Chapter 46 Chapter 46 If he and his colleagues didn't come, they were going to...
Jiang Xiaoci didn't know that her grandmother and cousin had a plan. She just wanted to help her cousin and grandmother get things done.
Before she came to find Song Zhaoan, she had already understood the situation. Song Zhaoan was born in 1955. Before that, his whole family lived in the countryside. His father was neither the eldest son nor the youngest son. His mother was the eldest daughter in the family. She took care of the housework until she was in her twenties and then married his father.
Song Zhaoan's parents were not loved by their parents. When her grandmother came to her house, the family had just separated and they lived in a thatched hut, which was the worst in the village. They could hardly get food, and their clothes were full of patches. Song Zhaoan, who was crying for food in her arms, didn't even have rice soup to drink and cried with hunger.
The couple hugged his brother, holding him, not knowing what to do. It was under such circumstances that his grandmother found his parents and proposed to buy Song Zhaoan as a son-in-law, but the child would still be raised by them and they would get married when the time came.
The couple were almost starving to death, and grandma's proposal saved their family, so no one refused.
His father used the one or two taels of gold to build two small houses and raised his eldest son. He went to the city to work, got married and had children. After his parents passed away, Song Zhaoan went to the city to work under the arrangement of his brother. Everything went smoothly for him. The person chosen by his grandmother was indeed lucky.
Grandma came to the house and asked Song Zhaoan to marry her cousin. The leader's daughter arrogantly thought that Song Zhaoan rejected her pursuit because of her grandmother and cousin, so she scolded her grandmother, prevented her cousin from doing odd jobs, and did several extremely hateful things.
My grandmother came to Jiang Xiaoci only after she had run out of money and had no other choice.
Jiang Xiaoci also found out that Song Zhaoan's elder brother was doing business in Shenzhen and making decent money. The news that his boss's daughter was making trouble for his grandmother and that he was bought out by her for one or two taels of gold spread throughout the company. Song Zhaoan decided to take a leave of absence from his job and follow his elder brother's example by going into small business, but was dissuaded by his boss, who did not approve his decision, and is currently still at the company.
Jiang Xiaoci found the guard, stuffed a pack of cigarettes into his hand, and asked, "Uncle, I'm Song Zhaoan's cousin from the countryside. I have something to ask him. Can you help me call him?"
The security guard put the cigarette in his pocket, and his attitude immediately improved. He said, "Okay, have you heard about him in your hometown?"
Jiang Xiaoci nodded repeatedly: "I heard that the leader's daughter fell in love with him, what a good thing, but unfortunately my cousin's parents accepted one or two taels of gold from him, so it's really hard to break the contract, don't you think?"
The security guard said, "That's right. You can't be a heartless person. Xiao Song is the best among the young people in the unit. No wonder the leader values him. It's a pity that we are not destined to be together. You came here with a big belly. Go sit over there for a while. I'll call someone for you."
Jiang Xiaoci sat under the shade of the tree for a while, wiping her sweat with a handkerchief. The sun was strong today and it was quite hot after running all the way. She had just taken off her coat when the security guard led out a tall man and pointed in her direction. The man then came towards her.
Jiang Xiaoci took a few looks at him and found him to be pretty. Her grandmother was good at reading faces and the one she chose for her cousin was indeed not bad.
When people came up to him, Jiang Xiaoci introduced herself: "You are Song Zhaoan, right? My name is Jiang Xiaoci. Grandma asked me to talk to you about buying you as her grandson-in-law."
Song Zhaoan looked unnatural. Originally, only the two families knew about this matter, but Zhou Qingzhu's grandmother came to his workplace and asked him to be responsible for the baby in Zhou Qingzhu's belly.
But when he went to break off the engagement, he was drunk by his grandmother, but he did not touch Zhou Qingzhu, and he was sure that the child in Zhou Qingzhu's belly was not his.
He said he couldn't admit to something he hadn't done, so grandma told him about the gold.
There would have been nothing wrong with this, but the leader's daughter insisted on meddling in other people's business and started a quarrel with her grandmother, and the whole company knew about it. This was one of the reasons why he took a leave of absence from his job and wanted to start his own business.
