He Tiantian treated everyone around her with a grateful heart. However, reaching middle age, she discovered she had been living inside a full-bodied lie.
Returning to the year 1970, He Tianti...
313
Qi Ling looked at Liu Lingli with sharp eyes.
Liu Lingli was taken aback, covered her mouth, and realized she had said the wrong thing.
"I didn't say there was poison in it, how do you know there was poison in it?" Qi Ling asked, it seemed that Liu Lingli was indeed as Tian Tian had said, a bit suspicious.
"I...I was just guessing," Liu Lingli argued. "People usually say that putting something in a cake means poisoning it, right?"
"Heh!" Qi Ling sneered, "You certainly have a sharp tongue!"
Liu Lingli, pale-faced but trying to remain calm, stammered, "I really don't know, and I didn't do it. I'm from the same hometown as He Tiantian's family, we have no grudges against each other, why would I poison them? I have absolutely no reason or motive to do so!"
Upon hearing Qi Ling's words, Old Man Hu also pleaded, "My daughter-in-law isn't that kind of person. We wouldn't poison her."
"We will investigate whether poison was used," Qi Ling said.
Just then, Hu Damao came in humming a little tune. When he saw the police, he turned around and ran away, thinking that he had stolen a chicken from Wang Shuilian's house and that the police had come to arrest him.
Old Hu grabbed Hu Damao and said, "Why are you running away? I haven't even asked you a question yet!"
"Hehe, I didn't run away, I didn't run away," Hu Damao said with a forced smile. "I just have an upset stomach and need to go to the outhouse!"
"Come here, I have some questions for you!" Qi Ling said. "On August 20th, you and your wife delivered sugar cakes to He Tiantian's family in Qijia Village..."
Hu Damao said the same thing as Liu Lingli, insisting that there was no poisoning and that his family had also eaten it.
Qi Ling took out the dry sugar cake and asked, "Is this the sugar cake you gave me the other day?"
To preserve them for a longer time, the sugar cakes have been dried out by baking.
When Liu Lingli saw the pancake, she gradually calmed down. So much time had passed, and there were no witnesses; they had no evidence at all.
"No, no, my sugar cake was soft and yellowish," Liu Lingli said, "unlike this dry, hard piece..."
“Yes, that’s not it. The ones we sent over were very soft. My wife makes really delicious pancakes,” Hu Damao said. “This pancake is rock hard. You couldn’t bite it even if you broke your teeth! This isn’t the one we sent over.”
Seeing that Qi Ling wouldn't leave, Liu Lingli argued, "Don't wrong us honest people. You take a broken piece of cake and say it's our cake, and even say I poisoned it."
Seeing this, Old Hu stepped in front of his son and daughter-in-law and said, "Yes, you can't wrong an honest man. I would say that He Tiantian's family poisoned the cakes themselves and are framing us!"
"I didn't say your daughter-in-law poisoned it, I just came to ask." Qi Ling smiled, his eyes falling on Liu Lingli's stomach and scanning it over.
However, Qi Ling is a relatively upright person. Without evidence, even if it was He Tiantian's family who reported the case, he would not arrest Liu Lingli.
After Qi Ling and his men left, they returned to Qijia Village.
"There is insufficient evidence to make an arrest at this time," Qi Ling said apologetically. "However, I will continue the investigation."
He Tiantian had already anticipated this outcome. Although she felt a little disappointed, she wasn't sad.
If the law cannot teach Liu Lingli a lesson, she will use other methods to punish her.
He Jingyu smiled and said, "Well, thank you for your hard work. Although we couldn't catch Liu Lingli, at least we know she's trying to harm us. Now that we're prepared, we're not afraid of that woman causing trouble."
"Yes, be vigilant. That woman is not simple; she was very calm and collected when she saw us," Qi Ling said. "She's not someone to be trifled with."
After Qi Ling and his men left, He Jingyu instructed his family to keep the doors and windows tightly closed and to be extremely careful.
He Tiantian agreed, but in her heart she was thinking...
Liu Lingli, you are unjust, so I will be unjust too!
With the help of the Snake King, He Tiantian successfully left a trace of her consciousness in the mind of a gossipy old woman in Hu Family Village. When the old woman woke up, she had one more thing on her mind: she had witnessed Liu Lingli and Accountant Qi's intimate moment. Liu Lingli was pregnant with Accountant Qi's illegitimate child…
After that, Hu Damao became a father unexpectedly!
The biggest advantage and disadvantage of a big-mouthed woman is that she talks a lot!
The women whispered among themselves, emphasizing beforehand that they must not tell anyone!
As soon as the chatter ended, the women went to talk to each other about it, repeatedly emphasizing that it shouldn't be told to outsiders!
So, the news spread like wildfire, and soon everyone in Hujia Village knew about it.
Old Man Hu and Hu Damao are pointed at and talked about wherever they go, and they don't know why.
Later, Old Hu asked someone who had a good relationship with them, and that's when he found out what had happened.
No wonder my daughter-in-law has gained weight recently, only in her belly and not elsewhere. She also often feels nauseous when she smells something strange.
The thought that the child might belong to someone else made Old Man Hu feel like he had swallowed fly droppings.
"Da Mao, when did you and Liu Lingli get married?" Old Man Hu asked his son. If Liu Lingli was already pregnant, it would be easy to find out, without having to wait until the child was born.
Hu Damao thought for a moment and said, "It was about half a month after we got married. Liu Lingli was taking a bath in the water, and I couldn't help myself... She started crying, but when she heard that I was going to marry her, she stopped crying. I thought that she was so beautiful and from the city, so marrying her wouldn't be a bad deal!"
Old Hu stomped his foot in anger and said, "Liu Lingli is pregnant!"
"Huh?" Hu Damao exclaimed in surprise, "Does that mean I'm going to be a father?"
Old Man Hu slapped Hu Damao on the head and scolded, "You're a cuckold! Whose child is it anyway? Come on, go get the doctor to check Liu Lingli's pulse and see how many months pregnant she is!"
Hu Damao finally understood why the villagers had been pointing fingers at him all this time. It turned out he had been cuckolded, supporting another man's woman and even raising her unborn son.
Old Man Hu went to call Wang Shuilian, and Hu Damao went home.
But when Hu Damao returned home, he searched everywhere, inside and out, but couldn't find Liu Lingli.
Meanwhile, Liu Lingli's clothes disappeared.
There were signs of ransacking in every nook and cranny of the house, including the father's room.
"Liu Lingli, you damned woman!" Hu Damao jumped three feet high and cursed loudly.
When Old Hu returned and heard that Liu Lingli had run away, he rushed into the house to check. He plopped down on the ground, cursing, "Liu Lingli stole all our valuables..."
There was money inside, as well as two gold bracelets and a few silver dollars that Old Hu had secretly kept.
Aside from money, Old Hu dared not speak of anything else.
This Liu Lingli is too clever; she's only been married into their family for a little over a month, and she's already figured out everything about them. (To be continued.)