“Then please bear witness. I’m going to the police station to report them for spreading rumors and defamation.” Cheng Fangqiu smiled and enunciated each word clearly.
At the mention of the police station, Secretary Qian and Mediator Zhang were stunned. The others panicked even more. How had this escalated to reporting to the police? And Cheng Fangqiu was going to sue them for defamation? What kind of charge was that?
They had only said a few extra words. How could that constitute a crime?
Ma Changjun panicked for just a moment, then quickly regained his composure. “Stop bluffing. We, the victims, haven’t even talked about reporting this to the police, and now you’re jumping out saying you want to file a report?”
Secretary Qian also tried to mediate, “Let’s not take factory matters to the police station. We should try to resolve this through negotiation first. If that doesn’t work, then we can consider reporting it.”
In these times, reputation was everything. If this matter got out, it wouldn’t just be the Zhou and Ma families who would lose face—it would be the entire machinery factory’s reputation at stake.
That’s why he had personally come to handle this matter.
“Victims? Who the real victim is remains to be seen,” Cheng Fangqiu sneered. “If you stand straight, your shadow won’t be crooked. We’re not afraid of reporting this, but I wonder if someone else is.”
At this, Cheng Fangqiu gave Ma Changjun a meaningful glance. His eyes flickered uneasily.
“Whether or not to report this is another matter. Since you claim all of this happened because I was cheating, then where is the so-called adulterer? Did anyone see him? Did anyone hear Zhou Yinghuai catching us in the act?”
A series of questions left everyone stunned.
“We didn’t hear any commotion about catching someone in the act…” Ma Changjun knew he couldn’t lie at this point, so he chose to tell the truth. “But several people saw a man carrying bags going upstairs with you and staying there for several hours.”
Cheng Fangqiu had been waiting for Ma Changjun to say this. The smile on her lips deepened. “Ma Shugen said that Zhou Yinghuai beat him up because he told Zhou about my affair. But if Zhou Yinghuai had caught me and the so-called adulterer in bed, how could he not have done anything? And how could no one have heard any commotion?”
After saying this, Cheng Fangqiu spread her arms and turned around in front of everyone. “Take a good look, everyone. I’m completely unharmed.”
Everyone’s eyes instinctively scanned Cheng Fangqiu from head to toe. Indeed, there were no signs of injury. Combined with her earlier statements, the smarter ones among them began to see the key point.
That’s right. If Zhou Yinghuai had beaten Ma Shugen so badly, why would he have spared Cheng Fangqiu and the other man? He probably would have beaten them even more severely. In that case, the neighbors upstairs and downstairs would have definitely heard something.
But the reality was completely different.
At this thought, suspicious glances immediately turned toward the Ma family.
Seeing the situation slipping out of control, Ma Changjun’s eyes darted around. Gritting his teeth, he said, “The adulterer must have run away before Zhou Yinghuai got back. He didn’t catch them in the act. Besides, everyone knows how much Zhou Yinghuai dotes on his wife. Maybe he forgave her. Maybe he’s fine with wearing this green hat!”
This reasoning made some sense, as Zhou Yinghuai’s doting on his wife was well-known throughout the residential compound.
Cheng Fangqiu had anticipated Ma Changjun’s attempts to muddy the waters. She ignored him and instead turned to Ma Shugen. “You said I was cheating. Then tell me, what did the man look like?”
Ma Shugen instinctively looked toward Ma Changjun, but Zhou Yinghuai stepped forward, blocking his view. Frustrated, Ma Shugen could only nod and say, “Of course.”
As if unwilling to back down, he added with disdain, “He was just a pretty boy.”
“A pretty boy?” Cheng Fangqiu guided him along, then suddenly pointed toward the door. “Is that him?”
Ma Shugen followed her finger and saw a familiar face. He immediately exclaimed, “That’s him!”
This shameless woman had the audacity to bring her lover to the hospital? She was digging her own grave!
“Quick, grab him! That’s him. I couldn’t possibly be mistaken,” Ma Shugen’s face turned red with excitement, and he nearly jumped out of bed to catch the man himself.
“Stop shouting,” Cheng Fangqiu showed a hint of impatience, her eyebrows raised as she let out a light scoff. “Yingchen, come over here. Let him take a good look.”