Song Zhaoan shook his head: "I have clearly rejected Grandma Zhou before. Since you are here on her behalf, I will tell you again that I cannot agree to get married."
This answer was within Jiang Xiaoci's expectations. Since neither his cousin nor he was willing, there was no need to force them to be together.
Jiang Xiaoci said, "Okay, let's talk about the plan of not getting married. Your family received the gold in exchange for money, and because of the money, you have a better life. Now we only need you to return one-fifth, which is 400 yuan. Isn't this a generous condition?"
Song Zhaoan still shook his head and refused: "The conditions are very generous. Four hundred yuan was a year's salary for me before, and I would be reluctant to give it up. But now I can earn it back in a month or two. The money is not difficult to get, but I cannot accept the refund plan you proposed."
Jiang Xiaoci quickly asked the reason: "You don't want to get married, and you have money, why don't you agree to the conditions?"
Song Zhaoan said, "It's a very simple truth. When you gave me the money, I was still a baby. I didn't receive it. Whoever received it should you ask for it back?"
This well-dressed man actually said such shameless words.
Jiang Xiaoci pointed at him and said, "Didn't you use the money? The rice soup you drank when you were growing up and the tuition for school were all paid from the gold your grandmother gave you. Your parents passed away, but you took all the benefits. I heard that your mother used the remaining gold to make a ring for each of her two future daughters-in-law. Now let me go find your parents. You are such a good son. Believe it or not, I will open their graves and ask them in person."
No matter how Jiang Xiaoci tried to reason with him or scold him, Song Zhaoan just refused to agree.
"You can delay it as much as you want. Anyway, I won't get married, and I won't return the money. It's really useless for you to waste your time with me. You might as well think of other ways to help your cousin."
Even Jiang Xiaoci, who is so reasonable, couldn't help but scold him: "You bastard, just wait for me."
Song Zhaoan replied: "Am I afraid of your revenge? Just wait and see. You are a pregnant woman, so don't be so angry. Be careful that your child will also have a bad temper."
Jiang Xiaoci: ... "I will never let my cousin have anything to do with a disgusting person like you. If I see you in trouble in the future, I will definitely step on you and vent my anger!"
After Jiang Xiaoci finished scolding, she turned around and thought about it for a while. She felt that Song Zhaoan's attitude was not like what a normal person should have. Could he have any difficulties?
She thought to herself, if she told Han Jingyuan about this guess, he would say that she always thought the best of people. But, her grandmother was so powerful, it was impossible that when she showed the baby to her cousin, she would happen to choose an ungrateful family, right?
…
I wanted to ask him later if he had any difficulties, but Song Zhaoan has already returned to work. So I'll leave it at that for today. I'll go to Song Zhaoan's house later to ask him. He has a sister-in-law who is also pregnant. Jiang Xiaoci is also pregnant. I'll go over and find some common topics to talk to his sister-in-law.
Just as she was thinking about it, a girl on the side of the road looked at her with a very disgusting smile on her face. It was obvious that this mocking smile was directed at Jiang Xiaoci.
Jiang Xiaoci would not let her have her way and turned away.
The girl didn't laugh enough, so she caught up with him and said, "I heard everything you said when you and Song Zhaoan were arguing. Your grandmother couldn't do anything on her own, so she asked a pregnant woman like you to help her. I thought you were so powerful, but you're still helpless, aren't you?"
Jiang Xiaoci looked at her with dislike and asked, "I remember that the Song family only has two sons, and Song Zhaoan doesn't have a girlfriend. You and his sister-in-law don't match in age. Are you a jerk who pursued Song Zhaoan but couldn't get her, so you took your anger out on others?"
Lu Meicen was furious. The situation was almost the same as Jiang Xiaoci had guessed.
She said, "Song Zhaoan was working well at the company, but your grandmother came and asked him to fulfill his engagement, and she even brought up the fact that she spent one ounce of gold to buy him. Now everyone in the company knows that Song Zhaoan insisted on resigning, and it was all your grandmother's fault. She was the one who did it first, so how can you blame others now?"
She said proudly, "Your cousin wanted to work in Beijing and wanted to stay and continue to pester me. I only spent a little money to drive her away. Did you know? She was busy all day and didn't get a penny. I felt very happy."
