Chapter 131: Chapter 131: Leaving Evidence—Zhong Luoning’s Painful Ordeal

It wasn’t just the police—some old neighbors, eager for drama, also barged in after them.

Xu’s mother was both furious and anxious, shooing everyone out.

“Go, go, go! What are you all doing in my house? I’ll report you for trespassing!”

Although the police and Xu’s mother managed to drive most people out quickly, two or three still caught a glimpse of the scene inside and immediately began to spread the news in whispers.

The adulterous couple inside were startled by the sudden intrusion, scrambling around naked in search of their clothes.

In that instant, Gu Qinghuan’s mind raced. She forced herself to stay calm—she couldn’t let Sister Luoning suffer in vain. This injustice had to be avenged!

Law enforcement in this era was weak; she couldn’t put all her hopes in others. If someone tried to sabotage things behind the scenes, all of Luoning and little Youran’s suffering would be for nothing.

So, while the police and Xu’s mother were busy driving people out, Gu Qinghuan swiftly pulled a small instant camera from her pocket (actually from her space villa).

She’d bought it for fun ages ago, barely used it, and it had just been gathering dust—who would have thought it’d come in handy now?

She quietly snapped photo after photo, capturing every detail of the room: the scattered clothes on the floor and bed, the naked adulterers, even the bloodstains from Zhong Luoning’s struggle—nothing was missed.

The couple were too busy getting dressed to notice her actions.

They never imagined anyone would take photos of their shame—after all, cameras were expensive and bulky in this era. Who but a journalist would carry one around?

Gu Qinghuan quickly stashed the “evidence” and the camera back into her space, then grabbed a pair of scissors to cut Zhong Luoning free.

The two police officers came over to help as well.

He Qiang stood outside the door with little Youran, quietly watching everything unfold. He couldn’t bear for the child to see such cruelty, so he gently covered her eyes.

Though, perhaps, she had already experienced even worse.

Maybe because he’d just rescued her, the child didn’t resist, letting him cover her eyes as she stood there, dazed.

The moment Zhong Luoning was freed, she rushed straight for the window. If the two officers hadn’t grabbed her in time, she would have jumped.

Gu Qinghuan’s guess had been right.

After Zhong Luoning had helped Gu Qinghuan gather information, she’d discovered that Xu’s mother had been hiding her letters. This led to a huge argument with the Xu family.

She laid everything out—she’d known for a long time that Xu Jianguo was seeing another woman, but hadn’t had the courage to face it. This time, she refused to endure it any longer and decided to confront them.

Of course, the Xu family closed ranks. Not only did they refuse to acknowledge their son’s wrongdoing, they blamed her for “hogging the pit without shitting”—not giving them a son, and only producing a “stupid, useless girl.”

How could she, alone, possibly win against the whole Xu family?

From that day on, they locked her up, along with little Youran.

Xu’s father and mother wanted her to publicly admit to adultery and leave the marriage with nothing, so Xu Jianguo’s mistress could move in.

She agreed to the divorce, but would never admit to something she hadn’t done. The women of the Zhong family had their pride.

Nor would she accept leaving with nothing—if anyone should, it was Xu Jianguo.

When they married, he’d had nothing; even the house was provided by her parents.

Most of the furniture and belongings were her dowry—she couldn’t just walk away.

And so, the situation reached a stalemate.

Xu Jianguo would bring his mistress home from time to time. The house had thin walls; Zhong Luoning could hear their laughter and joy downstairs.

Xu’s parents treated her like a hawk being starved into submission, giving her and Youran barely enough food and water to survive.

She gave most of it to the child, quickly growing thin herself.

She’d thought about escaping. The door was locked from the outside, but the window—though also padlocked by Xu’s mother—could be pried open when no one was home.

But escaping alone was one thing; with a child, it was much harder. And even if she got out, where would she go? No money, no food, no ration coupons, no introduction letter…

Besides, running away would only make things easier for these wolves, and would be seen as an admission of guilt, leaving her at the mercy of the Xu family’s gossip.

So she endured, waiting.

She never expected that last night, Xu Jianguo, drunk, would bring his mistress home.

Like a madman, he burst in and pinned her to the bed, beating her. Little Youran tried to stop him and was kicked aside.

Then Zhong Luoning was tied up, facing the bed, forced to watch that disgusting man and his mistress writhing together.

If her mouth hadn’t been stuffed, she would have vomited on the spot.

