Exposed in front of the crowd, Zheng Jiahe’s face alternated between red and white.
Never in her wildest dreams had she expected Jiang Tang to deduce that her peach pastries were poisoned.
Could it be that Jiang Tang had overheard her buying rat poison at the town’s black market?
Regardless, Zheng Jiahe had no intention of admitting to it.
With a long face, she snapped, “Teacher Jiang has no evidence and is making groundless accusations! I simply wanted to reward the children with peach pastries, so how did it turn into trying to poison people when it comes to you? There is nothing wrong with my peach pastries, and it’s impossible for them to be poisoned—”
Before Zheng Jiahe could finish her sentence, her hands suddenly felt lighter as the peach pastries were snatched right out of her grip.
She had assumed it was Jiang Tang’s doing, yet Jiang Tang was standing right in front of her, completely still.
Turning her head, Zheng Jiahe realized it was the female comrade who served food at the cafeteria who had grabbed her peach pastries.
Raising the handkerchief high, Yin Tiantian cast a look toward Jiang Tang in hopes of exposing her lie: “Comrade Jiang Tang shouldn’t make groundless slander against innocent comrades! I dare say there’s absolutely nothing wrong with these peach pastries!”
With that, Yin Tiantian unfolded the handkerchief.
She pinched a piece of peach pastry, intending to pop it into her mouth to prove it was untainted, only to catch a whiff of a harsh, pungent odor.
Yin Tiantian’s mind instantly buzzed. Without needing a second thought, she could judge right away that there was indeed something wrong with the pastry.
Before Yin Tiantian could say anything, Zheng Jiahe attempted to snatch the peach pastries back from her hands.
Jiang Tang stepped right between the two, preventing Zheng Jiahe from succeeding.
Immediately after, Jiang Tang deliberately added, “Why do I smell such a foul odor? Could it be that there really is something wrong with these peach pastries?”
Anxious as an ant on a hot pan, Zheng Jiahe was desperately racking her brain for an explanation when she saw the school principal walking over.
The principal stepped up to ask about the situation: “What is going on here?”
The physical education teacher nearby explained to the principal: “The Yuhong preschool class is currently having free activity time. Teacher Zheng came over to test the children on singing, using peach pastries as a reward. But the child who earned the reward didn’t want to eat it, and Teacher Zheng was unwilling to give the pastry to other children. Teacher Jiang suspects the pastry is poisoned, but the outcome hasn’t been determined yet.”
At this moment, Yin Tiantian completely forgot her original intent of proving Jiang Tang wrong. Confronted with the strange-smelling pastry in her hands, she brought it straight to the principal without another word.
Holding the peach pastry in her hands, Yin Tiantian said with a flushed face, “Principal, there really seems to be something wrong with these peach pastries—they smell terrible.”
The principal’s expression instantly turned ice cold as a harsh, pungent odor rushed into his nostrils, allowing anyone to clearly tell that something was wrong with the pastries.
Even if it wasn’t poison, it was certainly no ordinary peach pastry.
With a stern expression, the principal ordered, “Go fetch the doctor from the clinic at once.”
Zheng Jiahe’s mind went completely blank, unsure of what she could possibly do.
If people found out that she had tried to feed poisoned peach pastries to Cui Xiangyang just to kill him, how would she be dealt with?
Before long, the clinic doctor arrived, and Yin Tiantian handed the peach pastries over.
The moment the doctor laid eyes on the pastries, his brows furrowed tightly as he asked urgently, “Did anyone ingest this?”
Jiang Tang looked over at the deathly pale Zheng Jiahe: “Teacher Zheng brought them out to feed the children in the Yuhong class, but none of the children ate any.”
Letting out a sigh of relief, the doctor explained to everyone present, “Rat poison has been added to these peach pastries. If anyone had eaten this, it would have been disastrous.”
Once it was confirmed that the peach pastries were indeed poisoned, the principal immediately instructed someone to report to the military district leadership, while simultaneously summoning comrades from the security bureau.
