Her counterquestion left the others speechless.
She continued pitifully, “Fortunately, I was still conscious when Xiaohu found me last night.
“My entire body hurt terribly, so I asked him to take me to the hospital immediately.”
Meng Yao patted her chest with lingering fear.
“Thankfully, I was taken there in time, so nothing serious happened. Had I arrived any later, I might have died.”
The autumn night wind was no joke.
Had she remained unconscious outside until morning, she probably would have frozen to death.
Meng Liangcai thought for a long moment but found himself unable to refute her. He wanted to make things difficult for her, yet he had no grounds to do so.
“Why didn’t Xiaohu’s family inform us about something so serious?”
“Xiaohu stayed with me at the hospital until now. He couldn’t be in two places at once, so how could he have come back to inform you?”
Meng Yao crossed her arms and glared angrily at the three of them.
“As my family, instead of asking whether I’m injured, you’re questioning me.”
Hmph. They were not even trying to hide their scheming expressions.
Seeing how angry she was and how her expression did not seem like she was lying, they realized that there was no point in investigating further now that things had already turned out this way.
Meng Liangcai waved helplessly.
“Forget it. Since you’re injured, go back to your room and rest.”
“Dad!”
Meng Ying stomped her foot unwillingly.
“Are we really going to let this matter go?”
“What else do you want to do?”
Meng Liangcai became so agitated that blood rushed to his head. His heart throbbed painfully, and he clutched his chest before collapsing into the chair without another word.
This scandal had been caused by his own failed attempt to steal a chicken, only to lose the rice used to lure it.
There was no direct evidence proving that Meng Yao had deliberately caused everything.
If they continued investigating, not only might they expose their scheme, but they could also be caught for drugging her.
The most important thing now was to cover up the incident and make other plans later.
Meng Yao hummed smugly and cast Meng Ying a provocative look.
With your skills, how could you possibly fight me?
In her previous life, she had been foolish and trusted the Meng family too much, which was why she had fallen into their trap.
In this life, she would let them suffer the consequences of their own actions, turn against one another, and eventually go to hell together.
“Bang!”
Li Yuqin, who had been holding herself back for a long time, suddenly stood up and blocked Meng Yao’s path.
“No! We can’t simply let this matter go.
“It was all because of you, you wretched girl! You’ve ruined Yingzi’s life.”
Meng Yao sneered.
“Then what do you want?”
Li Yuqin’s eyes turned bloodshot as she shouted with a ferocious expression, “Go to the Qi family and tell them that you admire Qi Yunhai and want to marry him. Beg them to switch the bride.”
Hearing this, Meng Yao did not become angry.
Such shameless words were indeed consistent with the Meng family’s usual behavior.
However, from her previous life until now, there was one thing she had never been able to understand, no matter how hard she thought about it.
Although she was not related to the Meng family by blood, the couple had still raised her with care.
People often said that the kindness of raising a child was greater than that of giving birth.
Yet in the hearts of Meng Liangcai and Li Yuqin, she had never been able to compare with Meng Ying, who had only recently returned after being recognized as their biological daughter.
Meng Yao stood at the foot of the stairs, half leaning against the wall as she narrowed her eyes.
She said calmly, “Fine. Kneel before me and kowtow three times. Then perhaps I’ll consider it.”
Even after everything had already happened, they still wanted her to replace Meng Ying and marry into the Qi family.
In this era, sleeping together before marriage was hardly considered something honorable.
Even if the Qi family truly agreed to switch brides, after what happened today, which respectable family would dare come and propose marriage to Meng Ying?
Li Yuqin was truly both foolish and wicked.
The best way to deal with shameless people was to be even more shameless than they were.
Li Yuqin stared at her in disbelief.
“What did you say?”
Meng Ying cursed angrily, “You wretched woman! How shameless can you be? You want us to kneel before you? Aren’t you afraid of shortening your life?
“You stole my parents and took over my life, and now you’ve pushed me into a living hell…
“I-I’ll fight you to the death today!”
Meng Liangcai stood there in a daze as he watched the mother and daughter impulsively charge toward Meng Yao.
Had they not suffered enough the last time?
Why were they asking to be beaten again?
Meng Yao fiercely kicked Li Yuqin in the lower abdomen. Then, with her left hand, she grabbed Meng Ying by the hair and slapped her repeatedly.
