On the other side, Xia Mingyu had already returned to the village with Yuanyuan and Lu Ning.
The villagers were still unaware of what had happened. Seeing Xia Mingyu return with a man in military uniform, they assumed he was Qiao Hongye’s comrade-in-arms.
They merely greeted them politely without paying much attention.
However, when they arrived at the Qiao residence, Li Zhaodi—who had crawled out into the yard due to the unbearable stench—saw Xia Mingyu carrying Yuanyuan and walking in with Lu Ning, looking like a family of three.
Instantly, Li Zhaodi’s eyes blazed with fury, and she began to curse loudly!
“You wretched slut, where have you been running off to seduce men? Are you trying to cuckold my son?”
“And you mistreat your mother-in-law! Believe me, I’ll have my son beat you to death!”
“You filthy whore ***#&￥＆＃!”
Li Zhaodi’s mouth rattled like a telegraph machine, spewing filth with each word dirtier than the last.
Xia Mingyu had anticipated this. Swiftly, she covered Yuanyuan’s ears to shield him from the vulgar insults.
Lu Ning, however, was caught completely off guard. Confronted with Li Zhaodi’s foul and grating words, his mind went blank.
Good heavens, what kind of hardship had Xia Mingyu endured all these years?
This was no mother-in-law—calling her a soul-reaping demon would be too kind.
With her twisted face and venomous tongue, she was more terrifying than a ghost!
“Shut up!”
“How dare you speak so vilely—aren’t you afraid of retribution?”
Unable to hold back, Lu Ning rebuked Li Zhaodi, standing up for Xia Mingyu.
Seeing this, Li Zhaodi became even more convinced that the two were having an affair.
Her eyebrows shot up, and she cursed even more viciously.
“You bastard, who gave you the right to speak here!”
“You dare come to someone else’s house as a mistress? Believe me, I’ll have my son execute you! You rotten prick @%#＆&＃·····”
As she cursed, she hurled a nearby water dipper at them, wishing she could strike both Xia Mingyu and Lu Ning dead.
If not for her paralyzed lower body, leaving only her upper half mobile, she would have lunged at them to fight.
Li Zhaodi’s frenzied screams drew the attention of nearby neighbors.
Xia Mingyu stepped forward, raising a hand to signal Lu Ning and the neighbors to remain silent.
“Had enough? If you’re done, it’s my turn to speak.”
“I want everyone to hear what your son has done! Li Zhaodi, I’ve endured you for five years, but no more!”
“Your son is the real beast—utterly heartless. Without me, let’s see who will take care of you. Just wait to rot and die in this house!”
Xia Mingyu sneered, staring straight at Li Zhaodi with sharp, piercing eyes. This woman was as repulsive as ever.
So she retaliated without holding back, unleashing years of pent-up emotions.
“Hey! Ming Yu, you can speak!”
Xia Mingyu’s outburst stunned both the neighbors and Li Zhaodi.
They were shocked not only by her regained ability to speak but also by her audacity to confront Li Zhaodi.
It seemed the tides were turning!
The neighbors sensed an impending storm. They watched Xia Mingyu quietly, curious about what she would reveal.
Only Li Zhaodi panicked. Both she and her son were far from virtuous—they knew exactly what they had done.
Though unsure why Xia Mingyu had suddenly found her voice, Li Zhaodi knew that if she were allowed to speak, the Qiao family’s reputation would be ruined!
“Shut up, you wretched woman!”
“Don’t you dare slander our family—”
Li Zhaodi flusteredly shouted, attempting to stop her, but Xia Mingyu had already decided to overturn the table and would no longer tolerate her interference.
Without even glancing at Li Zhaodi, she turned instead to face the villagers.
“Everyone knows I married into the Qiao family five years ago. At the time, my father was critically ill. The day after I married, he passed away. Qiao Hongye didn’t even attend my father’s funeral—he enlisted in the army right away.”
“In these five years, he never returned once, nor did he send any money. I’ve been raising the children and taking care of Li Zhaodi all by myself. How heartless he is, everyone knows well enough.”
Xia Mingyu’s grievances needed no rehearsal—the moment she opened her mouth, the words came pouring out in an endless stream.
“I thought Qiao Hongye was just heartless, but I never imagined he was a beast!”
“Back then, he didn’t meet the requirements to enlist. To get my father to pull strings for him so he could join the military, he schemed to push me into the river, then rescued me himself. He had some aunties spread rumors, forcing me to marry him.”
At this point, Xia Mingyu paused, but then resolved to reveal the whole truth.
She believed everyone was reasonable and wouldn’t curse Tuan Tuan Yuan Yuan as bastards.
“If he had married me and treated me well, that would have been one thing. But from start to finish, he never saw me as human! On our wedding night, the one who entered the bridal chamber wasn’t him! I don’t know who he sold me to!”
“I was drugged at the time—I had no idea what was happening! I thought the children were his. For these five years, I’ve devoted myself to raising them and taking care of Li Zhaodi. No matter how she tormented me, I endured it!”
“But Qiao Hongye knew all along the children weren’t his. Not only did he use me to care for his mother, but now, for the sake of his career, he sent Tuan Tuan away to curry favor with his superior!”
“If he hadn’t sent Tuan Tuan away, and I hadn’t reached my limit and reported him to the Public Security Bureau, I might never have learned the truth in this lifetime!”
“If we’re talking about beasts, who could be more beastly than you two? Which of you ever treated me as a human being? Hah.”
Xia Mingyu spoke with resounding clarity, laying bare all the foul deeds Qiao Hongye had committed.
Then she turned her gaze to Li Zhaodi, full of mockery and disgust.
“If Tuan Tuan were his son, it might have been harder for me to sue him. But since Tuan Tuan isn’t his son, then Qiao Hongye is a human trafficker!”
“Li Zhaodi, your precious son has already been arrested by the police! Let’s see how a human trafficker can still be a soldier or have any future!”
“I’m divorcing him. I’ll raise both children on my own and live well. I’ll be waiting to see you and your son get your just deserts!”
“I curse you both—evil begets evil, and you will surely die wretched deaths!”
Xia Mingyu declared loudly, her eyes like daggers aimed at Li Zhaodi, as if she wanted to slice her into a thousand pieces.
Having said her piece, she picked up the dipper Li Zhaodi had thrown at her and stomped on it fiercely, shattering it.
As if she were crushing Li Zhaodi’s skull.
Li Zhaodi couldn’t help shrinking back, her face ashen.
“You… you’re lying…”
She stammered in denial, but Lu Ning stepped forward to corroborate Xia Mingyu’s account.
“I can testify—what Comrade Xia says is true!”
“Tuantuan has been sold to Jing Shi by Qiao Hongye, but there’s no need to worry. My leader is from Jing Shi, and he has already found Tuantuan. He will bring Tuantuan back tomorrow.”
“A despicable human trafficker like Qiao Hongye, a beast who treats people as less than human—even if I were just passing by, I wouldn’t stand by and do nothing. He must be brought to justice and pay the price!”
Lu Ning declared with resolute force.
He was also a soldier, and since Qiao Hongye had already been captured by the Public Security Bureau, there was nothing more to say—Xia Mingyu’s words must be true!
The team members immediately erupted in outrage!
“What a beast! I never imagined Qiao Hongye was this kind of person!”
“How could our team have such a disgusting individual? Let the captain expel them!”
“Exactly! Our Production Team absolutely cannot keep such a scourge. It’s too shameful!”
Everyone was filled with righteous anger, all clamoring to remove Qiao Hongye and his mother from the team.