“Damn it!”
Liu Pozi was the first to rush forward, cradling the disoriented Ruan An’an in her arms with worry.
Seeing a scrape on An’an’s thigh, she spat so fiercely that droplets nearly hit Su Qingyue in the face.
“Commissar! Captain! You all saw that, right?! This black-hearted wicked woman—she dared to push someone in broad daylight, in front of all these leaders! If she acts like this openly, who knows what she’s doing to An’an behind our backs! Those bruises on An’an’s body—chances are she left them herself!”
Su Qingyue was completely stunned. She looked at her own hands, then at Ruan An’an, who lay on the ground crying with a pitiful, tear-streaked face. A chill shot up from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
She fell? How did she fall?! She didn’t even touch her!
Panic made her babble, her voice splitting: “You’re slandering me! I didn’t touch her at all! She fell on her own! She’s faking it!”
“Bah!” Luo Guifen spat violently toward Su Qingyue, hands on her hips. “Faking! Keep faking! I can smell your rotten schemes from two miles away!”
She turned to *** and Captain Zhang, pointing at Su Qingyue and Li Ying, her voice loud and clear: “Leaders! Look at this Su woman! Eating like a pig, face all oily! And look at our An’an—thin as a stick!”
She deliberately elongated her tone: “Li Pozi, you claim it’s for An’an’s good, to help her lose weight. But why not help your ‘precious’ daughter-in-law slim down, huh?”
The neighbors immediately chimed in: “Exactly! We saw them yesterday, hiding in the annex, gnawing on huge pig’s trotters, dripping grease all over! That annex was stacked with three or four large water barrels, taller than a person! Full of Ruan family’s heirloom Jinhua ham and top-quality preserved meat! The smell could be smelled from across the street! All stolen from An’an’s family!”
Li Ying trembled with fury, fat quivering, her face red, voice booming: “Bulls***! You damn bastards! Slandering good people! That’s… that’s stuff from our Xu family, has nothing to do with the Ruans!”
“Slander? Today I’ll expose you!”
Luo Guifen had long disliked the old shrew and rushed forward, grabbing Li Ying’s greasy collar.
Then, with a faint “rip,” an old-fashioned patterned gold necklace was torn off.
Li Ying felt a chill at her neck and then saw the gold chain in Luo Guifen’s hand, her eyes about to pop out in rage.
She clutched her reddened neck, pounding her thighs, screaming like a slaughtered pig: “Robbery! Daylight robbery! There’s no law! That’s my lifeline!”
Luo Guifen held the chain high like a banner of victory, right under ***’s eyes, her voice strong and resolute: “Commissar! Look! This is the treasure Ruan An’an’s mother kept under lock and key! The clasp even bears the Ruan family’s old hallmark!”
She pointed to the tiny mark on the clasp. “The old Xu family? Eight generations of poor peasants, broke as a drum! Li Ying doesn’t have two ounces of fat to rub together! Where did she get the money for such a massive gold chain, huh?”
Li Ying lunged like a madwoman: “Bitch! Give it back! That was… that was An’an offering it to me! She gave it voluntarily!”
At that moment, Ruan An’an, weakly lifted her head with Liu Pozi’s support, looking at the chain, tears streaming silently but clearly into everyone’s ears: “My mom still held this chain when she passed… it’s my only memory of her… how could I… give it away?”
The last veil of shame was completely torn away! Li Ying went completely insane, all her anger and fear directed at the “culprit,” Ruan An’an!
Her face twisted, she recklessly raised her large palm, slapping at An’an’s delicate, pitiful face.
“You little brat! Curse you! I’ll tear your mouth!”
“Stop!!!”
A thunderous shout! ***’s iron-like hand shot out like lightning, gripping Li Ying’s wrist mid-air.
The force was so strong that Li Ying felt her bones might shatter!
***’s gaze was icy, filled with raging anger, staring Li Ying down: “Dare to commit violence in front of me?! Lawless!”
He flung Li Ying’s hand away like tossing aside filth.
This was the second time this vicious woman had publicly attacked Ruan An’an!
***’s chest burned with fury, imagining the daily fear and abuse Ruan An’an endured.
Under ***’s murderous glare, Li Ying’s arrogance instantly evaporated. She could only glare at Ruan An’an with a venomous, resentful look.
***’s patience and tolerance had completely vanished.
He no longer looked at anyone in the Xu family, his voice low and thunderous as it struck Captain Zhang of the militia: “Captain Zhang! Isn’t it clear enough yet?!”
Captain Zhang shivered at the icy tone, cold sweat pouring down.
He straightened immediately, no hesitation, and barked at the militia: “Are you all deaf?! Move! Search this den of thieves… all inside and outside the Xu family annex! Any item not belonging to them, especially the Ruan family’s property! Not a single needle or thread left behind! Retrieve everything and return it to Comrade Ruan An’an!”
“Yes, sir!” The militia responded in unison, rushing toward the annex without a word.
Xu Yanli was utterly panicked, face pale as paper, cold sweat dripping.
Like grabbing a lifeline, he tried to rush to Captain Zhang to explain: “Captain Zhang! It’s a misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding! Please listen—”
Before he could finish, two militia men roughly pinned his arms behind him with a “smack,” pressing him hard against the cold earthen wall.
Li Ying tried to scream and thrash, but Captain Zhang, disgusted, grabbed a filthy rag from the nearby firewood pile and stuffed it mercilessly into her wide-open mouth.
“Ugh… ugh…!” Li Ying could only let out desperate whimpers, eyes rolling from the stench.
Captain Zhang knew the situation well.
They could be arrogant normally, but the Commissar of the military district was a force they could never offend!
The Commissar clearly didn’t want to hear this old shrew blabber, so he made sure the Commissar’s ears stayed clean.
Su Qingyue remained kneeling like a puppet with its soul removed.
She stared blankly as the militia stormed into the annex, as Xu Yanli was pinned to the wall, as Li Ying was gagged.
And Ruan An’an—her fake-fall “fearful” expression, and that line: “Sister-in-law, why did you push me?”
A storm of realization erupted in Su Qingyue’s heart. This was not the soft, easily coaxed Ruan An’an she thought she knew.
From the black pig crashing into the wall, to the military district’s intervention, to the gold chain being exposed—
Everything was connected…
Su Qingyue suddenly lifted her head, looking at Ruan An’an, still protected by the crowd, still “weakly” wiping tears.
A terrifying thought slithered into her mind like a venomous snake.
Could it… could it all have been Ruan An’an’s plan?!
Su Qingyue’s eyes filled with utter shock.
“You… it was you?! You’ve been setting me up?!”