Jiang Xiaoci gnashed her teeth and said, "You did this to my cousin for a man. Do you think you are so great? My cousin doesn't want such a spineless and ungrateful man. If you want him, I'll give him to you for free. Oh, no, there's no good stuff for free. What's more, this bad guy rejected your family. Why are you so proud in front of us?"
Lu Meiqin was furious: "If you weren't pregnant, I wouldn't let you go so easily today."
Jiang Xiaoci: "You should worry about yourself. You are so arrogant and domineering, there must be more people who don't want to let you go."
…
Jiang Xiaoci won the argument, felt a little better, and left on the bus.
Song Zhaoan, who had already turned around and went back to the unit, turned back again.
Although he had no expression on his face when he spoke to Jiang Xiaoci, his tone was still normal. But when he spoke to Lu Meicen, he spoke with disgust.
He tried his best to be patient and said, "I have done what you asked me to do and said what you wanted me to say. Now can you tell me where my sister-in-law is?"
Lu Meiqin was filled with hatred and anger: "When that old woman stops bothering you, your sister-in-law can go home. Don't act rashly. You don't have any evidence, and the police can't do anything."
After threatening Song Zhaoan, Lu Meiqi rode aimlessly on the street alone, and then returned to the empty welfare home.
This orphanage has fallen into disrepair and the children there have been transferred to a new orphanage.
She turned around and saw that there were no flaws, so she walked out for a few dozen meters to another vacant house, found the passage, and entered the underground passage. There was a living room inside, in which a girl who looked exactly like her was locked up with a chain. Because she was noisy, her mouth was blocked.
Lu Meicen took off the soft mask on her face and removed her wig, revealing an aged face. Her voice was no longer youthful and charming, but had returned to a hoarse tone that matched her age.
She pinched the young girl's face and said coldly, "It's you who bullied my aunt's granddaughter. Look how arrogant you are. You even said you could drive her away with a little money. I went to inquire and found out that her boss wanted to pay her a day's salary, but you refused to let him pay. Now you are also bullied by me like this. How does it feel? It's not good, right? But you have no choice. I will make you endure it until you dare not bully others again."
…
Jiang Xiaoci failed to reach an agreement on this trip and returned quickly.
My grandmother didn't go out to chat, but waited at the matchmaking agency. When she saw her come back, she asked, "How is it? Did you settle the deal with that ungrateful guy?"
It can be seen that grandma is very concerned and nervous about this matter. Jiang Xiaoci shook her head and said, "We didn't reach an agreement on this trip, grandma. I also met a girl named Lu Meiqin, the daughter of Song Zhaoan's leader. But isn't Song Zhaoan going to resign? How can he still be controlled by her and let her point fingers at his affairs? Do you know the reason?"
Zhou Chunhao sneered and said, "She is an unreasonable vixen. She relies on the fact that her family is led by Song Zhaoan to break up the marriage that I am optimistic about."
Jiang Xiaoci thought about the doubts she had before and said, "Grandma, don't worry. I plan to go to the Lu family again to ask. Maybe their parents don't know about Lu Meiqin's behavior. I need to ask them clearly."
Grandma was also discouraged: "Since they are unwilling, then return some of the money. That one ounce of gold was very valuable back then. How much are they willing to return now?"
Jiang Xiaoci said whatever she wanted to say, and there was no point in hiding it. She said, "I offered to refund one-fifth, which is 400 yuan, but Song Zhaoan was unwilling to do so."
Grandma was furious: "I thought the couple were very honest, how could they raise such a child? I was wrong, forget it, the gold I spent was far more than that, I will just feed it to the dog."
The affair between grandma, cousin and Song Zhaoan could not be concealed. Even though Jiang Xiaoci didn't say anything, everyone heard about it from other sources.
This time, even my cousin Feng Wenyu felt that the Song family was too unkind. They refused to return the money even though they had it. This was just intentional and disgusting.
Seeing that everyone was helping her to scold the Song family, grandma felt relieved and said, "I have read the face of that girl named Lu and she is not a blessed person. I am afraid she will have a bloody disaster in the near future."
