Read Novel Full Chapter 223: Premeditated
Chapter 223: Chapter 223: Premeditated
He Jinxuan escorted Yu Xinyan to the intersection but didn’t walk toward her small courtyard.
With many residents from the compound following behind, he didn’t want to give them the chance to gossip. He handed the bucket over: "You need to be more cautious these days, head back home."
Xinyan nodded: "Don’t involve yourself in this matter because of me, I’ll be careful and nothing will happen."
He Jinxuan didn’t respond to her words: "Hurry back."
After speaking, he turned and left the intersection, pondering how to deal with those few families.
If you have something to say, come out in the open. Using such underhanded tactics is truly disgusting.
He knew that Wang Lanhua and the others probably had a plan all along, but they chose the opportunity because of the lively event in the town, intending to use the people present for their schemes.
If he guessed correctly, Wang Lanhua wanted to push Xinyan down so that her nephew Wang Daqing could swoop in as a hero, embracing her in his arms, and then leverage her feminine charm to draw everyone’s attention.
With so many people witnessing Xinyan being held by Wang Daqing, clearing her name would be impossible. Even if they spread rumors, whether Xinyan liked it or not, her reputation would be ruined. In their eyes, it was set in stone, and not to marry him would be out of the question.
Thinking of this, he felt a wave of fear.
As he walked back, he heard crying from the Qiao family courtyard: "Second Aunt, it wasn’t my little brother who stole the food, please stop hitting him."
Bai Cuilin ignored the children’s explanation: "I’ll beat you two shameless little brats to death, I provide for you, feed you, and you dare steal from me, truly outrageous. If I don’t teach you a lesson, you’ll think you can do whatever you want."
He Jinxuan couldn’t bear to hear the cries of the two children, but as a grown man, he didn’t want to confront the shrew Bai Cuilin, thinking that even if he helped this time, what about the future?
He directly grabbed the sturdy second son of the Cheng family, Cheng Changlin, who was watching from the wall: "Go to the union or women’s federation to see if anyone’s on duty, bring them over."
Cheng Changlin admired He Jinxuan the most and gave a salute: "Yes, I guarantee to complete the task."
He was also lucky, just as he left the alley, he ran into the women’s federation officer Cao Ailan who was out buying things: "Manager Cao, hurry and check it out, Aunt Qiao is about to beat her two nieces and nephews to death."
Manager Cao was off today and was out buying daily necessities, but her diligence was well-known throughout the women’s federation. She handed her purchase to her little sister-in-law: "You head home first, I’ll go take a look."
Without waiting for her sister-in-law to respond, she was already walking in that direction.
By the time Manager Cao arrived, He Jinxuan had already found Cheng Family’s Sister-in-law and Xie Family’s Grandmother to hold back Bai Cuilin.
They’d actually heard the commotion long ago, but they didn’t want to meddle in Qiao family’s affairs. Bai Cuilin bites whoever she can, and her words are terribly harsh.
The two children probably also feared being kicked out. People had helped them a few times before, but whenever Qiao Shuanzhu returned to question them, they never uttered a word against Bai Cuilin, making him think the neighbors were deliberately stirring trouble, leaving him resentful toward them. Later, when the children were beaten again, the neighbors turned a blind eye, all tacitly agreeing not to get involved.
Manager Cao entered the courtyard: "What’s going on here?"
Upon seeing the two children covered in injuries, Manager Cao’s face turned cold: "Bai Cuilin, did you do this?"
Bai Cuilin saw that meddlesome Manager Cao had arrived, and felt uneasy. Her eyes shifted nervously as she spoke: "Manager Cao, the household has many children already, with two extra mouths to feed, everyone can see how hard it is. But this boy dared to steal food from the house, can I just ignore it?"
At this point, Qiao Xiaomiao, who had been protecting her brother, spoke up in defense: "No, my brother didn’t eat the eggs."
Seeing her dare to talk back, Bai Cuilin instinctively raised her hand to hit: "If it wasn’t him, then who? He was the only one who just went into the kitchen."
Manager Cao reached out to stop Bai Cuilin: "Have you gotten addicted to hitting kids?"
After saying this, she threw Bai Cuilin’s hand off and looked at the boy on the ground: "Your aunt said you were the only one who went into the kitchen just now. What did you do there?"
Protected by his sister, Qiao Lihua felt wronged and said: "Aunt asked me to fetch firewood, and after I brought it back, I was thirsty, so I went into the kitchen for some water. When Aunt returned, she accused me of eating the eggs in the pot."
Manager Cao looked at Bai Cuilin: "You told him to fetch firewood?"
Bai Cuilin replied indifferently: "Which household’s children don’t work? We can’t possibly feed them for nothing, can we?"
Manager Cao was a persistent person and looked toward Qiao Xiaomiao, who was protecting her brother: "Where were you just now? Were you at home?"
Qiao Xiaomiao shook her head: "I wasn’t at home; I went digging for earthworms with my cousins."
Upon hearing this, Manager Cao looked over at Qiao Daniu and Qiao Erniu in the corner for confirmation: "Is what she says true?"
Qiao Daniu was a little scared but nodded: "Yes, the three of us went to dig for earthworms."
Actually, the three sisters also helped with fetching Qiao Lihua’s firewood, but they didn’t dare say it, fearing a scolding from their mother if they did.
Manager Cao glanced around the courtyard: "Who else wasn’t at home?"
A trace of fear flashed in Qiao Xiaomiao’s eyes, but she still said: "Besides my second uncle, only my cousin Niqiu is missing."
Manager Cao looked at Bai Cuilin: "Where’s your son?"
Bai Cuilin glared at Qiao Xiaomiao: "He went out to play and hasn’t come back yet."