The moment those words left Song Jiayan’s mouth, everyone in the Song family stared at him in disbelief.
Only Li Qinghong’s expression was complicated, as though she felt a mixture of envy and something else.
“Oh, heavens! How am I supposed to live like this?” Zhao Xiuli immediately put on an indignant expression. She rushed out of the house and began shouting from the courtyard.
“Song Jiayan is turning against his own father for the sake of his wife! He’s determined to drive his father to his death! How can anyone expect me to live like this?”
“His father worked himself to the bone in the fields every single day, raising him from childhood to adulthood! And now, for the sake of that unfilial wife of his, he wants to sever ties with his own father!”
Zhao Xiuli’s voice was so loud that more than half the villagers heard her. They gathered outside the courtyard to watch the commotion.
Zhao Xiuli wasn’t afraid of losing face. What she feared was that she wouldn’t make a big enough spectacle of herself.
She plopped down on the ground and wailed at the top of her lungs.
“Everyone, come and judge this fairly! Lu Mosheng has been married into my family for less than a year, and how many times have I asked her to carry water or wash clothes? Song Jiayan, what kind of wife have you married? Instead of a wife, you’ve brought home an ancestor for the entire Song family to serve!”
“I’ve provided Lu Mosheng with good food and drink, yet look at what she’s done! Every single day, she badmouths me, her mother-in-law, and criticizes the entire Song family. Now she’s even encouraging Song Jiayan to split the family apart!”
Lu Mosheng walked out of the house and looked at Zhao Xiuli, who was still crying and carrying on. Her expression was icy.
She glanced at the villagers gathered outside the courtyard before speaking.
“With a mother-in-law like you, if we don’t split the family, are we supposed to let you drain us dry until we’re left with nothing but the wind to fill our stomachs?”
Zhao Xiuli immediately perked up.
“Everyone heard that, didn’t you? Lu Mosheng is a vicious woman!”
Lu Mosheng let out a cold laugh.
“Fine. Since that’s what you want, let’s settle this properly today. Let’s see which one of us is truly more wicked!”
As she spoke, Lu Mosheng took a handkerchief out of her clothes.
Since everyone was present today, she might as well clear everything up once and for all.
“This was found in the Chinese skullcap field.”
Lu Mosheng turned to Zhao Xiuli.
“That day, you came looking for me. Afterward, I developed abdominal pain and was taken to the health clinic. You followed me there, and later, you were taken away by two officers from the local police station.”
“From the moment you came to see me until the officers took you to the station, you never once set foot in the Chinese skullcap field.”
“So I’d like to ask you something. How did your handkerchief end up in that field?”
Upon hearing Lu Mosheng’s question, the villagers outside began whispering among themselves.
“What is Song Jiayan’s wife talking about? I don’t quite understand.”
“What’s there to misunderstand? She’s suspecting that her mother-in-law was the one who destroyed the Chinese skullcap plants Song Jiayan had grown.”
“Oh, right! I remember now. A few days ago, some people from the neighboring village said that someone with a rotten heart had destroyed the Chinese skullcap plants Song Jiayan was growing on his leased land.”
A flicker of panic crossed Zhao Xiuli’s eyes.
“This isn’t my handkerchief! Stop making things up!”
“Then shall I go to your room and look for the others to compare them?”
Zhao Xiuli refused to admit anything.
“Even if it did fall from me, a stray dog or cat might have carried it into the field!”
Lu Mosheng nodded.
“What a coincidence! Out of all the places in the village, the dog or cat just happened to carry it into that field. Besides, the Chinese skullcap field is surrounded by a net. I wonder how that dog or cat managed to get inside in the first place…”
Zhao Xiuli sneered repeatedly.
“Lu Mosheng, aren’t you just trying to accuse me of destroying Song Jiayan’s Chinese skullcap plants? Just because you want him to split the family, you’re willing to pin any crime on me! How can you be so vicious?”
Song Lingling chimed in from the side.
“Exactly! You’re absolutely disgusting!”
Lu Mosheng replied calmly, “Whether you did it or not, we’ll find out once the police investigate. But let me make one thing clear in advance: if the investigation proves that you were responsible, then I’ll insist on splitting the family apart. I refuse to let such a malicious mother-in-law continue making life miserable for her own children!”
“I’m not going to the police station! I’m not going!” Zhao Xiuli cried.
Just thinking about that place made her tremble with fear. More than anything, however, she was guilty and afraid of being exposed.
Lu Mosheng reached out to pull Zhao Xiuli along, but Song Lingling stepped in front of her mother.
“You think you can just order people around? Who do you think you are, the county magistrate? If my mother didn’t do anything wrong, shouldn’t you kneel down and apologize to her?”
Lu Mosheng raised an eyebrow and was about to respond.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted among the villagers outside.
“They’re here! The police are here!”
“So many officers! Could it really be that Lu Mosheng’s mother-in-law was the one who destroyed the Chinese skullcap plants?”
The villagers automatically moved aside to make way.
Several officers from the local police station entered the courtyard, including the same two who had handcuffed Zhao Xiuli at the health clinic last time.
One of the officers walked straight up to Zhao Xiuli without wasting any time on pleasantries.
“We only gave you a warning and some serious criticism last time, telling you to go home and reflect on your behavior. But as soon as you left the station, you went and destroyed someone else’s crops, didn’t you?”
The moment those words were spoken, the villagers outside erupted in an uproar.
“So it really was Lu Mosheng’s mother-in-law!”
“Zhao Xiuli, what were you thinking? How could you do something like that?”
“Why would she destroy the Chinese skullcap plants in the first place? Song Jiayan worked hard to grow them and sell them for money. Wasn’t that a good thing for the entire Song family?”
As Zhao Xiuli listened to the villagers whispering outside, she felt as though countless needles were pricking her back.
Destroying the Chinese skullcap plants had been Song Lingling’s idea. If the plants were ruined, Song Jiayan and Lu Mosheng wouldn’t be able to earn any money, and they would have no choice but to return to the Song family.
Once they were back under the same roof, controlling them would be child’s play.
Zhao Xiuli panicked completely.
“I didn’t do it! I swear I didn’t!”
The officers weren’t interested in listening to her excuses.
“Come with us.”
Song Lingling rushed forward to block her mother’s path.
“You can’t take my mother away!”
“Keep obstructing our work, and we’ll take you away too!” one of the officers barked sternly.
Song Lingling shrank back a little. Then she shifted her gaze toward Lu Mosheng.
In an instant, her expression turned vicious.
“It’s all your fault!”
She lunged straight at Lu Mosheng.
Lu Mosheng watched Song Lingling charging toward her, but in the next instant, a tall figure stepped in front of her.
It was Song Jiayan.
Before Song Lingling could reach Lu Mosheng, Song Jiayan grabbed her by the wrist and flung her to the ground.
Song Lingling hit the ground headfirst with a loud thud. Clutching her head, she screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Song Jiayan is trying to kill me!”