Countless eyes were staring at Lu Daqiang, Lu Rou, and Lu Jie.
“Oh my gosh! How did I not notice before? The child we rescued looks exactly like Lu Rou and Lu Daqiang!”
“Yes! Look at those triangular eyes—just like Lu Rou and her mother!”
“And the flat nose and thick lips—exactly like Lu Daqiang!”
“Could this child really be Lu Daqiang and Lu Rou’s bastard? That’s unbelievable!”
Lu Rou’s face turned white. She shook her head frantically. “Don’t listen to her lies! She’s just trying to blame us to save herself!”
She pinched the terrified man. “Daqiang, say something!”
Lu Daqiang came to his senses and nodded quickly. “Yes, yes! She’s lying! You can’t trust her side of the story.”
Lu Daqiang’s mother regretted speaking earlier. “We found Xiao Jie in the snow; many people saw it. There’s no way he’s Rou Rou’s child! Jiang Nuan, stop lying! Rou Rou has always been obedient. She would never do something so shameful!”
Jiang Nuan sneered. “Truth or lie, let’s test it at the hospital. There’s a new method—they can tell if someone is the parent just from hair.”
She meant DNA testing, which was available in the late 1980s.
Lu Rou, already guilty, panicked at the mention.
Jiang Nuan grabbed a clump of Lu Jie’s hair and yanked it out.
“Ah! It hurts! Let go, fat woman!”
Lu Rou, hearing her son scream, pushed Lu Daqiang and whispered urgently: “Think of something!”
Jiang Nuan grabbed another handful, making Lu Jie cry even harder.
“Mom! Dad! Save me!”
The villagers, already suspicious, widened their eyes in shock.
Jiang Nuan released him. The terrified boy scrambled into Lu Rou’s arms.
“Mom… save me… I’m so scared…”
Lu Rou felt frozen.
Jiang Nuan smirked at Lu Rou, trembling all over.
“Motherly love, huh? Now you don’t even need a hospital test. Your son just proved everything for me.”
Lu Jie clung to his mother, crying for comfort—the most natural instinct for a child in danger.
The villagers who had shouted at Jiang Nuan now spat on Lu Rou, disgusted.
“Shameless! She looked weak and innocent, but secretly did something so vile!”
“They grew up together like siblings, yet they did this… monsters!”
The cursing grew louder. Lu Rou realized the situation was hopeless, her eyes blankly fixed on the floor.
She was finished.
“Rou Rou, what’s wrong? Look at your mother—don’t scare her!” Lu Daqiang’s mother frantically tried to shake her daughter awake, then lunged at Jiang Nuan.
“You bitch! I’ll fight you to the death!”
Jiang Nuan’s eyes turned cold. One swing of her stick sent the older woman flying to the floor.
Lu Rou screamed, rushing over: “Mom! Are you okay?!”
Suddenly, someone shouted, “The captain’s here!”
The crowd parted as the team captain, Lu Daguo, walked in, hands behind his back, eyebrows tightly furrowed, and strides full of authority.
Angry Jiang Jianguo followed, along with a crowd of onlookers.
Jiang Nuan glanced at her family standing behind him, smirking at her suffering. They had gone to fetch reinforcements.
Good, she thought. Perfect timing for a reckoning.
Her family had come, intending to scold her—but she had gone berserk, attacking anyone near her, so they called the captain.
Her father-in-law was the meat factory team leader—they would side with him to gain favor and privileges.
Jiang Jianguo, righteous and indignant, pointed at Jiang Nuan: “Captain, I’m too old to handle her! This rebellious girl is causing chaos with my son-in-law, beating my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, creating such a scandal—it’s the greatest shame of my life! Please arrest this animal!”
Jiang Nuan’s mother, tearful, pleaded: “Nuan Nuan, how could you act shamelessly? You’ve been spoiled. Kneel and apologize to Daqiang, your mother-in-law, and sister-in-law—they’re good people and won’t hold a grudge.”
“Yes! Kneel and apologize!” Jiang Jianguo shouted.
Hearing almost the exact words as before, Jiang Nuan tightened her grip on the wooden stick.
In her last life, Lu Lin had taken all the blame, and she was beaten nearly to the point of miscarriage. Her family watched her bleed, knowing she was pregnant, yet not one person cared. They only feared losing favor with Lu Daqiang.
This time was even worse—they called the captain to have her locked up.
Jiang Nuan suddenly swung the stick.
Jiang Jianguo felt a sharp pain and was blasted backward before he could react.
“Ah!” Li Cuizhen screamed, rushing to help her husband.
“Beast! How could you hit your own father?!” she yelled at Jiang Nuan.
Her older brothers, seeing her audacity, rolled up their sleeves to punish her.
Jiang Nuan grabbed bowls from the table and smashed them over their heads.
Blood spurted, screams filled the room.
Her sisters-in-law panicked, covering their husbands’ heads.
Then Jiang Nuan picked up a brick she hadn’t noticed before, holding it in a threatening sweep.
Everyone, both Lu and Jiang family, shrank back, terrified.
The captain studied Jiang Nuan for a long moment, then glanced at the bruised family members.
Finally, he looked at the man on the bed, whose eyes were dark and unreadable.
Lu Daqiang’s mother suddenly fell to her knees, crying uncontrollably:
“Captain! This woman committed adultery with our second son. We caught her red-handed! She refuses to admit it and even framed Rou Rou and Daqiang! She forced Xiao Jie to call Rou Rou ‘Mom,’ trying to kill Rou Rou! Please, make her pay!”
Lu Rou knelt beside her mother, tears streaming: “Captain, we were wrongfully accused! Xiao Jie called me mom because the other children teased him, and he cried in front of me—I let him call me mom secretly. Jiang Nuan overheard and slandered us!”
The captain frowned and looked at Jiang Nuan.
On the bed, Lu Lin’s eyes narrowed…