Qiu Mang was stunned. She knew that Shi Nan and Zhao Xiaoya must know that something had happened to them and were quite anxious, so she dialed Shi Nan's number first.
As soon as Shi Nan answered the phone, her anxious voice came through: "Amang, where are you right now? I've been looking for you all night. Are you alright?"
Qiu Mang pursed her lips and replied in a steady voice, "Sister Nan, I'm fine, don't worry too much."
Shi Nan breathed a sigh of relief and said repeatedly, "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright..."
After a brief pause, she continued, "Amang, not long after you were taken away last night, Xiaoya came back... about this, we..."
Shi Nan seemed to have something stuck in her throat; she opened her mouth, but couldn't utter the rest of the words.
Qiu Mang realized that the situation was probably more complicated than she had anticipated, so she quickly tried to comfort her: "Sister Nan, don't worry, let's talk about it slowly when I get back."
Shi Nan responded from the other end, "Okay, then we'll talk when you get back."
After hanging up the phone, Qiu Mang opened WeChat and saw several unread messages lying quietly on the screen, all of which were from Zhao Xiaoya.
Her heart tightened inexplicably, and she gently tapped the screen, only to be instantly stunned. The entire screen was filled with Zhao Xiaoya's insults towards her and Shi Nan.
[Qiu Mang, what do you mean? Are you deliberately provoking me? I only said a couple of things to you last time, is it worth retaliating like this?]
[Qiu Mang, let me tell you, don't even think about making excuses! My husband has already confided in me that neither you nor Shi Nan are good people. Taking advantage of him while he's drunk, dragging him into the room—is that something a human being would do? What, are you two so desperate for men?]
[You were the one who instructed Shi Nan to seduce my husband, weren't you? Turns out you're the most shameless one! My husband and I are just living an honest and law-abiding life, what did we do to offend you?]
After reading through all this information word by word, Qiu Mang felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
Last night, she messaged Zhao Xiaoya, partly to find someone to rescue Shi Nan, and partly hoping that Zhao Xiaoya would see Li Peng's true colors.
Who could have predicted that no amount of firsthand evidence could outweigh Li Peng's sweet talk and deception?
Qiu Mang sighed helplessly, unsure whether to lament Li Peng's deep scheming or Zhao Xiaoya's excessive romanticism.
She shook her head. Forget it, she'd better go back and meet with Shi Nan first, then discuss it further.
She then pulled out Zhang's number from her phone's contacts, hovered her finger over the dial button for a few seconds, and finally pressed it.
The constant busy tone on the receiver before the call connected made Qiu Mang increasingly nervous.
She knew that Aunt Zhang was usually kind-hearted, but when something really happened, she was used to bearing it all alone. Could this phone call mean something serious had happened at home?
Before she could even sort things out, the call connected, and Zhang Sao's anxious voice came through: "Hello, Qiu Mang! I've been waiting for your call!"
"Aunt Zhang, what exactly happened? Please tell me slowly," Qiu Mang asked hurriedly.
Aunt Zhang sighed heavily and slowly said, "Ah, I originally thought I shouldn't tell you this, but seeing how pitiful that little girl was, I couldn't bear it. After thinking it over, I decided to tell you anyway."
Qiu Mang, filled with doubt, pressed, "Aunt Zhang, what's wrong? Is there some problem at my home?"
"What a tragedy! Qiu Mang, after you left home, Zhang Guihua must have been obsessed with money. She actually accepted 100,000 yuan in betrothal gifts from the Ma family and sent your three-year-old sister to be someone's child bride!" Zhang's voice was full of indignation.
Qiu Mang's eyes widened in shock, and she blurted out incredulously, "What? What era are we living in? They're still using this child bride system?"
“Who says otherwise! I really don’t know what your mother was thinking. How could she do this to her own flesh and blood, especially since the child is so young!” Aunt Zhang said angrily.
"Aunt Zhang, how is Qiu Li now?" Qiu Mang asked anxiously.
Aunt Zhang's tone became serious: "Qiu Mang, I think the reason Zhang Guihua did this is because she already knew something."
"What is it?" Qiu Mang asked hurriedly.
"The day after your mother sent Qiu Li to the Ma family, the little girl fainted. The Ma family rushed her to the hospital, and the doctor diagnosed that Qiu Li had a heart condition and needed immediate treatment."
"Heart disease? You're saying Qiu Li has heart disease?" Qiu Mang felt like she'd been struck by lightning, and she was completely stunned.
Aunt Zhang paused for a moment, then continued, "That's right. When the Ma family realized they'd been scammed, they immediately sent Qiu Li back and demanded that Zhang Guihua return the 100,000 yuan dowry. But guess what? Zhang Guihua reneged, saying it was a cash-on-delivery transaction, blaming the Ma family for not inspecting the goods beforehand, and refusing to return the dowry. She even threatened that Qiu Li now belonged to the Ma family, and that they could take her away and do whatever they wanted with her!"
Qiu Mang clenched the blanket tightly with both hands, her anger barely contained: "How could she do this? Isn't she afraid someone will call the police?"
After listening, Aunt Zhang's tone became even more helpless: "The Ma family did mention calling the police, but Zhang Guihua had already made up her mind. She said she knew that this behavior was illegal, but there has to be a buyer for there to be a seller. If the Ma family dared to mention the 100,000 yuan to the police, they would also be in deep trouble and would not be able to avoid jail time."
Having been mother and daughter with Zhang Guihua for over twenty years, she once again shattered Qiu Mang's understanding of the world. Qiu Mang's hand holding the phone trembled slightly: "So the Ma family just let her go so easily?"
Aunt Zhang responded with a bitter smile: "What else can we do? We can only accept our bad luck and suffer in silence. The Ma family's son is eighteen years old this year and is lame. He was afraid that he would not be able to find a wife in the future, so he fell for Zhang Guihua's trick. If we really pursue this and hold Zhang Guihua accountable, the Ma family will also suffer a lot. The Ma family is not stupid. After weighing the pros and cons, it is better to cut our losses in time."
Qiu Mang felt his mind was in chaos, as if countless chaotic thoughts were surging and entangled.
She slowly closed her eyes, and in an instant, Qiu Li's round little head appeared in front of her.
The little girl, dressed in a bright and festive new outfit, skipped and hopped towards her like a joyful little deer. Her two little braids swayed energetically with her leaping steps, as if telling a story of childlike joy.
In the blink of an eye, the little girl had run up to her, opened her arms wide, and called out in a soft, sweet voice, "Second sister, hug me! Second sister, hug me!"
Qiu Mang's eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly opened her eyes, shaking her head with a sense of helplessness.
She simply couldn't fathom what Zhang Guihua's heart was made of. How could she possibly harm such an adorable little girl, her own biological daughter?
Qiu Mang raised her hand and gently rubbed her throbbing temples. After taking a deep breath, she asked, "Aunt Zhang, where is Qiu Li now? How is she?"
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