Chapter 106 The Mastermind

She wanted to bend down to pick it up, but when she saw Fu Lan staring at her, she stopped.

Fu Lan kept staring at her face.

Whenever Qiao Wanyin made a move, her eyes would immediately turn to observe her every reaction.

The room was quiet, with only the sound of papers turning and footsteps on the floor.

Does Fu Li'an know his wife is a slut who eloped with someone? Stop pretending to be so virtuous! Wait until the evidence comes out and see how you manage to keep up appearances!

When the comments popped up, the screen was showing Qiao Wanyin bowing her head in silence.

That message quickly went viral.

Qiao Wanyin's gaze swept over, her pupils contracted slightly, and her breath hitched.

Qiao Wanyin glanced at the comments on the screen, felt a tightness in her chest, took a deep breath, and looked up to say, "Comrade Fu Lan, if you have any opinions about me, you can say them to my face."

The others in the room stopped what they were doing and looked up at her.

She didn't look at anyone else, only at Fu Lan.

“I am also familiar with the personnel department’s work process. If an investigation is needed, just follow the procedures.”

"There's no need to use the personnel department's name to disrupt the mutual aid center's affairs, is there? Zhang Xiulan's case has only just started to make progress, and there's still a lot of other things to deal with..."

Before she could finish speaking, she turned and left with her entourage, leaving behind only a mess in the office.

She walked very fast, and several of her colleagues hesitated for a moment before quickly following her.

The door was pulled open and then closed with a muffled thud.

Only Fu Lan and the people she brought remained in the office.

Lin Xiaoyuan was so angry he jumped up and down: "This Fu Lan is outrageous! Sister Wanyin, what exactly is she trying to do?"

She squatted on the ground, clutching a torn form in her hand, her face flushed red.

Qiao Wanyin smiled gently, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly.

She spoke calmly and slowly, "Comrade Fu Ya, you keep targeting me. Do you have some personal grudge against me?"

Fu Ya snorted coldly.

She crossed her arms and replied in an icy voice, "Qiao Wanyin, don't get carried away! I have no grudge against you, what good would it do me to mess with you? Don't always think of others as so sinister."

"Yeah?"

Qiao Wanyin raised an eyebrow.

He then pretended to suddenly realize something.

"I've also heard that you particularly admire my husband, Fu Li'an. Every time he returns from the front lines, you're always the first to rush over and ask how he is. Could it be that you're taking your anger out on me because you're unhappy? Wouldn't that be putting personal matters before public duty?"

Fu Ya's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

She never expected that Qiao Wanyin would dare to be so blunt about this in front of so many people.

"You're talking nonsense!"

She finally couldn't help but scream.

"My relationship with Director Fu is just that of ordinary comrades! It's purely out of concern for him at work! Is it a crime for revolutionary comrades to look after each other?"

Upon hearing this, the women around immediately erupted in uproar.

Some people whispered among themselves, while others covered their mouths and chuckled.

The scene suddenly became noisy and chaotic.

"Oh my, I knew it! Every time Director Fu comes back from a mission, Fu Ya is the first one to arrive! Serving tea and water, asking all sorts of questions, her enthusiasm is astounding!"

"That's right! I saw her secretly sewing socks for Factory Director Fu the other day! The stitches were fine and neat; you could tell she put a lot of thought into it. She's no ordinary comrade; she's clearly fallen in love!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, isn't this obviously an attempt to interfere? Qiao Wanyin and her husband are perfectly fine, and she insists on meddling in their affairs. Isn't she just undermining them?"

"I think he just can't stand that Qiao Wanyin is young, beautiful, and capable. He's just harboring a jealousy and taking this opportunity to make trouble!"

She was so angry that she trembled, her eyes instantly reddened, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

She pointed at Qiao Wanyin.

"You...you...why do you expect me to break my promise? I...I..."

Just then, the respected old woman from the village stepped forward, trembling.

"She was tricked away that year! You all know that the enemy set a trap, and she was young and naive, so she fell for it. But what happened after she came back? She didn't hide or go into hiding. Instead, she took the initiative to go to the commune to admit her mistakes and confess everything. How much courage does that take?"

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"After she came back, she didn't complain at all, nor did she shirk her responsibilities. Instead, she took the lead in planting sweet potatoes and raising livestock, working from dawn till dusk, her hands worn raw without a word. How much did she help our village increase its income? How many more loads of grain did she produce? Did these achievements just appear out of thin air?"

The women's director quickly chimed in.

“That’s right! Those people who came to investigate weren’t seeking the truth at all! They only asked questions about those who had old grudges against the Qiao family, and only listened to one side of the story. Isn’t that just deliberately trying to smear us? Qiao Wanyin’s family is innocent and has contributed to the collective. Why should they suffer such injustice?”

She became more and more excited as she spoke, and her voice rose eight octaves.

"We, the people of our village, must not be ungrateful! We must not let good people lose heart!"

Qiao Jiangong carefully took out a yellowed document from his pocket.

His hands trembled slightly.

"This is the original copy of my sister's handwritten self-criticism! It's written clearly in black and white. She was tricked into going away, and later she voluntarily returned to the production team to confess to the organization. You see, several leaders of the commune personally signed and pressed their fingerprints on it. I have kept this document carefully all this time, just so that one day I can clear her name!"

Deputy Chief of Staff Qiu took the heavy document and solemnly turned to the first page.

His brow furrowed deeper and deeper, his fingers tracing the paper lightly.

One page, two pages, three pages...

He flipped through the pages very slowly, examining each line with utmost care, his expression growing increasingly somber.

Fu Ya stood to the side, and when she caught a glimpse of the change in Deputy Chief of Staff Qiu's expression out of the corner of her eye, her heart tightened.

She quickly took half a step forward and spoke urgently.

"Sir, those materials were... were investigated according to proper procedures at the time, and there is evidence to support them. We can't dismiss everything based solely on this one old document..."

"Was it you who orchestrated this?"

Qiao Wanyin suddenly interrupted coldly.

"Comrade Fu Ya, in order to remove me from my post and to smear my past, you have gone to great lengths, arranging for people to dig up old grievances, fabricate facts, and even bring up the 'problems' from back then to make a big deal out of them. You have really gone to great lengths!"

Fu Ya's face turned ashen instantly, her lips trembled, and her voice shook.

"You...you're making baseless accusations! When did I give orders? I was only doing it for work, to maintain organizational discipline..."

"Whether you've been wronged or not, a simple investigation will reveal the truth."

Fu Li'an spoke coldly.

He stood beside Qiao Wanyin, staring coldly at Fu Ya.