Jiang Xiaoci advised her grandmother: "Grandma, even if you think this way in your heart, you can't tell anyone about this. If she gets hurt on the road, the Lu family will blame you."
Grandma is not afraid: "I am telling the truth. You say I am a liar every day. This time you all watch and see if what I say is true or not?"
Jiang Xiaoci was angry: "Grandma, you're disobedient again. If you get into trouble later, should we handle it for you? Is it my cousin who's anxious and angry?"
Zhou Chunhao finally stopped talking: "Okay, you are the only one who has a lot of reasons, I won't say anything more from now on."
Jiang Xiaoci said, "Yes, don't say those bad things. If you have to say something, say something that people like to hear. Grandma, at your age, there are indeed many things that you don't care about, but my cousin has to live, so she is forced to care. You can't continue to be willful."
Grandma promised not to say anything, but she still sneaked out in the afternoon. Jiang Xiaoci heard from Sister Meiping that grandma was saving money and going far away to tell people's fortunes for two or three dollars.
Qian Meiping also said: "What your grandmother said is confusing and what she said is just nice. It won't affect others, so just ignore it."
Jiang Xiaoci could ignore such a small matter, but the matter entrusted by her cousin could not be left without a beginning, an end, and a result, so it had to be done.
…
The next day, she went to Lu's house and prepared to talk to Lu Meiqin's mother to find out whether her parents condoned their daughter's behavior or were really unaware of it?
There were a lot of people gathered in front of Lu's house, two police cars were parked, and a cordon was set up. Han Jingyuan, who had just been transferred to the branch, was also there. This meant that a big case had occurred.
Jiang Xiaoci squeezed through the crowd and came to the front, looking up, hoping that Han Jingyuan could see her.
Han Jingyuan did see Jiang Xiaoci coming to the troubled place again with her bulging belly. He said hello to his colleagues, came over and pulled her aside, asking, "Why are you here?"
Jiang Xiaoci heard that someone in the Lu family was crying heartbreakingly, and she didn't dare to delay Han Jingyuan's time, so she quickly explained:
"Yesterday I went to Song Zhaoan to discuss my grandmother's marriage with his family, but Lu Meiqin stopped me and we had a quarrel. I wanted to talk to her mother to see if her family knew about her bullying."
Han Jingyuan rubbed his brows and said, "Then you can't ask today. Lu Meiqin is missing, her family called the police, and the kidnappers wrote a ransom letter, demanding one or two taels of gold."
Jiang Xiaoci was shocked when she heard this: "My grandmother gave the Song family one ounce of gold. Now the kidnappers want one ounce of gold. Everyone will think of my grandmother."
Han Jingyuan nodded: "That's what the Lu family thinks. Besides, grandma said outside yesterday that Lu Meiqin will have a bloody disaster in the near future."
Jiang Xiaoci defended her grandmother: "That's what they thought. You didn't think it was her, did you? She's too old to kidnap anyone. And I think this is a trick by the kidnappers to make you think it was her. The one who had a conflict with her was the Song family, and the quarrel with the Lu family. Is it necessary to kidnap someone? I can figure it out. You wise and brave policemen can definitely analyze it. Don't let the real kidnapper distract you."
Han Jingyuan was speechless and wanted to laugh, but he couldn't laugh in this situation. He was worried: "Okay, don't make trouble. Go back first."
Jiang Xiaoci looked back every few steps, unable to figure out the key point here.
…
Jiang Xiaoci told everyone about the Lu family's affairs as soon as she came back. Nowadays, any little family gossip can attract a lot of people to inquire, let alone such a big thing.
After Jiang Xiaoci's analysis, everyone felt that it was impossible for grandma to do it. They also felt that grandma and Jiang Xiaoci both had blessed mouths, but Jiang Xiaoci was talking about fate, while grandma was talking about fortune-telling.
At this moment, there were even a few people who wanted to pull my grandmother over to have her fortune told.
Jiang Xiaoci persuaded the people to leave and left my grandmother in the matchmaking agency, not letting her go out. She said, "Grandma, don't go out again. I guess the police will come to question you soon."
