Deputy Chief Wang led the police officers to the main gate when Aunt Zhou chased after them. "Comrade Police, wait!"
"Auntie! Is something the matter?"
"Chuntao is a bitter-fated girl. One wretched thing after another has happened to her, it's almost enough to crush the life right out of her..."
Aunt Zhou had originally wanted to tell Deputy Chief Wang about Chuntao's pregnancy so that Wang Haichao and the others would get a heavier sentence, but the words reached her lips and she swallowed them back down.
This matter concerned Chuntao's reputation; it was better to keep it hidden for as long as possible.
She already had a plan in mind: first find a safe and reliable place to quietly take care of the pregnancy.
Then, she would find Chuntao a solid, honest family to marry into, and the Wang family wouldn't be able to cause any more trouble.
"Could you see about getting Chuntao a new household registration booklet..." Aunt Zhou went on to explain how the Li family had torn up the original booklet.
"If this were ordinary times, it wouldn't be too hard to handle. But right now we are in the middle of a strict anti-crime campaign, so I'm afraid it won't be easy!"
Deputy Chief Wang frowned and said, "Let her focus on recovering her health first. We can talk about the household registration after the campaign is over!"
"Comrade Police, you are our righteous judge... You must seek justice for us!"
As Deputy Chief Wang and the officers walked out the gate, Liu Cuilan suddenly dashed out from the crowd.
She threw herself onto the ground, clinging desperately to Deputy Chief Wang's legs. "You have to seek justice for me, otherwise I won't have peace in the underworld..."
Liu Cuilan's voice had lost its usual shrillness, sounding hoarse and gravelly instead. Her words sounded exactly like Wang Laohan, who had been dead for four or five years.
The spectating villagers widened their eyes in shock, looking as though they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
This shrew, Liu Cuilan, was no stranger to playing the mystic and pretending to be possessed.
Aunt Zhou was both angry and anxious. She immediately shouted, "Liu Cuilan! Let go right now! Stop playing the ghost here, who are you trying to scare!"
Seeing the situation, two officers immediately stepped forward to pull Liu Cuilan away.
But she stubbornly gripped Deputy Chief Wang's pant legs. Deputy Chief Wang was both embarrassed and furious, his lips trembling with anger. "You... if you have something to say, say it properly. Let go first!"
Liu Cuilan suddenly stopped crying, staring fixedly at Deputy Chief Wang. "Comrade Police, I have been wronged! I want to appeal my grievance...
I used my daughter to exchange for a wife for my son, but she is now living at the Zhou family's house. Isn't this bullying orphans and widows? I will not rest in peace!"
"Li Chuntao and Wang Jieshi are not married. Li Chuntao is single, and she is free to live wherever she wants!" Deputy Chief Wang shouted back.
Ring, ring—
An urgent bicycle bell suddenly rang out from the main road.
Everyone looked up and saw Zhou Zhijun pedaling a bicycle at the very front. He was followed by several joint defense squad members, riding two to a bike, wobbling their way over.
Liu Cuilan glanced over and continued her wailing. "I am Wang Laohan! I cannot rest in peace! I beg the Comrade Police to give me justice!"
Zhou Zhijun's bicycle came to a steady stop by the roadside. He didn't dismount; instead, he propped his long legs on the ground and suddenly shouted in a deep voice, "Liu Cuilan!"
That single shout was so loud it made people's eardrums ache.
It was as if Liu Cuilan had been grabbed by the throat; her wails got stuck in her windpipe.
The villagers' murmurs instantly vanished as well, all eyes turning in unison toward Zhou Zhijun and the joint defense squad members behind him.
Zhou Zhijun shifted his gaze away from Liu Cuilan, turned to the squad members beside him, and said deeply, "She is the person you are looking for."
A few squad members immediately stepped forward. Without a word, they grabbed Liu Cuilan by the arms, pulled out a rope, and tied her hands behind her back.
"Liu Cuilan, you have falsely accused others, spread rumors, and deliberately framed Li Chuntao. This constitutes the crime of defamation! Come with us!"
At this, Liu Cuilan completely stopped claiming she was Wang Laohan. She screamed at the top of her lungs, "I didn't! When did I frame her? Everything I just said was the truth!"
"We have verified the report letter you wrote to the joint defense squad, and the contents are entirely fabricated!"
Liu Cuilan was instantly dumbfounded, slumping to the ground unable to move. She couldn't read a single character, so how could she have written any report letter?
In the crowd, Zhou Pandi's face grew paler and paler. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone's attention was on Liu Cuilan, she quietly squeezed out of the crowd and darted off toward home.
