Zhao Lan’s mind buzzed and went blank. She was flustered and had a lot of messy thoughts. Her face was also filled with regret. Why… Why had she accidentally said that out loud?

  She racked her brains, wanting to say something to explain, but before she could say anything, a sudden thud came from the side.

  Zhao Lan was startled. She tilted her head and followed the light from Little Bei’s flashlight until she saw the couple who lived nearest to the Shao Residence. They had outerwear draped over them, and it was obvious that they had come in a hurry. They were also holding flashlights in their hands, but compared to Little Bei’s flashlight, the light was negligible. One look and one could tell that the flashlights had run out of battery, just like the one in Zhao Lan’s hand.

  They stared at Zhao Lan with their mouths wide open, their faces filled with shock. They also felt excitement and disbelief after hearing the gossip.

  Zhao Lan’s expression changed. How could anyone have heard that? What if they had heard that? If word got out, what would happen to her reputation?

  Zhao Lan didn’t have time to think and quickly explained, “I… I really didn’t do it on purpose. Although I hated her, I didn’t do anything. I just didn’t take her to the hospital. Everyone in the countryside gives birth at home. Why did she have to go to the hospital? I was just sticking to my own habits. Giving birth is like walking through the gates of hell. It was normal for her to die giving birth.”

  Zhao Lan defended herself. This was also why Shao Dong found it strange that she didn’t feel any guilt. It was true that she hadn’t harmed anyone with her own hands. Many people gave birth at home and could only blame it on their bad luck if they died while doing so. If this was wrong, there were plenty of people who were wrong just like her.

  “But she begged you. She was in so much pain and she wailed and begged for mercy. She said that she couldn’t take it anymore, but you were still indifferent…” Shao Dong interrupted her.

  “You locked us up and forbade us to go out. You forced us to sleep and told us to stay out of it. But I heard everything…”

  He had heard Bai Lu’s cries and shouts, as well as the scratching sounds. It was just that he hadn’t known if Bai Lu was scratching the bed plank or the door. But the sounds kept replaying in his mind.

  He had been too young at the time, so he had incomplete memories. He had always been afraid that all this had just been his imagination.

  In the end, it was all true. Everything was real. It was really Zhao Lan who had indirectly caused Bai Lu’s death. How desperate, how terrified, and how awful she must have felt at the time…

  \r \r \r

  Shao Dong, Shao Xi, and Shao Nan wanted to get to the bottom of this so that they wouldn’t have a thorn in their hearts that they couldn’t take out. In the end, when they discovered the truth, all it did was stab this thorn deeper into their hearts, making fresh blood seep out all over again.

  Shao Dong couldn’t speak, but his entire body was trembling. Shao Nan frantically searched his mind for the legal provisions to punish Zhao Lan.

  In the past, he had always been able to find the appropriate legal provision as quickly as possible, but at that moment, no matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t find it. There was no suitable provision to punish Zhao Lan. Furthermore, seven years had passed since this incident, and the cause of Bai Lu’s death had been a massive hemorrhage due to difficult labor.

  For the first time, Shao Nan was powerless. He couldn’t say a word. Shao Xi hadn’t expected this. Only one sentence came out of his mouth. “I won’t let you off…”

  It was unfair of the heavens to let a person like Zhao Lan live.

  “What do you want to do? How could you kids treat me like this? If it weren’t for me, you would’ve died long ago. I was the one who thought of a way to bring you back to life. If it weren’t for me, you kids would have died a long time ago.”

  Overwhelmed by fear, Zhao Lan tried to defend herself. However, just as she spoke, she saw Shao Qihai walking over step by step, his body filled with killing intent and hatred.

  Zhao Lan was already feeling guilty. When she saw Shao Qihai like this, she couldn’t help but shiver and retreat. She was terrified that Shao Qihai would kill her, so she got up and hid.

  Her legs were numb from kneeling and she had suffered quite a fright, so she accidentally fell down the stairs. A moment later, she let out a scream. Little Bei, who was standing behind her, shone her flashlight down and got a shock. “Blood.”

