Shen Zhenbang was also burning with anger at this moment, his chest felt extremely tight.
He had never been a fan of He Wanrou's overly enthusiastic nature, always feeling that the girl's intentions were impure and that she was superficial.
But considering that his wife genuinely liked her and that having a caring person by his side would put his mind at ease, he refrained from saying much.
Who would have thought that such a vicious scheme was hidden beneath this!
The thought that his wife had almost been harmed by this venomous woman filled him with anger and fear, and he felt as cold as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
But the old man, having weathered many storms, was quicker to think. His eyes sharpened, and he immediately recalled the time Qin Peilan suddenly fell ill at home. He asked with some anger:
"So, the first time was planned, then... then when Perrin fell ill at home last time, was that also her using the same trick again?"
"yes."
Zhou Qiqi nodded heavily, "Actually, it was Mom's illness last time that made me suspicious and start investigating secretly."
Shen Huaichuan added in a deep voice from the side:
"It's a miracle that God had mercy. There was a sudden downpour in the middle of the night. Qiqi and I got up to bring in the appliances that were drying outside, and we were soaked to the bone. He Wanrou, however, said that she had been watching over Mom outside all night and was perfectly dry. That was obviously a lie!"
Zhou Qiqi then explained:
“That day we urged her to leave, and she was in a hurry to change her dressing. When I was packing my parents’ bags later, I found some fake pills that she hadn’t had time to clean up in the corner… It was from there that I realized something was wrong. I quietly told Huaichuan, and then contacted Captain Li and the others to investigate secretly. That’s how we gradually uncovered her true colors.”
"What?! This vicious woman with a heart of stone!"
Shen Zhenbang's face turned ashen with rage, and he roared:
"She actually changed Peilan's dressings again and again! Can Peilan's body withstand such repeated torment?! No wonder! No wonder Peilan's spirits and health have been improving day by day since she wasn't around! I thought it was just because she was in a good mood at home, but I never expected... I never expected the root of the problem to be here!"
He turned sharply to Zhou Qiqi, his heart filled with gratitude, his voice choked with emotion, and said:
"Qiqi! Good child! It's all thanks to you! It's all thanks to your meticulousness, discovering the clues and remaining calm to investigate secretly! If it weren't for you, your mother and I, these two old fools, don't know how long we would have been deceived by this heartless wretch! If she continues to cause trouble like this, Peilan might really..."
The old man couldn't continue speaking, so he patted Zhou Qiqi's shoulder forcefully.
"Qiqi, this family owes so much to you! You've worked so hard for me and your mother, and for Zhouzhou! You've thought of everything so thoroughly, Dad... Dad thanks you!"
Listening to her father-in-law's heartfelt words, Zhou Qiqi felt as if a bottle of mixed emotions had been spilled in her heart, with sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty all surging up at once.
Thorough? How could she have considered everything so thoroughly?
She forced a smile, shook her head, but tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
"Dad, please don't say that! I can't take that blame. I'm the one who let Zhouzhou down. It's all my fault for not arranging things properly. If... if I had communicated with Dr. Wu and Dr. Chen more carefully beforehand, maybe what happened at noon today wouldn't have happened, and Zhouzhou wouldn't have..."
She then realized that perhaps she shouldn't have been so confident in her ability to keep He Wanrou in check, and should have urged Captain Li to take action sooner...
If... if she had been more thoughtful, would none of this have happened?
Having lived for twenty years, she believes she has long since learned to look forward and not dwell on the past.
But at this moment, she tasted for the first time the bitterness of regret.
The thought that Zhouzhou might never wake up again and would have to live as a living dead for the rest of her life made her feel as if a piece of her heart had been ripped out, and she would never be able to forgive herself for the rest of her life.
She became more and more upset as she spoke, and her suppressed sobs gradually turned into uncontrollable whimpers, her shoulders shaking violently.
Seeing this, Shen Zhenbang and Shen Huaichuan felt extremely distressed and quickly gathered around to comfort her, but Zhou Qiqi was immersed in her own self-blame and cried even harder the more they tried to comfort her.
Just then, a warm but slightly trembling hand gently rested on Zhou Qiqi's shoulder.
It was Qin Peilan, who had been silently weeping and looking dazed, standing by the side the whole time.
She blinked hard through her blurry, tear-filled eyes, and comforted her in a hoarse voice:
"Qiqi, good girl, don't cry. Listen to Mom, this...this isn't your fault."
She took a deep breath, as if using all her strength, to take all the blame upon herself:
"It's all my fault, no matter what! I'm so senile, I let a wolf into the house! If I hadn't misjudged her and brought her home like a treasure, none of this trouble would have happened! The root of the problem lies with me!"
"Mom! How could this be your fault!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qiqi abruptly raised her head, her eyes brimming with tears, and grabbed Qin Peilan's hand:
"Mom! What are you saying! How can this be your fault! It was a bad person who plotted and took advantage of the situation! You weren't in good mental health at the time, and she was pretending so well, anyone could have been fooled! You mustn't think like that, you can't take the blame on yourself!"
Qin Peilan gripped her daughter-in-law's hand tightly in return, tears welling up again:
“Good child, you understand your mother’s feelings. But your mother feels even worse. But think about it, since you can understand that your mother was deceived and did not do anything wrong on purpose, why can’t you understand that you were also tricked by bad people and were careless for a moment? This is not your fault!”
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