Chapter 81: Battle of Wits 2 (Utterly Discredited)

Translator: Larbre Studio  Editor: Larbre Studio

Ning Qing stood up straight after she got pushed back. At that time, cameras kept flashing as the shutters clicked non stop, and the media bombarded them with questions, one after another.

“Miss Ning, Miss Li, and Ning Yao are pitiful enough. Why are you so unsympathetic? Your mother had given to others out of guilt, and you have been the Ning family’s eldest daughter for many years. You and your mother should try to be considerate of others.”

“Miss Ning, it was your mother’s rebellion that ruined her happiness by causing her to push her mother-in-law down the stairs. Now the three people in the Ning family are together after going through dangers and obstacles. Let’s bless them together, OK?”

“Miss Ning, now the truth had been made clear. Madam Li has sacrificed herself for justice and endured humiliation for years, which is really admirable.”

Those journalists were excited and pumped up. If it weren’t for the bodyguards, Ning Qing would’ve probably been surrounded by them.

Now the situation has changed dramatically, and she had been universally condemned. She had lost the battle.

She had actually lost.

“Do not bully my daughter, do not bully Qingqing…” Yue Wanqing wanted to go forward to explain upon seeing that Ning Qing was being questioned, but she suddenly felt an ache in her heart.

“What’s wrong, Auntie?” Xiao Zhou asked nervously.

Ning Qing looked back quickly upon hearing that. She saw her mother had put one hand on her chest and rubbed it painfully. “Mom, are you okay? Xiao Zhou, go back to the hospital.”

They wanted to turn around and leave, but a group of reporters had rushed towards them outside the door, blocking their way.

The place became more and more chaotic. Although Ning Qing had a group of bodyguards protecting her, they could easily be trampled if the stalemate persisted.

Ning Qing began to anxiously sweat. She was in a sea of people now but was unable to do anything.

At this time, “Everybody be quiet.” A clear and gentle voice rang through the room.

The place went quiet. A group of well-trained black-clothed people came in and quickly parted a path in the middle of the crowd. Ning Qing looked back and realized that it was Zhu Rui.

Ning Qing’s eyes shone brightly as her restless heart calmed instantaneously.

Zhu Rui went beside Ning Qing and looked slowly at the mother-daughter pair who were still sitting on the ground. He said, “Ms. Li, 20 years ago, were you really raped on Yan Nan Road? Did anyone save you?”

The entire crowd was stunned, and Ning Qing was no exception.

What did Zhu Rui want to express?

There was a flash in her mind, but it was too fast for her to catch it.

Li Meiling and Ning Yao stood up slowly. Li Meiling still had a sad expression and tears on her face. “Who are you?” Are you from Qingqing’s side? I beg you not to ask any more questions. It’s all my fault. Please leave me some dignity.”

The reporters at the scene started to stir again because of this remark.

Zhu Rui held out his left hand and a bodyguard handed a document to him. “Ms. Li, it’s because I wanted to leave you with some dignity, so I’m giving you a chance to confess. I’ve sent someone to investigate it. 20 years ago, someone in the residential building near Yan Nan Road witnessed the entire process of the evening. I heard that a private car had parked there for a full hour, and something had happened in the car. Someone had even taken some pictures.”

Ning Qing realized everything in that instant.

What a scheming woman, a bitch!

Shameless and filthy to the extreme.

Li Meiling’s face changed drastically. Her eyes were fixed on the document in Zhu Rui’s hand. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” She wouldn’t admit it.

It had been 20 years; she doesn’t believe there would be any evidence.

Ning Qing took the document in Zhu Rui’s hand. She turned a page and her pupils constricted violently. Closing the documents, she went forward and slapped Li Meiling hard.

This crisp and loud slap shocked the audience. Everyone did not know what had happened. When someone wanted to ask, Ning Qing pointed at the tip of Li Meiling’s nose and scolded her.

“What a great opera singer, Ms. Li, we were almost deceived by you! It suddenly occurred to me that my mother, a noble lady, would never go out at night. Why had she gone to a remote area like Yan Nan Road that night and happened to meet a group of gangsters? Even if you guys had bumped into a group of gangsters, after 20 years of renown from your theatre endeavors, those gangsters would definitely want to rape you first. Why did they seize my mother, yet give you a chance to sacrifice yourself for her?”

“Qingqing.” Zhu Rui had brought a doctor when he came. After the doctor had injected the medicine into Yue Wanqing, she felt much better. She stretched out her trembling hand and asked anxiously, “What does it mean? Mom doesn’t understand.”

This matter had always been a psychological shadow for Yue Wanqing for the past 20 years. She could not understand Ning Qing’s words. She was very nervous.

“Mom, don’t you understand? That night, Ms. Li was the one who had deliberately brought you to Yan Nan Road. The gangsters were arranged by her beforehand. The most important thing was what happened in the end, after father had saved her. They had broken through the last barrier and couldn’t help but have sex in the car for an hour.”

“Wha… What?” Yue Wanqing stared and shook her head in denial.

The upheaval caused everyone at the scene to gasp.

“It’s not like that. Don’t slander me!” Li Meiling looked a little flustered, but she was still cunning.

“Oh, slander?” Ning Qing raised the document in her hand to her chest and faced it towards the direction where the media spotlight was most focused. She smiled at Li Meiling calmly. “I had wanted to save some face for you, for my father, even for Ning Yao and the Xu family. But since you’ll only give up at the sight of the gallows, I’ll expose the car sex photos now. I’ll show the people all over the country that their Madam Li was this slutty 20 years ago, that she would do something this shameless and underhanded! Ning Qing threatened and opened the document.