A man who had been hiding in the crowd stepped forward. Only then did everyone get a clear look at his appearance. They gasped in unison. This was no pretty boy—he wasn’t pale or effeminate. On the contrary, he was tall and sturdy, even handsome by any standard.
But why did he look so familiar?
When Zhou Yingchen walked over to stand beside Zhou Yinghuai, everyone’s eyes widened in shock. The two looked almost identical, especially in the eyes and eyebrows!
And what had Cheng Fangqiu just called him? Yingchen, Yinghuai? Could they be brothers?
The next second, Cheng Fangqiu cleared up everyone’s confusion. “My brother-in-law came all the way from Beijing to visit. Our family hasn’t even had a chance to sit down for a meal together, and yet we’ve been slandered and accused of such things. Is there no justice in this world?”
Cheng Fangqiu’s tone shifted from her earlier firmness. Her large, shimmering eyes instantly welled up with tears, which lingered on the brink of falling. Her delicate, snow-white complexion and tearful gaze painted a picture of a pitiful beauty in distress.
People’s hearts naturally lean toward sympathy, especially when faced with clear evidence. How could anyone still side with the Ma family?
“Some people have dirty minds, so they see filth everywhere.”
“Exactly! What could possibly be inappropriate about a sister-in-law meeting her brother-in-law for the first time?”
“Wait, I remember now. My wife told me this afternoon that she saw Comrade Cheng bringing Comrade Zhou’s brother home. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now it all makes sense.”
The timing, location, and people involved all matched up. The truth of the matter was gradually coming to light.
“So what? There are plenty of cases where sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law get involved. It’s not impossible,” Ma Shugen clenched the bedsheet, still refusing to back down, spewing all sorts of vulgarities.
Both Cheng Fangqiu and Zhou Yingchen’s faces darkened, but before they could speak, someone else stepped forward to rebuke him.
“I spit on you, you old fool! Did your wife have an affair with your brother? Is that why you’re so confident in spouting such nonsense?”
Everyone turned to see a woman in a red dress jumping up from the back of the crowd, pointing at Ma Shugen and cursing loudly. She pushed her way through the crowd, followed by a man in a formal Zhongshan suit.
Someone with sharp eyes recognized the man and immediately called out, “Vice Director!”
Vice Director? Secretary Qian and Mediator Zhang looked over and realized it was indeed Vice Director Chang Yan’an!
They quickly urged everyone to make way, allowing the two to enter the ward.
“Looks like you’ve wasted all these decades of your life. At your age, you’re still spewing filth! Whoever beat you up like this should have finished the job. It would’ve been a service to the people, and I would’ve applauded!”
Xu Qiqi rushed to Ma Shugen’s bedside, continuing her tirade, her spit flying onto his face.
Ma Shugen felt the wounds on his face burning with pain, but he remembered Ma Changjun’s warning and lay still, doing his best to play the role of a severely injured patient. However, the fire in his eyes betrayed his true vitality.
He couldn’t move, but Zhang Guixiang could. She let out a shrill scream and lunged at Xu Qiqi. “Where did this little slut come from, with such a foul mouth? You’re the one who’s been messing around with your brother-in-law!”
Before Zhang Guixiang could reach her, Mediator Zhang stepped in, using his body to block her assault. However, he couldn’t avoid getting several red scratches on his neck from her flailing.
Even the most patient person would lose their temper at this point. He pushed her away angrily and shouted, “What are you causing a scene for, old woman? This is Vice Director Chang’s wife! Think carefully before you act!”
Vice Director?
Zhang Guixiang was highly sensitive to status. She immediately shrank back, not daring to make another move. She even hid behind Yang Liqun, who had remained mostly silent. Seeing Zhang Guixiang causing trouble and then hiding behind her, Yang Liqun’s face turned red with anger.
“Bullying the weak but fearing the strong, you old hag,” Xu Qiqi stood with her hands on her hips, looking fierce, but in truth, she had been frightened by Zhang Guixiang’s earlier attempt to attack her. If Mediator Zhang hadn’t intervened, her face would have been scratched up by now.
Thinking of this, she thanked Mediator Zhang and subtly moved closer to Chang Yan’an.
Chang Yan’an glanced at her, thinking to himself, “So she does know how to be afraid?”
“What’s going on here?” Chang Yan’an’s gaze swept across the ward, finally landing on Secretary Qian.
