Jiang Mian also said, "Father, I think there must be other unknown secrets behind the baby - swapping incident back then. Mother's idiocy might also be man - made."
"Wen said that there was a flood in Cangzhou back then. They got separated from Mother. When they found her, she was already like this. If we want to know the truth of that year, we may have to go to Ling'an Temple."
Li Zhao said, "This is just Wen's one - sided story. It's not too late to make a decision after interrogating the other person."
Jiang Mian nodded. "I'll follow Father's arrangement."
Now there was still Jiang Tao, Jiang Zhiqing's younger brother and Jiang Mian's uncle, left to be interrogated.
Jiang Tao was different from Wen. Wen was a woman. After being imprisoned for so long, she was already suffering from mental weakness and was easy to deceive. But Jiang Tao was a man. It was him who forced the arsenic into Jiang Zhiqing's mouth that day. Such a cruel - hearted man couldn't be interrogated like Wen by taking advantage of her fear and guilt.
The two caves were not connected, but the mountain was so quiet that the terrified screams from Wen's side could be heard much more clearly. When Jiang Tao heard footsteps approaching him, he already had a premonition - someone was coming to interrogate them.
After waiting for so long, someone finally came.
These days he had only water to fill his stomach, and his body was very weak. But he seemed much calmer than Wen. There was no trace of guilt on his face, which bore a faint resemblance to Jiang Zhiqing's. Instead, there was only gloom and coldness.
In the darkness, two figures could be faintly seen approaching him. Soon they stopped in front of him.
One of them lit a fire. Having not seen light for a long time, Jiang Tao squinted his eyes uncomfortably. Before he could open them, he was slapped hard on the cheek. He grunted and turned his face to the side. His eardrums were buzzing, and there was a taste of blood in his mouth. Several of his teeth were loosened.
It was obvious how much strength the other person had used in that slap.
"Do you know why I'm hitting you?" A man's voice came from beside his ear. It sounded rather vicissitudinous. Jiang Tao looked up at the people in front of him. His sight was first startled by Jiang Mian's familiar face, and then he noticed Li Zhao.
Jiang Tao frowned and opened his mouth. His voice was hoarse. "You are..."
Li Zhao didn't say a word. He just stared at him coldly. Jiang Tao sneered and spat out a mouthful of blood - tinged saliva to the side. "Why are you hitting me? For that woman, of course."
"I really didn't expect that after being imprisoned for so long, she could still have a man to stand up for her. It really makes me - " Before he could finish his sentence, he was slapped hard again.
Li Zhao said, "If you think you can provoke me into letting you seek death, you're wrong. I'll first dig out one of your eyes, put insect - repelling medicine into your wound, and then cut your wrist to let you experience the feeling of your blood slowly draining away."
"I have countless ways to torture you and let you know what it means to be unable to live or die."
Jiang Tao's face changed. He finally showed some fear. He looked at Li Zhao and said, "Who on earth are you?"
Li Zhao said, "I'm the one who can support her and protect her."
As if thinking of something, Jiang Tao's pupils suddenly shrank. "You are, you are her man!"
Then he turned to look at Jiang Mian. He finally realized something was wrong. "You are, you are that bastard!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he was slapped hard by Li Zhao again.
Li Zhao sneered and said, "Do you think she was really abandoned and no one in the world would remember her anymore? So you didn't need to care about brother - sister affection at all. Just for a little money, you wanted your sister's life?"
Jiang Tao's whole face was swollen. He roared in a slurred voice, "What else could I do? We're just ordinary people. The money we earn is not even enough for our own expenses, and we still have to support a burden in the backyard."
"I've wanted to abandon her for a long time, but she was still useful to the noble people, so I couldn't touch her. Since the noble people have decided to kill her, I naturally have nothing to worry about. If she dies, my wife and I can take the money and start a new life in a strange place. Then no one will know about all this. Isn't that good?"
"You're really heartless and crazy!" Jiang Mian couldn't help scolding. "She's your relative, a relative with the same blood in her body!"
"Pah! What relative? A promiscuous woman. She had an affair with a man before marriage and got pregnant with a bastard of unknown origin. After being abandoned by the man, she hid at home. Did she ever think about how much gossip we would suffer?" Jiang Tao's face was ferocious.
"Did she ever think that I'm her relative when she almost made it impossible for me to marry a wife?!"
Li Zhao was extremely angry. "But have you ever thought that it was you who sold her to the human traffickers to be a slave in the first place!"
Jiang Mian was stunned and subconsciously looked at Li Zhao. Li Zhao didn't notice her gaze. He said to Jiang Tao angrily,
"You took the silver from selling her and the allowance she sent home every year, but you thought she had ruined your reputation. Do you know that without her, you would have starved to death long ago! Where would you get the money to marry a wife and do small - scale business!"
Li Zhao raised his hand, but the next moment he was grabbed by Jiang Mian.
"Father, it's useless to talk to such a selfish person." Jiang Mian said. "If they still had humanity, they wouldn't have treated Mother like this. So, there's no need to try to reason with them."
She looked at Jiang Tao. "Since they never regarded Mother as a relative, we don't need to care about anything. Send the two of them on their way."
When Jiang Tao learned that they were going to kill him, he finally felt scared. He struggled desperately and shouted,
"Are you going to take the law into your own hands? I, I tell you, I know Ye Yushi in the capital. If you kill me, he won't let you go!"
Jiang Mian sneered. "Ye Yushi? He's in trouble himself now. How can he care about you?"
"I know the secret of your being taken away by the Ye family. If you spare me, I'll tell you!"
"No need. I'll find out the truth myself. It would be a real sin to leave a scourge like you in the world."
Li Zhao pinched Jiang Tao's cheek, and Jiang Mian stuffed a black pill into his mouth. He swallowed it in an instant.
"This is a poison. After taking it, you'll be tortured for three days and three nights. In the end, your intestines will rot, and you'll bleed from your seven orifices and die."
Jiang Mian's voice was cold and a bit trembling. "This is the retribution you deserve!"
Ignoring the painful wails behind them, Jiang Mian and Li Zhao walked out of the cave.
Seeing that Jiang Mian was a bit down, Li Zhao stroked her head and said, "That man deserved it. Mujin, you don't need to feel guilty because of this."
She shook her head and said, "Father, I'm sad for Mother."
She choked with sobs. "Mother thought she could get protection from her family when she returned home, but she didn't expect... to suffer for many more years."