He Qiang ached all over from He Yuan’s kicks.
Despite his chubby appearance, it was all puffy weight; the teenage boy had no solid muscle on him.
He grimaced in pain, clutching Li Cuihua and yelling.
“I just wanted her to have diarrhea for a few days! I didn’t want to harm her!”
Hearing He Qiang say this, Li Cuihua completely understood.
So, her son had taken her croton powder, used it on Ji Shuyu, and got caught red-handed.
“Yuanzi, Qiangzi is still young. He doesn’t understand. I’ll apologize to Shuyu on his behalf. I’m sorry.”
Li Cuihua gritted her teeth, remembering what her sisters-in-law had said when she was at her parents’ home. She could only lower her head and admit her mistake.
She couldn’t divorce the He family’s eldest son; she still needed He Jiang.
“Li Cuihua, I haven’t asked yet, where did the croton powder in He Qiang’s hand come from?”
Getting medicine on the island was a troublesome matter.
Doctors wouldn’t easily prescribe something like croton powder, which could kill if too much was consumed.
Where could a child like He Qiang get croton powder?
Unless Li Cuihua bought it.
Thinking back to what Li Cuihua’s eldest sister-in-law had said to her, a cold glint flashed in Ji Shuyu’s eyes.
Li Cuihua had said, who knows if it’ll even be born.
So, this croton powder could only have been bought by Li Cuihua.
Sure enough, after Ji Shuyu asked this question, Li Cuihua’s eyes darted around, not daring to look at her.
“I was constipated a couple of days ago and got it from the clinic.”
“Shuyu, Qiangzi didn’t mean it. He’s just a child…”
Li Cuihua swallowed her pride and apologized to Ji Shuyu, but then she heard Ji Shuyu say, “He is a child. You are not.”
“People must always pay the price for what they have done.”
After saying this, Ji Shuyu looked at He Yuan. “He Qiang is already thirteen years old. He attempted poisoning intentionally. Aren’t there corresponding policies for that?”
Even in the 1970s, there must be places like juvenile detention centers, right?
Just as He Yuan was about to answer, footsteps sounded outside the kitchen.
He Junshan and Wang Shufen, hearing the commotion, came over.
He Hai and Su Wenjuan had gone to work and weren’t home. He Jiang happened to return to get something and stumbled upon this scene.
No need to ask more; the earlier arguing was enough for him to piece together the general idea.
Seeing his elder brother, He Yuan barely suppressed his overwhelming anger, pointing at He Qiang.
“Eldest Brother, you came back just in time. Look at the fine thing your son did. He put croton powder in the water vat Shuyu drinks from. Shuyu is still pregnant. This is attempted murder.”
“I didn’t! I just wanted her to have diarrhea! I didn’t want to harm her!”
He Qiang, as if grasping at a lifeline, shouted tearfully.
Li Cuihua also started crying. She knew He Jiang was swayed by softness but not by hardness.
“Qiangzi just doesn’t understand! Shuyu is fine anyway, right? We’ll apologize! We’ll kowtow to Ji Shuyu!”
As she spoke, she pulled He Qiang to kowtow.
Ji Shuyu spoke coldly, “He is thirteen, not three. He knows this stuff can kill if you eat too much. When he was putting the drug in, he said he wanted to kill me.”
“If I hadn’t followed him, if I had drunk the water, not only would I die, but my child would die too.”
Ji Shuyu’s gaze turned to He Jiang, her tone calm.
“Eldest Brother, attempted poisoning, regardless of the outcome, is an extremely serious offense. He Qiang must receive the punishment he deserves. I will not go easy. He must go to juvenile detention.”
“Juvenile detention?!”
At this, Li Cuihua could no longer keep up the act. She immediately stood up.
Pointing at Ji Shuyu, she started yelling, “Ji Shuyu! How dare you! If you dare send my son there, I’ll fight you with everything I’ve got!”
“Qiangzi was driven to this by you! If it weren’t for you sowing discord and targeting me and my son at every turn, would he have done this? It’s all because of you, you jinx!”
She turned to He Jiang, wailing dramatically, “He Jiang, look! Look at them! They’re trying to drive our family to ruin! Your son is about to be sent to jail! Say something!”
“Shut up!”
He Jiang’s low roar instantly silenced Li Cuihua.
He Jiang’s face was livid. He walked up to Li Cuihua, his eyes fixed intently on her.
“Li Cuihua… All these years, haven’t you caused enough trouble?”
“What have you taught him to become? Stealing, habitual lying, and now? Learning to poison people, and poisoning his own pregnant aunt? Is this the fine son you’ve raised?”
He pointed at He Qiang, who was still sniveling on the ground, his finger trembling.
“It’s all you! Indulging him time and again, always taking his side, disregarding right and wrong, being unreasonable! Do you think you’re protecting him? You’re ruining him! You’re pushing him towards a dead end!”
The frustration pent up for over a decade burst out like a flood breaching a dam.
“From the day you married me, you’ve never stopped! Arguing with Mom and Dad, arguing with your sisters-in-law, arguing with the neighbors! Over trivial matters, you can stir up a storm!”
“I, He Jiang, have asked myself, have I treated you unfairly? I’ve worked myself to the bone to earn money and support this family! I’ve never let you worry about anything inside or outside the home! And you? What do you treat this home as? A battlefield?”
The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, his eyes red.
“I’ve had enough! I’ve really had enough! Every time you cause trouble, it’s me who has to swallow my pride and go apologize! To beg and plead everywhere!”
“My face, you’ve long since trampled it into the mud! I don’t live like a man! I live like a useless wretch, like a grandson who cleans up your messes!”
“First thing tomorrow morning, we’ll go get the paperwork done! This divorce is settled!”
They had a good life but didn’t want to live it peacefully, insisting on causing trouble here. Since that’s the case, He Jiang wouldn’t put up with it anymore.
He wanted neither of this mother and son.
“What?”
Li Cuihua was as if struck by lightning, the color draining from her face instantly.
“He Jiang, how dare you! I won’t divorce! I’d rather die than divorce! Qiangzi! Qiangzi, quickly, talk to your dad! He doesn’t want us, mother and son!”
He Qiang was also terrified by his father’s unprecedented resolve, even forgetting to cry.
But He Jiang didn’t look at them again, as if he had shed a heavy burden, seeming to have exhausted all his strength.
He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there seemed to be a sense of relief in his gaze.
“Third Brother, sister-in-law, Qiangzi has made a grave mistake. Whatever punishment he deserves, handle it according to the rules. I have no objections.”
“It’s my fault for not teaching my son well, for not managing my wife properly, letting them cause trouble again and again.”
He Yuan turned his head away, also holding a grudge against He Jiang.
Li Cuihua could make such a fuss precisely because He Jiang always cleaned up her mess.
She thought that as long as she made a scene, appearing fierce and formidable, everything in the family would be hers.
Ever since she married into the He family, she always felt that their eldest branch didn’t have enough.
His parents, for the sake of family harmony, would give what they could.
But human greed is insatiable. Having gained some, one wants even more.
“I will, of course, handle it according to the rules. The son you and Li Cuihua failed to teach properly will naturally be taught by others.”
“Sending him to juvenile detention is better than him killing someone and facing execution later.”
Ji Shuyu said this coldly.
If she hadn’t followed him, if she had really drunk the water with the croton powder, who would compensate for her loss?
“Wife, where are you going?”
He Yuan wanted to say more, but saw that Ji Shuyu had already turned and gone back to the room.
He chased after her. Ji Shuyu was holding a canvas bag, packing her things.
“He Yuan, before this mess in your family is properly resolved, don’t come looking for me.”
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