Upon learning the reason, the two men were extremely indignant. "So those two were actually the murderers of Doctor Jiang's mother. How despicable! Doctor Jiang and Mr. Li, you can interrogate them with confidence. No matter what happens inside, we won't breathe a word!"
After saying that, they voluntarily walked a bit farther away.
Jiang Mian looked at Li Zhao and said, "Father, why don't I go first? You said my face resembles Mother's by 80%. Maybe when they see me, they'll reveal some unknown secrets."
Li Zhao stroked the top of her head gently and said, "Okay, you go first. Be sure to be careful."
Inside the pitch - black cave, a thin figure was huddled in a corner. Her clothes were dirty and tattered. Her hands were tightly bound behind her back, and she was so weak that she could only gasp for breath.
She didn't know how long she had been locked up here. In these days, apart from water, she hadn't eaten anything else. As a result, she was so weak and feeble that she didn't even have the strength to bite her tongue and commit suicide.
Footsteps sounded in her ears. Wen struggled to raise her head and parted her chapped lips in the direction of the sound.
"Save... Eat..."
If she didn't eat something soon, she was afraid she would die here.
A glimmer of fire appeared in the dark cave. The person coming held a fire - starter in their hand. The weak light of the fire - starter made the cave even dimmer and stretched the person's shadow very long.
The person walked step by step towards her, stopped about a step away from her, and then knelt down on one knee.
Wen was in a daze but still mumbled forward, "Water... Give me, water..."
"Want to drink water?" A young girl's voice sounded in the cave. The voice was clear and pleasant. Presumably, the girl must be very beautiful. But for some reason, a sense of fear suddenly welled up in Wen's heart, and her body trembled instinctively.
The light of the fire - starter moved from bottom to top. It was the person raising their hand and placing it beside their face, then sneering at her.
"Take a good look. Who am I?"
The face that was hidden in the shadow just now became clear. She had a petite face as small as a palm. Her eyes were as bright as two perfect almonds. Her straight and upturned nose and rosy cherry lips were exquisitely beautiful. This was a face that would make people subconsciously hold their breath even in the dim light, but for Wen, it was so familiar.
Wen opened her eyes in horror and shrank back. "Ah, ah, ghost, ghost—"
In extreme fear, she completely forgot that the girl in front of her had a shadow under her feet and was definitely not an avenging ghost.
Jiang Mian grabbed Wen's neck and tightened her grip expressionlessly. "Wen, I've never wronged you, but how have you treated me over the years?
"You locked me up in that shabby place like a prisoner. It's okay that you made me go hungry and cold, but you also often beat and scolded me to vent your anger. Now, you even wanted to feed me arsenic to kill me. Sister - in - law, your heart is so cruel!"
The force on her neck tightened more and more, and the feeling of suffocation magnified Wen's fear.
Jiang Mian leaned closer to her and said with a smile, "It's so lonely on the way to the underworld. Today, I'll drag you to the underworld to accompany me."
Jiang Mian's words completely broke Wen down. She mustered up the last bit of strength in her body and shouted,
"No, it wasn't me. I didn't want to kill you. Your enemy is someone else. Go and take revenge on her. Don't come after me!"
Having gotten the answer she wanted, Jiang Mian let go of her hand and threw Wen aside roughly, saying coldly, "Tell me everything truthfully. Otherwise, I'll take you to the underworld right away."
Wen coughed violently, her face full of involuntary tears. She struggled to prop up her upper body and said to Jiang Mian in a hurry, "It's, it's a little girl from the capital. She gave us a large sum of money and a packet of arsenic and told us, told us to get you out of the way. She's the real murderer who wanted to kill you. You should go and take revenge on her!"
Jiang Mian sneered. "Don't lie to me. I've been crazy and stupid for many years and have always been locked in the yard. I don't even know any little girl from the capital. Why would she want to kill me?"
"I, I'm telling the truth!" In order to clear herself, Wen almost blurted out everything without being interrogated. "She's from the Ye family in the capital. Eighteen years ago, during the flood in Cangzhou, you and Mrs. Ye gave birth in Ling'an Temple together. Your child was taken away by Mrs. Ye. That little girl is, is here to silence you on behalf of Mrs. Ye!"
"Only when you're dead will the things from that year not be known."
"The things from that year? What things from that year?" Jiang Mian narrowed her eyes. "Tell me clearly. Did you sell my child to Mrs. Ye?"
Wen shook her head like a madwoman. "I don't know, I don't know. I know nothing. That year, we got separated from you in the flood. When we found you, you were already, already crazy!"
"I don't believe it. Then how did you get to know the Ye family?"
Wen cried and said, "One year after that incident, someone from the Ye family found us and told us to watch you well and not let you go out to see people. They would give us a sum of money every year. For the rest, I really don't know."
Jiang Mian frowned tightly. She asked several more questions from different angles, but Wen just cried and said she didn't know and was unclear.
Since she couldn't get any more information, Jiang Mian had to give up.
"You've abused me and poisoned me to death over the years. Your sins are unforgivable, and I won't let it go so easily. I'm going to take your life." Leaving these words behind, Jiang Mian ignored Wen's cries and pleas for mercy and got up to walk out.
The cave was small and smelled unpleasant. After getting out of the cave, Jiang Mian took several deep breaths before she could suppress the nausea surging up in her heart.
For the sake of money, they could mistreat their own relatives, lock their relatives in a small courtyard for so many years, and even have the heart to feed them poison. Even if they had nothing to do with the incident of the wrong - exchanged children that year, they could never be forgiven.
"Mujin, are you okay?" Li Zhao's gentle voice sounded in her ear. Jiang Mian looked up at him, and her eyes welled up with tears. "I'm okay, Father. As soon as Wen saw me, she thought Mother had come back to claim her life, so she confessed quickly."
Her tone turned solemn. "Sure enough, it was Ye Wanxing who wanted Mother's life. Wen said it was Ye Wanxing who instigated them to do this. The purpose was to silence Mrs. Ye."
Silence her?
Jiang Zhiqing had been stupid for so many years and couldn't even recognize people. They didn't try to silence her back then. Why did they remember her now?
Li Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly.
Or rather, was it possible that Jiang Zhiqing's dullness and inability to recognize people were related to the Ye family?