Zhou Chun felt guilty and regretted not listening to Jiang Xiaoci's words completely. She had just said that such a big thing had happened to the girl from the Lu family, so how could people not blame her? She had advised others when she was young, but now she had made the same mistake.
However, she is not afraid because she has not done it. The grandmother said: "I didn't do it, so why should I be afraid? Even if the police come to find me, I am not afraid."
Jiang Xiaoci said: "Grandma, the police will definitely come to you to find out the situation. Although you didn't have the time to commit the crime, the police will check whether you have accomplices."
The grandmother was now afraid, and asked Jiang Xiaoci: "I have been staying at your place for so many days, don't you know if you have any accomplices?"
Jiang Xiaoci said: "Grandma, I believe you, but this is a normal process. It will be fine once the suspicion is eliminated. Don't be afraid."
Jiang Xiaoci was right. In order to avoid suspicion, the person who came to ask her grandmother and cousin was Han Jingyuan's colleague.
My cousin has been staying at the matchmaking agency and hasn't even left the house, but my grandmother has been to many places and asked very detailed questions, asking her to describe the appearance of everyone she has met and everything they have said.
At the end of the questioning, the grandmother got annoyed and said, "I'm an old woman looking for people to chat with. Many of them are strangers I met on the street. You want me to think about them one by one. I have told you everything I can think of. That girl has offended so many people. You are wasting your time on an old woman like me. You might as well check other people she has offended."
Everyone else was investigating, and even Song Zhaoan was more suspicious than my grandmother. After three days of investigation, there was no progress.
Moreover, there has been no news from the kidnappers since they wrote the ransom letter three days ago. Lu's family and relatives and friends went around collecting money and exchanged it for one or two taels of gold. They were so anxious that they died when they could not get any news.
Lu Meiqin's mother was really at a loss, so she ran to the matchmaking agency to ask her grandmother, saying, "I know she has offended you, old man, and I dare not say that you kidnapped her. If you have any clues, please tell the police. Our family will remember your great kindness."
Grandma thought about what she had suffered before and was really angry. She said, "I don't believe that you, as parents, don't know that she is bullying people outside under the banner of the family. You know to feel sorry for your daughter now, but why didn't you speak out when my granddaughter was bullied by her? It's too late to realize your mistake when you ask for help. It's not that I don't want to tell you, but I, an old woman, really have no clue. You asked the wrong person."
Lu Meiqin’s mother was so sad that she cried for a while and then passed away.
…
A few more days passed and the golden period for solving the case had passed. During this period, Han Jingyuan only came back once, and that was in the middle of the night. Jiang Xiaoci looked at his solemn face and knew that there were still no clues.
He left again early in the morning without having breakfast.
When Jiang Xiaoci got up to eat breakfast, grandma said, "Xiaoci, when Xiaohan went out, he said his boss asked him to come back and ask me if there was any missing information. Grandma really didn't have any. Some time ago, grandma made some money by fortune-telling for people. Your cousin and I are moving out. We found a house and paid the money yesterday. Let's leave after breakfast."
Jiang Xiaoci suddenly thought, grandma might be planning something. If she didn’t let her grandma go, what would her attitude be?
She objected strongly: "Grandma, my cousin is about to give birth, so don't move out."
Grandma was stubborn: "When the Lu family has something going on, they come to your store and cry and make a scene every other day, which affects your business. As long as your cousin and I leave, they won't come again."
Jiang Xiaoci continued to ask: "Grandma, which hospital are you going to let my cousin give birth in? I can ask Grandma Xie to help find someone."
Grandma said, "How can we spare the money to go to the hospital? I know how to deliver babies. I will deliver your cousin's baby later."
Jiang Xiaoci felt it was even more abnormal: "How can that be possible? We have to go to the hospital to give birth."
Grandma gave her a displeased look and said, "Stop meddling in my business."
The cousin remained silent, so Jiang Xiaoci turned to ask her, "Cousin, don't you want to stay with me?"
Zhou Qingzhu shook his head: "I'm sorry to bother you during this period. I didn't have money before, but now I have money to rent a house. I want to move out. Thank you, cousin. I will remember your kindness to me."
In order to locate the whereabouts of her grandmother and cousin, Jiang Xiaoci had to use the ability of the little flower demon to look at the red lines on their bodies.
