Chapter 292 I'm furious

Li Hongmei's eyes lit up, and she slapped her thigh. "I get it! I get it! You mean, make her owe me a favor? So when she's all alone, I can offer her help and make myself look like a great philanthropist?"

"Exactly."

Liu Piaopiao smiled faintly, her voice soft yet carrying an undeniable chill, "That's how you buy people's hearts."

"Your idea is brilliant!"

Li Hongmei grinned from ear to ear, "When the time comes, I can pretend to be in a difficult position and say, 'Actually, Wanyin isn't a bad person, she's just a little confused,' and everyone will think I'm being fair!"

The two whispered amongst themselves for a while, going over the details repeatedly, before Li Hongmei finally stood up, satisfied, patted her pants, and walked away happily.

The practice room fell silent again.

Liu Piaopiao stood in front of the mirror, watching Li Hongmei's departing figure, a cold smile slowly creeping onto her lips.

She raised her hand to straighten her collar. The woman in the mirror had a cold gaze, but a gentle smile played on her lips.

“Qiao Wanyin,” she murmured, her voice almost inaudible, “this time, let’s see how you hold your head high in the military region.”

*

The next morning, before it was fully light, the streetlights in the courtyard were still on.

Song Yazhi put on her coat, picked up her basket, and went out.

She hurried towards the supply and marketing cooperative.

"Comrade, how much is this crucian carp?"

She squatted by the basin of water, pointing at the crucian carp whose tail was thrashing about happily, her voice gentle.

The woman selling fish was scooping them out when she heard the sound, looked up, and paused for a moment.

Her face froze instantly, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, and then she forced a smile.

"Oh, isn't this Commander Fu's mother-in-law? Oh my, what brings you here to buy fish?"

Song Yazhi was taken aback, straightened up slightly, and asked with a puzzled look on her face, "You...recognize me?"

Before he could even speak, the two women beside him huddled together, their heads almost touching, whispering in hushed tones as if afraid of being overheard:

"That's her daughter-in-law."

"I heard she came back from the port city... She was quite the star back then, wearing a cheongsam and carrying a suitcase. As soon as she returned, she moved into the Fu family compound."

"Who doesn't know? She's done so many shameful things behind the scenes! She ran off with some random guy after taking all the money from her family!"

Each word was like a sharp needle, carrying a chilling coldness, mercilessly piercing Song Yazhi's ears, causing her eardrums to ache and her heart to clench in pain.

Song Yazhi's hand was reaching for the vegetables on the stall, her fingertips still hovering in mid-air, when she suddenly froze as if she had been electrocuted.

Her fingers trembled violently, shaking uncontrollably, and her entire arm swayed slightly.

She suddenly stood up from the low stool, her movements were so hurried that she tripped and the bamboo basket beside her fell to the ground with a clatter.

The water in the basket splashed out with a "whoosh," wetting the ground and scattering water droplets that soaked directly into her trouser legs.

But she paid no attention to any of that, her eyes fixed on the two women who were still whispering to each other.

What did you just say?

Her voice trembled, like a flickering candle about to go out in the autumn wind, swaying precariously, yet carrying a hint of stubborn defiance.

The two women were startled and hurriedly lowered their heads, pretending to be focused on picking through the cabbages and radishes beside them. Their eyes were fixed on the vegetable leaves, and they kept their eyes down, as if they hadn't said anything at all.

The fishmonger immediately turned around, pretending to tidy up the ice and dead fish in her basket, muttering under her breath, "These fish aren't very fresh today, I need to move them somewhere else..."

Their movements were stiff, their tone deliberately concealed, and no one dared to respond.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment, as cold as a winter morning.

The entire market was unusually quiet. Even the usually noisy vendors had fallen silent. No one dared to breathe loudly. Only a few scattered shouts in the distance sounded particularly abrupt in the silence.

Song Yazhi felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.

She suddenly darted forward, grabbed the arm of a woman buying scallions nearby with such force that the woman almost cried out in surprise:

"Explain yourself! Who's talking badly about my daughter-in-law behind her back? Who's spreading these rumors? Speak up!"

"Ouch, let go! It hurts so much!"

The woman turned pale with fright, struggling and frantically pulling her arm back, tearing her sleeve askew. "We..."

We heard it from others, it really wasn't intentional, but the news just spread like wildfire..."

"Who said that?"

Song Yazhi's voice suddenly rose eight octaves, exploding like thunder in the market, startling the vegetable vendors and shoppers around her, who all stopped what they were doing and turned to look at her.

In the past, if she heard someone scolding her daughter-in-law Qiao Wanyin, she might have secretly chuckled to herself, or even felt secretly pleased.

After all, when that daughter-in-law first entered the family, she was stubborn, disobedient, and constantly contradicted her, so she had long disliked her.

But today is different.

Today, when she heard those slanderous words, she felt no pleasure. Instead, it was as if a raging fire shot from the bottom of her heart to her head, burning her eyes until they turned red and her ears rang, as if hundreds of flies were buzzing inside her head.

She staggered a step, then grabbed the edge of the wooden board used for selling vegetables tightly to keep her balance and avoid falling.

His fingernails had dug deep into the cracks in the wooden board from excessive force, his knuckles were white and his veins were bulging.

"Nonsense!"

She finally roared, her voice hoarse yet incredibly penetrating, making everyone in the market's ears ring, "My daughter-in-law, Qiao Wanyin, is a respectable girl! Pure and innocent! Of impeccable character! Anyone who dares to gossip about her again, believe me, I'll tear their mouth apart!"

Seeing the situation was turning sour, the fishmonger quickly interjected, her voice forced with a smile but unable to hide her unease: "Aunt Fu, don't be angry, don't be angry... We're all neighbors, it's just a few words, why take it so seriously..."

"Angry? I'm so angry I could explode!"

Song Yazhi was trembling violently, her face flushed red, and veins throbbing on her forehead. "You've really gone too far! One by one, you're ganging up on my family? Don't you have any sense of law? Don't you have any conscience?"

She glared at the people around her, her voice growing louder and more forceful: "Slandering military families is illegal! Do you understand? Do you understand the law?!"

The surroundings instantly descended into chaos.

People whispered among themselves, moved around, and gathered in larger numbers, discussing in hushed tones. The murmurs rose and fell like a swarm of bees buzzing around one's head, making one feel irritated and oppressed.

Song Yazhi stood in the center of the crowd, her clothes still wet and clinging to her legs, yet she seemed completely oblivious.

She straightened her back, tilted her head back, and her voice boomed so loudly it seemed to make the air tremble:

“My daughter-in-law, Qiao Wanyin, is a kindergarten principal officially appointed by the military! The documents are all stamped with the military region's official seal! Anyone who says a bad word about her is going against the entire military region! They will be held legally responsible!”

The room fell silent upon hearing this.

Everyone froze on the spot, even holding their breath.