"How's this wine?" she asked Jiang Wanqing, her smile widening.
"It's delicious. Don't forget me next time you have Auntie here," she replied, her words a mix of obedience and slyness.
"Of course, I'll never forget you!"
Jiang Xiu's mother could hardly hide the ferocity in her eyes. Jiang Jianwei poked her in the lower back, which helped her suppress her excitement after her success.
"Auntie, you should drink too. Didn't we agree to drink this glass together as an apology?"
"Okay, I'll drink it."
Without thinking, she downed the wine in her glass in one gulp.
Everything went smoothly during the meal, except that Jiang Wanqing couldn't hold her liquor and went to her room to rest early.
In the dead of night, in complete darkness, she heard rustling sounds outside the window. With her eyes closed, she smiled quietly.
Here it comes...
"Hurry up, climbing through a window is such a struggle..."
"Stop making noise, or you'll wake them up!"
"Hurry up, Zhang the Bald is still drunk, it's perfect to send him over now."
"Okay, that's good... uh!"
Before Jiang Jianwei could finish speaking, he was struck on the back of the neck with a blunt object, his vision went black, and he unconsciously passed out.
"Who...who are you?"
Jiang Xiu's mother couldn't see the man's face clearly and was so frightened that she almost screamed. But fearing that her plan would be exposed, she lowered her voice and dared not make any rash moves.
"Thump!"
Instead of a reply, she was struck on the head and knocked unconscious.
Molly took off her face mask, breathed a sigh of relief, and knocked on the window.
"nailed it."
Jiang Wanqing suddenly got out of bed, dressed, and went outside.
In the dead of night, the two girls forcefully carried Jiang Xiu's mother out of the house. Nothing happened, yet everything had happened...
"Coo coo coo..."
Early in the morning, the people of Xiyang Village were awakened by the crowing of roosters. Zhang Tuzi's wife shouted and led them over.
"Ah! You shameless slut! You shameless adulterer..."
Xiyang Village wasn't very big; if you shouted, the whole village could hear you. Jiang Jianwei woke up groggily, his neck throbbing with pain. He turned his head and saw that he was lying under the eaves, and his wife was gone.
Before he could even come to his senses, someone stormed to his doorstep, making a huge fuss.
"Jianwei, hurry to Zhang the Bald's house, something's happened!"
He shook his head, not finding it strange at all, but rather feeling a surge of excitement. Although he didn't know who had hit him last night, he was relieved that nothing unexpected had happened to Zhang the Bald.
He feigned surprise and exclaimed, "Huh? What's wrong?"
"Your family... well, it's hard to explain in a short time. You'll know when you get there. Don't get upset, life goes on." The person who came to deliver the news patted his shoulder sympathetically.
"I know, it won't cause internal heat."
It's Jiang Wanqing and Jiang Jianwei's family that's suffering, why is he getting so worked up? He'd rather things get worse, he thought to himself.
Zhang the Bald's house was in complete chaos. The bed was a mess, and the small room was crammed with people. Zhang the Bald's wife was punching people repeatedly.
"You two filthy sluts! You've tried to steal from me! Like father, like son! You deserve to have your daughter in jail!"
Before the smile could even spread across his face, Jiang Jianwei sensed something was amiss upon hearing these words. Jiang Wanqing didn't have a daughter... and she was even in jail... wait a minute!
He pushed his way through the crowd, only to find Jiang Wanqing standing there watching the show, while the woman on the bed, disheveled and covered her face, was his wife!
"Oh, my uncle is here. Well... maybe you should go back. It's not a good thing. Seeing this will make you furious. How could your aunt do such a thing?"
Jiang Wanqing frowned in feigned sympathy and shook her head; immediately, someone echoed her sentiment.
"Yeah, Jianwei's wife is a disgrace to us women. She can't even pick a decent man to cheat on. What's she after? What's she after Zhang the Bald?"
"Tsk tsk, no wonder Xiuer acts recklessly, she's just like her mother."
"That's shameless! And he even got caught. Jianwei must be furious."
The gossip was awful. He had initially tried to hide like a quail, but the more he listened, the more upset he became. He roared and pointed at Jiang Wanqing.
"She's the one who ruined me! Jiang Wanqing drugged my drink!"
Why did she get beaten up under Jiang Wanqing's window last night? And why did she end up with Zhang the Bald? She couldn't think of any other possibility besides being betrayed!
Jiang Jianwei wished he could disappear into a hole in the ground, but at this moment he could only join in blaming Jiang Wanqing.
"We kindly invited you to dinner to apologize, and you turned around and plotted against us! Are you even human?!"
Everyone pointed and whispered, all looking at Jiang Wanqing. Zhang the Bald and his wife also turned their attention to her.
"Wanqing, what do you have to say about this? This concerns the reputation of both our families. If it really was you, then you're a terrible person!"
Jiang Wanqing coldly swept her gaze across the crowd and calmly retorted.
"Even if I didn't do it, and even if I did, I'd like to ask you all: how could I have moved this person here all by myself? My aunt prepared yesterday's meal entirely on her own; we didn't interfere at all. I'm sure you all heard that. If I really did drug her, wouldn't she have noticed? Isn't it possible that she tried to harm someone but ended up harming herself instead?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Jiang Xiu's mother shouted angrily, her eyes red.
The jokes about Jiang Jianwei's family never seem to end, and Jiang Wanqing's few words brought the excitement to its peak, with some nodding in agreement that her analysis was correct.
"Yes, how could Wanqing, a young lady, move people from the Jiang family here?"
"Apologizing first, then harming others, but unexpectedly harming oneself, makes sense..."
"It's good that it's causing discussion," Jiang Wanqing's smile widened as she continued to refute.
"Also, if I were to drug you, how would I pin it precisely on you? Your chopsticks, your bowls, oh right, and the wine you brew yourself..."
The mention of alcohol caused Jiang Xiu's mother to panic instantly. Her face turned from red to dark red, and she couldn't catch her breath. She stammered without uttering a single word.
"Furthermore, have you ever seen anyone send expensive gifts before harming someone? Like these imported leather shoes my uncle is wearing."
"This..." Jiang Jianwei shrank back, but he couldn't hide it no matter what.
The shiny leather shoes stood out among the pile of liberation shoes and cloth shoes.
"So these leather shoes were bought by Wanqing. I was wondering where Jianwei could afford such nice shoes."
"Anyway, if it were me, I wouldn't spend a lot of money before harming someone, wouldn't that be a waste?"
"It really is..."
Seeing that he had failed to turn the tide, Jiang Jianwei hurriedly tried to cover other people's mouths, but he was no match for the crowd and his flustered state only revealed his guilty conscience.
At this moment, Molly pushed through a few people and rushed out, looking at the cunning and foolish couple as if they were dead.
"I have a witness certificate here, Uncle Yang, please come out and explain."
The village barefoot doctor sighed, already guessing what had happened, and regretted prescribing medicine to Jiang Xiu's mother.
"Yesterday you told me your cow needed to be bred and asked me to prescribe some medicine for you. You know whether it was used on a person or a cow, so I won't say anything more. Wanqing is really unlucky to have an aunt like you! You deserve it!"
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