Chapter 32: Proving One's Innocence

After saying this, Lu Qiaoge turned to Old Mrs. Li and said, "Grandma Li, based on my analysis, the weather on the day you lost your gold ring must have been wonderful, with bright, golden sunshine. You also happened to wake up a bit late. Was it just you alone at home, with the windows open and no window screens, and you were sleeping at the time?"

Old Mrs. Li’s eyes instantly widened; she remembered the events of that day very clearly.

But how could this girl, Lu Qiaoge, speak as if she had seen it with her own eyes?

Lu Qiaoge frowned slightly. This old lady was far too suspicious; she was actually suspecting her?

No wonder the matter hadn't been put to rest even after the item was found.

Lu Qiaoge continued, "Yanzi also happened to be out foraging at that time. When she flew past your house, she saw the gold ring illuminated by the sunlight. Since you were sleeping soundly, she simply flew in and snatched the ring away in her beak." After finishing this explanation, Lu Qiaoge asked Old Mrs. Li with an innocent expression, "Grandma Li, is my analysis correct?"

She then added with a hint of envy, "My grandmother can't sleep in at all; she gets up at six every single morning."

One old lady chimed in, "Old Mrs. Li, you sleep in every day and eat the breakfast others make for you, and your two daughters-in-law haven't said a word. What more do you want? Stop making trouble for no reason. If you stir up drama until a perfectly good life becomes unbearable, will you be happy then?"

Lu Qiaoge pressed further, "Grandma Li, was my analysis right or not?"

Old Mrs. Li remained silent.

Li Zhenhui said angrily, "Mom, if it is, it is; if it isn't, it isn't. Why aren't you saying anything?"

Lu Qiaoge let out a sudden laugh. "Good heavens, Grandma Li, you wouldn't happen to suspect that I was standing right outside your window that day, would you?"

The crowd burst into laughter.

No one noticed Director Hu standing outside the crowd, nor Captain Jin, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

Captain Jin was Cui Min's cousin, and he had come to support his sister.

She was his second uncle's only daughter. After the second uncle passed away, his widow remarried into another military factory and left Cui Min at his house, making her like a biological sister to him.

He had intended to step forward, but Director Hu, who happened to be passing by, had pulled him back and told him to wait a moment.

He hadn't expected Lu Qiaoge to be here.

This girl... she's quite interesting!

Lu Qiaoge blinked her bright, peach-blossom eyes. "I remember you lost your gold ring on May 19th, but that day, I was with everyone at the Third Neighborhood Committee making matchboxes. We went before dawn and didn't get home until after eight in the evening."

At that moment, someone in the crowd shouted in confirmation.

"That's right, I know this! That girl was at the Third Neighborhood Committee all day that day."

Old Mrs. Li's face turned bright red, and she hurriedly said, "That's right, your analysis is all correct."

Lu Qiaoge smiled. "That's good then."

With that, Lu Qiaoge brought over a ladder. Although it wasn't completely dark yet, Qi Shuang had already taken a flashlight and a kitchen knife, with a basket nearby prepared to hold the swallow's nest.

Old Hu thought Lu Qiaoge might have more to say, as he noticed the girl was quite a smooth talker.

To his surprise, Lu Qiaoge simply proceeded to take down the swallow's nest and carefully placed it in the basket.

She didn't say another word throughout the entire process.

It was then that the naughty swallow finally fluttered its wings and flew out.

Old Hu nodded inwardly in appreciation; a clever person who knows when to advance and when to retreat will always have a bright future.

In today's matter, Lu Qiaoge was entirely an outsider with no official position; she currently had no right to lecture this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair.

Furthermore, she had said what needed to be said; saying any more would be inappropriate.