Secretary Qian felt as if he were drenched in cold sweat. He swallowed hard and explained the whole situation, adding at the end, “It seems now that Ma Shugen’s accusation of Comrade Cheng’s affair is completely unfounded.”
“Secretary Qian!”
Ma Changjun exclaimed in shock, not expecting Secretary Qian to draw such a conclusion so quickly. However, he also knew that the facts were right in front of everyone. Continuing to argue would only make him look unreasonable and could easily provoke public outrage.
After all, in these times, many families had two sons, and housing was scarce. It was inevitable that many sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law would live under the same roof. His father’s words weren’t just slandering Cheng Fangqiu and Zhou Yingchen—they were also casting suspicion on other sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.
Those people, concerned about their reputations, would undoubtedly side with Cheng Fangqiu and Zhou Yingchen. If that happened, the situation would only become more unfavorable for the Ma family.
Ma Changjun took a deep breath and quickly changed the subject. “Even if my father misunderstood, it doesn’t change the fact that Zhou Yinghuai assaulted someone. He must face the consequences for his actions!”
“You think just because you say it’s a fact, it becomes one?”
Cheng Fangqiu first gave Xu Qiqi a grateful look, then turned back to Ma Changjun. “Did you think that just because only your father and my husband were present at the time, and with no one else around, you could stage this whole act to extort money and bring my husband down?”
Seeing that Cheng Fangqiu had seen through his plan, Ma Changjun’s eyes flickered with panic. Before he could come up with a response, she continued, “Justice lies in the hearts of the people. Your family, with your lies and fabrications, are the ones truly tarnishing the factory’s reputation.”
“Before Ma Shugen woke up, Zhang Guixiang insisted that it was Comrade Zhang Qingkai who had assaulted him. She detained Comrade Zhang at the hospital, forcing him to pay medical expenses and even demanding 500 yuan in compensation. I believe many people here heard that, right?”
Without waiting for others to respond, Zhang Qingkai himself suddenly stepped forward. Just thinking about what had happened earlier made him tremble with anger. “If it weren’t for my colleagues testifying on my behalf, I probably wouldn’t be able to clear my name even if I jumped into the Yellow River.”
The Ma family clearly remembered this incident as well, and their expressions turned grim. Zhang Guixiang, in particular, opened her mouth but took a long time to stammer out, “In that situation, anyone would have misunderstood.”
“There aren’t that many misunderstandings. You just wanted to extort money. When you couldn’t get it from me, you switched to Comrade Zhou!” Zhang Qingkai grew more agitated as he spoke. By now, he had also gotten a clear look at the injuries on Ma Shugen’s face. “These injuries weren’t there when my colleagues and I found you in the hallway. How did they appear now?”
Ma Shugen instinctively covered his face. “Nonsense! They were definitely there.”
Wasn’t this guy supposed to have gone home? Why did he suddenly show up again?
Zhang Qingkai and Ma Shugen argued back and forth, each sticking to their own version of events, neither willing to back down.
“Why don’t we check the report or ask the doctor to clarify the truth?” Cheng Fangqiu interjected at the right moment.
“Yes, bring out the report,” Secretary Qian said, narrowing his eyes, his tone serious.
He wasn’t a fool. He had a vague understanding of what was really going on, so his tone toward Ma Changjun wasn’t exactly friendly.
Ma Changjun couldn’t possibly show them the report. He stubbornly insisted that he didn’t know where the report was. When they suggested calling the doctor, he panicked and tried to stop them. “The doctor is busy with countless tasks. How could he have time to deal with our matters?”
“Ma Changjun, that excuse is too flimsy,” someone retorted. At this hour, there were hardly any patients. Even if there were, they had plenty of time to wait!
“Are you feeling guilty, perhaps?” Xu Qiqi chimed in.
“Go and fetch the doctor,” Chang Yan’an ordered Mediator Zhang directly. The latter nodded and walked out, bypassing the crowd. Ma Changjun wanted to stop him but couldn’t. He swallowed hard, praying silently that the doctor would be too busy to come.
But things didn’t go as he hoped. Before long, Mediator Zhang returned with the doctor—the same one who had treated Ma Shugen earlier. As soon as he arrived, the doctor truthfully reported Ma Shugen’s diagnosis, stating that the injuries on Ma Shugen’s face had been added after the treatment and had nothing to do with the condition before.
Ma Changjun shut his eyes tightly, wishing he could faint on the spot.