Chapter 57 South Branch, Kill Him

Xie Nanzhi looked at Wang Shufen, her eyes widening in astonishment, her expression freezing instantly.

Then came Luo Meijuan's roar, "You're talking nonsense! What are you? Do you need him to force himself on you? You're the one who seduced him, and now you want to turn the tables on him?"

Zhou Mubin helped the weak and exhausted Wang Shufen to her feet and walked her to Luo Meijuan.

Her resolute gaze suppressed years of forbearance as she proved her innocence: "Every word I said is true. I never seduced Xie Wanli; he forced me back then..."

Luo Meijuan lost her temper and raised her hand to teach Wang Shufen a lesson, but this time she failed and was stopped by Xie Nanzhi.

Xie Nanzhi stepped in front of Wang Shufen and warned, "Madam Xie, that's enough."

With those words spoken coldly, Xie Nanzhi helped Wang Shufen up, her voice softening unconsciously, "I'll take you to the hospital first."

With tears welling up in Wang Shufen's eyes, she nodded, choked out a "Mmm," and the three of them left Luo Meijuan's presence.

Xie Nanzhi took Wang Shufen to a nearby hospital, where the doctor gave her a thorough examination. Fortunately, it was all superficial wounds and no vital organs were injured.

The doctor prescribed some medicine to reduce swelling and relieve pain. Zhou Mubin was originally going to go to the pharmacy to pick up the medicine, but Xie Nanzhi beat him to it, saying, "I'll go get the medicine. You guys wait for me in the car."

Watching Xie Nanzhi's hurried departure, Wang Shufen sighed, her eyes filled with loneliness and sadness. "Nanzhi still doesn't want to see me."

So many years of estrangement cannot be erased in a day or two, but Zhou Mubin could see that Xie Nanzhi cared about her mother.

Zhou Mubin comforted her, "Auntie, Nanzhi's personality is just like that, especially since she has suffered a lot over the years, so that's why... Please be more understanding of her."

Sad as she was, Wang Shufen was very understanding of her and said she was already very content with things as they were.

Back at her place, Xie Nanzhi tidied up the mess, and Zhou Mubin's takeout arrived.

Zhou Mubin was busy preparing dinner when Xie Nanzhi saw Wang Shufen sit down. To be honest, she still wasn't quite used to it.

Xie Nanzhi kept her head down and didn't say a word. This was the most depressing meal she had ever had. Only when she saw Wang Shufen put down her chopsticks did Xie Nanzhi raise her head and sit up straight.

"What exactly happened between you and Xie Wanli back then?"

That was the first thing Xie Nanzhi said to her that afternoon.

Seeing this, Zhou Mubin tactfully got up and said, "I'll go downstairs to buy a pack of cigarettes. You two can chat."

After saying that, Zhou Mubin went out the door.

The silence was so profound you could hear a pin drop. Xie Nanzhi noticed Wang Shufen's nervousness; she clasped her hands together and rubbed them constantly.

After a moment, Wang Shufen spoke softly, "Nanzhi, I didn't lie to you. Xie Wanli has a family, how could I possibly be a mistress..."

When Wang Shufen came to work as a maid in the Xie family, she had just turned eighteen. She was beautiful and at the most delicate age for a woman. In fact, Xie Wanli took a liking to her on her very first day, but he never showed it until a year later when Luo Meijuan became pregnant. Unable to bear the loneliness, he took advantage of Luo Meijuan's sleep, secretly sneaked into Wang Shufen's room, drugged her, and forcibly took her body.

After regaining consciousness, Wang Shufen immediately wanted to call the police, but Xie Wanli took photos of her and used them to blackmail her.

At the time, Wang Shufen was young and naive, and easily intimidated by Xie Wanli. Not long after, she became pregnant herself. Wang Shufen begged Xie Wanli to let her go, but Xie Wanli not only refused to let her go, but also demanded that she give birth to the child, or he would show the photos to her relatives and friends. So, the situation dragged on until Luo Meijuan went into labor, at which point he took Wang Shufen to the hospital for induced labor.

After hearing this, Xie Nanzhi was filled with resentment, but along with her anger, she also had a lot of questions: "Why did Xie Wanli insist that you give birth to the child?"

Wang Shufen didn't dare to look at Xie Nanzhi. She said cautiously, "Luo Meijuan's uterus is congenitally underdeveloped, and the risk of childbirth is very high. The doctor said it's unknown whether the baby in her belly can be born safely. Even if it is born with difficulty, it will most likely be her only child in her life. But Xie Wanli wants a boy. He's afraid that if something goes wrong during Luo Meijuan's pregnancy, or if she gives birth to a daughter, he will be childless. That's why he's eyeing the child in my belly... to try and increase his chances of success."

Xie Nanzhi understood. To put it bluntly, Xie Wanli wanted a boy. It would be best if Luo Meijuan could give birth to a boy smoothly, but if not, there was still the one in Wang Shufen's belly.

He even planned to secretly switch the babies if Luo Meijuan gave birth to a girl and Wang Shufen gave birth to a boy. That's why he sent Wang Shufen to the hospital to induce labor at the same time as Luo Meijuan's delivery.

Xie Wanli never expected that both of them would have daughters. Even more unexpectedly, Wang Shufen would actually switch the two children in revenge.

But Xie Wanli already has Xie Yuanyang, so why is he still so insistent on having a boy?

Perhaps sensing Xie Nanzhi's doubts, Wang Shufen explained, "Xie Yuanyang is not Xie Wanli's son, but the child born from his sister's forbidden love. Unfortunately, his sister died from postpartum hemorrhage, so the child was fostered under Xie Wanli's name."

Xie Nanzhi was stunned for a moment, and Xie Yuanyang's experiences from childhood to adulthood flashed through her mind. Xie Wanli did love him very much, but for his only son, Xie Wanli indulged him to join the army, and he rarely came home. He never even mentioned asking Xie Yuanyang to come back to the company to help.

It seems that Xie Wanli never intended for Xie Yuanyang to take over the Xie family business.

She suddenly remembered that when she bought bird's nest a while ago, she saw Xie Wanli taking great care of his mistress, so that woman must be carrying a boy.

The questions raised back then were gradually answered, and Xie Nanzhi finally understood the whole story. Wang Shufen was not innocent, but wasn't she also a victim in the whole incident?

Ultimately, Xie Wanli is the real culprit.

Xie Nanzhi slowly stood up, her attitude towards Wang Shufen had changed, "You should get some rest, I'm leaving now."

Wang Shufen opened her mouth as if she wanted her to stay, but in the end she couldn't bring herself to say it.

Xie Nanzhi came downstairs. Zhou Mubin was on the phone. When he saw her come out, he hung up and walked over. "It was Xibei on the phone. She wanted to come over, but I didn't let her."

Xie Nanzhi nodded and leaned against the car door, feeling a tightness in her chest; this feeling was not pleasant.

Zhou Mubin asked, "How did the conversation go?"

Xie Nanzhi recounted what Wang Shufen had told her. Zhou Mubin was silent for two seconds, then blurted out a classic Chinese saying, "That old bastard Xie Wanli is a real scoundrel. Nanzhi, kill him."

Indeed, Xie Nanzhi had the same idea.

How can a hypocritical woman rapist stand at the top of the pyramid in such a glamorous manner? Such a beast in human clothing should have his disguise torn off and be despised by the world.