  The two neighbors immediately ran over. They were shocked when they saw her. “She hit her head…”

  Only then did Eldest Brother Shao react. He quickly shoved Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao to get her to take a look. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao glanced at Shao Qihai but didn’t dare move. She felt that it definitely couldn’t be too serious. After all, Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ used to jump up and down in this place in the past. The injury, if there was one, couldn’t be too severe.

  However, it was unknown if it was because Zhao Lan had committed so much evil that even the heavens couldn’t stand by and watch, or if it was because Bai Lu had been waiting for an opportunity to seek revenge on her, but although it wasn’t a high step, Zhao Lan’s head hit a rock and blood instantly flowed.

  Besides, when she fell, she fell at a tricky angle for her waist. Zhao Lan felt as if her waist had been chopped off and shrieked in pain.

  Shao Qihai looked down at her and scoffed. “Excellent. I didn’t even have to do anything.”

  Shao Qihai didn’t seem to notice Zhao Lan’s injury. He lifted her and dragged her inside. Zhao Lan screamed even louder when she was moved, and blood dripped onto the ground.

  Only when Eldest Brother Shao and Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao saw that Zhao Lan’s head and face were covered in blood as she moved past them did they realize that something was amiss. “This… How is this…”

  Eldest Brother Shao’s legs went limp, and he couldn’t get up. Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao wasn’t much better. Neither of them could stop Shao Qihai, and they could only watch helplessly as he dragged Zhao Lan to her room and threw her to the ground.

  Zhao Lan found the pain unbearable. “Qihai, help me call a doctor and take me to the hospital…”

  Her hands were covered in blood, and blood was still flowing. Zhao Lan was terrified as she grabbed Shao Qihai’s trouser leg. “Qihai, I’ll die. Hurry up and call…”

  “Wouldn’t it be better if you died? A life for a life… You should pay for Bai Lu’s life.”

  Shao Qihai broke free from Zhao Lan’s hand and reached out to pull the door shut. Zhao Lan was shocked and quickly grabbed Shao Qihai. “No, no, Qihai, you can’t do this to me. I’m your mother…”

  “Bai Lu is the mother of my kids. Why didn’t you put yourself in her shoes back then?”

  Shao Qihai reached out to close the door. Zhao Lan’s strong survival instinct made her struggle and crawl toward the door as she was shouting.

  “No, no, someone come and save me. I’ll die, I’ll die…”

  Eldest Brother Shao and Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao finally ran over. Eldest Brother Shao looked at Shao Qihai’s red eyes and shivered. He couldn’t say a word. On the other hand, Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao said, looking afraid, “Shao Qihai, she’s still your mother. She’s bleeding so much. If this continues, she’ll die.”

  “Then just let her die. She can have a taste of the despair Bai Lu felt before she died.”

  Shao Qihai dragged Zhao Lan, who was running out, into the room and locked her up. “No one is allowed to save her today.”

  Back then, when he had come back from his mission, Bai Lu had already been dead. The twins she had been pregnant with had been born a few days earlier. He had returned early, but he still hadn’t made it in time.

  After Bai Lu’s death, the Bai Family had kicked up a huge fuss. Zhao Lan had been beaten up by the Bai Family until she was in a sorry state. She had cried her heart out, saying she had let him down.

  At the time, the Bai Family had been throwing a tantrum and Zhao Lan had kept crying. Shao Dong and Shao Xi had been down with a fever, and they had no idea if it was due to fright. Also, the newborn twins, who knew nothing, had just kept crying.

  Now that he thought back to all this, he didn’t know how he had managed to get through it all.

  Although the Bai Family had made a huge fuss, they’d never cared about the lives of the four children. At the time, it was Zhao Lan who had cried and taken care of the four children, begging other breastfeeding women to feed them a few mouthfuls of milk, as well as cooked millet porridge. Only then had Shao Nan and Little Bei managed to survive.