Zhao Qingya grew more and more excited by the thought. If she could obtain evidence of Zhao Sulan committing or instigating a murder, then Zhao Sulan would never be able to turn her life around.
And as for her, Han Zheng and others already knew about her being trafficked, so spreading this information would not affect them at the critical point.
She repeatedly instructed Lee Mi to make sure the job was done well.
Lee Mi nodded, "Rest assured, I’ll handle this matter flawlessly."
If it weren’t for Han Zheng, Meng Chuyue, and others acting as potential hindrances, Lee Mi indeed could have handled this affair flawlessly.
Unfortunately, with Meng Chuyue and Han Zheng involved, not only were Zhao Sulan’s hired hands unable to get close to the Hong Family, but even Lee Mi’s people couldn’t get near.
The people of the Hong Family were very safe.
After successfully receiving the thirty thousand yuan, they safely returned to Locust Tree Gully.
Of course, Han Zheng and Meng Chuyue had no intention of letting them go; they just postponed dealing with them.
Zhao Sulan watched them return to Locust Tree Gully with her own eyes and was infuriated.
Why was her luck so terrible?
After much scheming, it turned out that human plans can’t beat fate’s plans—she hadn’t expected that the small hotel where the Hong Family stayed would turn out to be filled with police officers.
And when they left, it was a different group of officers.
It was as if someone had assigned them security.
All her clever planning had been for naught.
Alas, she would have to think of another way.
Zhao Qingya and Lee Mi were also somewhat disappointed. It had been such a good opportunity to eliminate Zhao Sulan, and it just slipped away.
Who knew when such an opportunity would come again.
While they couldn’t think of a way to deal with Zhao Sulan for the time being, Zhao Sulan quickly found a way to deal with Zhao Qingya.
To reveal Zhao Qingya’s unspeakable past, the Hong Family weren’t necessary, were they?
Wouldn’t it suffice for her to have more people spread the word?
This was far simpler than getting someone to kill the Hong Family members, and it didn’t cost much either.
Within a few days, the story of Zhao Qingya once being trafficked to a remote mountain area and being forced to live with an old and ugly man for several years spread around the vicinity.
Zhao Sulan was malicious; not only did she have people broadcast the story over here, but she also had others spreading it in Hai City.
When Zhao Qingya found out, she almost spat blood.
Others may not have known, but she knew for sure that Zhao Sulan was behind this.
She wanted nothing more than to find Zhao Sulan and beat her to death, but unfortunately, she didn’t dare to act like a shrew in front of Han Zheng and Meng Chuyue, so she consulted with Lee Mi and Han Muchuan and decided to play the victim.
In the following days, she hid inside without leaving West Cross Court.
Lee Mi and Han Muchuan told Han Zheng and others that Zhao Qingya had locked herself in her room, crying softly after learning about the incident.
Han Zheng suggested that Lee Mi console her more, then said, "She is the victim, and I believe it won’t be long before everyone corrects their attitude. But the Hong family is so despicable, we can’t just let them go; you should also encourage her to go to the police station to make a report."
If it weren’t for the fact that she and Han Muchuan had once lived in Locust Tree Gully, and she herself was born there, Lee Mi would have agreed with Han Zheng’s opinion, but... her birth parents were in Locust Tree Gully. If the matter escalated, her family secret would become known to everyone...
She obediently agreed on the surface, but inside, she thought: It seems necessary to take care of the Hong Family members quickly.
Only that way, the matter wouldn’t blow up.
What she didn’t know was that on that day at the entrance to West Cross Court, the three members of the Hong Family had already recognized her.
She looked too much like her birth mother when she was young. And after she and Han Muchuan were sold for a high price, the villagers had all speculated that Zhao Qingya was responsible.
Because, apart from Zhao Qingya who was quite affectionate with her, no one would spend such a large sum of money on a skinnily small, sickly village girl.
Once the Hong Family trio returned, they told her birth parents and even instigated them to come to Imperial to ask her for money, "She’s like a young lady of wealth now. We’ve inquired secretly, and she’s said to have opened several companies—very rich."