"Hey, Captain Fu, Huo Xiaoyan and Qian Peng's wife are both awake."
"Okay, I'll be right there." Fu Jing hung up the phone, walked out of the police station, and drove to the hospital.
"Huo Xiaoyan, explain yourself, what caused your argument with Song Wanying?"
“She insisted that I lied about the fact that her niece was dead, and she also felt that I hadn’t taken good care of her niece, so in a fit of anger, she rushed over and tried to strangle me.”
As Huo Xiaoyan spoke, tears streamed down her face: "My daughter-in-law suffered a miscarriage and severe bleeding. Everyone in the village saw it. Her body was so weak afterward that she couldn't make it. God took her away, and there was nothing I could do!"
Fu Jing stopped taking notes, abruptly looked up, and asked sharply, "A few days ago, Comrade Song Wanying visited your brigade. Why didn't you tell her?"
"She's a wealthy man's wife—"
Fu Jing frowned, displeased, and said, "Huo Xiaoyan, please watch your words."
If word gets out about capitalist behavior, it will attract the attention of those with ulterior motives, and the whole family will suffer.
Huo Xiaoyan felt a tightness in her scalp under Fu Jing's dark eyes. She swallowed hard and said, "She looked down on us country bumpkins because we were dirty. She came to my house, didn't even drink a drop of water, left some money, and left in a hurry without staying a second longer."
"I didn't even have a chance to speak," Huo Xiaoyan said innocently.
"Then why did you lie to the wife in the team?"
"Officer, I just... I just... saw that she had money, and I had a little crooked idea. I wanted to cheat Song Wanying out more money without her knowledge."
Fu Jing asked a few more questions, and Huo Xiaoyan's answers all seemed reasonable.
Seeing that he couldn't get any information from him, he got up and left.
As soon as he pushed open the door to Qian Peng's wife's room, Qian Peng stood up to greet him.
"Officer, you've finally arrived."
This eager attitude made Fu Jing, who had witnessed Qian Peng's domineering side on his way to the Xiangyang Brigade, raise an eyebrow slightly.
He sat down and asked routinely, "It's a fact that Song Wanying assaulted someone. Your attitude is still that you refuse to accept a settlement, right?"
"No, we accept reconciliation."
Fu Jing scoffed lightly: "Comrade Qian's attitude has changed way too quickly."
In an instant, Qian Guo met Fu Jing's half-smiling eyes and felt as if the man in front of him had stripped him naked and seen through him. It was red, because this year was his birth year in the Chinese zodiac.
The next second, the feeling was gone, like an illusion.
Qian Peng gave an awkward smile: "The doctor just arrived and said my wife's injuries are minor, nothing to worry about. That woman isn't Aunt Huo's in-law. We usually get along well with Aunt Huo, and we heard she was so frightened she developed a high fever. We've been thinking about it, and it's really bothering us. We're all from the same brigade, there's no need to make things so awkward. So—"
Fu Jing continued, "You've chosen to settle and drop the case?"
Qian Peng flattered, "Yes, you are indeed a police officer; your mind works very fast."
"Have you thought it through? Filing or withdrawing a case is not something to be taken lightly. If this case is withdrawn, there won't be a next time."
"The police station is not a place for you to play house."
Without a second thought, Qian Peng nodded his head repeatedly, saying, "I've made up my mind! We'll reconcile! We'll reconcile!"
Fu Jing pondered for a moment, then stood up and went to a secluded corner outside the hospital. He leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette.
A few rays of sunlight shone on him, half of his body in darkness and half in warm orange light. His well-defined fingers took the cigarette from his mouth and exhaled a cloud of smoke, the swirling mist making his handsome face appear somewhat blurred under the lamplight.
Like Satan in the night, mysterious and dangerous.
A moment later, he stubbed out his cigarette, threw it in the trash can, and drove away.
...
Su Wantang and Su Zhichen had just left the hospital when they ran into Lu Huai'an, who had rushed over after receiving the news.
The couple exchanged a glance, tacitly agreeing not to mention anything in front of Su Zhichen.
After a brief chat, the three got into the car and drove towards the compound.
Su Zhichen held back for a long time, but he couldn't help but say, "Huai'an, my father-in-law asked you to take good care of Wantang before, and you took very good care of her. Thank you, father-in-law."
"Today, your father-in-law is going to great lengths to ask you for one more favor: could you please find a way to save your mother-in-law?"
"Dad!" Su Wantang called out unhappily.
"Tangtang, please... let Dad finish speaking."
Meeting Su Zhichen's pleading gaze, glistening with tears, Su Wantang pursed her lips, but still couldn't bear it and turned her head away.
“Huai’an, your mother-in-law may not be a good person, but she is still Tangtang’s biological mother. If she goes to jail, what will people think of Tangtang? The daughter of a criminal?”
Su Wantang shuddered, stiffened, and turned around. Her voice trembled with tears as she questioned, "Dad, are you really doing this for me? Or are you just using me as an excuse to save Song Wanying at all costs?"
Su Zhichen scolded with a stern face: "You child, your mother and I are practically on our deathbeds. We can do whatever we want, but you can't be dragged down by us. If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have agreed to come back in the first place."
"Tangtang, I've figured it out these past few days. It's not that you owe your mother, it's that I owe her. So, I'll never say those things like 'I want you to be understanding of your mother' again."
“Dad.” Su Wantang’s eyes suddenly reddened.
"Why are you crying, child?" Su Zhichen wiped Su Wantang's tears with his fingers and sighed. "Tangtang, perhaps you shouldn't have brought us back in the first place. You could have just let the two of us stay in the Northwest and die peacefully in our old age."
"Dad!" Su Wantang protested, "I don't care what happens to Song Wanying, but I can't stand idly by when you suffer."
Su Zhichen sighed and turned to Lu Huai'an, saying, "Huai'an, your father-in-law knows this is a difficult matter. If possible, I still hope you can find a way to reconcile with that family and rescue your mother-in-law..."
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