Chapter 258: Chapter 258: Arrested

"Xiao Shan, just focus on getting better. Once you’ve recovered, we’ll hold our wedding ceremony..."

Wei Qing had just reached the door to the hospital room when she heard Zhao Jingyang inside, doting on Wei Shan. A bitter feeling rose in her heart.

’After such a terrible ordeal, I thought the Zhao family would find her unlucky and call off the engagement. I never expected Zhao Jingyang to be such a devoted lover.’

She walked into the room, carrying a bag of fruit candies.

The moment Liu Sufen saw her, she glared as if looking at a mortal enemy.

"How did you get out? Weren’t you arrested by the police, you jinx!?"

The health clinic’s conditions were poor; a single ward was packed with over a dozen beds.

Hearing Liu Sufen’s words, a dozen pairs of eyes in the room all turned to stare at Wei Qing.

Wei Qing walked calmly to Wei Shan’s bedside. "Aunt, I’ve already cleared things up with the police. What happened to Xiao Shan has nothing to do with me. Xiao Shan, I didn’t lie to you. If you hadn’t gotten greedy and tried to take that money for yourself, those men wouldn’t have been so brutal."

Wei Shan glared at her, her face flushing with shame, but she was speechless.

She and Wei Qing had agreed to go up the mountain together the next afternoon, but she had snuck up alone in the middle of the night to get the money. She was indeed in the wrong.

Liu Sufen didn’t care whether her daughter was in the wrong or not. All she knew was that Wei Qing was the reason her daughter had nearly died on that mountain.

She grabbed Wei Qing by the collar and unleashed a torrent of abuse. "That’s bullshit! You knew those guys were shady and up to no good, but instead of reporting them to the police, you roped Xiao Shan into your wicked scheme. What were you planning?"

"If Xiao Shan hadn’t been saved by a miracle, she would have died on that mountain! You caused your father-in-law to lose an eye, and now you’re bringing disaster to Xiao Shan. The police should just take a menace like you out and shoot you!"

Wei Qing struggled. "Aunt, can’t you be reasonable? Xiao Shan ran up the mountain by herself in the middle of the night. What does that have to do with me?"

Liu Sufen glared at her. "If you hadn’t filled her head with all that nonsense, would she have been lured up the mountain? How dare you say it has nothing to do with you! I can see you’re nothing but trouble!"

"You shameless bitch! Did you think you could pick up the scraps if Xiao Shan was gone? Why don’t you take a good look at yourself! You’re a married tramp. Do you really think someone like Jingyang would want you?"

Still not satisfied after her tirade, she spat in Wei Qing’s face.

Wei Qing was so disgusted she almost threw up, and a deep hatred for Liu Sufen’s vulgarity filled her. "The whole family agreed to me pretending to be Xiao Shan to deceive the Zhao family! Weren’t you all more concerned with the marriage to the Zhao family than Xiao Shan’s safety? I was clearly helping you, helping Xiao Shan, and now I’m the bad guy no matter what?"

Wei Qing had aimed these words at Zhao Jingyang and Wei Shan.

On one hand, she wanted to ruin the marriage between the two families.

She refused to believe the Zhao family wouldn’t hold a grudge over the Wei Family’s earlier deception.

On the other hand, she wanted to drive a wedge between Wei Shan and her family.

’If Wei Shan knew that after she went missing, her family wasn’t focused on finding her but on how to save the marriage, she’d surely grow cold toward them.’

"Who asked for your help? You’re a jinx who brings nothing but disaster! Now pack your things and get the hell out! Don’t you ever dare set foot in my house again!"

Wei Qing was mentally prepared to be kicked out by the Wei Family.

She was just frustrated that she had slaved away for the Wei Family for a month for nothing.

With nowhere else to go, she could only move into the old thatched hut left by her biological father.

The house was old and in disrepair. Light shone through numerous holes in the roof, the mud-brick walls were covered in cracks of all sizes, and there wasn’t even a bed.

