Mu Jingzhe could only be glad that it wasn’t paraquat[1]. Otherwise, it would really have been over. No one would be able to save him no matter what. Paraquat was something that gave one time to regret it but certainly not the chance to live. Furthermore, one would feel tortured right up to their last moments.

  That was something that couldn’t be touched. Mu Jingzhe seized the opportunity to emphasize to the children that these dangerous things couldn’t be touched casually. Of course, she particularly emphasized this to Xiao Wu.

  The few of them surrounded Xiao Wu’s bed and got straight to the point. “Tell us, what’s going on? Why did you two drink pesticide?”

  Xiao Wu looked at their interrogating stance and paused for a moment before saying, “She didn’t want to live anymore. She wanted to die, so she dragged me with her and made me commit suicide.

  “I sensed that something was amiss when I saw her buy pesticide previously. Because I didn’t want to die, I made preparations in advance. I poured out the pesticide in one of the bottles and replaced it with water. What I drank was a bottle of water.”

  Although it had been replaced with water, there had still been remnants of pesticide, so it had been impossible for Xiao Wu to remain perfectly unscathed.

  “I don’t want to die. I regret it. If I had known she was so greedy and ruthless, I wouldn’t have followed her back. But it’s useless to talk about this…”

  “Alright, don’t even think about making excuses to fool us. Tell me honestly, what did Shao Qiyun threaten you with? Was it related to my previous illness? You ran over to look for me and even knew in advance that I would vomit blood.”

  Mu Jingzhe interrupted Xiao Wu. “It’s useless to hide it now. You’d better come clean.”

  Xiao Wu pursed his lips and didn’t say anything. Ji Buwang sighed. “Xiao Wu, although you might have hidden this from us because you were threatened or something, the hurt that you have caused with your previous actions is a fact. Now, stop deliberately making excuses. You know that your mother and the rest don’t like it.”

  \r \r \r

  Shao Qihai added, “Shao Qiyun is a coward who fears death. She couldn’t possibly commit suicide for no reason. You’re behind this, right? Are you worried about this, or are you afraid that Shao Qiyun will die?”

  Xiao Wy stopped breathing. Shao Dong observed his expression. “So what did Shao Qiyun do to Mommy to make you want to kill her? What exactly happened between the two of you?”

  They chimed in one after the other, forcing Xiao Wu into a corner. Besides, they could guess everything. This was also the reason he had been so ruthless and had made everything look reasonable previously.

  At the moment, even though he didn’t say anything, they could still discover the majority of the truth. Xiao Wu looked at them and clearly realized that there was no point in hiding it anymore.

  “I indeed… had my reasons. Mostly, I wanted to protect Mommy.” No one was surprised when Xiao Wu finished.

  “It really is like a movie.” Mu Jingzhe heaved a sigh of relief. As she looked at Xiao Wu, who looked completely different from before, so thin and scrawny and with dark eye circles at such a young age, her heart ached unbearably. She would rather this was the story of an ingrate.

  At least an ingrate wouldn’t hurt herself.

  However, Xiao Wu wasn’t really trying to be strong or insist on shouldering this himself. He deliberately hadn’t told Mu Jingzhe and the others simply because he’d had no choice. Therefore, even though he knew that his method wasn’t appropriate and that Mu Jingzhe and the others wouldn’t like it, he could only do this.

  The entire incident had started when Mu Jingzhe had fallen sick last year.

  Last year, Mu Jingzhe had suddenly gotten sick and even vomited blood. At first, Xiao Wu hadn’t known the reason for this, but Shao Qiyun had suddenly found Xiao Wu and said that she could make Mu Jingzhe sick and make her life a living hell. If he didn’t want Mu Jingzhe to be in pain, he would have to listen to her.

  Xiao Wu naturally hadn’t believed it. He had never heard of anyone with such capabilities. He hadn’t expected Ji Buwang to come looking for him and say that Mu Jingzhe was really sick.