It turned out to be different from what she thought. Grandma had a red line on her body, but her cousin didn't.
So, even though she didn't have the chance to check her cousin's belly, she could be sure that her cousin's belly was fake.
She said, "Well, grandma, I'll go to your rented house and take a look."
Grandma said, "You're just worrying about nothing. Okay, go if you want to."
…
The house my grandmother rented was too remote, and there was an abandoned welfare home just a few dozen meters away.
Jiang Xiaoci was a little worried: "Grandma, there is only one neighbor several dozen meters away from you. If someone with bad intentions comes over at night, it will be too late to call for help."
Grandma said, "The rent is cheap, only five dollars a month. For such a big house, and so cheap, the location can't be good."
Zhou Qingzhu told Jiang Xiaoci not to worry, saying, "Xiaoci, I'm actually very strong, but my grandmother doesn't let me show it in front of others. She has found someone to teach me martial arts since I was a child. You don't have to worry about your safety."
It turns out that her cousin is a very talented person. When they first met, she felt that her cousin was very powerful and it turned out that she knew kung fu.
When grandma came, she didn't bring anything with her. When she left, Jiang Xiaoci and the neighbors gave her a lot of household expenses. They and Han Jingyuan helped grandma deliver the things to the house she rented.
While helping to clean up, Han Jingyuan went to take a look at the welfare home a few dozen meters away. There were some broken beds and miscellaneous items left inside, but nothing suspicious.
…
It has been a month since grandma and cousin moved out, and Jiang Xiaoci goes to see them every few days.
There has been no progress in the case of the Lu family's disappearance. The kidnappers have not sent any more ransom letters. It is determined that it is a personal grudge rather than an extortion for money. After investigation, it was found that the grandmother was not a suspect, so the police officers who were waiting outside the grandmother's house were withdrawn.
Although they couldn't figure it out, when Jiang Xiaoci and Han Jingyuan talked about it, they both felt that it was closely related to their grandmother, otherwise the cousin's fake belly could not be explained.
My cousin’s due date is coming soon. My grandmother will not be able to stay in bed until she gives birth, as she thinks the results will be out soon.
That day, she went to Aunt Meng's house to visit her baby. When she got off the bus and came back, she ran into her grandmother on the platform. In the past month since she moved away, Jiang Xiaoci had been visiting her. Her grandmother had never come. She came to see her today. Could anything be wrong?
She hurriedly asked, "Grandma, is everything okay with my cousin?"
Grandma was frowning, "Something's wrong. It's a big deal. Your cousin is in a rented house and no one talks to her. She's getting worse and worse. Today she told me she doesn't want to have the baby. I said I wanted it and asked her to have it for me. Then she can live the life she wants and I can have a baby. But she refused and started crying. Come with me to persuade her."
My cousin clearly doesn’t have a child, it was a fake pregnancy. What grandma said today was so strange.
After being together for such a long time, her grandmother and cousin didn't seem to want to harm her. No matter how scheming her grandmother was, she wouldn't do it to her. And the fact that her future cousin came to see her on that rainy day meant that she was not in any danger.
In short, grandma was not acting normal today.
To be on the safe side, Jiang Xiaoci tried to look at the red line on her grandmother's body and found that the red line was gone.
It is possible that the red thread was broken, but it was broken at this time. Jiang Xiaoci couldn't help but suspect that it was too much of a coincidence.
She was cautious and agreed to go see her cousin, but she had to go back home first: "Grandma, wait here for a while, I'll go back and get some food for my cousin, I'll be there soon."
Grandma said naturally: "You are about to give birth, how can I let you run alone? I will accompany you. What do you want to take?"
Jiang Xiaoci said, "Get something that my cousin likes. It will make her happier when she sees it."
…
Jiang Xiaoci took a large bag of snacks from home, which included chocolates, and said to her grandmother, "This can help replenish your energy during childbirth."
Then he went to the next door and picked a bunch of flowers, explaining: "My cousin likes flowers. She used to look at the flowers and plants in the courtyard on the second floor every day. Her expression was gentle, which means that the flowers and plants make her feel calm. She will be happy to see the flowers later."
