Chapter 177: Where is Heavenly Justice?

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Where is Heavenly Justice?

Shen Yujie kicked away a piece of a broken brick by the doorstep.

And she wasn’t the only one; Zheng Cuiyun’s heart was heavy with frustration, too.

The rice in their own pot was almost gone—how could they have the heart to put up New Year’s couplets or set off firecrackers?

The two of them exchanged a look and, without another word, set off.

In reality, Song Yao wasn’t even home at the time.

She was sitting on a small stool in Wei Guilan’s kitchen, laughing as she nibbled on a steamed bun.

The bun’s skin was thin, and with one bite, the scalding hot tofu filling gushed out.

She quickly cupped her left hand underneath and shoveled a few bites into her mouth with her right.

Wei Guilan had just steamed a batch the day before and had specially brought some over for Song Yao to try.

Tofu mixed with vermicelli noodles—soft and fragrant.

Song Yao couldn’t stop eating one after another, so today she had simply run over to get them straight from the steamer.

She sat on the small stool, swinging her legs.

As the second batch went into the steamer, she chewed while watching Wei Guilan’s hands knead the dough.

"Aunt Lan, how do you knead the dough so evenly? I tried three times back home, and it wouldn’t rise any of those times."

Wei Guilan didn’t mind her watching as she worked with the risen dough, pinching off portions and deftly folding the pleats.

The moment a batch came out of the steamer, Song Yao was holding one, blowing on it to cool it down before taking a bite.

When she took that first bite, the rising steam misted her eyelashes.

Of course.

It would have been even more pleasant if Wu Xixi’s mouth wasn’t running a mile a minute right next to her.

Wu Xixi’s nose was sharper than a dog’s; the moment she heard Song Yao had arrived at Wei Guilan’s yard, her feet would automatically carry her over.

Song Yao had just sat down, and Wu Xixi was already squatting beside her.

Before long, she was so stuffed she had to rub her belly.

Her own mouth was greasy from eating, but she didn’t forget to break off a piece of a bun and stuff it into her son’s mouth.

A whole steamer of buns was gone in the blink of an eye, without even a crumb left.

Thankfully, Wei Guilan had prepared for this, making more than enough filling.

Just as the lid came off the first batch, the water for the second was already bubbling away.

Right in the middle of their busy work, a heart-wrenching wail suddenly erupted outside.

"Is there no justice in this world!"

"I can’t go on living!"

Shen Yujie and Zheng Cuiyun had just reached the gate of Song Yao’s courtyard. They plopped down on the ground and began slapping their thighs and beating their chests.

Wu Xixi was in the middle of cramming the last bun into her mouth.

Her ears perked up, she threw down her chopsticks, and shot outside like a rocket.

"What’s going on? What’s going on? What happened?"

Song Yao, however, didn’t move a muscle, her hand still holding half a bun.

It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy a good show; it was just that she was carrying a child now.

She’d have to lean on a wall just to stand and watch the drama, so how could she dare join the crowd?

Wu Xixi had been gone for less than half a minute before she came bouncing back, her face glowing with excitement.

"Quick, quick, sister-in-law! Your family from your mother’s side has shown up!"

Her voice was filled with unconcealable excitement.

Song Yao glanced up at her.

’Hearing that kind of wailing outside, how could I not guess who it is?’

"Huh? Someone really came?"

"It’s the Song Family."

The moment they stepped out of the yard, the wails from outside grew even louder.

Wei Guilan immediately came to her senses and shot Wu Xixi an irritated glare.

’This woman obviously just loves to stir up trouble, yet she’s acting as if this is some major event.’

"Which ones are you pointing at? You mean her family?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she glanced toward the east side of the courtyard.

"I told you before, didn’t I? Song Yao was the child the Song Family took home by mistake back then!"

Wu Xixi hooked the empty vegetable basket she was carrying behind her back and craned her neck to emphasize her point.

"But... but they still raised her, didn’t they!"

Wu Xixi twisted her lips, a shameless look on her face, making it clear she wanted to embarrass Song Yao.

"I didn’t need them to raise me."

Song Yao finished the last bite of her bun, crumpled the paper bag, and stood up crisply.

"I’ll go take a look."

She nodded to Wei Guilan.

Wei Guilan couldn’t help but worry. She turned and shouted for Li Ying to watch the stove, then hurried after Song Yao.