  However, at first, Xiao Wu had thought that it was just a coincidence. Shao Qiyun merely took the opportunity to scare him after learning that Mu Jingzhe was ill. He believed that if she was sick, she would be fine after going to the doctor. Even if Shao Qiyun had poisoned Mu Jingzhe, they could just have Shao Qiyun arrested after getting the doctor to treat her.

  However, the doctors couldn’t find out the cause of the illness, and Mu Jingzhe hadn’t recovered either. Shao Qiyun had found Xiao Wu again. Compared to when Xiao Wu had first met her, Shao Qiyun’s face was much rosier. One had to admit that Shao Qiyun had been very thin at first and her face had been pale, but after not seeing her for a long time, she looked completely different to him.

  Mu Jingzhe became weak and pale, while Shao Qiyun became energetic in a short period of time. She looked for Xiao Wu and told him, “Do you believe me now? I was the one who caused her to fall sick.”

  “I don’t believe you. How could you be capable of that!”

  “It’s very simple. I fed your mother some specially-concocted stuff while you guys were eating outside. From now on, her life will be in my hands. I was originally skeptical, but I didn’t expect it to really work. Hahaha…”

  Shao Qiyun laughed out loud. “The heavens have eyes. They gave me a chance to take revenge on her for snatching you away. Now, I’m going to snatch you back.

  “Shao Zhong, listen up. In the past, I didn’t want to acknowledge you, but I do now. I don’t want you to acknowledge Mu Jingzhe. You have to promise me this. You also have to be a filial child and let me, your mother, live in the lap of luxury. Otherwise, I’ll torture Mu Jingzhe for the rest of her life. I’ll make her vomit blood and take her life. You will then live with regrets for the rest of your life.”

  Xiao Wu still didn’t believe her. Shao Qiyun said directly, “I knew you wouldn’t believe me so easily, but that’s not a problem. I have plenty of opportunities to prove it. Go back and wait. I’ll make her vomit blood in half an hour. You’ll believe me then.

  “If you still don’t believe me, I can prove it to you a few more times. I can do it as many times as you want me to, but I don’t know if she will survive vomiting blood a few times. It’s your choice.”

  Shao Qiyun was fearless and took a solemn vow. Xiao Wu ran back home in disbelief and saw Mu Jingzhe vomit blood for the second time. It was exactly at the time Shao Qiyun had mentioned.

  Xiao Wu got scared. He wanted to tell Mu Jingzhe, Shao Dong, and the others immediately, but Shao Qiyun had anticipated it and forbidden him from doing so right from the start.

  “You’re not allowed to tell anyone about this. Only you and I can know. Otherwise, I’ll kill Mu Jingzhe directly. If Shao Dong and the others find out, or if your father, Ji Buwang, and the others find out, I won’t admit it. I’ll kill Mu Jingzhe directly.”

  Shao Qiyun wasn’t good at anything else, but she was talented when it came to doing evil. She feared that if Mu Jingzhe found out, she wouldn’t be able to achieve her goal. She was also afraid that things would get troublesome if Shao Dong and the others found out, for the children were very impressive. Furthermore, Ji Buwang and the others were rich and knew people. Who knew if they would find a way to resolve this? If this happened, things would get out of hand. Therefore, she had forbidden Xiao Wu to say anything.

  She merely wanted a good life, but she didn’t want to attract too much attention. The fewer people knew about this, the better. She only wanted to control Xiao Wu.

  Xiao Wu was only so old, and he wasn’t like Shao Dong and the rest personality-wise, so he was terrified. There were a few times when he couldn’t help but want to tell his siblings, but every time he wanted to take action, Mu Jingzhe would continue to be feeble.

  He also didn’t dare gamble with Mu Jingzhe’s life. Shao Qiyun had suffered too much at Mu Jingzhe’s hands and had long hated her to the bone. Besides, she was really crazy. If the matter was exposed, she definitely wouldn’t let Mu Jingzhe off if things didn’t go well for her. She really might, as she had said, kill her.

  [1] a toxic chemical that is widely used as an herbicide