Li Yuqin crashed into the wall and fell facedown on the floor, groaning in pain.
She looked helplessly at Meng Liangcai.
“You useless man! Are you just going to stand there and watch us get beaten? Hurry up and help!”
It was not that Meng Liangcai did not want to intervene.
However, the brutal beating he had received two days ago was still fresh in his memory, and his body still ached faintly.
He looked up at Meng Ying, whose face had already been beaten until it looked swollen like a pig’s head, and his trembling legs instinctively stepped backward.
At that moment, Meng Yao looked to him like a devil possessed by a demon, endowed with terrifying strength.
It was difficult to imagine how his formerly timid and obedient daughter had turned into someone like this.
“Too… too terrifying…”
Looking at the mother and daughter sprawled crookedly on the floor, Meng Yao curled her lips in mockery.
“With such pathetic fighting ability, you still wanted to teach me a lesson? You truly overestimated yourselves. Hmph.”
She raised an eyebrow at Meng Liangcai.
“Do you have any objections?”
Meng Liangcai, whose reaction was half a beat slow, quickly waved his hands.
“No, no…”
Meng Yao returned to her room smugly, locked the door securely, and immediately entered her spatial realm.
She scooped up a bowl of lake water and gulped it down.
The discomfort in her body disappeared instantly.
She watched as the bruises on her body gradually faded, revealing fair and flawless skin once more.
Meng Yao could not help sighing.
How could this merely be a spiritual spring?
It was practically a sacred lake capable of curing every illness.
Looking at the endless grassland, she felt that it was far too empty, as though something was missing.
It would be such a waste not to raise some birds and animals there.
She opened the marketplace inside the small cabin and discovered that the livestock and poultry section had not yet been unlocked. She felt somewhat disappointed.
However, why should she spend money buying them when her own family already had some available?
Ever since the small factory encountered trouble, the family’s financial situation had steadily worsened.
The frugal Li Yuqin had bought many chicks and ducklings from small market stalls.
They were raised in a palm-sized yard behind the kitchen and fed with leftovers.
The chickens laid eggs, and the eggs hatched into more chicks, so there were already quite a few of them.
At this thought, Meng Yao immediately pushed open the window and looked at the poultry being raised in the backyard. A wicked smile curved her lips.
Little darlings, wait for me. I’ll bring all of you into my space soon. The spiritual lake water is far more nutritious than the family’s leftovers.
Just as she was considering how to secretly move all the poultry into her space without anyone noticing, a voice called from downstairs.
“Sister Yao…”
It was Li Xiaohu!
Meng Yao pushed open the side window and smiled brightly at the person below.
“I’m coming!”
She casually picked up the kettle she had just filled with spiritual lake water and skipped downstairs.
It was almost lunchtime.
Zhang Guilan happened to have taken leave from work today. She had bought plenty of food and invited Meng Yao over to eat.
Meng Yao poured the water from the kettle into two cups and handed them to Zhang Guilan and her son.
“Auntie, this is well water I obtained from a temple. It has been blessed by Buddha’s light, so drink it quickly.”
This was the excuse Meng Yao had already prepared before coming over.
Zhang Guilan smiled happily.
“It came from a temple? That’s wonderful. Xiaohu, drink it quickly. Don’t waste your sister’s kind intentions.”
In her previous life, Zhang Guilan had been constantly worried and overworked. This aggravated a hidden illness, causing her to become seriously ill and pass away only a few years later.
As for Xiaohu, he had never been good at studying, so after graduating from high school, he went out to work temporary jobs.
When he received the news of Aunt Zhang’s death, he became anxious and distracted.
On his way home, he collided with an oil tanker and died tragically beneath its massive wheels.
Remembering the tragic fate of the mother and son, Meng Yao could not help sniffing as her nose grew sore.
They were both such kind people. They should never have suffered such an ending.
Therefore, she secretly decided that in this life, she would definitely change their fate.
Meng Yao glanced at the well in the courtyard and quickly came up with an idea.
However, even after living through two lifetimes, she had never understood one thing.
Zhang Guilan was a permanent employee at the textile factory, and the factory arranged yearly medical examinations for its workers.
Logically speaking, it should have been impossible for her not to know about the condition of her own body.
Meng Yao asked with concern, “Auntie, doesn’t the textile factory provide free regular health examinations?”