Song Meihua had never intended to kill anyone.
When the officers came knocking today, she had already prepared herself to be carried away by them.
“Oh.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
Wang Zhaoming had a particular trait: enjoying someone else’s food made her soft-hearted. The cake Qi Chunchun had given her was quite flavorful, and the ones Qi Chunchun made afterward were made with generous ingredients and tasted even better.
She also wanted to avoid trouble. Exposing Song Meihua would mean she had to travel to the county magistrate’s office with those officers to recount the entire affair from beginning to end. She would have to press her thumbprints and explain why she hadn’t reported the incident immediately upon seeing it, choosing instead to step forward as an informant after the fact.
Even if she wasn’t labeled an accomplice, the moment she returned from the magistrate’s office, those relatives from Song Meihua’s family would line up outside her door every single day to curse at her.
Besides, she bore no grudge against Song Meihua; however one put it, Song Meihua was still someone she had saved through her own intervention.
Just this morning, Qi Chunchun had picked a handful of wildflowers from the mountain to give to her.
She quite liked them.
“Did you come to me because you need me to comfort you?”
“Then you’ve come to the wrong person. Aside from eating, this mouth of mine is exceedingly sharp when it comes to speaking harsh, piercing words.”
“I don’t think you’d want to hear them.”
Wang Zhaoming let out a faint chuckle as she spoke, then suddenly paused, lifting her lowered eyes slightly.
Furthermore, those two were destined to die by Song Meihua’s hand. It was a matter ordained by Heaven, so there was no need for her to meddle.
“My mother said to listen to you. She said you’re a good person, and that staying close to you brings only benefits.”
“Good eye!”
“For your mother’s sake, I’ll offer you a word of advice: don’t let irrelevant people affect your choices and your life. The good days for you and your mother are still long ahead.”
Wang Zhaoming’s smile carried a subtle, meaningful edge. How could an ordinary, ten-year-old little girl possibly smash two full-grown adults to death relying solely on a large rock?
Since Song Meihua didn’t mention it, Wang Zhaoming saw no point in exposing it either.
She merely lifted her hand slightly, looking down as she gave a soft tug to the karmic line around her waist that linked her to Song Meihua.
Although the karmic line had formed, she hadn’t received any feedback from the mother and daughter.
The consequence of her soul failing to fuse properly was that it left her limp and weak all day long, turning her into a delicate, sickly beauty. Three gasps for every single step.
That escape from home had consumed nearly all her energy.
*Why is that?*
*Why is Song Meihua’s fortune so grand and flourishing, while I get nothing at all?*
*Where did the problem lie?*
*Sigh…*
Life was far from easy.
Song Meihua still wanted to ask Wang Zhaoming whether she would turn her in.
She had only just begun to enjoy a few days of good life with her mother; she didn’t want to leave her mother’s side so soon.
Besides, if she were arrested, what would happen to her mother?
Her mother would surely take the blame in her place.
Yet Song Meihua was unwilling to let that happen.
Still, seeing that Wang Zhaoming no longer had any desire to talk, she couldn’t bring herself to ask the doubts in her heart. She simply sat quietly beside her to keep her company.
Her heart gradually settled as well. The panic, lingering fear, nausea, and other turbulent emotions brought about by committing murder dissolved with the wind in that quiet moment.
“I’m taking you somewhere.”
When Wang Zhaoming woke up in the morning, she sneezed heavily. Looking around this drafty home exposed on all four sides, she found that only Wang Yanli was left at home.
He was squatting on the ground, chopping up feed for the household’s great merit-holders—three big laying hens.
“Where are we going?”
“Taking you to broaden your horizons.”
…
“Little Aunt, is ‘broadening my horizons’ sitting right here to intercept the village chief?”
“Little Aunt, if you want to pull off a robbery, you have to wait until I grow up to execute this plan. Right now, with these skinny arms and legs of mine, I probably couldn’t even take two punches from the village chief.”
Wang Yanli had a face full of sorrow. Being too exceptional and overly valued was truly a burden.
Wang Zhaoming didn’t quite understand the child’s inner thoughts. She simply tapped Wang Yanli lightly on the head. “When have you ever seen someone bring a child along to pull off a robbery?”
“Then what are the two of us waiting here for?”
“To look at the mountains, the waters, and the people.”
“Look, the person is coming.”
Not far off, Song Xingjian was hurrying stumble-footedly toward the imperial highway with several clan members in tow.
The small path where the two were sitting happened to be the junction leading from the village trail onto the main imperial highway.
“What are you two doing here?”
From afar, Song Xingjian spotted Wang Zhaoming and her nephew.
He hadn’t intended to pay any mind to these two children, but who could have expected Wang Zhaoming to leisurely step into the middle of the road, blocking their path?
“If you want to play, go play somewhere else! Don’t get in our way here; hurry up and go home.”
Song Xingjian truly had no patience to deal with them.
“Give me one tael of silver, and I’ll divine whether your journey will go smoothly.”
“What did you say?”
Song Xingjian could hardly believe his own ears.
“Oh, come on! Cousin, the Wang family girl is a fool—it’s not like you don’t know that. Why waste your breath talking to her? Let’s move quickly! If something happens to those boys later, we’ll be finished!”
A clansman behind him lost his patience and reached out to pull Wang Zhaoming aside.
Seeing this, Wang Yanli immediately stepped forward, spreading his arms to shield Wang Zhaoming.
He turned back and said to Wang Zhaoming, “Little Aunt, what do we do now? I can’t take on adults!”
Song Xingjian had no patience to watch two children fooling around in front of him. He reached out and pushed Wang Yanli aside.
“If you delay my business, when I get back, I will definitely tell your father and your grandfather to give you two a proper beating!”
Wang Zhaoming folded her arms, turned her body sideways to yield the path to them, and made a welcoming gesture. “Go ahead. At any rate, going now won’t save Song Song. The method you’re using to save him is completely wrong; no matter how much effort you waste or how many people you throw into it, it’s all a futile effort.”
“What do you mean?”
Song Song had set out on his journey to the provincial capital for the examination right after the New Rice Festival ended. Everything had been planned out perfectly.
Who could have expected that midway, the horse carriage they hired would hit someone? The driver fled, while the person hit refused to let it go, insisting that they pay a heavy price.
The other party refused money and demanded that someone in the carriage break a leg just like their man before they would let them go.
His eldest son had pleaded endlessly before the other party finally relented, though they still demanded a sum of silver.
However, there was one condition: they would only release the people once the silver was delivered into their hands.
His eldest son had rushed back to deliver the news while keeping the matter hidden from the villagers. How on earth did this foolish girl from the Wang family know about it?