Grandma showed joy on her face: "You still have a conscience, and your cousin spoke for you."
Jiang Xiaoci thought this sentence was very strange. There was definitely something wrong with her grandmother today.
While her grandmother was being distracted by someone else's conversation, she secretly wrote a note, winked at Uncle Cheng, then took the bouquet and left with her grandmother.
Cheng Lianjin was confused by Jiang Xiaoci's trick. He opened the note and saw a very short sentence written on it: "Tell Han Jingyuan that grandma wants me to go to her house."
It was very wrong for Jiang Xiaoci to write this note, but she had already passed away. Could it be that she had to write the note because her grandmother was around and it was inconvenient for her to talk?
She couldn't understand it, but Han Jingyuan and she were husband and wife, so he must understand what she meant.
Cheng Lianjin did not dare to delay and immediately called Han Jingyuan, quickly telling him what had happened just now, that his grandmother had come to see him and that Jiang Xiaoci had bought flowers to visit him.
"Xiaoci talked to grandma normally. She also brought snacks and bought flowers and said she was going to visit her cousin. But why did she write this note to me? You should think about it quickly."
Han Jingyuan didn't have time to think about it carefully. He went to the house rented by his grandmother first and thought about it on the way.
He immediately reported to his unit, drove a police car, and went to the house rented by his grandmother with two colleagues.
Before getting out of the car, he saw that the door was locked from the outside. Han Jingyuan rushed over. The lock was new and very strong. He felt a pang in his heart and said to his colleague: "Grandma asked my wife to come and talk to my cousin. If my cousin is at home, there is no need to lock the door."
The colleague asked suspiciously, "Maybe your cousin went out for a walk and locked the door?"
Han Jingyuan said, "My wife left a note at the flower shop without telling grandma. Something must have happened. So, you stay outside and I'll climb over the wall to take a look. We are our own relatives, so grandma won't blame me and you don't have to worry."
All three of them felt that this was the only way.
Han Jingyuan climbed inside and found that his cousin was not at home. He looked around and found something wrong: "My cousin's daily necessities are not at home. It is impossible for her to go out for a walk."
Now everyone was getting anxious, and the other two colleagues also climbed over the wall. The three of them searched inside for twenty minutes, becoming more and more anxious.
Although they drove the police car a little faster, grandma wouldn't be too late if she took the bus.
Fortunately, they finally found a tunnel under the rice jar in the kitchen. Han Jingyuan went in first, followed by another colleague, leaving one person on guard above.
After going down more than twenty steps, the tunnel suddenly becomes open. You have to stand up and raise your hand to reach the top. There is enough space for three people to walk side by side.
This is definitely not something that anyone could dig out in a short period of time. Judging from the old marks on the wall, it should be a civil defense tunnel built before liberation, used for avoiding disasters and escaping.
After Han Jingyuan came up, he said to his colleague who stayed outside: "Brother Zhao, go drive the car away and call for support. Xiao Mu and I will search along the tunnel."
Zhao Qian warned: "If you encounter a situation, you and Xiao Mu will provide support, don't act rashly."
Han Jingyuan nodded and agreed: "Don't worry, my wife is about to give birth, I won't take any risks, Xiao Mu hasn't found a partner yet, I will also keep an eye on him."
Zhao Qian smiled and said, "Okay, after this case that has been delayed for more than a month and your grandmother's affairs are settled, let your wife find a partner for Xiao Mu."
Han Jingyuan said: "Don't let her worry too much recently, wait until she gives birth."
…
Returning to the tunnel again, Han Jingyuan and Mu Pingcheng walked forward along the tunnel. There were some side chambers along the way, some of which were abandoned, but two of them had new locks. They did not bring any lock-picking tools, and there was still a light ahead, so they continued forward vigilantly.
Keep walking until you reach the place where the light is. This is the end. There is a space of several dozen square meters with water, air, and lighting. According to the direction and distance, the ear chamber at this end should be below the welfare home.
In the ear chamber, my cousin was locked in an iron cage embedded in the wall. A small bed was placed inside for her. She sat on the bed, staring blankly at the iron cage that held her.
