Chapter 243 - Pulling the Net in (1/2)
Chapter 243: Pulling the Net in
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Truth be told, although Huo Jialan had been negligent in her duty and had intentionally delayed Song Jinning’s treateration to call it “abuse”
But Gu Nianzhi was gunning for maximum dramatic effect, and had therefore deliberately phrased it to
Huo Jialan’s gaze swept across the living roouests She grew nervous, and dropped her soft-spoken, demure “I’m a victim” act in her panic She said loudly, “How did I abuse her? Spit it out, right now! I—”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever You’re not the one on trial today, we’ll deal with your mess later” Gu Nianzhi waved Huo Jialan away disdainfully, as though she were an annoying fly
Huo Jialan was so angry she sahite The color immediately drained from her face Even her lips, usually a pretty cherry red, had turned gray; she looked increasingly pitiful with each passing ently patted Gu Nianzhi’s hand, before turning to look Huo Jialan in the eye “I’ll let bygones be bygones; I can overlook the way you treated me Those letters, however, are a different matter Jialan, where did those letters coet theet to the bottom of your ave Song Jinning an odd look as she said in a low voice: “Mada, my mother killed herself because of you, and that’s a fact Don’t bother trying to prove otherwise”
“Is that so?” Song Jinning looked at her calmly “Jialan, I will ask you one et them?”
“Do you really want to know?” Huo Jialan rolled her eyes “They were from my mother, of course”
Gu Nianzhi immediately asked: “When did you discover them? Do you remember the exact moment?”
“Of course I remember It’s been 10 years, but I still reitated in her anger “I had just returned home from school I went to my mother’s room to talk to her But when I opened the door, there she was, lying on the bed, stiff as a cardboard Her body was already cold, and beside her hand were those disgusting love letters! Tell me, ould my mother choose to kill herself, if it wasn’t because this harlot here seduced my father?!”
Huo Jialan extended a hand and pointed an accusing finger in Song Jinning’s face
Gu Nianzhi pushed her ar is that you found the letters right after your mother died”
“That is correct”
“And you exposed theht away?”
“Of course Why should I cover for Song Jinning? She made her bed, so she has to lie in it So what if she was mentally iood thing ent man He saw the truth, and immediately filed for divorce” Huo Jialan spoke eloquently; she had recollected herself, and was back to her usual haughty self
Gu Nianzhi suard down and start talking It would have been a lot more difficult for Gu Nianzhi to find the holes in her story had Huo Jialan decided to remain silent as part of her “I’m too delicate for this” act
She calmly asked: “Did you mother ever tell you about the letters when she was alive?”
Huo Jialan hesitated for a an to drift
“Please answer the question: when your mother was alive, did she mention the letters to you? You just have to answer yes or no” Gu Nianzhi repeated her question patiently; she was deteret some answers, and she would repeat her question a thousand ti moment She decided it was better to be honest “…No”
She did not dare say “yes”—she had a feeling Gu Nianzhi would folloith all sorts of bizarre questions to corner her
“Did your mother leave a suicide note, then? You just have to answer yes or no” Gu Nianzhi was now acting like a lawyer questioning the accused in court
Huo Jialan did not realize she was being led around by the nose She hesitated, then shook her head “No”
“That’s strange So your mother never mentioned the love letters to you when she was alive, and she didn’t leave a suicide note explaining the letters, either How, then, did you come to the conclusion that your mother left the letters for you to find? Or that they were the cause of her suicide in the first place?” Gu Nianzhi neatly cleaved apart the connection between the scandalous love letters and Luo Xinxue’s suicide
Huo Jialan stared at Gu Nianzhi She was feeling a little light-headed from Gu Nianzhi’s clever twists and turns
The letters were obviously the cause of her ht next to her mother’s lifeless hand!
But Gu Nianzhi made it sound like the letters were completely irrelevant Hoas that possible?!
What was going on?!
Bai Jinyi had been watching from the sidelines She stepped forward to back Huo Jialan up “I don’t bla this, but Jialan’sJinning’s reputation, she decided not to expose the affair, even though Huo Guanyuan was no longer around She suffered silently under the weight of her secret for six years In the end, she couldn’t take it anymore and committed suicide She was an honorable woman—she never so much as breathed a word about the love letters when she was alive
“…Jialan decided to expose the letters because she lost too much You would have to be very selfish and vicious to blaed, but what about her parents?! They lost their lives!”