Seeing that Qi Zihao had already said this, Old Wang secretly rejoiced.
His bulky body heaved itself up from the ground. About the same height as Jiang Yumeng, he reached out as if to grab her hand.
“You should just come back with me already. Don’t worry, I won’t treat you badly! Tomorrow you can go buy a red jacket, and we’ll treat the villagers to a wedding feast. Then our marriage will be settled.”
Jiang Yumeng recoiled as if she’d seen a monster, resisting his approach.
Old Wang had barely stretched his hand halfway when Sun Yanhua shoved him, sending him stumbling to the ground.
“You old bastard, don’t you even look at yourself? Limping on one leg and you still want to marry my daughter? Dream on!”
Not to mention how old this bachelor was—just that crippled leg alone meant he had no future.
Jiang Yumeng cried so hard she could barely breathe, hating Jiang Yunshu to the bone.
She tried again to grab Qi Zihao’s hand, but he dodged her in advance.
“Brother Zihao, the person I’ve liked all my life is you. If I can’t marry you, then I’ll die at your doorstep. In life I belong to your family, and in death I’ll be your ghost!”
Her voice was hoarse as she shouted, as if she had made up her mind.
She stared firmly into Qi Zihao’s eyes.
Just yesterday, the two of them had been walking together in the fields. Their engagement had been only one step away from being finalized—she refused to accept it!
Qi Zihao’s brows knit so tightly they could crush a mosquito.
Just yesterday he had even thought that settling down with Jiang Yumeng wouldn’t be so bad. But that fleeting affection had completely vanished today, replaced with disgust.
“Feelings should be mutual. I hope everyone here can bear witness—your reputation is already ruined. If you truly care about me, then you should draw a clear line between us and live your life peacefully from now on.”
“Zihao, that’s not how you say it. You two have been spending time alone together recently—everyone has seen it. Now you say there’s nothing between you? Then why were you always asking Mengmeng out alone? Isn’t that ruining her reputation?”
Sun Yanhua, afraid their marriage arrangement would fall apart, just wanted to nail this matter firmly onto the Qi family.
If her daughter ended up with that old bachelor, her whole life would be ruined.
Qi Zihao showed open disgust. “Your daughter was the one who kept asking me out, trying to break my engagement with Yunshu! I wanted to ask her what she meant. From now on, let’s have no more contact. We’re both at marriageable age—better not let others misunderstand.”
Qi Zihao completely absolved himself. He scanned the crowd, searching for Jiang Yunshu.
Jiang Yumeng shivered from the cold, her eyes red as she pleaded, “Brother Zihao, you can’t treat me like this. You must like me too! If you don’t marry me, I’ll have no choice but to die. Can you really bear to watch me be driven to death?”
Qi Zihao felt like he had swallowed a fly—unable to spit it out, yet too disgusted to swallow it down.
“Tsk, tsk… that boy from the Qi family is really unlucky. If he marries her, it’s like wearing a green hat. If he doesn’t, and Jiang Yumeng really does something extreme, that’s still a human life.”
“Officer, it’s just ahead. Everyone’s there.”
Just as Qi Zihao burned with anger, trying to cut ties with Jiang Yumeng, a clear voice came from behind the crowd.
Everyone turned to look.
Jiang Yunshu stood there calmly, several police officers behind her, their target obvious.
“Yunshu, where did you go just now? I was really worried about you.”
Jiang Yunshu cast him a cold glance, walked past him, and led the officers forward.
“Officers, this is my stepmother and stepsister. Earlier I was not in my right mind and was brought here unknowingly. When I regained my senses, I heard them planning to frame me. I’ve already explained everything on the way here—everyone present can testify for me!”
The officer took out his identification. “Police on duty. No one is to interfere.”
Before the villagers could react, Jiang Yunshu pointed at Aunt Liu.
“Aunt Liu, before I even fell into the river, you were already certain it was me who fell in. Could it be you already knew I would fall?”
Aunt Liu had never seen such a scene before.
She had only spoken carelessly at the time—and it was Sun Yanhua who told her to call people over.
She never expected that Jiang Yunshu, usually seen as foolish, would actually dare to report to the police!
“Officer, this has nothing to do with me! It was all Sun Yanhua and her daughter—they told me to do it. I don’t know anything! I just called people to come watch the excitement, I didn’t participate—I’m innocent!”
“Officer, I can testify. As soon as Jiang Yumeng woke up, she let it slip. They were deliberately trying to harm someone and ruin her reputation.”
The onlookers, now understanding what had happened, stepped forward righteously as witnesses.
Sun Yanhua scrambled to her feet, no longer caring about her disheveled appearance.
Jiang Yunshu raised her hand and pointed at Old Wang.
Old Wang quickly waved his hands. “This… this has nothing to do with me! It was them—they said if I waited here and rescued a woman who fell into the water, I’d be able to get a wife.”
He didn’t have the guts to harm anyone—he only wanted a wife. He certainly didn’t want to spend the rest of his life in prison.
Sun Yanhua tried desperately to hide the panic in her eyes.
“N-no, officer, there must be some misunderstanding. Yunshu, your sister only rushed over because she heard you fell into the river.”
No wonder Jiang Yunshu hadn’t been in the crowd earlier—she had secretly gone to report to the police.
That wretched girl was so vicious. She had thought Yunshu was only trying to scare her by mentioning the police—but she actually did it!
“A misunderstanding? That’s quite a coincidence. Whether there’s injustice or not, come with us to the station first.”
Sun Yanhua was seized and dragged up. She struggled, twisting her body. “What are you doing? Arresting people without evidence—do you even have laws?”
Jiang Yunshu didn’t need to say a word—everyone already understood the truth.
“Do you think Sun Yanhua will go to jail?”
“Who knows? But if you ask me, once she’s locked up, the eldest girl of the Jiang family might finally have a few peaceful days. Those two are black-hearted—they must have planned this long ago. Who knows how much Jiang Yunshu has suffered in silence before?”
Every word reached Jiang Yumeng’s ears.
Qi Zihao had already made it clear he wouldn’t marry her. If her mother, the mastermind, was arrested, then she would truly have no choice but to marry Old Wang.
“Let go of my mother! Jiang Yunshu, what are you trying to do? Tell them to release her now!”
Jiang Yumeng clutched her clothes tightly, glaring furiously at Jiang Yunshu, her eyes nearly popping out.
Jiang Yunshu looked at her calmly, almost indifferently.
“If your mother has done nothing, what are you worried about? The police won’t wrong a good person… isn’t that right, little sister?”