She didn’t know when her feelings for Xu Jianguo had turned to nothing but hatred.

Little Youran cowered at her feet, trembling, wanting to hide but unwilling to leave her mother.

Mother and daughter were forced to witness the depravity on the bed—filthy and revolting.

How Zhong Luoning wished she could hold her child and comfort her, cover her eyes so she wouldn’t see such filth—but she couldn’t. She couldn’t even offer a word of comfort, her mouth stuffed tight.

The long night was endless torture, like someone slicing her flesh with a dull knife.

The ropes on her wrists felt impossible to break.

Little Youran kept trying to untie her, but it was useless.

Eventually, the child collapsed by her mother’s feet, falling asleep with tears still on her face.

Zhong Luoning didn’t sleep a wink, her mind racing with thoughts of the future.

In the middle of the night, Xu Jianguo woke up once, complaining that the air was stuffy.

He tried to open the window, found it locked, and in a drunken haze, smashed the lock with a stool before going back to sleep.

A cold wind blew in, chilling Zhong Luoning to the bone—just like her heart, frozen through.

Morning came, and little Youran woke up.

She found her mother icy cold, the window wide open, the wind still blowing in.

Afraid her mother would be cold, she climbed onto a stool to try to close the window.

The old-fashioned window opened outward, and she was too short—she had to lean halfway out to reach it.

Zhong Luoning shook her head desperately, but Youran didn’t notice. Zhong Luoning struggled against the ropes until her wrists bled, but still couldn’t break free.

She rocked the chair, trying to wake the couple on the bed, but it was no use.

She had never hated her own helplessness and weakness so much.

If only she’d acted sooner, cut things off decisively, none of this would have happened. If only she hadn’t been blind enough to marry that heartless man, her life wouldn’t be so dark…

Then came what happened just now: as the child leaned too far out, she lost her balance and fell.

Zhong Luoning saw her daughter fall with her own eyes. She was utterly shattered, her tears dried up. From such a height, even an adult couldn’t survive unscathed, let alone a child.

She’d already prepared herself for the worst. Life was too hard, too painful—death would be a relief.

A parent’s love knows no bounds; the first thing she wanted to do when freed was to follow her daughter. She must have thought her daughter was already…

Even the two tough police officers couldn’t help but tear up at the scene.

Gu Qinghuan’s heart twisted in pain, her eyes stinging as tears streamed down uncontrollably.

“Luoning-jie, don’t do anything foolish! Youran is safe!” Gu Qinghuan hugged her tightly, terrified she’d try something again.

Only then did she realize how thin Zhong Luoning had become—just skin and bones. Words felt useless; all she felt was heartache and pity for the mother and daughter.

Zhong Luoning’s eyes were unfocused. She struggled to break free from Gu Qinghuan, reaching for the window.

“Don’t stop me! Let me go to Youran—she’ll be scared alone…” She even laughed at the end.

He Qiang quickly brought the child in.

“Luoning-jie, look who’s here!”

Little Youran ran to her mother.

Seeing her daughter safe and sound, Zhong Luoning froze, then dropped to her knees and hugged her tightly, tears falling cold and heavy on the child’s neck.

“Youran! My Youran.”

“Mama, Mama.”

Mother and daughter had no words, just calling out to each other, and it was enough to move anyone to tears.

The next second, Zhong Luoning collapsed with her child in her arms, losing consciousness.

He Qiang hurried to help little Youran up, but the child refused to leave, clinging to her mother.

Gu Qinghuan checked Zhong Luoning and found her forehead and hands burning hot. She must have caught a cold and fever from the night’s chill.

Little Youran also had a slight fever, though not as bad as her mother.

He Qiang helped take care of them both.

Gu Qinghuan wiped her tears and made a swift, decisive decision.

“Officers, my name is Gu Qinghuan. I’m the cousin of the victim. On behalf of my cousin Zhong Luoning, I accuse her lawful husband, Xu Jianguo, of adultery and extramarital affairs.

He has also long-term abused and illegally detained his wife and daughter, causing severe psychological trauma to both, and nearly costing Xu Youran her life.

You have all witnessed what just happened—there’s no need for me to elaborate. The evidence and witnesses are all here.

As for the illegal detention, you can see for yourselves: the padlock on the door, the broken lock on the window, and the used dishes on the table—all prove my cousin was locked in this room for a long time, unable to escape.

Please uphold justice and do not let a single criminal go unpunished. I believe that the net of justice is wide, but none can escape it.”"