Hong Xing had no better solution at the moment. Reason prevailed over impulse. He swallowed and nodded emphatically.
"Okay, sister-in-law, I'll do whatever you say. You have to save Brother Cheng!"
"I want him to be alright more than anyone else."
His chest felt like it was stuffed with cotton, a dull, choking sensation, and he forced back his tears.
"Okay, I won't cause you any more trouble. I'll keep an eye on Zheng Yuan's situation and let you know as soon as there's any news."
"Um."
The two of them couldn't stay too long, otherwise Zheng Yuan's men would find out and come up with other ways to deal with them.
After a hasty parting, Jiang Wanqing composed herself, realizing that this matter was different from usual.
For example, clumsy schemes like drugging or framing can be easily overturned once evidence is found.
However, she couldn't prove, or rather, couldn't define, that there was no relationship between Jiang Jianwei and Cheng Ran, who had done things using her name.
To outsiders, they appear to be a family, and the so-called proof seems more like a cover-up.
Zheng Yuan has clearly intended to put her in a dilemma this time...
I thought things were at a standstill with no chance of turning around, but who knew that Guo Xueyun, that idiot, came up with another stupid idea after she was humiliated in the family compound.
She actually accused Cheng Ran of violating the verbal marriage agreement between the two families by marrying a child he had never been betrothed to, and said that the Cheng family had problems with their character and conduct!
Although I don't know how she came up with such a stupid idea out of thin air, I can guess that she wanted to add fuel to the fire and make Cheng Ran regret not choosing her.
This also confirms the "bold words" she made outside the family compound that day.
Because of this incident, the Cheng family, which was originally quite peaceful, was dragged a few inches deeper into the mire.
"Wanqing! Someone is looking for you!"
In the courtyard, Sister Song called out to the house, and Jiang Wanqing opened the door to see Cheng Ran's parents.
They seemed to have aged several years overnight, and looked rather listless.
"You two are here to see me about Cheng Ran, right?"
"Yes, let's go inside and talk."
Jiang Wanqing poured them a cup of tea and then sat down with them.
As the bridge between them, Cheng Ran was still unaware of the situation. When the three met, the atmosphere was inevitably somber. In addition, the incident was inextricably linked to the Jiang family, so Jiang Wanqing was not as confident as before and kept her head slightly lowered.
"I'm sorry, it really was me this time..."
"Alright, enough of this nonsense. It's pointless to save Cheng Ran. If your apology can bring him back, I'd gladly kneel a hundred times for you."
Cheng's mother waved her hand, somewhat impatiently, while Cheng's father sighed beside her.
“We’re not here to interrogate you today. Our top priority is to get Cheng Ran out. As you know, this whole thing started because of your family, and we can’t resolve it without getting around you.”
"Well, as long as he comes back, tell me what you want me to do?"
They now share a common goal. Although their emotions are not right, they are still relatively amicable. Cheng's mother gripped her bag tightly and snorted.
"At least you're sincere towards Cheng Ran, unlike that Guo Xueyun. She used to like him so much, but now she hates him so much that she wants to kick our family while they're down so that we can never rise again! Luckily, someone like that never entered the Cheng family."
At this moment, Cheng's mother thought of Guo Xueyun and was so angry that she gritted her teeth. It's true that comparisons are the thief of joy; good and bad are only revealed through comparison.
"Alright, let's get down to business. Cheng Ran is currently facing two charges: firstly, abusing his power to give favors in private, and secondly, violating his engagement and having questionable character. Of course, the two of us are also involved..."
As Mr. Cheng spoke, he glanced at his wife beside him, feeling inexplicably guilty.
Seeing their reaction, Jiang Wanqing frowned: "Can you tell me what's going on with Cheng Ran and Guo Xueyun's engagement?"
She believed that Cheng Ran and she were fairly honest with each other. At least they would tell each other the truth when it came to matters of confidentiality. He had never mentioned that he was engaged to Guo Xueyun, or rather, that it had never existed in his mind. So why was it that the Guo family had a handle to use against them?
"There's nothing I can't say, it's come to this..." Mother Cheng irritably took a small red velvet box out of her bag and placed it heavily on the table.
"Back then, Cheng Ran was still serving in a military unit in another city. We always wanted him to settle down and start a family. Although the older generation had arranged a marriage between you two, Guo Xueyun was indeed a better choice at the time. So we pretended not to know and exchanged engagement tokens with the Guo family. Cheng Ran didn't know about this. Later, he married you, and that was the end of it. Who knew that after so long, the Guo family would suddenly remember this matter, and... sigh!"
When Cheng's mother recalled her foolish past actions, she wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground. It was fortunate that Cheng Ran didn't know; if he had known earlier, he probably would have argued with them long ago, and perhaps today's situation wouldn't have been so bad.
"So you arranged the marriage with the Guo family without Cheng Ran's knowledge?"
"Ahem... that's how it is, so..."
To be honest, Jiang Wanqing was a bit surprised. No wonder Guo Xueyun always thought that she had stolen Cheng Ran from her; it turned out there was such a thing behind it.
"I want to see Cheng Ran."
"No, what's the use of seeing him? The situation is urgent now; we should be trying to prove his innocence!"
Cheng's mother thought she was angry about the engagement, and she immediately became anxious, fearing that Cheng would not cooperate with her in doing serious business. She almost got up to argue with her.
However, Jiang Wanqing looked at her with neither arrogance nor servility, her tone calm.
“Precisely because we want to prove his innocence, we should work together. Moreover, we should all stick to the same story. You just said that he didn’t know he was engaged to Guo Xueyun. If we investigate, wouldn’t that just make him lie?”
Upon hearing this, Cheng's parents were speechless for a moment, then exchanged a glance, as if that made sense.
After about half a minute of silence, they realized that if they could see Cheng Ran, they would have done so already. The investigation process was complicated and rigorous, and it wasn't something they could just do as they pleased.
"Forget it, I'll figure it out myself. It seems you're also at your wits' end," Jiang Wanqing said helplessly.
Just as she was about to see the guest off, Mr. Cheng stood up, looking like he was ready to go all out.
"Wait a day or two, and I'll see if I can get them to make an exception and let you two meet."
"I want to see my son too!"
Fearing that Jiang Wanqing would exaggerate the facts in front of Cheng Ran and affect her image in her son's eyes, Cheng's mother also insisted on meeting her.
"What are you doing, making things worse! The Guo family is still watching us. You think they just don't want to release Cheng Ran? They also want to kill us two old men! Go back and think about how to deal with this!"
After a brief farewell to Jiang Wanqing, Cheng's father pulled his wife away, preventing her from getting involved any further.
The room fell silent again, the steaming tea filling the air, much like the lingering sorrow in Jiang Wanqing's heart.
But this was just the beginning; soon, a piece of bad news, though not exactly devastating, plunged things into an even more difficult situation…
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