Chapter 200: Scapegoat
Chapter 200: Chapter 200: Scapegoat
Jiang Qing poured the brewed herbal medicine into a bowl. Just as she was waiting for it to cool, a loud pounding came from the door.
She didn’t rush to open it. Instead, she picked up the bowl and downed the still-hot medicine in one gulp before finally opening the door.
"Jiang Qing!"
Seeing Zhou Xiaoqing outside, Jiang Qing wasn’t surprised at all.
"Do you need something?"
Zhou Xiaoqing glared at her with bloodshot eyes. "The flint in my wallet—was it you who put it there?"
Zhou Xiaoqing knew she had been framed.
But she wasn’t sure who had set her up.
It could have been a coworker from the workshop or one of her friends.
Before coming to find Jiang Qing, she had already confronted several other friends, all of whom denied framing her without exception.
"Let’s talk outside. We don’t want to disturb anyone."
Zhou Xiaoqing followed Jiang Qing out of the large, shared courtyard.
It was the weekend, so there was no school. A group of children were playing with iron hoops in the alley.
Jiang Qing stopped at the mouth of the alley, turned to Zhou Xiaoqing with a strange smile, and then leaned close to her ear, saying word for word:
"That’s right. I’m the one who put the flint in your wallet."
Her expression was sinister, her eyes filled with mockery and triumph.
Zhou Xiaoqing’s scalp prickled. She stared at Jiang Qing and stammered, "Why? What did I ever do to you?"
Jiang Qing’s expression suddenly turned cold and harsh. "I’d like to ask you the same thing! What did I ever do to you? Why did you report me back then and make me lose my job at the sugar factory!"
Zhou Xiaoqing’s pupils constricted. "You... how did you know it was me?"
"Secrets have a way of coming out. Zhou Xiaoqing, what’s happened to you is your just deserts."
Zhou Xiaoqing was so angry she started crying. "Just deserts my ass! I was framed by you! You’re coming with me to the factory to set things straight!"
"Zhou Xiaoqing, you really are an idiot! You think the factory doesn’t know you were framed? They’re just using you as a scapegoat to silence the gossip and avoid being blamed by the higher-ups. You have to take the fall for being an arsonist whether you want to or not!"
Zhou Xiaoqing trembled with rage, her eyes filled with a look that could tear Jiang Qing apart.
"Jiang Qing, you’re a bitch! You’re even more vicious than Jiang Moli!"
Jiang Qing sneered. "Curse me all you want. It doesn’t matter. You’ve ended up in the same boat as me, branded as an arsonist. No work unit will ever hire you for the rest of your life. You’re still young, so you’d better hurry up and find a man to marry. If you wait another two years, I’m afraid no one will want you even if you want to get married."
Every word from Jiang Qing was like a needle pricking Zhou Xiaoqing’s nerves.
"Jiang Qing, you bitch! I’ll kill you!"
As Zhou Xiaoqing shoved her, Jiang Qing deliberately fell backward.
"Ah, it hurts so much..."
Jiang Qing’s pained cries drew the children in the alley over.
"What happened to her?"
"Look, she’s bleeding!"
Seeing the bright red blood gushing out from under Jiang Qing, Zhou Xiaoqing was completely stunned.
’She just fell. How could she be bleeding this much?’
...
When Jiang Qing woke up, she found herself in a hospital room.
"Xiao Qing, you’re finally awake."
Seeing Zhang Jia Ming by her bed, she felt a daze.
"Jia Ming? When did you get back?"
"I just got back today. I’m sorry, I came back too late."
Noticing the self-blame and remorse on Zhang Jia Ming’s face, Jiang Qing’s heart stirred. She subconsciously placed a hand on her lower abdomen.
"The baby..."
Zhang Jia Ming’s eyes turned red. He grabbed her hand and choked out, "The doctor said you lost too much blood. The baby didn’t make it."
Jiang Qing closed her eyes to keep herself from laughing out loud.
’Everything was going according to her plan.’
