Hu Xiumei grabbed Qiao Yuewei’s hand with surprising force. Qiao Yuewei frowned and pried her fingers apart.
Sure enough, a few red marks appeared on her fair wrist.
“Aunt Hu, what do you mean by this? How am I supposed to know what happened just because things went missing?”
He Runsong roared angrily, “Qiao Yuewei, why aren’t you telling the truth yet?!”
“What truth? It must have been her—she took everything while we weren’t home!” He Ximing snorted coldly.
He Chuchu stayed silent, glancing at the unfamiliar police officers. They hadn’t called the police—so why were they here?
Before Qiao Yuewei could speak, one officer approached Hu Xiumei. “Are you Hu Xiumei?”
Hu Xiumei paused, then nodded. “Yes, I am.”
“You are suspected of interfering with a military marriage. Please come with us.”
“What do you mean? I didn’t do anything, officer!” Hu Xiumei looked back at He Runsong for support.
He Runsong stood up. “Officer, there must be some misunderstanding here.”
“Misunderstanding? You know Hu Dashu, right? He confessed everything and said you incited him!”
Hu Xiumei’s mind went blank. Last night, Dashu didn’t succeed and was arrested by the police?
“What do you mean?” He Runsong was confused. What did this have to do with Hu Dashu?
“The story is, last night Hu Dashu broke into the Qiao household trying to act lewdly. Luckily, our comrades passing by caught him red-handed!” The police rephrased it to protect Qiao Yuewei’s reputation.
Qiao Yuewei smiled gratefully at them.
Although she didn’t care much about appearances, she felt warm inside from their concern.
He Runsong looked at Hu Xiumei. Hu Dashu was her nephew. Because he disliked the Hu family, few relatives ever visited. He knew Hu Xiumei sent money to her family every month, not much—just a hundred yuan—so he usually turned a blind eye.
“Xiumei, what’s going on?”
“I…” Hu Xiumei stammered, cold sweat running down her forehead. She had called Hu Dashu, but who would have thought he was so useless? Not only did Qiao Yuewei evade him, she also called the police.
Hu Xiumei spoke pitifully and with self-reproach. “Officers, it’s a misunderstanding! Yesterday, a few of us weren’t home. I was worried Yuewei might be scared, so I sent Dashu to check on her. I didn’t know he had such ulterior motives! Had I known, I wouldn’t have sent him. Yuewei is like my daughter too.”
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.
He Runsong’s frown eased. That made sense—it was probably Hu Dashu acting on a whim and then blaming her when caught.
He Chuchu angrily said, “Exactly! Over the years, my mother treated Qiao Yuewei as her own daughter. Yuewei, how could you believe Hu Dashu’s lies?”
Onlookers murmured. Oh, what a scandal! Hu Xiumei normally seemed gentle, but Qiao Yuewei was known for her fiery temper.
“Yes, officer, Xiumei shouldn’t be that kind of person,” a neighbor spoke up. People helped when they could.
Qiao Yuewei sneered inwardly. Hu Xiumei’s hypocritical mask had fooled many.
“Yesterday, Hu Dashu said in person that you ‘gave’ me to him. The officers heard it. He also said you specifically sought him out to come to the Qiao house that night, to consummate things.”
The officer nodded. “That’s right.”
“Later, I went to the guesthouse out of fear and stayed there overnight.”
“I can attest to that. I personally took Comrade Qiao to the guesthouse, which is right across from the station. I saw her there until morning.”
Qiao Yuewei’s expression turned cold, though her eyes were red. “I’ve treated your family of three fairly! Over the years, Qiao household has paid for everything you’ve eaten, worn, and used. Just because I refused to transfer my job to He Chuchu the day before yesterday, you calculate against me like this!”
“And as for the things in this house—you want to accuse me? Other than me, only you have the keys.”
“No, Yuewei, I didn’t…” Hu Xiumei looked guilty under the officer’s gaze.
“Trying to scheme against a stepdaughter just to stop your own daughter from going to the countryside, tsk tsk tsk!”
At the mention of work and going to the countryside, the crowd immediately snapped to attention.
Even the aunt who had defended Hu Xiumei now gave her a suspicious look.
Who didn’t know jobs were hard to come by?
“Alright, Comrade Hu Xiumei, come with us to the station.” The officer left no chance for her to argue and escorted her away.
“Comrade Qiao, you’ll need to give a statement as well.”
“Okay.” Qiao Yuewei nodded and followed.
The spectators dispersed.
Every family has its difficulties.
He Runsong, seeing Hu Xiumei taken away, said nothing. If she had truly instigated Hu Dashu, he couldn’t help it—this was the moment she chose to cause trouble.
He went to the study. Before he could touch the handle, the door opened. He blinked.
Earlier, he hadn’t checked the study while a crowd was watching.
Entering the study with a grim expression, he noticed traces of someone rifling through it. The hidden room gave him a faint hope.
He grabbed the hardcover book and entered the secret room when the door opened.
He nearly blacked out.
The chest! The boxes where he kept money and treasures were all gone! Even the boat tickets worth tens of thousands were missing.
He Runsong collapsed to the floor.
At the station, Qiao Yuewei cooperated fully with the statement. Hu Xiumei claimed ignorance to everything.
“Comrade Hu Xiumei, if you don’t cooperate, we could charge you with harboring a crime!”
Hu Xiumei shook her head repeatedly. “Officer, I really don’t know. Although Hu Dashu is my nephew, we’re not close. He’s deliberately trying to frame me!”
The interrogating officer squinted, facing a tough one.
He whispered a few words to another officer nearby, who left the room for another interrogation room.
“Hu Dashu, Hu Xiumei denies instructing you to go to the Qiao house. I think so too. You’ve always been reckless, and previously disfigured someone in a fight. Now tell me, why are you framing Hu Xiumei?”
“She’s lying!” Hu Dashu blurted out in excitement.
“Hmm?” The officer glared at him. “Watch your language!”
Hu Dashu shrank back. “Officer, she really sent me! I have proof!”
The officer’s eyes lit up. Finally, this brat had evidence!
After half an hour at the station, the young officer hurried over to Qiao Yuewei.
“Comrade Qiao, you may leave. Their crimes won’t escape justice! Soon, they’ll be sent to labor reform.”
Qiao Yuewei’s eyes curved in a smile. “Thank you, officer. Where will they be sent?”
“Possibly Xin Province or Eastern Province.”
Stepping out into the sunny day, Qiao Yuewei hopped onto the bus heading to the Qiao family mansion.
He Runsong, waiting for her return all night, found her absent. Instead, he was greeted by a few staff members.