Wei Qing sat sullenly on a pile of dry firewood, pondering her future.

’Marrying into the Zhao family is hopeless now. The only path left for me is the college entrance exam.’

Having made up her mind, she headed to her third uncle’s house at the edge of the village, planning to borrow a couple of quilts and some pots and pans to settle in for the time being.

But when she got to her third uncle’s house, not only did she not get to borrow anything, they didn’t even let her in the door. They dismissed her with a single word: "None."

Furious at having the door slammed in her face, Wei Qing could only return to the old hut dejectedly.

「In the blink of an eye, it was dark.」

Wei Qing cleared out a room in the old hut, laid down some firewood and straw, and made a makeshift bed.

With no quilt to cover herself, she burned firewood for warmth.

She had gone up the mountain to chop wood every day for the past month, amassing a pile that filled half the room—enough to last her until the New Year.

In truth, she hadn’t been going up the mountain just to chop wood, but also to dig a pit.

She dug a little each day, and over nearly a month, she had excavated a pit three meters deep.

To save time and effort, she had chosen a spot with soft soil and had accidentally left her iron shovel in the pit, which in turn had given Wei Shan a chance at survival.

Wei Qing fumed at the thought.

A fragrant aroma wafting from the fire brought Wei Qing back to her senses. She used a stick to pull out the sweet potatoes she had buried in the embers.

With no grain to eat, she could only roast a couple of sweet potatoes to fill her stomach.

She had stolen these sweet potatoes from the cellar at Wei Shan’s house.

Sweet potatoes weren’t worth much, but they smelled quite good when roasted.

’But I can’t just eat sweet potatoes every day. Tomorrow, I’ll go into town, get some money from Li Hongying, buy some grain, and fix up the house.’

Her plan made, Wei Qing lay down on the dry straw and fell asleep.

「The next day」

She was woken from her sleep by someone calling her name.

She opened her eyes to find that it was already light out. The two police officers who had interrogated her yesterday were standing over her, looking down.

Behind the police officers stood a crowd of villagers.

Seeing she was awake, one of the officers said coldly, "Wei Qing, get up and come with us."

Her mind was still foggy. "Where are we going?"

The other officer simply pulled out a pair of handcuffs, bent down, cuffed her left hand, and then did the same to her right.

Wei Qing stared blankly at the officer’s actions, clearly not understanding what was happening.

"What are you doing? What did I do?"

The officer who had spoken first let out a cold laugh. "You’re suspected of the attempted murder of Wei Shan. We are now placing you under arrest according to the law!"

Wei Qing’s mind reeled. "I didn’t do it! I already explained everything to you yesterday! It wasn’t me!"

The officer hauled her to her feet and began walking her outside. "Don’t worry," he said, "you’ll have plenty of chances to talk once we get to the station."

As soon as she stepped out of the hut, the bright sunlight stung Wei Qing’s eyes, and she instinctively raised a hand to shield her face.

The handcuffs locked around her wrists glinted brightly and clinked sharply.

During the days Wei Shan was missing, the sky over Lotus Village had been persistently gloomy. But today, the sun was shining brilliantly, a rare occurrence.

Seeing the gleaming cuffs on her hands, the gathered villagers exploded into a frenzy.

"What’s going on? Why are the police arresting Wei Qing?"

"I heard they’re saying she tried to murder Wei Shan!"

"No way! Would she really have the nerve?"

"If it wasn’t her, would the police be arresting her? I don’t see them coming to arrest you."

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! Don’t you jinx me!"

A few nosy villagers tried to ask the police what Wei Qing had done, but were rebuffed with, "The case is under investigation and we cannot disclose any details."

The villagers’ curiosity wasn’t so easily dismissed. They turned around and started pestering Wei Shuan’s family for information.

Wei Shuan was also stunned.

He never would have dreamed that the person who harmed his daughter was his own niece, Wei Qing.

He had kindly taken his niece in. That was a debt of gratitude. How could she repay his kindness with such malice?

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