Chapter 313: Chapter 307: The Incredible _1 Chapter 313: Chapter 307: The Incredible _1 Lin Yue, observing the situation, realized everyone must believe Chunxi was responsible. Yet when she looked at Chunxi, it appeared there was some injustice in her case. She couldn’t simply let the true malefactor behind the scenes go unpunished, so Lin Yue had to speak up, “Chunxi, no one is going to believe what you’re saying. If you didn’t mean to harm me, why did you lure me to the back mountain? You couldn’t possibly be saying it was just for fun, could you? Who would believe such a thing?”
Chunxi shook her head. Considering her situation couldn’t get any worse, she figured she might as well tell the truth. She could differentiate between contemplating harm and actually doing harm, “Yueyue, I’m sorry. I was blinded by lard, that’s why I impulsively tried to harm you. It was Sister Guihua who tricked you into going to the back mountain, but then I came to my senses and realized it was wrong, so I gave up on the idea. Whatever happened afterwards really wasn’t my doing.”
Lin Yue could tell Chunxi was still holding onto a sliver of hope, mixing truth with lies, “Chunxi, there’s no need to feign innocence. Everyone knows how malicious you can be, and this isn’t the first time you’ve done something evil. Just tell the truth, otherwise no one will believe you, and you’ll end up taking the fall for someone else.”
With Lin Yue’s words, Chunxi’s last bit of hope faded away. Her face turned pale as she admitted, “I, I really did want to harm you, but then Zhao Jingui called me back. I had no time, so I really couldn’t have done it, truly.”
Though Chunxi was now telling the truth, the unfortunate fact was that the time frame for the harm to be done was less than half an hour, and she had dawdled on her way back, leaving no room for an alibi. Even Zhao Jingui and the You Family believed she was responsible because the timing was just too coincidental; the event had occurred just before Chunxi’s return.
“Besides you, who else knew about this? Whoever committed the crime and put the blame on you must be quite familiar with your plan. Think carefully.”
Chunxi thought long and hard but still shook her head, clueless. She didn’t understand; she had been so secretive, how could anyone have known and taken advantage of her plan, framing her? “I really don’t know. Aside from Sister Guihua, there was no one else—wait, there was also Zhang Liu’s family.” Chunxi couldn’t think of anyone else beyond these two.
“Chunxi, don’t slander people out of spite. We have no grudges against Erhu’s wife; why would we harm her? Not everyone is as cruel-hearted as you. If you dare to falsely accuse us again, I swear I’ll tear your mouth!” Liu Cuicui from the Zhang family reacted fiercely, pointing and cursing at Chunxi. Being a widow already made her a target for gossip, and she certainly wasn’t about to let Chunxi dump this scandal on her. Moreover, she had her own designs on Zhao Erhu and hadn’t given up on him yet; it’s not as if she lacked motive. If someone started connecting the dots, she’d be beyond vindication, no matter how much she tried to explain.
“Yes, Chunxi, even though you deceived me into leading Zhao Erhu’s wife to the back mountain, how could I have guessed what you intended to do? You can’t just push the blame onto us to save yourself. You shouldn’t recklessly accuse others of having a guilty conscience. Not everyone can be as ruthless as you.” Zhang Guihua too hit back at Chunxi, unyielding. This woman was truly detestable: first, she bribed her with fifty coins to commit such an atrocity and now, facing her downfall, was trying to pin it on someone else. Utterly despicable.
Lin Yue frowned, having not anticipated that the person behind this was so well-hidden. As for Zhang Guihua and Liu Cuicui, she didn’t believe they were responsible, judging by their reactions and motives.
“I know it wasn’t that woman who pushed her, it was another woman wearing blue clothes! Dalang’s aunt!” A crisp and clear voice said—it was the village chief’s beloved grandson, Zhao Mingfeng, who happened to be playing on the back mountain and witnessed the incident.
Though young, Zhao Mingfeng knew he had stumbled upon a shocking matter and didn’t know how to react. He could only hide in the bushes, silent, until Zhao Yunxiang left. Then he ran home and dared not speak to the adults. In the following days, he was notably quiet and withdrawn. His grandparents thought it was because their grandson was becoming sensible and obedient, not running around causing mischief, which comforted them. They were completely unaware that their grandson had accidentally learned a huge secret.
Zhao Mingfeng was always timid and initially didn’t have the courage to confront Zhao Yunxiang in front of everyone. But seeing how Dalang and his brothers were determined to find the person who hurt their mother—a woman he also admired for her beauty and kindness, always smiling, and despite being a stepmother, treated Dalang and his brothers well, even better than his own mother treated him—strengthened his resolve. Zhao Mingfeng believed in loyalty among good brothers, which finally gave him the courage to reveal everything.
Lin Yue had thought the matter would remain at a stalemate but didn’t expect a sudden turn of events. The one who pushed her was actually Zhao Yunxiang. Truthfully, Lin Yue was somewhat surprised but could also understand. Zhao Yunxiang had always shown her animosity, making things difficult at every turn, and Lin Yue had thought it was because Zhao Yunxiang was simply dissatisfied with her as a sister-in-law. She never imagined that Zhao Yunxiang’s hatred would run so deep that she wished for Lin Yue’s death. Nevertheless, Zhao Yunxiang was still Zhao Erhu’s older sister, which made the situation very complicated.
Zhao Yunxiang was actually standing in the crowd. Hearing the village chief’s grandson’s words, she nearly stumbled, as she had never expected this flawless plan to be seen by a child. The others also heard the village chief’s grandson’s statement and instinctively stepped back, forming a circle that made Zhao Yunxiang stand out starkly.
Zhao Erhu was stunned upon hearing the village chief’s grandson’s words. The person who hurt his wife turned out to be his own sister, something he could never have imagined. He had been determined to find the culprit and seek harsh revenge for his wife, yet the murderer turned out to be his sister. How could he endure this and how could he face his wife after?
Zhao Erhu, with eyes red with rage, looked at his sister and asked, “Big sister, why? Why would you do such a thing? I know you dislike my wife, but I thought it was only that—a dislike. I never would have thought you wanted her dead. Big sister, are you still my sister? Where has the kind and gentle sister from before gone?”
“I didn’t, you can’t just believe a child’s babbling, maybe he saw it wrong, what does a kid know?” Despite feeling panicked inside, Zhao Yunxiang refused to admit anything, obstinately argued with a strained voice.