Chapter 157: Picking Her Up in His Arms
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
s.h.i.+ Shaochuan placed the table onto the ground while An Xiaoning handed Zu Dong the umbrella. “Open this and hold it.”
Zu Dong opened the umbrella and hovered it over the table.
Squatting down on the ground, An Xiaoning sorted the fruits on the table accordingly and placed a joss stick in the incense burner, which she set in the middle of the table. She then proceeded to pour the dog blood around w.a.n.g Fangfang’s grave, after which she glared at s.h.i.+ Shaochuan and instructed, “Get down on your knees.”
“But there’s mud on the ground.”
“Would you like me to bring you a mat instead? Hurry!” An Xiaoning snapped, glaring at him sternly.
s.h.i.+ Shaochuan kneeled on the ground immediately while An Xiaoning lit up the joss stick with a lighter. “Fangfang, I’ve brought him here to beg for your forgiveness. He has indeed hurt you and killed his child, whom you were carrying. But, if revenge breeds revenge, there’ll be no end to it all. Fangfang, it’s time to let go of the past, don’t go on anymore,” said An Xiaoning.
As soon as An Xiaoning finished speaking, a screeching female voice all of a sudden began crooning to a song aimed at ridiculing men. Her voice was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with melancholy, sad yet poignant in a sense.
An Xiaoning turned to look at Jin Qingyan, who stood rooted to the ground, not moving an inch at all. However, he did not seem in the least bit surprised or terrified, perhaps because he had already prepared himself mentally beforehand.
On the other hand, s.h.i.+ Shaochuan was driven into hysterics and began kowtowing profusely, before bursting into tears. Wailing in agony, he admitted his mistakes and continuously pleaded for w.a.n.g Fangfang to let him off.
Jin Qingyue almost lost her balance and fell to the ground in astonishment of the scene before her, but luckily, Ma Jianguo had held onto her.
“Cousin, the hatred I have for him will never be resolved even if he dies. I’m not leaving, I’ll only be appeased when I see him die a painful death. Hahahaha, Shaochuan, do you still remember when you hired someone to have my soul destroyed and ensure that I’ll never get to reincarnate? Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you’re shedding crocodile tears now. I’ll make you pay for all the misdeeds you have done to me!”
There was a strong desire for vengeance in her tone. “Since you’re bent on taking revenge, why don’t you just take it all out on him? Wouldn’t that settle everything once and for all? Do you think it’ll cause him more torment and suffering, killing all his family members? Fangfang, you’re only going to acc.u.mulate more sins by doing that. Just put an end to it and stop harming these innocent people. The person you resent is right here, kneeling down before your grave.”
Unable to contain her emotions, Jin Qingyue hollered in exasperation, “Sister-in-law, what are you saying!”
An Xiaoning ignored her and continued, “Fangfang, so what if you killed everyone? You’re not going to come back to life. You’ll just become a vicious murderer like him.”
“That’s none of your business! s.h.i.+ Shaochuan! Take my word for it, the next one in line will be Jin Qingyue. I’ll kill every woman you get together with in the future, just you wait and see. I’m going to make sure you live the rest of your life alone!” warned w.a.n.g Fangfang.
Jin Qingyue’s legs turned into jelly upon hearing w.a.n.g Fangfang’s threat. With fear written all over her face, she frantically urged An Xiaoning, “Sister-in-law, send her away. You must send her away at all costs.”
“Hush,” said An Xiaoning, shooting Jin Qingyue a glance. Clenching her fists in a bid to suppress her anger, An Xiaoning continued, “Fangfang, I’ve brought some clothes, money, and food that I’ll be burning as an offering to you later. If you’re still insistent on staying, then I’ll have no choice but to resort to brutal means to send you away. I’ll give you a minute to decide.”
“Cousin, you really think you’ve got what it takes to send me away?” w.a.n.g Fangfang scoffed nonchalantly.
“Seems like you’ve underestimated me. I’m giving you a minute, your time starts now,” An Xiaoning said confidently, having already prepared herself beforehand, for she knew that w.a.n.g Fangfang would not leave out of her own accord.
The incense was depleting faster than she had imagined. She looked at w.a.n.g Fangfang and said, “Consider it carefully.”
“I don’t have to consider, I’m not leaving!”
“Alright, then.” An Xiaoning retrieved an amulet from the pocket of her feathered coat and began chanting a spell speedily. Shortly after, the amulet began drifting towards the grave and rotated continuously while hovering atop it.
“Ah!!!” w.a.n.g Fangfang let out a shriek as her voice began to fade away. An Xiaoning then doused the clothes and joss money in kerosene, before setting them on fire with the lighter.
She then proceeded to burn the fruits and food as an offering.
An Xiaoning felt a sense of relief as she watched the items go up in flames.
She then s.h.i.+fted her gaze onto s.h.i.+ Shaochuan, who was kneeling beside. “Your grandfather would be devastated if he were to find out that you had caused all these troubles. Everything is settled now, I don’t wish to see anything like that happen again. You’d better treat Sister-in-law well, don’t let her suffer the same fate as w.a.n.g Fangfang,” An Xiaoning hissed, giving him a tight slap across his face as soon as he stood up.
Jin Qingyue had initially felt infuriated at the sight of An Xiaoning slapping s.h.i.+ Shaochuan. However, she fell silent upon hearing the rest of An Xiaoning’s words.
An Xiaoning then turned around and gave out further instructions, “Inspector Ma, Zu Dong, Gong Le, please tidy up the items and bring them back to the police car.”
“Got it,” they answered in unison.
Just as An Xiaoning was about to begin walking, Jin Qingyan grabbed her shoulders and picked her up into his arms, catching her by surprise.
Looking up at his glittery eyes, she felt safe and secure in his embrace.
“Son, I realized you haven’t been contacting Mingxi ever since we met her at the restaurant the other day. You ought to contact her more,” said Mrs. Long.
“I’m not interested in her. I don’t think she’s suitable for me, so I stopped contacting her. Mother, you and Father may stop introducing me to prospective partners,” Long Tianze said with a sheepish smile.
“You’ve gotten yourself a girlfriend?” Mrs. Long asked inquisitively.
“Yes… she’s four years younger than I am.”
“Which wealthy man’s daughter is she?” Upon seeing her son’s reaction to her question, Mrs. Long began to speculate that his girlfriend must have a poor family background.
“Her parents are average citizens. Besides, Mother, have you any idea how hardworking and ambitious she is? Her father stays at home to look after her mother, who had become bedridden due to an unfortunate car accident, while she goes out to work to provide for her parents and younger sister. She’s a strong-willed and independent girl. She’s also very filial, so you, Mother, won’t have to worry about conflict arising between you two in the future…”
Before he could even finish speaking, Mrs. Long interrupted in a moment of pique, “No way! You’re from a wealthy family. You might be dating her, but you can’t ignore her family either. She’s definitely going to become a burden on your shoulders should you marry her in the future — how troublesome is that? Besides, it’s going to be really embarra.s.sing when others find out how poor she is. I’m objecting to your relations.h.i.+p with a girl like her. She can’t hold a candle to Mingxi at all, just what do you see in her?”
Long Tianze had initially thought his mother would be moved by Mei Yangyang’s determination and filial piety. Not expecting his mother to throw the baby out with the bathwater, Long Tianze was utterly disappointed upon hearing her strong words of disapproval.
“I was the one who started wooing her first. I had a hard time making her my girlfriend. I adore her and I’m dating no one else but her. Mother, how could you be so prejudiced!?!”