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The Lucky Star Control Corporation in the 70s (13)
Yang Yuelan was also at a loss. Her first reaction when she heard this statement was anger, and she blurted out, “Grandma Chu of the Chu family has gone too far. The marriage has not yet been decided, and I have not agreed to the replacement, yet how could she push Chu Xiang like that?”
Yang Yuelan just said what was on her mind. After all, they had just finished discussing it during the day. She naturally thought that the Chu family had treated Chu Xiang harshly and bullied her. On this account, her statement directly proved Chu Xiang’s words, and everyone in the brigade believed what she said.
The captain went to the county hospital, and no one in the brigade questioned the Chu family. However, there were people standing outside the Chu family’s residence, all clamoring about this matter. There were also several women who grabbed Chu Lan and did not let her go, tying her with a rope.
“Let’s wait for the captain to deal with her. Don’t let her run away.”
“Yeah, this young girl’s heart is too poisonous, and she hurts even her sister. It’s a shame that I thought she was a good girl before. I’m really blind.”
Chu Lan was terrified. Her face was pale, and she kept struggling, “Let me go! What are you doing? When did I hurt Chu Xiang? It has nothing to do with me! Grandma, Mom! Let me go! What gave you the right to arrest me?!”
“Bullshit! Chu Xiang woke up and said it herself. How can it be false? She was so weak, and you were the only one there, so if you didn’t set the fire, did she do it herself?”
“Look at the way your house was burned. If Chu Xiang hadn’t come out, she would have been burned to death. There’s still telling what’s going to happen now. Your family really trampled on that young girl. When Chu Xiang woke up, someone in your family still pushed her to faint. Great, now there’s no way we can tell she can be saved.”
“The Chu family prioritizes sons over daughters. Well, what about their son, Chu Xin? The young man is sixteen, and his sister is about to die, but his face is nowhere to be seen. All the help was from other young men. He’s really not human! ”
Grandma Chu and Mother Chu Lan’s voices were all drowned out by the loud voices of the villagers, and no one gave them an ear. Chu Lan’s mother was already sobbing, and she couldn’t squeeze through to save Chu Lan. She pulled her husband, but he already believed everyone’s words at this moment. He was already too ashamed, so how could he go forward and help Chu Lan?
Grandpa Chu and Grandma Chu had old limbs, and they couldn’t quarrel or squeeze their way through. Their faces were brimming with anxiety, and at the same time they were suspicious of Chu Lan. After all, she had been making a fuss before, refusing to marry Yin Xu. She also claimed that Chu Xiang was disfigured and could not pass the university entrance examination, so she suggested she marry in her stead.
If Chu Xiang insisted on going to college and refused to marry, would Chu Lan really be ruthless? They didn’t believe that Chu Lan wanted to burn Chu Xiang to death. After all, with so many people in a yard, they would definitely notice the fire, and put it out in time so that no one would be burned to death. They felt that she must have been trying to scare Chu Xiang, or make her choke and continue to stay in bed to recuperate. By then, she would be delayed in taking the college entrance examination, so naturally she had no choice left but to marry.
Even so, this kind of heart was too vicious. Except for Chu Lan’s mother who was distressed for her, the Chu family were not angry when they looked at Chu Lan. On the other hand, they also felt chills down their spines. She was such a ruthless woman. Would she one day set them on fire? By then, there might not be people who could put out the fire in time!
Gradually, almost all the residents in the entire brigade gathered together, even the educated youth from the camps came.
When Chu Lan saw Song Yang, she wanted to find a crack in the ground to bury herself in. However, she immediately responded. She tilted her head up and cried aggrievedly, “You wronged me. Who among you saw me do it? How can you accuse me of the crime? I went to Chu Xiang’s room today to give her some exercises and asked her if she wanted to review them. My family is not even engaged to the Yin family, so how could I tell her that? Chu Xiang mocked me for failing to get into college, saying that she knows all the questions I gave her. She said she wanted to sleep and didn’t want to be disturbed, so I went back inside. It was only when Mother shouted at me that I realized there was a fire. How could I have done it?”
Song Yang’s tightly furrowed brow grew even tighter when he heard that Chu Xiang knew all those questions, and an uncomfortable sense of shame swept through his body. It was as if the exercises he had carefully copied were all jokes in Chu Xiang’s eyes. He was so intent on giving her tutoring, but it turned out that she simply didn’t appreciate it.
Chu Lan glanced at Song Yang’s expression and continued to cry, “It’s not me. Why do you believe Chu Xiang, but refuse to believe me? A charge must be based on evidence, right? Did Chu Xiang say that before she fainted? Then I can also say that she deliberately lit the fire to accuse me wrongly, then again it could be an outsider who jumped into the yard and lit up the fire.”
Everyone scolded her one after another upon hearing this. Her comment listed everyone in the village as a suspect, and of course they weren’t happy about it.