She grabbed a bamboo broom leaning against the wall and held it in the crook of her arm.

Their courtyard gate was open. Li Hanchen, who had been inside, had also come out and was now standing at the entrance, his brow tightly furrowed.

"Here to cause trouble?"

Song Pengfei was the first to speak.

"Brother-in-law, that’s a hurtful thing to say!"

He shuffled forward half a step as he spoke.

"Brother-in-law?"

Li Hanchen’s voice was as cold as a frozen sheet of iron.

Song Pengfei quickly plastered on a smile.

"Song Yao called me ’Big Brother’ for twenty years. That can’t have been for nothing, right?"

He reached out to pat Li Hanchen’s shoulder but froze with his hand halfway in the air.

"Don’t you have any idea why your mother is in jail?"

Li Hanchen didn’t even lift his gaze, his words striking right at the heart of the matter.

Shen Yujie leaped up from the ground.

"What’s it to you?! Aren’t you just bullying us with your power? You think you’re so great just because you’re an official?"

"If we don’t get an explanation today, we’re not moving an inch!"

Song Pengfei tucked his hands into his sleeves.

In the blink of an eye, a crowd had gathered outside the courtyard, standing on their tiptoes and craning their necks to watch the commotion.

Seeing this, Zheng Cuiyun immediately began to clap her hands and wail.

"Neighbors, come and judge for yourselves! My mother-in-law raised her like her own flesh and blood—wiping her bottom, taking care of her when she was sick, serving her soup and medicine for eighteen long years! She even found her a good marriage into the family of a government official! And what’s the result? The moment she found her real parents, she turned around and sent her benefactors to jail!"

"And jail wasn’t enough, she’s also forcing us to pay money!"

"Two thousand yuan! Good heavens, who can scrape together that much money around the New Year? We had to borrow from everyone in the village just to barely get it, and now we can’t even afford cured pork! How are we supposed to get through the holiday?"

"Oh my, is that true?"

The crowd started whispering amongst themselves, growing more and more confused.

Just as Zheng Cuiyun was about to add more fuel to the fire...

Song Yao came walking over, her leather boots going CLICK-CLACK-CLICK.

Pregnancy had made her complexion even better. Her face was fuller and radiant, her lips rosy, and her eyes clear and bright.

The sight of her striding over made Shen Yujie and Zheng Cuiyun fall silent on the spot.

Song Pengfei was also dumbstruck, his mouth hanging open.

"This... this is..."

His tongue was tied in a knot.

Wu Xixi, who had squeezed in at the back, chimed in with a strange, sarcastic tone.

"Your very own sister!"

"Song Yao?!" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Song Pengfei was so shocked his voice cracked.

Song Yao’s gaze swept over him coolly.

"Song Pengfei?"

He immediately bowed, wringing his hands and chuckling.

"It’s me! It’s me! Your big brother is right here!"

"Heh..."

Song Yao let out a laugh, a single, airy word.

"Brother?"

"Me?"

She tapped her own chest with a fingertip.

Song Pengfei had just taken half a step forward when Song Yao’s expression turned cold.

"Are you even worthy?"

Before the words had even faded, Shen Yujie couldn’t stay seated and shot up from the ground.

She glared at Song Yao.

’Her skin was so fair it practically glowed, her lips were rosy red, and her black hair was smooth and shiny.’

’A wave of bitter jealousy washed over her.’

’This... this is Shen Songyao?’

’No... absolutely not!’

’How could Shen Songyao look like this?’

’Yes, she was a bit prettier than other girls when she was little.’

’But back then, her hair was as yellow as dried straw, her face was parched without a hint of moisture, and her hands... don’t even get me started.’

’That was the real Shen Songyao!’

’How did she turn into some pampered, high-and-mighty young lady, decked out in gold and silver?’

"Are you even worthy!"

That one line froze the fake smile right on Song Pengfei’s face.

While the corners of his mouth were still frozen in place, Song Yao suddenly broke into a wide grin.

"My brother works for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. He’s only twenty-seven, several years younger than you, but he’s rising fast and has reached a high position. Who are you to be loitering around here?"

"Besides,"

she raised her eyebrows.

"my brother isn’t just handsome, he’s also reliable and good-tempered. He’s got plenty of money and never asks me for a single cent. He gives me a fixed thirty thousand a month for living expenses, plus extra red envelopes for holidays. The balance in my bank account has never dropped below eight figures."