The badly-battered Shao Qihai had almost retired from the army because of this. In the end, he had stayed behind. It was also because Zhao Lan had been like this that he’d had no choice but to hand the children over to her.
At the time, he had known that Zhao Lan and Bai Lu didn’t get along, but he hadn’t expected Zhao Lan to actually have any intention of killing Bai Lu. Now that he thought about it, after his return, the way those women had looked at him had been a little different. They’d seemed to be discussing something behind his back.
However, before these discussions could reach him, when he’d regained his senses, they had already been gone.
Now that he thought about it, perhaps they had been talking about Zhao Lan and Bai Lu’s difficult labor and death at the time. However, Zhao Lan had appeared to be taking care of the children subsequently, and because the Bai Family had gone overboard, no one had said anything about Zhao Lan.
Shao Qihai hadn’t expected Zhao Lan to deliberately do this. After seven years, he had finally found out the truth in such an unexpected and laughable way.
He had always felt that he had let Bai Lu down because she had passed away during a difficult labor. However, he hadn’t expected Zhao Lan to be involved. Zhao Lan, who had promised to take care of Bai Lu, was actually the culprit behind Bai Lu’s death.
Shao Qihai only had one thought in mind: A life for a life. He wanted to kill Zhao Lan.
Mu Jingzhe, Shao Dong, and the others stood in the courtyard and looked at Shao Qihai, momentarily unable to react.
Seeing Zhao Lan suffer such a serious fall made them feel damn good. However, Shao Qihai’s expression and reaction were completely unexpected. Zhao Lan was in a really bad state from the fall, but Shao Qihai had locked her up. It seemed as if he really wanted to kill Zhao Lan.
All of a sudden, neither Mu Jingzhe nor the five kids knew what to say, just like they hadn’t expected to expose such a truth at first.
Since Shao Qihai’s ‘return from the dead’ last time, they had known that Zhao Lan was quite fearful of ghosts. They also had a knot in their hearts, so they’d wanted to try it while the anniversary of Bai Lu’s death wasn’t yet over.
They had quickly thought of a solution and even asked Mu Jingzhe to help by acting as Bai Lu. When Mu Jingzhe had heard their plan, she had known that they were feeling uncomfortable. She had thought for a moment and finally agreed.
The five of them, along with Mu Jingzhe, had discussed it for a while before taking action.
They had thought about the ghosts on TV, which were basically dressed in white and had long hair. The white clothing was easy to get, for Mu Jingzhe happened to have a white dress. However, her hair wasn’t long enough. In the end, she had gathered her hair randomly and created the effect of having her face covered with long hair.
She hadn’t been really floating in midair either. She had just stood on a high wooden frame. With the wind blowing, and considering that it was nighttime, it was difficult to make out her figure clearly. It was just a visual effect.
Shao Dong had thought of this method because he vaguely remembered that Bai Lu had also scratched the door before.
In order to lure Zhao Lan out, Shao Xi had first sneaked in with Little Bei to scratch the door of Zhao Lan’s room. They’d kept scratching until Zhao Lan had come out, and then they’d snuck into Zhao Lan’s room.
Little Bei had even improvised by using her acting skills. She hadn’t been crowned the youngest movie queen for no reason. After learning so much during this period of time, she could mimic a ghost quite well.
In the dark night, the effects were twice as effective. Even Zhao Lan was fooled. The person scratching the door was Shao Dong. After the two sides worked together to lure Zhao Lan out, Mu Jingzhe got into position.
Actually, if one observed carefully or wasn’t plagued by a guilty conscience, they would quickly discover some loopholes. After all, the props and the method weren’t very meticulously done. Mu Jingzhe’s acting skills were also just average.
However, Zhao Lan had fallen for it. On this special day, because she was guilty and didn’t sleep well, she’d gotten scared and confessed everything.
Meanwhile, Shao Qihai had also sensed their movements and followed them to see what they were up to. The scene he had witnessed and the truth he had heard had caught him off guard.
The sun rose very quickly. During the confrontation, and while Shao Qihai was guarding the door and forbidding Eldest Brother Shao and the others to call out or open it, the sky quickly lit up.
After the sky brightened, the bloodstains on the ground looked even scarier.
At that moment, many people in the village came over in groups of two or three after hearing the commotion. More and more people surrounded the Shao Residence. Everyone was discussing among themselves. No one had expected Zhao Lan to do something this atrocious.
Everyone had the same thought regarding Zhao Lan’s fall—it was retribution. Served her right.
However, if she had fallen to her death, that’d be that. It would have been fine if no one had discovered it. But now, they had all discovered it. Furthermore, Shao Qihai had locked her up and was stopping her from seeing a doctor or going to the hospital. This was a little different.
Everyone could understand Shao Qihai’s actions, but it just so happened that Shao Qihai was Zhao Lan’s son. It didn’t seem right for Zhao Lan to die like this.
Everyone advised Shao Qihai, saying that the dead Bai Lu couldn’t be resurrected. He couldn’t let his hands be stained with Zhao Lan’s blood too. If she really died like that, he might have to feel bad for the rest of his life.
“Let the village doctor bandage Zhao Lan up first. We won’t take her to the hospital. We don’t care what happens to her, alright?”
“Nope.”
However, no matter how hard they tried to persuade him, Shao Qihai stood guard at the door and refused to let anyone approach.
The villagers tried to charge in, but they were beaten back by Shao Qihai. Given Shao Qihai’s skills, the people in the village were no match for him. Of course, it was still possible for everyone to hit him with sticks together, but they couldn’t very well do this.
Zhao Lan listened to everyone’s voices and waited for them to successfully persuade him. She waited and waited until dawn, until she felt that the pain was getting increasingly excruciating and unbearable. However, Shao Qihai was still unmoved. She was furious and scared.
She feared death.
“Qihai, I was wrong. I was really wrong. I’ll be a vegetarian for the rest of my life to atone for my crimes against Bai Lu. I don’t want to die. I’m begging you, please let me go.”
Zhao Lan lay at the door, her head dizzy. She didn’t know if it was because she had bled too much, but her body felt cold. However, because of her waist injury, she couldn’t get up, go to bed, or move. She could only reach out to scratch the door and beg for mercy.
However, there was no commotion outside. Shao Qihai acted as if he hadn’t heard anything.
“Shao Qihai, quickly move aside. Listen to me, you’re my son. If I really die, you won’t be able to escape.”
“What’s there to escape from? You said that I’m your son, so I have the right to decide whether to take you to the hospital or not. I don’t think the hospital can treat you. Plus, I don’t have the money to pay for your treatment, so I’ve decided not to take you there for the time being. Anyway, it’s not like I’m killing you with my own hands. I haven’t committed a crime. It’s just like what you did to Bai Lu.”
Shao Qihai’s words made Zhao Lan’s expression change drastically. So he was waiting for her here. So this was his revenge.
“Shao Qihai, how could you do this to me? You…” For the first time, Zhao Lan felt despair. She experienced the despair Bai Lu had felt back then.
At the time, when she’d heard Bai Lu’s cries and pleas for mercy, she had felt comfortable and refreshed. Now, she felt really desperate.
Zhao Lan was afraid that she would really end up like Bai Lu. “Qihai, I’m begging you. Let me out quickly. There are so many people watching you. Let me go quickly…”
Shao Qihai was indifferent. Zhao Lan kept crying and begging for mercy, and the people outside kept trying to persuade him, but it was useless.
