Chapter 9: Preparing to Seek Justice for Her Husband
Today, Jiang Ruzhen even specially put on a skull makeup with dark circles under her eyes, making her look like a withered corpse whose yang energy had been sucked away.
Hao Youde was already in a bad mood all day, and he almost got caught in the machine, so his mood was extremely low.
Thinking about sneaking out for a few drinks that night to numb my senses, I never expected that on my way home, a dark figure would suddenly rush out of the woods by the roadside.
She rushed towards him as soon as she saw him, and said softly, "Hao Youde, my old Shen is lonely down there, and he said he wants you to come down and keep him company..."
In the pitch black, Hao Youde was terrified by the disheveled, ghost-like Jiang Ruzhen, and screamed in terror. Upon hearing Jiang Ruzhen's words, he was so frightened that he wet himself on the spot.
He screamed, clutching his face, and crawled on the ground, begging for mercy, "Don't come after me, I didn't mean it, Lao Shen, I was wrong. Don't hurt me... don't hurt me..."
Seeing Hao Youde's miserable state, Jiang Ruzhen suppressed her hatred and turned to go home.
The next day, Jiang Ruzhen delivered another basket of eggs to the brigade leader's house. She spoke a few words to Liu Guihua as usual before going home. After that, she went to the warehouse and tormented Qin Lanlan for a while.
She bundled herself up tightly and went out for a stroll, not returning home until evening.
For dinner, only one meat dish was prepared, and it was only given to the eldest son, the second son, and the daughter. The youngest son also wanted to eat, but Jiang Ruzhen gave him only a cornbread.
Shen Zhuohang felt uneasy and didn't dare to cause trouble. He obediently finished his meal and went back to his room. His mother was really ruthless. She had starved Lanlan for two days and two nights. He couldn't let her be tortured to death. That would be a capital offense!
That night, unable to sleep, he secretly took the half-eaten cornbread he had quietly saved to Qin Lanlan.
The eldest brother also couldn't sleep. He followed the fourth brother and sneaked over to take a look at Qin Lanlan. She had really lost weight and had bruises all over her body. She must have been suffering a lot!
He felt a pang of guilt, and seeing that the fourth brother had quietly released the man, he hid in the darkness and did not stop him.
Jiang Ruzhen watched the two brothers commit the crime from inside the house and sneered. She then noticed that the second brother had followed Qin Lanlan when she ran out of the yard.
Is this unpredictable guy planning to secretly kill someone on the way?
That won't do; we can't let him ruin our plans.
If Qin Lanlan is not released, how can the eldest and fourth brothers suddenly realize their mistakes and feel remorse?
How can we draw out the Qin family's weakness?
Jiang Ruzhen followed and stopped the second son.
"Second brother, what are you trying to do?"
Shen Zhuoyi thought he was the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, but little did he know that there was a mother eagle following behind him.
He jumped in fright, "Mom, what are you doing here?"
Jiang Ruzhen mimicked her second son's sinister smile, "What can Mom do in the middle of the night? Mom's waiting for you to watch the moon together!"
The second son realized his mother wasn't being kind, and seeing that Qin Lanlan was almost out of sight, he said anxiously.
"Mom, I have to go now."
Jiang Ruzhen grabbed her second son and asked seriously, "Do you want to avenge your father?"
Shen Zhuoyi nodded vigorously, his eyes stinging. "I dream about it."
"Alright, you listen to me." Jiang Ruzhen pressed the second son down, and the two of them huddled together and whispered for a long time.
Shen Zhuoyi's eyes nearly popped out of his head. If it weren't for the shadow on the ground, he would have doubted that the woman in front of him was his biological mother.
When did my honest and kind mother become so cunning and ruthless?
But he really felt good about his mother's way of retaliating.
He nodded heavily and ran after Qin Lanlan's shadow.
Jiang Ruzhen was very pleased, thinking that it was still the second son, a traitor, who was the best at dealing with those demons and monsters.
No matter what arrangements or troubles the second son makes, she's going back to get her beauty sleep.
In my past life, I suffered and toiled my whole life, and accumulated illnesses from overwork. Now, in my old age, not a single part of my body is in good condition.
Having been given a second chance at life, she wanted to do whatever made her comfortable, not wanting to tire herself out at all. She was determined to take good care of her health and strive to live to ninety-nine.
