After saying this, she picked up the clothes scattered on the ground, tossed them over the door beam, tied a knot, and hopped up, ready to stick her head through the noose.
Gu Xizhou, standing nearby, felt his pupils constrict. He stepped forward and grabbed Su Nanzhi’s hand.
Although his intuition told him Su Nanzhi wasn’t truly trying to kill herself, his heart still clenched at the sight.
Seeing this, the crowd that had been watching immediately gathered around to comfort Su Nanzhi.
“Sister, don’t do anything rash.”
“Death won’t solve anything.”
“If there’s a problem, tell the organization. They’ll definitely help you.”
“If you really die, you might just be doing someone else a favor.”
…
Although the residents of Jiashu Yuan usually bickered over trivial matters, they were completely united when it came to matters of principle.
Su Nanzhi thought: Dying is out of the question, but making Zhao Xue die of social embarrassment? That’s doable.
She pressed herself closer into Sister-in-law Wang’s arms, afraid her laughter would be too loud.
Zhao Xue covered her burning face, listening to the military wives’ words, and only wanted to curse at them.
She hadn’t expected this country woman Su Nanzhi to be so fierce—threatening to die over a mere disagreement.
But she’d already said what she said. If she changed her story now, wouldn’t that just prove she’d been lying?
“I… I didn’t say anything wrong. Today, only Xiao Su really came to Brother Qin’s courtyard. Who else could have been there?”
“Besides, nothing has ever gone missing in Jiashu Yuan before.”
“It’s only since Xiao Su arrived…”
At these words, sure enough, the people around began looking at Su Nanzhi with a hint of suspicion.
Although things had occasionally gone missing in Jiashu Yuan before, they were always worthless vegetables. This was the first time something like the large-scale theft at Qin Lie’s house had occurred.
And it had happened right after Su Nanzhi came to Jiashu Yuan…
Su Nanzhi wiped her tearless face, nimbly stepped forward again, and delivered two resounding slaps to Zhao Xue.
“Zhao Xue, you just want to drive me to my death so you can take my place.”
“This is my home. Why would I steal anything?”
“And even if I did steal, where would I hide it?”
Su Nanzhi’s reasoned words made everyone present nod in agreement.
Zhao Xue covered her cheeks, looking at the contemptuous gazes directed at her. With old grievances and new grudges combined, she no longer cared about her usual gentle image. She let out a shriek and lunged at Su Nanzhi.
Su Nanzhi wasn’t about to stand there and get hit. With a nimble sidestep, she ducked behind Qin Lie.
“Smack.”
The crisp sound of a slap instantly silenced the noisy room.
A bright red handprint marked Qin Lie’s dark, grim face.
Zhao Xue was startled and said fearfully, “Brother Qin, I didn’t mean it. I was trying to teach her a lesson…”
Su Nanzhi almost laughed out loud. “Brother Qin is sitting in a wheelchair, and I’m standing. There’s such a big difference in height.”
“How could that not be intentional? I think you did it on purpose!”
“Are you trying to embarrass Brother Qin…”
Qin Lie couldn’t take it anymore. He barked, “Enough!”
He stared at Su Nanzhi with a vicious look. “What happened at my house?”
Su Nanzhi looked completely bewildered. “Brother Qin, this is how it was when I first stepped into your courtyard. I don’t know.”
Qin Lie kept staring at Su Nanzhi. Although he was sitting in a wheelchair with a handprint on his face, he was still a veteran who had endured countless battles on the front lines. His aura was intimidating—at the very least, the chattering military wives had quieted down, even their breathing growing softer.
Su Nanzhi wasn’t afraid. In fact, she almost wanted to laugh.
Qin Lie wouldn’t use these tactics on hostile forces or criminals, but he was using them on her—his own fiancée.
Anyone watching would think she was a suspect.
Even though she was indeed the culprit.
Gu Xizhou, standing nearby, furrowed his brow and stepped between Su Nanzhi and Qin Lie.
“I don’t think Comrade Su could have emptied your house in just a few minutes.”
“Deputy Battalion Commander Qin, perhaps you should think carefully about whether someone entered your house between last night and the early morning.”
Su Nanzhi looked at Gu Xizhou’s back, a warm current flowing through her heart.
Gu Xizhou didn’t need to wade into this mess at all. A petty-minded man like Qin Lie wouldn’t appreciate Gu Xizhou’s help—he’d only think Gu Xizhou was meddling in his affairs.
Sure enough, a flicker of impatience and unease passed through Qin Lie’s eyes…
Catching Qin Lie’s unease, Su Nanzhi narrowed her eyes.
Qin Lie seemed to have become unsettled the moment Gu Xizhou mentioned last night.
She glanced at Zhao Xue, who was nervously darting her eyes toward Qin Lie from time to time.
Su Nanzhi couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.
So the two of them had been together last night.
In this era where moral conduct was strictly enforced, the two of them behaving like that was tantamount to hooliganism. Qin Lie wouldn’t just lose his position in the military—he and Zhao Xue might both be arrested for reformation.
“That’s right, Brother Qin, weren’t you home last night? The house is such a mess—even the cabinet in your bedroom has been ransacked. How could you not have heard such a commotion?”
“If it wasn’t stolen last night, then it must have been stolen early this morning. Brother Qin, what time did you leave the house this morning?”
Qin Lie pressed his lips together, his gaze at Su Nanzhi filled with malice.
“I didn’t notice.”
Before he could finish speaking, Auntie Zhao beside him immediately slapped her thigh excitedly. “Early this morning, before dawn, my Dabao wet the bed. I was sitting in the courtyard washing the sheets, and I don’t think I saw Deputy Battalion Commander Qin leave the house.”
One of the neighboring military wives couldn’t help but chime in, “Come to think of it, I was also working in the courtyard today, and I don’t recall hearing any commotion from Deputy Battalion Commander Qin’s place either.”
Su Nanzhi hadn’t expected Auntie Zhao to be such a great help. Watching the veins bulge on Qin Lie’s forehead, she couldn’t help but curl her lips into a mocking smile.
“Brother Qin, you’ve already made it to deputy battalion commander, yet your life is even more muddled than us ordinary folks.”
“You didn’t hear anything when you went to bed at night, and you don’t even know the time when you left in the morning. How are the soldiers under your command supposed to trust you?”
At that, Su Nanzhi’s tone suddenly paused. “Or is it that you didn’t come home yesterday?”