She had never wanted this child in the first place, but getting an abortion at the hospital required not only a letter of introduction but also Zhang Jia Ming’s consent.
She knew Zhang Jia Ming would never agree to let her have an abortion.
Her only option was to secretly buy abortion pills.
But she was afraid something would go wrong with a secret abortion, so after thinking it over, she decided to find someone to take the blame.
She had considered framing Jiang Moli or Lu Tingting, but unfortunately, she never found the opportunity, so she ended up targeting Zhou Xiaoqing.
"Xiao Qing, don’t be sad. Focus on getting better. We can always have another child in the future."
Zhang Jia Ming thought she was heartbroken over losing the baby and comforted her in a soft, gentle voice.
Jiang Qing opened her eyes, which were filled with tears and hatred.
"Zhou Xiaoqing killed our baby. I want her to pay with her life!"
The Zhang Family also felt this couldn’t be let go. This was the Zhang Family’s first grandson!
Jiang Qing demanded 500 yuan in compensation from the Zhou Family, threatening to have Zhou Xiaoqing sent to prison otherwise.
The two families negotiated for several days, finally settling on the Zhou Family paying 350 yuan.
But the 350 yuan didn’t come from the Zhou Family; it was Zhou Xiaoqing’s bride price.
Wang Lianhua and Zhou Weiguang were so enraged by the string of troubles Zhou Xiaoqing had caused that they were on the verge of having a stroke. They disregarded Zhou Xiaoqing’s wishes and forcibly married her off to an old bachelor who ran a bicycle repair stall.
He was said to be almost thirty, plain-looking, and uneducated.
Without even a wedding, Zhou Xiaoqing was packed up and sent off to her husband’s family.
When Jiang Qing heard this, she almost burst out laughing.
Besides the satisfaction of having her revenge, she also felt a subtle sense of balance.
She remembered how she, too, had been sent to her in-laws’ home without a wedding and had been secretly ridiculed for it.
Now, Zhou Xiaoqing was walking down the same path.
Jiang Qing stayed in the hospital for three days. Since the Zhou Family was paying the medical bills, she would have wanted to stay even longer if her work hadn’t been a factor.
During her stay, Zhang Tiesheng also visited her at the hospital.
When he learned she had a job in the city, he didn’t tell her to go back, only urging her to take care of her health. He even left her 20 yuan before he left.
Although the Zhou Family paid 350 yuan in compensation, there was basically nothing left after paying off their debts.
...
After being discharged from the hospital, Zhang Jia Ming accompanied Jiang Qing back to her residence in the machinery factory’s family quarters.
Surveying the small, cramped shack, he felt pained and full of self-reproach.
"It’s not safe for you to live in a place like this all by yourself. Why don’t I plead with Camp Commander Lu to let you stay in the family compound for a while?"
Jiang Qing didn’t respond to his suggestion. "Jia Ming, let’s get a divorce."
Hearing she still wanted a divorce, Zhang Jia Ming quickly pleaded, "Xiao Qing, I know you’ve been through a lot recently. I’ve already spoken with my family. Mom and Dad won’t give you a hard time anymore, and they won’t interfere with your work. Let’s just let the past be the past and live a good life together from now on, okay?"
Hearing these words, Jiang Qing was quite moved.
Her tone couldn’t help but soften as she said in a low voice, "Jia Ming, listen to me. Jiang Moli can’t stand me. As long as you’re my husband, she’ll keep suppressing you, and you’ll never get ahead."
"Only if we divorce will she leave you alone. In a couple of years, after you’ve made a name for yourself, we can remarry. Jia Ming, I don’t really want to leave you. This is just a temporary measure. I’ll also use these two years to work on becoming stronger."
Zhang Jia Ming found Jiang Qing’s proposal utterly absurd.
"Xiao Qing, I’m not going to divorce you. I married you, and I’m willing to accept all the consequences that come with it. Even if I never get a break in this life, I’ll accept it."
"But I’m not willing to accept that!"