Ning Wan looked curiously at the area surrounded by the crowd, then nodded to Ning Xin.
Seeing this, Ning Xin quickly grabbed Ning Wan's arm and squeezed into the crowd. After finally getting inside, they discovered that it was a small well, and the group of people were dancing around it in circles.
Ning Xin looked at the well, then smiled and pointed at it, saying:
"Sister Wan'er, I heard a kitten meowing in the well. Come closer and listen, is that it?"
Along the way, Ning Wan had been missing her pet cat, Xiao Jiu. Back then, in order to hurry on the journey, Jiang Yuwei was worried about the inconvenience on the road, so after much consideration, she decided to release it back into the mountains. Now that Ning Xin mentioned the kitten, Ning Wan was immediately moved and hurried to the well, looking down into it.
"No, I haven't seen any kittens, nor have I heard any kittens meowing."
At this moment, Ning Xin, standing behind Ning Wan, said perfunctorily:
"I clearly heard it just now, why don't you come closer and listen again?"
As she spoke, Ning Xin slowly raised her hand. If she pushed Ning Wan, Ning Wan would fall into the well and drown. Then, her aunt and uncle would become her parents and love her dearly.
At this moment, it seemed as if a voice kept repeating this sentence in Ning Xin's mind. Then, Ning Xin gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, put her hand on Ning Wan's shoulder, and pushed her down forcefully!
However, Ning Wan had already learned a lot of self-defense techniques from Ning Huaizhi and Ning Zhao, and she also had natural agility. Because of her daily training, Ning Wan's strength was much greater than Ning Xin's.
When Ning Xin tried to push Ning Wan again after failing to move her the first time, Ning Wan grabbed her wrist and threw her over her shoulder with a "plop" as she fell into the water.
Ning Wan panicked when she realized that her instinctive action had thrown Ning Xin into the well. She shouted:
"Ning Xin fell into the well! Ning Xin fell into the well!"
While shouting, she squeezed through the crowd, trying to seek Jiang Yuwei's help. At that moment, Sun Shi, who happened to be walking over, also heard Ning Wan's shouts. As soon as she saw her squeeze out of the crowd, she rushed forward, grabbed Ning Wan by the collar, and shouted:
"You brat, tell me what happened to Ning Xin, tell me now!"
At this moment, Jiang Yuwei and Ning Zhao, who were standing not far away, also saw Sun Shi grabbing Ning Wan by the neck and questioning her. The two rushed over. Jiang Yuwei snatched Ning Wan from Sun Shi's hands and hugged her in her arms. She then turned around and slapped Sun Shi hard.
Ning Wan, who was already terrified, burst into tears upon seeing Jiang Yuwei arrive.
"Mother, just now, Ningxin tried to push me into the well. I used the grappling technique my brother taught me, and accidentally threw her into the well."
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun went berserk, pushing through the crowd to save Ningxin, shouting repeatedly:
"Get out of the way, all of you get out of the way, you bunch of idiots!"
The people who were peacefully praying for blessings immediately turned pale upon hearing Sun's words. This was a long-standing custom in Ninghe Town: on the Qixi Festival, everyone would dance around the well to pray for blessings and offer sacrifices to the water god to ensure good weather and abundant harvests in the coming year. Now that the ceremony had been interrupted by a woman, this was definitely an ominous sign.
Jiang Yuwei looked apologetically at everyone and said:
"I'm so sorry, the child fell into the well and she was very anxious. It's a matter of life and death, please understand."
Upon hearing this, the crowd spontaneously made way for Sun and did not step forward to stop her.
Jiang Yuwei followed Sun to the well and saw a bucket hanging in the well water. Ning Xin was sitting in the bucket, trembling with fear.
Jiang Yuwei was relieved and gestured for Ning Zhao to stop Madam Sun. Then she looked at Ning Xin in the bucket and called out:
"Ningxin, would you like to come up?"
Seeing this, Sun struggled and cursed at Jiang Yuwei:
"Are you even human? My Xin'er has fallen into the water, aren't you going to hurry up and save her?!"
Jiang Yuwei ignored Madam Sun and continued, still looking at Ning Xin in the well:
"Why did you push Ning Wan into the well just now? You'd better tell the truth, or I won't pull you out."
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun immediately launched into a tirade of curses:
"Jiang Yuwei, you heartless bastard! Ning Xin is your niece, after all. How can you be so cruel as to let her die? Let go of me, Ning Zhao, you ingrate! Who raised you when you were a child without parents?!"
Jiang Yuwei didn't want to pay attention to the crazy Sun Shi. She just wanted Ning Xin to tell the truth so that Sun Shi and her group wouldn't keep targeting Ning Wan. It was better that Sun Shi didn't mention Ning Zhao and Ning Wan when they were young. But as soon as she did, Jiang Yuwei couldn't hold back her anger anymore. She walked up to Sun Shi and slapped her twice across the face.
Jiang Yuwei looked at Madam Sun and scolded:
"Remember this: you have done my Ning Zhao and Ning Wan the sliver of kindness. If it weren't for the gossip in the village, you would have starved those two children to death. The fact that they survived until I married into the Ning family is a testament to their good fortune and destiny. As for the despicable things you and Chen Guixiang did, you will eventually be punished. I'm not holding your past actions against you now, so you'd better be grateful to me. Otherwise, when I lose my temper, no one will survive!"
After being hit by Jiang Yuwei, Sun Shi dared not utter a sound. At this moment, her hands were firmly restrained by Ning Zhao, and she could not move at all. She could only helplessly endure the beating.
Seeing that Madam Sun had finally quieted down, Jiang Yuwei walked to the well, looked coldly at Ning Xin, and said:
"If you don't tell me, I'm leaving."
Seeing this, Ning Xin hurriedly cried out:
"Aunt, please, please don't go. I'm scared. I'll talk, I'll talk, okay?"
Ning Xin steadied herself on the edge of the bucket, and continued speaking with trepidation:
“I… I saw that Ning Wan had parents who loved her and a brother who protected her, while I… I had nothing. My father and mother didn’t care about me, and my grandmother even called me a good-for-nothing. So, I… I thought that if Ning Wan died, my aunt would love me the same way she loved Ning Wan. After all, Ning Wan wasn’t your biological child, yet you treated her so well. So, I… I wanted to push Ning Wan into the well…”
After listening to Ning Xin finish speaking, Jiang Yuwei looked up and glared fiercely at Madam Sun, then said to Ning Xin:
"Ning Xin, remember this: the only reason I dote on Ning Wan is because she is Ning Wan, my daughter. Do you understand? You can never take her place in my heart. If you dare to lay a hand on Ning Wan again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
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