The second son followed behind Qin Lanlan as she returned to the Qin family home. As soon as Qin Lanlan entered, she began to wail in mourning.
In the middle of the night, the neighbors all thought that Widow Li from the Qin family had gone mad!
They were all awakened and planned to go to the Qin family's gate to see what was going on. When Li Fen saw her daughter's miserable appearance, her heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that this lucky flower she carefully cultivated in the Shen family has been bullied?
That won't do. She's been looking around at several families to compare prices, hoping to get a high dowry when she marries her daughter.
She winked at Qin Liang, who then swaggered out shirtless, scattering the crowd with a few curses and shouts.
None of the neighbors dared to confront Qin Liang directly, because Qin Liang was a scoundrel who had learned the ways of his deadbeat father since he was a child, and would beat people half to death at the drop of a hat.
They were the scoundrels in the family housing area, and no one dared to openly offend the Qin family.
I'm afraid they might smash windows and attack people behind my back. I'd rather offend a gentleman than a petty person.
As soon as the door closed, Li Fen quickly asked Qin Lanlan what had happened. Qin Lanlan, having finally found her relatives, poured out her heart to Li Fen about her experiences at the Shen family over the past two days.
They kept saying that Jiang Ruzhen was possessed by an evil spirit, and that she had become a completely different person.
Qin Lanlan spoke unintentionally, but the listener took it to heart.
Li Fen's mind started racing. Could it be that that slut Jiang Ruzhen had heard something?
She didn't dare to ask directly; that matter from back then had to be kept tightly under wraps, otherwise her family wouldn't be able to stay in the shipyard.
The thousand or so yuan in compensation, the house, and the son's job all have to be returned, leaving the whole family to starve at the crossroads.
"Lanlan, my dear daughter, you've suffered so much."
Li Fen picked up her voice and imitated the way actors cry, her voice filled with a wonderfully nuanced and dramatic quality.
Seeing the mother and daughter crying so pitifully, Qin Liang was furious.
Impatiently, he kicked one of them, "What are you howling about in the middle of the night? Don't attract any more ghosts. I'm hungry, go get me something to eat."
Qin Lanlan rubbed her empty stomach and felt hungry. She stared longingly at Li Fen. Li Fen had no choice but to coax her daughter to work hard for her and bring all the good things from the Shen family to her house.
She had no choice but to get up and go to the kitchen to cook two bowls of noodles for the two of them.
However, the son's bowl had two poached eggs, while the daughter's bowl only had a bowl of clear soup noodles.
Qin Lanlan was starving, so she ate all the noodles without hesitation and drank every last drop of the soup, completely unaware of Li Fen's longing gaze beside her.
Li Fen was angry, but she held back and carefully tried to persuade Qin Lanlan.
“You’re doing just fine at Old Shen’s house, why did you have to snatch that brat’s college admission notice? Once you’ve managed to get some more money from Old Shen’s, Mom will save it all for your dowry.”
"I'll find you a good partner then, and give you a grand wedding!"
Qin Lanlan curled her lip and said disdainfully, "Mom, what do you know? College students are so sought after these days, especially those from the capital's university."
"Once I get to the capital, I guarantee I'll find you a rich and handsome husband there. Then you and your brother can come with me to the capital and enjoy a life of luxury, wouldn't that be great?"
Qin Lanlan was not very bright, just like her family. She went to high school despite her reluctance to work, but during those three years, she not only ranked last in her class, but also secretly flirted with the best boys in the school.
They extorted a lot of money from them and ruined their reputation.
She didn't care whether she got into university or not, but she overheard a conversation between Shen Shuxin and her homeroom teacher. Her homeroom teacher knew that Shen Shuxin was a thoughtful person and was afraid of being a burden to her family, so she talked about many benefits of going to university.
Whether Shen Shuxin heard it or not, Qin Lanlan heard it all.
She didn't use the formal, literary language of teachers; she spoke in plain language, but that was enough to move Li Fen and Qin Liang.
The two exchanged a glance, and Li Fen immediately changed her tune.
“My daughter is more insightful than me. I agree to let you go to university. But as long as Shen Shuxin is still around, Jiang Ruzhen will not let you take her daughter’s place.”
We must get rid of Shen Shuxin; don't let her get in your way.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
