Chapter 246: Chapter 246: Public Apology
Su Qing had originally said she would leave two days later, intending to make Li Aiguo wait for a couple of days. However, she didn’t expect that the very next day, Du Changting would show up in Lihua Village, escorting Tian Aixiang under guard.
It wasn’t until the villagers of Lihua Village had all gathered in the square that they learned the news. The facts of Tian Aixiang’s malicious slander against Su Qing had been verified. Since it hadn’t caused any severe consequences, she was detained for three days. Additionally, she was required to make a public apology to Su Qing.
And today was the day they had brought Tian Aixiang to apologize to Su Qing.
’Apologizing to Su Qing in public? How is that any different from a public execution?’ Tian Aixiang was naturally unwilling, but the public security officers had told her: if she didn’t want to apologize publicly, that was fine. She could go to prison instead. It was one or the other.
It didn’t take a genius to know which one to choose. If she really went to prison, what future would she have?
So, Tian Aixiang compromised, choosing to apologize publicly to Su Qing.
Looking at Su Qing staring coldly up at her from below the stage, and at the surrounding crowd of villagers enjoying the show, Tian Aixiang felt a hot flush of shame. She had never been so humiliated in her entire life. Her lips parted, but the words of apology just wouldn’t come out.
"Apologize! Hurry up and apologize!" a heckler in the crowd, who clearly loved a good drama, shouted when they saw Tian Aixiang wasn’t speaking.
Tian Aixiang looked up again at the villagers below. Almost everyone from Lihua Village was there, except for the Old Su Family. Besides Su Qing, not a single person from the Old Su Family had come—not even Su Shunli or her own son.
Tian Aixiang secretly gritted her teeth. ’Are they ashamed of me for being a disgrace?’
"Tian Aixiang, please make your public apology promptly. If you refuse, this will no longer be a matter of a simple three-day detention," one of the officers said sternly, seeing that she remained silent.
Tian Aixiang glared at Su Qing, looking like she could shatter her own molars, and said, "I’ll apologize. I’ll apologize."
Then, Tian Aixiang mumbled, "I was wrong. I shouldn’t have spoken carelessly and damaged Su Qing’s reputation. Everything I said about Su Qing before was baseless nonsense I made up. I hereby apologize to Su Qing. I’m sorry."
Tian Aixiang’s voice was so quiet that, aside from Zhao Youcai and the few officers on the stage with her, none of the villagers below could hear what she said.
Of course, Su Qing had heard her perfectly well, but with a voice that soft, she naturally "couldn’t hear" a thing.
"What did you say?" Su Qing said, raising an eyebrow. "I didn’t hear a thing."
"That’s right! A voice that quiet sounds like a mosquito buzzing. Who can hear that?" Aunt Cuihua chimed in loudly from the side.
"That’s right, we can’t hear you! Louder!"
Tian Aixiang pursed her lips, glaring at Su Qing.
Su Qing wore an innocent expression. "What’s wrong? Do you feel wronged by having to apologize to me? You don’t have to, you know. I can just ask the officers what the penalty is for refusing to apologize."
Tian Aixiang: ...’Fine, you win!’
So, Tian Aixiang repeated what she had said before, a little louder this time.
A faint smile touched Su Qing’s lips. "Sorry, I still didn’t hear you."
"Right, we didn’t hear her either," Aunt Cuihua, Aunt Tao, and a few others said, backing Su Qing up.
Many other villagers also joined in the jeering, making Tian Aixiang’s face turn beet red with anger. She glared at Su Qing and snapped, "Su Qing, you’re doing this on purpose!"
"Heh." Su Qing let out a cold laugh. "That sentence was plenty loud."
"You..."
"You what?" Aunt Cuihua cut in. "Just get on with the apology. So now you feel shame? You should have thought about the consequences when you were spouting all that nonsense. If you ask me, you deserve this."
Before Tian Aixiang could say anything else, Du Changting spoke up from the side, his voice serious. "Comrade Tian Aixiang, if you are still unwilling to apologize sincerely, you can come back to the station with us today."
’No, that can’t happen. It was hard enough getting out of there; how could she possibly be willing to go back?’
A jolt of fear shot through Tian Aixiang. She quickly repeated her apology, this time shouting the words. Then she added, "Was that loud enough for you? You heard me this time, didn’t you, Su Qing?"
The corners of Su Qing’s mouth curved up. "Mm, I heard you that time. Alright, I’ll accept your apology this once. But if there’s a next time, I definitely won’t let you off so lightly. I’ll have to ask the officers to help me seek justice then."
’This is what she calls letting me off lightly?’ Tian Aixiang felt like her lungs were about to explode with rage. ’I’ve been utterly disgraced in front of all these people. I don’t even know how I’ll be able to face anyone again! And that damn girl has the nerve to say she’s letting me off lightly?’
Before Tian Aixiang could finish cursing Su Qing in her head, she heard Du Changting say, "Rest assured, Comrade Su Qing. If Comrade Tian Aixiang fabricates rumors to slander your name again, we police will certainly enforce the law impartially."
Tian Aixiang: ...
Su Qing smiled faintly. "Then I must thank you, officers."
Because of Tian Aixiang’s detention and public apology to Su Qing, some other villagers who had been secretly plotting to ruin Su Qing’s reputation—people like Lu Chunhua and Er La Niang—all gave up the idea.
Gossiping and bad-mouthing people in the village was one thing, but ending up at the station like Tian Aixiang? That was a whole other level of humiliation!
Look at Tian Aixiang now. She seemed completely drained, looking like she wanted to cover her face whenever she saw anyone. She had no face left to show people!
Tian Aixiang walked back toward the Old Su Family home, her steps unsteady. Along the way, the villagers of Lihua Village either made a detour to avoid her or simply pretended not to see her.
Tian Aixiang clenched her fists hatefully, gritted her back teeth, and walked home.
She had thought she could finally get some rest once she got home. After all, during her detention these past few days, she hadn’t eaten or slept well. Every night was filled with nightmares—either she was sentenced to prison or she was executed. She would often wake up with a jolt in the middle of the night. Now that she was back in the village, she felt a little more at ease; at least she didn’t have to live in constant fear.
However, what Tian Aixiang didn’t expect was that the courtyard gate of the Old Su Family home was bolted from the inside.
"Open the gate! Open up, I’m back!" After trying to push the gate open twice with no success, Tian Aixiang started banging on it and shouting.
But there was no sound from the courtyard.
At this moment, several members of the Old Su Family were in Old Man Su and Old Madam Su’s room.
Old Madam Su said, "Don’t let that disgraceful woman into our Old Su Family home. No one is to open that gate."
Old Man Su was indifferent, puffing away on his long-stemmed pipe. Su Shunli was also unconcerned; he felt that Tian Aixiang had completely disgraced him lately and would rather not see her at all. Su Lihui, on the other hand, looked back and forth, feeling a pang of pity for his mother being locked out of the courtyard.
No matter how much of a scoundrel Tian Aixiang was, she had always doted on her son, Su Lihui.
Seeing Su Lihui fidgeting restlessly, Old Madam Su tried to scare him, "Xiao Hui, let me tell you, you absolutely cannot acknowledge this mother of yours anymore. Otherwise, you’ll have a lifetime of hardship ahead of you. Forgetting everything else, you’ll never even be able to find a wife."
