On the dock.
Song Yaoyao was forced onto the ship.
Behind them, the triplets cried so loudly it shook heaven and earth, making everyone on the escort boat and at the dock feel utterly hopeless.
Seeing Zhao Jingxiang also being taken onto the boat, Chu Mei swayed precariously, wishing she could cry as loudly as the triplets.
Because Zhao Jingxiang provided the murder weapon with Song Yaoyao's fingerprints, the chain of evidence and the motive for the crime were complete, and Ling Huanwu, who had originally requested to go to the city with him, was immediately acquitted and released.
Zhao Tingguo, who had just said that Ling Huanwu was a suspect in murder and unworthy of being the Zhao family's daughter-in-law, turned ashen-faced, as if he had been slapped several times.
Now that their daughter-in-law is innocent, but they have lost a son, how can he not break down?
Ling Huanwu originally thought that now that she had been cleared of the murder charge, these two would stop calling her a murderer and saying she was ruining their son's future.
To everyone's surprise, Chu Mei's reaction stunned everyone at the dock.
As if provoked by something, Chu Mei suddenly grabbed the suitcase Zhao Tingguo had brought from the dock and threw it at Ling Huanwu, yelling, "You jinx! Did you use some seductive tricks to make my son take the blame for you? Go to hell! Go to hell!"
Just as the suitcase was about to hit Ling Huanwu, Zhou Jiuzhen quickly pulled her aside to avoid the oncoming suitcase.
Chu Mei persisted, "You think you can fool my two sons? No way! As long as I'm alive, you'll never have a good life!"
She threw a tantrum and cursed at him, her eyes instantly turning hateful and resentful as she looked at Ling Huanwu, believing that Ling Huanwu had harmed her big dog.
The escort boat sounded its horn again, urging the passengers to leave immediately, but Chu Mei was still cursing on the dock, unable to extricate herself from her grief and resentment.
Zhao Tingguo had no choice; things weren't peaceful in the city either. So he could only tell Political Commissar Hao to take good care of his wife before turning around and boarding the boat.
The escort vessel slowly departed, eventually becoming a tiny black dot.
Chu Mei suddenly knelt down in front of Ling Huanwu as if all her strength had been drained, pleading with Ling Huanwu in front of everyone, "Please spare my two sons. I was wrong before, I acted like a mother-in-law. I apologize to you. Please don't let my silly dog take the blame. Can you let him come back?"
The mother-in-law kneeling before her daughter-in-law was practically pushing the conflict into an intractable deadlock.
Furthermore, Chu Mei's words further portrayed Ling Huanwu as a scumbag woman who tricked others into taking the blame.
If Ling Huanwu used to think that her mother-in-law was just pretentious, now she was so angry at her mother-in-law's shameless behavior that she was trembling all over.
There were many villagers from other villages at the dock, including several elderly women of similar age to Chu Mei who sympathized with her and pointed at Ling Huanwu.
Many people have criticized Zhou Jiuzhen for remaining unmoved even when his own mother knelt before his daughter-in-law.
Ling Huanwu finally couldn't hold back any longer and was about to loudly question Chu Mei, asking why she thought that Chu Mei had instigated Zhao Jingxiang to take the blame.
Zhou Jiuzhen squeezed her palm to comfort her.
He glanced around at the gossiping villagers, gripped Ling Huanwu's hand tightly, and retorted with a serious expression, "I have no relation to this Aunt Chu, so how can she be considered my Huanwu's mother-in-law?"
"Oh, by the way, aunties, don't try to control your daughters-in-law by kneeling like Aunt Chu did. After all, she's not my mother. But if you did that, your daughters-in-law would have run away long ago!"
After Zhou Jiuzhen finished speaking, he looked at Chu Mei, who was kneeling on the ground, and said, "And Aunt Chu, do you have any evidence that Da Gou is taking the blame? Da Gou himself brought evidence to prove his guilt. If you keep talking nonsense, you know the consequences!"
Finally, ignoring Chu Mei's ugly expression as she knelt on the ground, he pulled Ling Huanwu and turned to leave.
The villagers were stunned. They never expected Zhou Jiuzhen to speak so harshly, directly exposing the purpose of Chu Mei's kneeling to everyone.
If it were any other son, seeing his mother kneeling before his wife, the wife would probably have been beaten up long ago.
Those aunties who are now mothers-in-law were trying to control their daughters-in-law, but none of them thought about their daughters-in-law getting beaten up and ruining their sons' and daughters-in-law's marriage.
The group of aunties helped Chu Mei up and gave her a good lecture on her thinking, which made Chu Mei so angry that she almost fainted...
*
Inside the wooden shed.
Ling Huanwu sat motionless on the bed, seemingly angered by Chu Mei's actions.
Zhou Jiuzhen went to get a pork knuckle rice bowl and came back to find her still standing there without saying a word.
When he learned at the dock that Ling Huanwu didn't have to leave, he was so excited he almost cried, thinking that he would go home and hold her to do everything he wanted to do.
Little did they expect that Chu Mei's outburst would dampen all their joy.
Zhou Jiuzhen half-squatted in front of Ling Huanwu, tilting his head to look at her.
Look left, look right, look up, look down.
Seeing this, Ling Huanwu, who had been holding back her anger, burst out laughing like a deflated balloon.
"What are you doing? Trying to act cute and charming like your nephews? Forget about it, it won't work on me!"
Zhou Jiuzhen glanced at the triplets wolfing down their food in the corner of the wooden shed, and when his gaze finally landed on Ling Huanwu, it was full of guilt and heartache.
"I'm sorry, Huanwu, you've suffered because of me..."
All his feigned nonchalance crumbled completely. He buried his head in her soft legs, his hand tightly gripping hers at her side, his voice broken and choked with sobs.
She was originally a capitalist's daughter who never endured hardship.
But if she follows him, she will not only suffer on this island, but also be bullied by her mother-in-law. In the future, she may even have to help her take care of her younger brother's three children.
A mountain of guilt had piled up, making it impossible for him to stand up straight in front of her.
Perhaps divorce is truly the best choice for her.
She has many better options if she leaves him.
"Huanwu, if you... if you want to leave... I can..."
Ling Huanwu immediately interrupted him, shouting in dissatisfaction, "What do you mean? Do you want to kick me out?"
Zhou Jiuzhen quickly looked up and immediately covered Ling Huanwu's mouth, "What are you saying? How could I possibly send you away..."
But the woman who had been motionless just moments before suddenly flew into a rage, punching and hitting him. Zhou Jiuzhen was so frightened that he quickly protected her stomach and dared not move, letting her vent her anger.
The triplets, who were eating, were terrified.
I used to only see images of tall fathers beating petite mothers.
I've never seen such a high-level scene of a petty person beating an adult.
What's more, this uncle is even stronger than their father, so how come he was beaten by their aunt and didn't even dare to fight back?
Finally, Ling Huanwu got tired of hitting him. She stared at him intently, panting, and asked, "What did you mean just now? Are you really going to divorce me? Do you really suspect that I'm having an affair with Qin Jinshen?"
Zhou Jiuzhen shuddered, quickly releasing his hand from her lower abdomen, and swore to the heavens, "If I ever had such thoughts, may I die at sea..."
Another slap landed on Zhou Jiuzhen's mouth, making him immediately start shedding large pearls in a wronged manner.
"You jinx! Say it again! Explain it again!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
