669 Litigation
“Su Dalang, Su Erlang, Madam Li, and Madam Zhou, don’t avoid the question. Hurry up and answer,” the officer also asked seriously.
The officer, Old Master Li, did not expect to be able to abbot the Su family in his lifetime.
Now that Old Master Su and Madam Wang had died, it was a pity.
However, the siblings all wanted an answer. Clearly, none of them were willing to bear this eternal infamy, so they would investigate according to the rules.
If their parents were angered to death and their treason was confirmed, then that family would be criticized no matter where they went.
Su Dalang and Su Erlang looked at each other. Su Dalang pointed at Su Xiaozhi and said, “What’s there to ask? Mother hit you because she knew that you had ill intentions. You must have known that Father and Mother had gold, so you kept enduring your anger. When you saw us return to the village, you were afraid that you would miss your chance, so you couldn’t help but take the opportunity to steal the gold yesterday. When Father and Mother found out later, they were so angry that they couldn’t catch their breath, so they passed away…”
“Yes, Big Brother is right—my poor parents, I made you suffer…”
Su Erlang and Su Dalang echoed each other. Madam Li and Madam Zhou also wiped the corners of their eyes with a handkerchief and cried, “Father, Mother, you died so miserably.”
After Su Dalang and Su Erlang answered, the officer and village chief looked at Su Xiaozhi, waiting for her to speak.
Almost the entire village was here.
Su Xiaozhi looked at Su Dalang, Su Erlang, and the others who were pretending to wipe their tears. She felt sorrow in her heart. She seemed to be able to see the ending of Su Dalang and Su Erlang a few years later. She remembered everything they did, and the children would think that this was very normal.
Su Dalang and Su Erlang didn’t know yet, but one day, they would know how it felt to be stabbed in the heart.
Just as she felt now.
“So last night, after I left, both your families went into Father and Mother’s room. It was Father and Mother who told you that I stole the gold, right?”
Su Xiaozhi looked at Su Dalang and Su Erlang and asked again.
Su Dalang and Su Erlang looked at each other.
Su Xiaozhi asked again, “It just happened yesterday. It shouldn’t be so difficult to answer, right? Eldest Brother and Second Brother aren’t senile. Even if you’re senile, what about Eldest Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, nephews, and niece-in-law? Could it be that your families have become senile together?”
Su Dalang and Su Erlang looked very embarrassed. They had never thought that Su Xiaozhi would dare to cause trouble. They had not discussed what to do in this situation beforehand.
When Su Xiaozhi asked this, it made them look suspicious.
Su Dalang couldn’t care less and said directly, “Yes, Mother told us. If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t have known. You said that the gold was given to you by Mother. Who would believe you? You usually come to deliver food. Mother always hits you and scolds you. She wouldn’t have given you the money at all.”
Su Dalang was aggressive. As soon as he said that, he became even more confident.
Su Erlang also thought for a moment and followed Su Dalang’s words. “That’s right. When Mother realized that the gold was missing, Father couldn’t breathe. When Father passed away, Mother couldn’t recover from the shock, so she followed him. Our families saw this with our own eyes. When we hit you today, the gold found on your body was evidence.”
“That’s right. As you know, Mother often hits and scolds me. My body is covered in injuries. Usually, old injuries don’t heal before new ones are added.”
Su Xiaozhi took over. She rolled up her sleeves. There were still several bruises on her arms.
It was obvious that she had been beaten up.
Looking at Su Xiaozhi’s injuries, Madam Li rolled her eyes and said, “Why are you so heartless? No wonder Mother hit and scolded you when you delivered the food yesterday. You still have the cheek to come out and let others see the scars. You, you…”
Madam Zhou reached out to wipe her tears and sighed. “It’s all our fault for trusting her too much. Who would have thought that she would do such a thing? Sigh…”
“Mother beats and scolds me every day. This is the truth. I didn’t say that I wouldn’t admit it. I’m showing these injuries to everyone to tell them this fact.”
No matter what Su Dalang and Su Erlang’s families said, Su Xiaozhi felt more and more at ease. She knew what to do.
“Good job. Now that Father and Mother are gone, as brothers, we have to teach you a lesson!”
Su Dalang gritted his teeth and spat at Su Xiaozhi.
The smelly and insulting saliva landed on Su Xiaozhi’s cheek. She wiped it off slowly. She looked at Su Dalang and Su Erlang and asked, “So mother definitely didn’t hit you last night, right? After all, I was the one who stole the gold. Even if she was angry, she should be angry at me.”
Su Erlang blurted out, “Of course not.”
“Since Father and Mother didn’t hit you, we can get someone to check on you, right? After all, under such circumstances, as long as you didn’t do anything treasonous, Mother won’t be so angry that she’ll hit you. You’ve just returned to the village, so it’s even more impossible for her to hit you.”
Su Xiaozhi quickly snatched the chance to speak.
Everyone felt that it made sense.
Su Dalang frowned and muttered, “With mother’s temper, it’s not strange for her to hit people when she’s angry, right?”
The situation yesterday was so chaotic. He really didn’t remember who was beaten up and who wasn’t.
Su Xiaozhi looked at the village chief and the officer. She begged, “Please, get someone to check if they’re injured. They suspect that my injuries were caused by my mother when I took the gold. However, at that time, my mother could have shouted that I stole the gold. When I left, they were still fine. They said that I angered Father and Mother to death, but I refused to admit it. I think that they were the ones who angered Father and Mother to death. My mother would definitely be more ruthless than usual with that anger. The injuries on their bodies would be evidence.”
After Su Xiaozhi finished speaking, she waited for the village chief and the officer to speak.
Madam Li and Madam Zhou looked at each other and panicked.
Yesterday, they had all been hit many times.
Usually, Madam Wang would not hold back, let alone yesterday.
Yesterday, even Su Dalang and Su Erlang were hit by Madam Wang ruthlessly.
If it really went according to Su Xiaozhi’s plan, it would be very bad for them.
Madam Zhou immediately cried. She said aggrievedly, “It’s not like you don’t know what kind of person Mother is usually. Even when mother is in a good mood, she will vent her anger on us. It’s even more common for us to be beaten and scolded. Recently, we haven’t even gone to visit her. We said that we weren’t beaten just now because we wanted to save some face.”
“Mother was angry. If she could calm down after we were beaten up a few times, we would take it. But who knew that she would still be angry in the end…” Madam Zhou cried and even wiped the corners of her eyes.