Brought along with them were Zheng Jiahe’s father, Division Commander Zheng, as well as Cui Xiangyang’s father, Regiment Commander Cui, and his mother, Lin Xue.
On his way over, Division Commander Zheng had already learned that Zheng Jiahe had offered poisoned peach pastries to the children of the Yuhong class.
Faced with questioning from the security bureau comrades, Zheng Jiahe refused to utter a single word until she saw Division Commander Zheng.
Tears instantly spilled from Zheng Jiahe’s eyes: “Dad, save me! I never wanted to poison the children, and I don’t know why the peach pastries I bought turned out to be poisoned!”
Hearing Zheng Jiahe say this, the security bureau comrade produced the package of peach pastries she had brought back: “We’ve already checked. This package of pastries is unpoisoned—the rat poison was sprinkled on later.”
The physical education teacher chimed in: “Does Teacher Zheng really not know the pastries were poisoned? If you didn’t know, why were you so insistent on feeding them only to Cui Xiangyang?”
Her eyes rimmed with red from lingering fear, Lin Xue said, “It’s one thing if you have grievances against me, but Xiangyang is so young! How could you bring yourself to give him poisoned peach pastries? If he had actually eaten them, what would have happened to him?”
Zheng Jiahe cast a pleading look at Division Commander Zheng, desperately seeking his assistance.
Witnessing the scene, Division Commander Zheng already understood what had transpired.
Sighing in deep disappointment, Division Commander Zheng shook his head: “Jiahe, back when I saw that both your parents had passed away and that you were a pitiful child, I adopted you. Over these years, I’ve been preoccupied with work and had no time to discipline you; leaving you to be raised by neighbors in our hometown was my oversight. Making a mistake is one thing, but you ought to repent before a major catastrophe is wrought—perhaps the state will give you a chance to reform yourself.”
Watching from the side, Jiang Tang only now learned that Zheng Jiahe was not Division Commander Zheng’s biological daughter, but an adopted one.
No wonder Zheng Jiahe gave off such a contradictory impression: although her clothing and styling were by no means poor, a deep-seated insecurity oozed from her very core, driving her to act like she looked down on country folks.
Zheng Jiahe’s expression turned completely despondent, as if all strength had been drained from her body. Her father was unwilling to help her, and the evidence was stacked right in front of her, leaving her with no way to make further excuses.
Under these circumstances, Zheng Jiahe chose to confess.
“Yes… the rat poison was bought by me today at the town’s black market.”
After confessing to her crime, Zheng Jiahe was taken away by the security bureau comrades.
Though she harbored malicious intent to cause harm, considering that no major tragedy was actually wrought, she would likely only serve a few years in prison rather than face the death penalty.
Division Commander Zheng offered his apologies to Regiment Commander Cui: “Little Cui, it’s my fault for failing to educate my daughter properly, which led her down the wrong path. I thought her letter asking to come work at the post this time meant she truly wanted to do good work. Had I known she would commit such an act, I would never have agreed to let her come over.”
While Zheng Jiahe was confessing her crime, Jiang Tang had been quietly observing her reactions.
Before being taken away by the security bureau comrades, Zheng Jiahe had even cast a gaze full of lingering affection toward Regiment Commander Cui.
Coupled with the deep underlying meaning in Division Commander Zheng’s words just now, Jiang Tang seemed to realize what was really going on.
On the train, Zheng Jiahe’s poor attitude toward Lin Xue was because she looked down on country folks. After arriving at the military post and learning of Lin Xue’s identity, her continued hostility toward her was entirely because of Regiment Commander Cui.
Truth be told, Regiment Commander Cui was only about thirty years old, with quite a striking appearance and demeanor, making it no surprise that Zheng Jiahe held feelings for him.
Word had it that Zheng Jiahe had visited the post a few years ago, likely harboring affection for the even younger Regiment Commander Cui back then.
Seeing Lin Xue arrive from the countryside this time—and witnessing how deeply loving the couple’s relationship was—Zheng Jiahe’s mind had twisted in resentment, leading her straight down the wrong path.