Just when Li Caiyi thought nothing could shock her, Meng Yaoshu's revelation truly appalled her.
The reason why he was so vigilant toward their family was because of her brother? But he should have known that the relationship between Meng Renshu and Li Junjie was good.
"You are not making any sense. From the beginning, the Li family can't be compared with us regarding wealth or status, so why do you want to pull them down so badly? So what if their son is a genius? There's no way our Renshu can lose against that kid who only knows how to study." Qing Xiangjun rebutted.
"You don't understand. We can't let the Li family regain their power. The reason our Meng family could climb up in the pharmaceutical industry is partially thanks to them. They have lost their previous glory, but people still talk highly about them. We can't underestimate them. We must sever the 'rotten' ties as soon as possible."
"Stop beating around the bush and get to the point. What did the Li family ever do to warrant such wariness from you?"
There was a brief silence before Meng Yaoshu spoke again, "Forget it. I have answered your question, so let's stop talking about this. About Li Caiyi, she is destined to be our scapegoat. Once I put a guilty verdict on her head, you can do whatever you want."
A very cold and ruthless decision. There wasn't any trace of warmth Li Caiyi always felt from him. No, he never treated her sincerely in the first place. All his kindness and consideration for her were fake.
Her stomach churned wildly, and she felt like vomiting.
"You know, I never liked you. Do you know why?" Qing Xiangjun didn't even bother to hide her disdain as she sharply stated, "It's because I could never tell what was going in your mind. I feel like if I let down my guard even a bit, you will stab me from the back."
Meng Yaoshu chuckled. "That's kind of harsh. After years of being husband and wife, you still can't trust me?"
Qing Xiangjun harrumphed. "Only a fool would trust someone like you. I can smell your rotten soul from miles away."
"Haha, I can't say I hate that part about you. Think whatever you want. I don't care. You don't have to trust me, as that's not what I seek from you. As long as we fulfill our job and don't interfere with each other's life, we can continue living harmoniously."
"That child... I mean, Caiyi, do you know how much she cares and looks up to you?" Qing Xiangjun asked hesitantly.
It had been a while since her mother-in-law called her by her name. She usually only used 'you' or 'daughter-in-law'. Every time she called her that, it reminded her of how insignificant her existence was.
"What are you trying to say? Are you going to condemn me for being too cruel towards her? As if you can lecture me about that. Unlike a certain someone, at least I have been nothing but supportive of her before this."
There was a brief silence again before Qing Xiangjun inhaled deeply. "You are right. I, out of all people, have no right to judge you. Just tell me one thing."
"You sure have a lot of questions today. But sure, ask away."
"That poisoning incident, was it actually done by you?"
THUMP
Li Caiyi felt like time had stopped. The events that happened in the past few days played inside her head again, like a video.
Come to think of it, this case was bizarre from the very beginning. She was clearly innocent, so how did the culprit know that Li Chunhua would enter the same room and drink the wine instead of her?
Her mind blanked out right after her sister collapsed, then Meng Renshu and Meng Shuchun conveniently barged in and caught her at the wrong time and location. That's when everything began to spiral down.
And the most important thing was how did the culprit get ahold of Li Chunhua's bottle of medicine, which had their fingerprints all over it?
The police officer's words held some truth in them. It should be someone who wouldn't garner suspicion even if he was found carrying the victim's belongings.
It could be family members or friends. However, since her sister had no friends, it could only be the family members.
More and more information flew inside her mind, making her head hurt. There were too many questions, but she had no idea the answer or how to prove them. Perhaps thinking about this was useless since the setup against her was perfect.
Li Caiyi could hear the rumbling sound from outside. The gray cloud outside the window casts a gloomy and ominous atmosphere. It seemed like the rain was going to pour down soon.
Li Caiyi hadn't heard any sound from inside the room in a while. She took courage and peeked inside through the gap in the door.
Sitting on the sofa was Meng Yaoshu, who played with the glass of wine in his hand as he smiled at his wife. Li Caiyi shuddered just from the sheer pressure he exuded. It was so oppressive and frightening like he was calculating whether he should kill someone or not.
"What makes you think like that, my dear wife?" Meng Yaoshu's smile deepened, but that smile didn't reach his eyes.
Li Caiyi felt a bit of admiration for her mother-in-law. The latter refused to back down even under that unsettling pressure.
"I saw you that night," she replied confidently, and the smile on her opponent faltered.
"Oh? And what did you see?"
"That waiter who was taken into interrogation along with Li Caiyi, he is one of your people, right? I saw you had a serious conversation with him that night. You are usually very wary of your surroundings. Still, the way you acted secretively with a mere waiter made me curious, so I observed you for some time. Then I saw the waiter walked out of the main hall with a tray of wine in his hand."
"I didn't expect my wife to care so much about me."
"Save your useless comment to yourself. Answer me, are you the one who ordered him to mix the poison into the wine?" Qing Xiangjun became grimmer.
"Ha!"
Instead of answering, Meng Yaoshu burst into laughter. Qing Xiangjun was confused and a bit offended by that. "What's so funny?"
"No, I was just amused, that's all. You saw how I was acting suspiciously. A woman as smart as you must have deeply noticed that I must have something to do with the incident. Yet, despite having that suspicion, you still urged me to pin the blame on our innocent daughter-in-law." Meng Yaoshu smiled mockingly, "Qing Xiangjun, this side of you is what I love from you. You are just the perfect fit for me."
Qing Xiangjun's whole body shook in a fury. She tried to endure humiliation by clenching her fist, but it only made her opponent laugh harder.
"You like to point out a person's faults, but when someone does the same to you, you can't say anything back? Ah, what a boring and ordinary woman you are."
"Meng Yaoshu! Are you going to keep humiliating me like this? I have enough listening to your bullshit!" Qing Xiangjun shouted in rage. She grabbed him by the collar. Her expression twisted so badly that it looked nothing like her usual elegant self.
"Don't lump me together with you! I refuse to be put on the same level as disgusting human beings like you! Just answer the damn question. Are you involved in the case? No, are you the one who did everything?"
CRACKLE!!
The sound of thunder and the lightning that flashed abruptly startled her. The light from outside the window briefly illuminated the dimly-lit study room.
A cold shiver went through her body when she saw the sinister and vile smile on Meng Yaoshu's usually sympathetic face. It was nothing like a philanthropist who has helped many people but more like a psychopath.
It was a very harrowing scene. Something Li Caiyi would always remember whenever she looked at Meng Yaoshu's face again. After that, she could never see him the same way again.
Then from that mouth of that man was the confession of the devil.
"My wife, if you know what's best for our children, it would be best if you erase that from your memory. Would you do that for me?"
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