What do we do?”
“Make way, make way…”
At this moment, some busybody had actually alerted the village chief and the production brigade leader. A large group came over, holding torches and moving in force.
“What’s going on, Aunt Dafen?”
The village chief, with his protruding belly, walked over to Qin Dafen to ask. Qin Dafen, feeling guilty, lowered her head and didn’t dare speak.
“Village chief, you came at the perfect time. My mother-in-law drugged me and wanted to sell me to the bachelor Lu Laosan!”
Miao Miaomiao got straight to the point and quickly explained what had happened. “Please hurry and come with me to that room to take a look—the smell of medicine is still strong, and Lu Laosan is still passed out there! I only survived because I forced myself to jump into the pond and was then rescued by these two kind comrades!”
“Hm? Is that really true?”
The village chief and the brigade leader both turned stern looks toward the Shen family. Qin Dafen and Shen Cuiping avoided their gazes guiltily, while Shen Jianjun frowned deeply in thought.
“Village chief, just go take a look and you’ll know,”
Miao Miaomiao said firmly, her eyes fixed on the two women.
“Alright, then let’s go have a look and put everyone’s minds at ease,” said the long-silent brigade leader Zhang Yong, slapping the table to make the decision.
Seeing this, Miao Miaomiao finally showed a hint of a smile.
She turned her head and looked at the handsome man standing behind her, who had silently supported her, and gave him a grateful look.
“Comrade, thank you.”
She smiled faintly, shallow dimples appearing on her cheeks.
The sight made Huo Qichuan momentarily distracted.
He paused, said nothing, and simply followed the crowd inside.
Miao Miaomiao’s heart sank slightly, and she bit her lip.
Had she… caused him trouble?
Everyone entered the main hall. The mourning altar was still set up there—yet such a scandal had happened tonight. Truly a disgrace to the family.
One wondered what Shen Jianhui, if aware in the afterlife, would think of this.
Huo Qichuan stepped inside and was the first to go before the altar, bowing three times to the deceased.
Seeing this, the others followed suit, bowing before heading toward the small room.
They passed through the main hall and arrived at the small room on the left—the scene of the incident. The village chief led the way and opened the door first.
Qin Dafen and Shen Cuiping were trembling slightly with fear, clutching each other for support.
Miao Miaomiao crossed her arms, full of confidence.
The door opened—yet the room was well ventilated, and not the slightest smell could be detected.
“Strange, why is there no smell at all?”
Everyone sniffed hard, but still found nothing.
Miao Miaomiao lowered her hands. What was going on? Had opening the windows blown everything away?
No—that wasn’t right. Not much time had passed; even with ventilation, it couldn’t have dispersed so completely.
Her eyes flickered. She quickly stepped forward to the offering table and lifted the tablecloth.
There was no one underneath—nothing at all.
Seeing this, Qin Dafen immediately laughed so hard the wrinkles on her face nearly split, secretly patting Shen Cuiping’s hand in delight.
“See? See? Village chief, brigade leader, comrades—you’ve all seen it, haven’t you? There’s no one here at all. I say this dead girl is just talking nonsense.”
After speaking, the mother and daughter looked at everyone smugly.
The crowd exchanged confused looks.
“Mom… what a coincidence, everyone’s here.”
At this moment, Qin Dafen’s youngest son, Shen Jianzhang, slowly walked in, grinning at the crowd. “What’s going on? Why is everyone here so late at night?”
Miao Miaomiao stared at him, and everything instantly became clear in her mind.
There was no need to say more—the truth was right in front of her. He must have moved everything. What a cunning and sinister man—his actions were incredibly fast.
Her expression turned ugly.
Huo Qichuan’s expression was no better.
Seeing the situation turning bad, Dong Chengpeng quietly tugged at Huo Qichuan’s sleeve and whispered, “This is bad. Let’s go.”
Huo Qichuan frowned but still didn’t move.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to leave—it was that they probably couldn’t. They were in plain clothes now, and it wasn’t appropriate to expose their identities casually.
Sure enough, seeing that the advantage was now hers, Qin Dafen immediately pointed her finger and began accusing instead. “Village chief, you must stand up for me! This man hugged my daughter-in-law, held her close, bodies pressed together! Such shameless behavior—our Shen family cannot tolerate this!”
“Uh… well…”
Calling it immoral? He was saving someone. Calling it proper? He did, after all, hold another man’s daughter-in-law.
The old village chief found it difficult. “Then, Aunt Dafen, what do you think should be done?”
“I think he must take responsibility!”
A calculating glint flashed in Qin Dafen’s eyes. “My Daniu is a widow. He should pay two hundred yuan as bride price and marry her!”