RYEY – Chapter 178 Breaking Down in Tears

Liu Peili never expected that her closest friend, Xia Fen, would report her. But she thought it was something from a long time ago—surely there would be no evidence—so she adamantly denied everything.

A week later, a package of medicine appeared before Liu Peili. The familiar paper, the familiar way it was wrapped—it all pointed to Liu Peili as the source.

Finally, Liu Peili realized her resistance was futile. There was physical evidence, and if authentication was needed, Xia Fen could step forward anytime to testify.

“It’s not just my fault! Xia Fen ordered me to do it. Otherwise, why would I harm Cheng Qiao when we have no grudge?”

“Xia Fen ordered you? Do you have any proof?”

“Yes, her daughter Wang Ping and my daughter Xu Laidi can testify.”

“Xu Laidi has already been executed—how can she testify? Wang Ping could, but a single witness isn’t enough. Do you have any evidence?”

“Evidence… after all these years, where could I even find any?”

Suddenly, Liu Peili broke down completely, crying. Everyone knew Cheng Qiao was a naive, gullible girl. They had already deceived her out of so much money and tickets—yet they still wanted to trap her in the countryside forever.

Indeed, the heavens have their way of balancing things. Now it was their turn—they were stuck in the countryside, and their daughter’s fate was uncertain. Sadly, there was no antidote to undo their misdeeds.

Xu Laidi’s family never expected that because Xu Laidi had committed heinous crimes, and Liu Peili had confessed, their entire family would be sent to the harsh labor farms in the far northwest.

“Comrade, I want to divorce Liu Peili, and we want to sever all ties with her and Xu Laidi. Then we won’t have to go to the northwest, right?”

“It’s too late. What were you doing the past two days?”

Liu Peili’s husband, Xu Disheng, a full-time steel mill worker earning forty yuan a month, quickly wanted to distance himself from the verdict—but he was firmly refused. In fact, had he acted in the two days before Liu Peili was taken away, perhaps he could have avoided labor in the northwest. Now it was too late.

Xu Laidi’s eldest sister, Xu Zhaodi, was married into a decent family and avoided disaster. But her younger sister Xu Pandi and their only brother Xu Laijin were unlucky. One was in middle school, the other in elementary school—they were expelled on the spot, losing even their school registration.

Xia Fen had originally thought that reporting Liu Peili would be enough, but the public security officers also brought Wang Ping forward to interrogate her about giving Cheng Qiao the sedatives years ago.

Wang Ping realized resistance was useless and spilled everything she knew, especially when she learned that Cheng Qiao now had Xia Fen in her grasp. She recounted all the misdeeds they had committed against Cheng Qiao.

Xia Fen was arrested. Upon realizing she had been betrayed by her own daughter, she felt hopeless. Had she known this would happen, she would never have come here to walk into a trap.

But where else could she go? Returning to Huizhou was impossible, and her natal home was even more dangerous.

“Xia Fen, come out.”

Xia Fen jumped. She had confessed to everything, yet she had no choice but to come out. She saw Cheng Qiao sitting across the table, her eyes radiating pure hatred.

“Xia Fen, where are the things from my family?”

“W-what… things?”

Xia Fen flicked some dust off her clothes, exuding a sour, musty smell. She hadn’t changed her clothes in who knows how long—wearing them a few more days and they would be stiff with grime.

“My mother’s dowry… the sewing machine, bicycle, and a radio. Of course, clothes, shoes, socks, and fabric too. Oh, and a few hundred yuan and some bills.”

Cheng Qiao didn’t even remember if her mother had left a dowry. In her previous life, she had been too foolish, trusting Xia Fen and her daughter, and never distinguished between what belonged to her mother and what belonged to Xia Fen.

“Cheng Qiao, please… spare me. Aside from a sewing machine and a few clothes, I really don’t know about the rest.”

“The sewing machine?”

“The relatives of my mother took it. And those clothes and the few hundred yuan I managed to save—they were all taken by her family.”

Cheng Qiao already knew Xia Fen’s family came from a poor village. Otherwise, why would Xia Fen, after her husband died, rather work as a housekeeper at Cheng’s under the pretense of marriage than return home?

“So they drove you out because you had no money left?”

“No, they were going to sell me somewhere even poorer. I wanted to escape, but they were strict. Luckily, you—or rather, my daughter—wrote me a letter, which gave me the chance to get out.”

“I see…”

Cheng Qiao slightly regretted writing the letter. If Xia Fen had been sold somewhere poorer, it would have been a harsher lesson for her. No, she straightened her chest and decided she didn’t regret it.

If Xia Fen hadn’t reported her, Xu Laidi’s family would have escaped punishment. That would have been far too lenient. Now, everyone who needed to be sent away had been sent away.

“Cheng Qiao, I’m not your real mother, but I… I raised you, didn’t I?”

“You raised me? Think again—who really raised whom?”

“Though I used your father’s money, I also contributed my efforts, right?”

“And if you hadn’t contributed, you expected my father to raise your daughter for free?”

“Cheng Qiao, please… help me. I don’t want to go to prison. If I go, your father will also be implicated—we’re legally married.”

“That’s true. So what do you want to do? Go back to my father and keep harming him? Or bring another English book to frame him?”

“No, no. If your father wants to stay with me, fine. If not, I agree to divorce… just give me a little money so I can leave.”

“Haha… a little money? I just realized you’re as naive as I was back then. Sweet? There’s none of that.”

Two people in green military uniforms entered—they had been ordered to escort a group of convicted people to the train heading to the northwest, Xia Fen included.

But Xia Fen had to first go to the Hexi Corridor to complete divorce procedures with Cheng Liguo. Cheng Qiao was slightly annoyed—couldn’t they finalize a divorce without meeting?

The answer was yes, but exceptions were made. Normally, Cheng Liguo and Xia Fen would need to return to Huizhou for the divorce, but special arrangements had already been granted.

“Cheng Qiao, please… don’t let them take me.”

Xia Fen clutched the arm of her chair in terror, unwilling to leave. Cheng Qiao said nothing. She pulled out a bundle from her cloth bag—inside were a set of silver needles of varying lengths.