“She’s my sister… no, actually, she probably has nothing to do with our family anymore,” Shen Qinghe admitted frankly.
“What do you mean?”
Seeing Xu Jiani’s interest, Shen Qinghe spilled everything about Shen Qingyun, like pouring out beans. From Shen Qingyun playing the victim as a child, to the swapped babies between the two families; her biological parents being reassigned, yet Shen Qingyun deliberately framing Shen Xinwei to get out of it herself, and even causing her adoptive mother to be taken by the Revolutionary Committee for investigation. Xu Jiani listened with knitted brows, full of disgust.
“This is too much… how can there be a woman so scheming in the world?” Cao Qinqin said angrily.
Xu Jiani nodded, her opinion of Shen Qingyun completely gone.
“Shen Qingyun has been an ungrateful white-eyed wolf since childhood. My parents raised her with care, and just a few days ago they even arranged a marriage for her. The man is extremely well-off, something even I, their biological daughter, didn’t get. If I can’t find a job in the next couple of days, I’ll have to go to the countryside,” Shen Qinghe said pitifully, looking at Cao Qinqin and Xu Jiani, hoping to evoke their sympathy.
Unfortunately, one pretended not to understand, and the other didn’t hear; their minds were entirely focused on Shen Qinghe’s words.
Xu Jiani sprang up, fists clenched tightly, her face full of anger. “Shen Qingyun doesn’t deserve it. I absolutely cannot let her marry Zhanyang-ge!”
“Sorry, I have something to do. I have to go,” Xu Jiani said, grabbing her small bag and leaving without looking back.
Shen Qinghe froze. She hadn’t heard the name Zou Zhanyang—her mind was filled with the thought that Shen Qingyun wasn’t lying. She was really going to get married?
On the other side, Cao Qinqin was equally shocked, so stunned that she forgot to drink her tea.
Zou Zhanyang was about to get married! She had to tell her aunt immediately.
Xu Jiani hurried to the Zou household. Zou Liye was in the living room reading a newspaper.
“Where’s Zhanyang-ge?” Xu Jiani asked, glancing around.
Zou Liye put down his newspaper. “Zhanyang and Qinyun are with Master Lu. Jiani, sit down and chat with Zou grandpa for a bit.”
Reluctantly, Xu Jiani sat down, her eyes fixed tightly on the door.
Seeing this, Zou Liye sighed. “Jiani, you’re an excellent child. Your path in life is still long. You’ll meet a boy who shares your ideals. Zhanyang isn’t right for you. He’s stubborn; once he sets his mind on someone, he won’t change. Grandpa Zou hopes you think carefully and clearly about this.”
She understood the logic, but she couldn’t accept it.
If this were before, she might have given up. But now she clearly knew how vicious Shen Qingyun was. Such a person didn’t deserve to be with Zhanyang-ge.
Xu Jiani clenched her fists, looked up at Zou Liye, and said firmly, “Grandpa Zou, I understand what you’re saying, but do you really know what kind of person Shen Qingyun is?”
Zou Liye froze. What did she mean by that?
“Excuse me? What kind of person I am? Please, Comrade Xu Jiani, tell me, so I can understand myself better,” Shen Qingyun said, appearing at the door.
Zou Zhanyang’s expression was cold, and Su Xiangmei standing beside him also looked displeased.
Xu Jiani was startled by Zhanyang’s expression but quickly steadied herself. She had come today carrying justice, and Zhanyang-ge would thank her one day.
With that thought, Xu Jiani straightened her back, her voice firm and resolute.
“You appear gentle and beautiful, but in reality, you’re cunning, malicious, ungrateful, skilled at playing the victim, deceiving men like Zhanyang-ge, who is so pure and upright.”
Zhanyang was furious. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to hit her, and growled, “Say that again, and I’ll hit you. Don’t think I won’t hit a woman.”
Shen Qingyun held his hand and said calmly, “I’ll handle this. You continue speaking.”
If Xu Jiani had come for a man, she might have let Zhanyang intervene. But now, since the matter concerned her own character and reputation, she had to speak. Otherwise, it would be no different from letting someone crap on her head.
Xu Jiani looked at Shen Qingyun with disgust. “You’re Shen Qingyun, right? Your biological parents are Shen Hanyang and Bai Yue, and your adoptive parents are Shen Zhigao and Sun Lanzhi, correct?”
Shen Qingyun nodded. “Yes, that’s correct.”
Su Xiangmei couldn’t hold back. “This is known throughout the courtyard. Comrade Xu Jiani, what exactly are you trying to say?”
Xu Jiani raised her voice. “I want to ask, Shen Qingyun—your biological parents were reassigned, so why wasn’t it you who went? Was it because you were afraid of hardship, or because you clung to power and wealth? And your poor adoptive mother, whom you maliciously framed—did you feel even a shred of guilt, or are you someone with a completely vicious heart?”
“Xu Jiani, you don’t understand. Don’t talk nonsense!” Zhanyang said angrily, raising his fist, but Shen Qingyun stopped him.
Xu Jiani sneered. “Afraid? Can’t speak? That’s because everything I said is true, and you’re the type who hides behind men while playing the victim!”
Smack!
Xu Jiani covered her face, staring at Shen Qingyun in disbelief.
Shen Qingyun shook her sore hand. “That slap was free, just to wake you up. Don’t believe everything people tell you blindly, or you’ll end up being deceived and helping count someone else’s money.”
Facing Xu Jiani’s angry eyes, Shen Qingyun said, “I’m not a good person, but I won’t deny what I’ve done. And I won’t let anyone dump blame on me for things I didn’t do.”
Xu Jiani’s eyes lit up. “So you admit it?”
“Admit what? Shen Hanyang and Bai Yue never raised Qinyun for a single day. Why should she have gone with them?” Su Xiangmei frowned. She had once thought Xu Jiani was smart, but now she realized she had been mistaken.
“Shen Hanyang and Bai Yue reclaimed Qinyun, and everyone knew their intentions. They spoiled Shen Xinwei, raised her fat and healthy, as the favored child. And Qinyun? She grew up working like a beast in Shen Zhigao’s home, eating less than chickens, waking up earlier than chickens. Look at her frail body—if she had been sent for reassignment, would she even survive?”
Xu Jiani’s face turned pale. “But… they are Shen Qingyun’s biological parents, and she accepted them herself. If anyone’s to blame, it’s just her bad luck.”
Su Xiangmei’s disappointment deepened, and even Zou Liye couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
Shen Qingyun snorted coldly. “Shen Qinghe told you that, didn’t she? But did she tell you that Shen Zhigao and his wife, and Shen Hanyang and his wife, all knew the children had been swapped? Shen Hanyang only planned to reclaim Qinyun after learning about the reassignment.”
“And did she tell you that Shen Xinwei begged Shen Zhigao and Sun Lanzhi to take her back, so Shen Zhigao arranged a fiancée for me who had already ‘killed three wives’?”
“So, should I obediently marry a man who’s killed three wives, or quietly go to the countryside for Shen Xinwei’s sake, serving Shen Hanyang’s family like a beast? Either way, if I suffer, it’s my fate. Comrade Xu Jiani, do you understand?”
With every word, Xu Jiani’s face paled further. She stumbled backward, “I… I didn’t know any of this. If I had known…”
Shen Qingyun stepped forward, grabbing Xu Jiani by the collar, her face close to Xu Jiani’s panicked eyes. “If you had known, what would you have done? Asked in a different way?”
Shen Qingyun released her. Xu Jiani slumped onto the sofa like wet clay.