Old Hu thought he had seen through Lu Qiaoge, but he didn't realize that she was looking at Cui Min with a somewhat solemn expression. "Sister Cui, you just said you would jump into the river to commit suicide to prove your innocence. I hope you were only saying that. I almost drowned a few days ago, and that feeling was incredibly agonizing. It suddenly reminded me of a picture book I read once. It said that in ancient times, a great tyrant wanted to seize a poor family's land, so he framed their youngest son for stealing his large goose. Do you know what the final result was?"

Cui Min had been through quite a commotion, and most of her anger had dissipated; she was now drawn in by the story Lu Qiaoge was telling.

The children gathered around loved hearing stories, and even the onlookers, who had originally just come to watch the drama, were now staring at Lu Qiaoge.

This story had not been published yet, so almost no one knew it.

A young boy, about eight or nine years old, who had wanted to eat roasted bird eggs, chased after Lu Qiaoge and asked, "What was the result?"

Lu Qiaoge hesitated for a moment before saying, "The result was that the child's mother, driven to desperation, used a knife to cut open her youngest son's stomach to let the tyrant and the others see whether or not her son had actually eaten the tyrant's large goose."

The boy's face changed drastically. He clutched his stomach and asked with a trembling voice, "...An... and then?"

Lu Qiaoge scanned the attentive crowd and said indignantly, "And then, of course, he hadn't!"

A deathly silence fell over the scene.

Many people looked at Lu Qiaoge with complicated expressions.

The story this girl told was far too terrifying.

Lu Qiaoge acted as if she hadn't noticed the crowd's reaction, but fearing she had scared the little boy, she smiled and said to him, "It's just a story, it's not real. Don't be afraid."

But at this moment, Old Mrs. Li's face had turned pale.

She felt as if she had heard a similar story... was it when she was a child?

Old Hu also felt conflicted.

She really knew how to both coax and terrify people.

He thought Lu Qiaoge would continue, but she acted as if nothing had happened, smiling brightly as she said to Qi Shuang, "Sister Qi, I'll take the swallow's nest now."

Qi Shuang wanted to ask where she was taking it, but seeing the silent, pale-faced mother-in-law and daughter-in-law next door, she swallowed her words.

Even if she moved it to the Lu family's house, what difference would it make? Lu Qiaoge clearly didn't care.

Carrying the basket, Lu Qiaoge walked out of the Qi family's courtyard with a smile.

The crowd dispersed, and the dazed Cui Min and the pale Old Mrs. Li both went home.

Old Hu had long since left, while Captain Jin went next door.

Before long, Captain Jin's reprimanding voice could be heard from next door, but he was lecturing Cui Min.

Cui Min: "Big brother, I was just speaking out of anger. I wouldn't die just to prove my innocence."

The courtyard was very quiet. After a while, Old Mrs. Li said, "I... I won't make baseless suspicions in the future."

Only then did Qi Shuang breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking outside again, Lu Qiaoge had already walked far away.

By the time Lu Qiaoge reached home, Huang Juan had already left.

But the Lu family members were all there, looking at her with joyous faces.

Thus, Lu Qiaoge learned that she had been accepted for the job.

Lu Qiaoge grinned; yes, she was very happy.

However, she still showed the basket to her family and took the opportunity to recount what had happened between Qi Shuang and the Li family.

Old Mrs. Lu was quite pleased. "Swallows are good; they don't just eat insects, they eat flies and mosquitoes too."

On a normal day, Meng Xia would have scolded Lu Qiaoge for meddling in other people's business.

But today they were too happy, so happy they had lost themselves in the joy.

She happily directed her eldest son, "Go get the ladder. We need to secure the swallow's nest right now."

In the end, they chose a spot under Old Mrs. Lu's eaves, as it was the most suitable place to avoid wind and rain.

Meng Xia looked at her second daughter with delight. "Get some rest early. You have to report for duty and fill out forms tomorrow. There's a lot to do."

Oh, her second daughter finally had a "iron rice bowl" (a stable job) and wouldn't have to worry for the rest of her life.

Lu Da was also happy.

His second daughter had come in first place!