After making sure that there was no one else in the chamber, Han Jingyuan collected his gun, and left the tunnel with his colleague. He ran to the cage that was more than one meter tall, and asked anxiously, "Cousin, what's going on?"
Seeing Han Jingyuan, Zhou Qingzhu also became anxious: "My things are all planned, why are you here too?"
Han Jingyuan: ...Cousin, do you mean you don’t need to be saved? It is more likely that his and his colleagues' appearance disrupted his cousin's plans.
It was Han Jingyuan's turn to explain: "Grandma went to Xiaoci and told her that you didn't want to have children and asked her to persuade you. Xiaoci noticed something was wrong and left a message. I came here first because I was anxious. Sure enough, I found the tunnel before liberation. I didn't expect you to be here."
Zhou Qingzhu was stunned, and suddenly became sad, muttering to himself: "We originally wanted to solve it ourselves and take my aunt back secretly, but my aunt went crazy and actually captured Xiaoci. Now we can't do it secretly anymore."
Han Jingyuan was confused: "Cousin, why are you still hiding something at this time? Tell us the situation."
Zhou Qingzhu knew that her great aunt might come back at any time, so she didn't hide it and told Han Jingyuan about her grandmother's plan.
"My grandmother had a younger sister who was two years younger. She was also good at fortune-telling. Before liberation, she told fortunes for the families of wealthy local gentry and lived a very prosperous life. But because she was too high-profile, she got into trouble. My grandmother helped her to settle the matter. After that, she lived a peaceful life. When she gave birth to a child who was not in good health, my aunt wanted to find a very lucky person to lend the child luck."
"My grandmother advised her not to do that, saying it would damage her virtue, but my aunt would not listen. She was too extreme. She wanted someone else's child, so she wanted to take the child away secretly. When my grandmother found out, she took the child away from her. Later, my aunt's cousin died young, and my aunt blamed my grandmother."
The person adopted by the grandmother was Xiaoci's mother. Han Jingyuan asked hurriedly, "Then the child that the grandmother took away was Xiaoci's mother, wasn't it someone else?"
Zhou Qingzhu nodded, "Yes, only Xiaoci's mother. My grandmother didn't know whose family she was from. No matter how I asked my aunt, she wouldn't tell me. Later, when the Four Olds were destroyed, my aunt went crazy because of the pain of losing her son and being criticized. She didn't even know the original family of Xiaoci's mother."
These things can be explained clearly after we go out. Han Jingyuan hurriedly asked the question in front of him: "Cousin, what are you and grandma planning?"
Zhou Qingzhu said, "At the beginning of the year, my grandmother and I went to the mental hospital to visit my great aunt, but she ran away. The hospital said she had been gone for several months. My grandmother knew my great aunt too well. Her disguise was very lifelike. Maybe she is right next to us. Song Zhaoan happened to break off the engagement, and my grandmother made a plan. She made me pregnant and said that my great aunt would definitely appear when I gave birth."
"Sure enough, a few months later, grandma received a letter from my great aunt, asking her to come to Beijing. She said that the Song man had done something and wanted to renege on it. No, the engagement must be fulfilled, otherwise Song Zhaoan would pay the price. My great aunt was crazy, and she was worried so she brought me here. You all know what happened later. My great aunt was elusive and could pretend to be anyone. Grandma never found her, but she wanted my child. When I was due, my great aunt came out of the tunnel at night and brought us here."
Han Jingyuan: ...Grandma’s plan was full of loopholes and full of dangers. If he and his colleagues hadn’t come, how would they have planned to escape?
And why did grandma rent a house connected to a tunnel? Only grandma could explain these. He was very anxious: "Cousin, where is grandma?"
Zhou Qingzhu had already heard the footsteps, and without time to explain in detail, he pointed in the direction of the end and said, "There are stairs over there that lead to the welfare home above. You can go and hide there first. By the way, Lu Meiqin and Sister-in-law Song Zhaoan are both here. They are fine now, so you don't have to worry."
As the footsteps got closer, Han Jingyuan heard Jiang Xiaoci arguing with an old voice, and the tone didn't sound dangerous.
Without having time to ask more questions, he and his colleague looked at each other, hid in the passage together, and waited to see what would happen.
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