“No!” Li Meiling rushed forward, tightly gripping the document in Ning Qing’s hand.

She absolutely could not let the car sex photos be exposed. If they were to be exposed, not only would Ning Zhenguo lose face, but the Xu family would not want Yao Yao anymore; all her hard work would be in vain.

“I admit that it was Zhenguo who saved me. Ning Yao is Zhenguo’s biological daughter, but I didn’t arrange for the gangsters to be there.”

“Wow.” All the media reporters gasped out as the cameras clicked ceaselessly.

Xiao Zhou shouted angrily, “Miss Li, you’ve told enough lies tonight. Do you think anyone would believe you anymore? Since those gangsters had not been arranged by you, please answer Ning Qing’s previous questions.”

“I…” At last, Li Meiling was out of words.

The journalists rushed towards her then.

“Miss Li, you’ve deceived so shamelessly. Why do you scheme so much?”

“Madam Li, you put on a show with the gangsters to manipulate Auntie Ning, to seduce Ning Zhenguo, to give birth to Ning Yao, and even going so far as to think of using this 20 years later as the reason to completely subvert your shameless status as a third party. We have seen a lot of rich family fights, but it’s the first time we’ve seen someone like you, someone killing four birds with one stone!”

“No, my mother is not such a person, Ning Qing, don’t spout nonsense.” Ning Yao didn’t know how the situation had turned out to be like this. They had been so close to victory.

Where had this man come from? Why did he help Ning Qing?

Why?

Ning Qing was waiting for Ning Yao to open her mouth. As soon as Ning Yao opened her mouth, the sparkling tears in her eyes plopped down. “Yaoyao, I hadn’t expected you and your mother to be like this. I have been treating you as my dear sister all these years. Do you remember how good our relationship used to be when we were young?” Ning Qing asked as she gave Xiao Zhou a look.

Xiao Zhou quickly walked up to the stage. After a few moments, many photos appeared on the big screen of the stage.

They were the photos of Ning Qing and Ning Yao over the 18 years that they’d grown up together.

“Yaoyao, this picture was taken when we were 4 years old. When you first came to my house. Look at the clothes you were wearing. They were dirty, torn and had holes. After that, I had dug up every beautiful skirt and pair of shoes I owned to share with you.

“Yao Yao, this picture was taken at my 10th birthday party. At that time, you said you liked my princess dress and crown. I gave it all to you without hesitation. It was obviously my party, but you were the one dressed like a princess.

“Yao Yao, my classmates, and friends couldn’t accept you, but I brought you with me all day. Once, a good friend of mine scolded you a little. You immediately picked up a stone and smashed it on that friend’s head. In the end, I was the one who went to apologize.” Ning Qing exposed all this history with tears rolling down her cheeks, causing Ning Yao to receive the scorn and ridicule of the whole audience.

“Look at Ning Yao, eating others’ food, wearing others’ clothes, leeching off others. The biggest thing is that it shows she’s always had a black heart. How old was she when she smashed that person’s head until it bled?”

“Yes, I think the story of Ning Qing and Ning Yao are similar to their mothers’. It looks like a repeat of the farmer and snake.”

Ning Yao’s face went pale with fury.

Ning Qing saw that the effect she wanted had been achieved and slowly drew back her tears. “You guys, my mother and I have suffered so much because we didn’t know how to see through these people all these years. We deserve it. I just beg you all; you can write about Auntie Li as you wish, but don’t involve my mother anymore. She’s not in good health, and she’s recently had an operation.”

“Miss Ning, don’t worry, we have seen and understood Li Meiling’s character today. The media will give you justice, and we will also give Auntie Ning a peaceful life,” a reporter shouted.

Ning Qing nodded thankfully, went behind Yue Wanqing and pushed her wheelchair. “Mom, let’s go.”

Ning Qing took a step forward. “Wait a minute,” Li Meiling came over. “It’s all over. Please give me the pictures back.”

“Okay, since you want it, I’ll give it to you.” Ning Qing agreed very cheerfully, without hesitation. She handed the folder to Li Meiling.

Li Meiling received it and opened the folder.

Time seemed to stop. Li Meiling looked at the blank piece of paper as her head exploded with a bang.

She had fallen for their trick!

“Hah, I don’t actually have any evidence. What were you feeling guilty about just now?” Ning Qing laughed lightly and swaggered away with a group of people.

“Li Meiling, what else do you have to say?” As soon as Ning Qing and the others had left, the reporters quickly surrounded Li Meiling, and everyone addressed her differently now.

“Mom!” Ning Yao screamed. Li Meiling was so angry that she fainted on the spot.

…

In the luxury business car, Ning Qing, who was in the back seat, looked at Zhu Rui in the front passenger’s and asked, “Secretary Zhu, why are you here?”

“It was the president who had called me. Although the president was in a meeting, he had been following the conference. When Li Meiling spoke about Yan Nan Road, the president had guessed almost everything and told me to investigate it. Sadly, it’s not easy to look up something that had happened 20 years ago in such a short time. We could only learn from an eyewitness that a private car was parked on the roadside that night.”

Ning Qing nodded. At the conference, Li Meiling suddenly mentioned something that had happened 20 years ago, causing her to be flustered. No one expected had that Li Meiling would have such a big trump card.

She had almost lost.

Considering that it had only taken Zhu Rui 20 minutes to arrive at the place, the person who had the ability to discover that there was a private car in 20 minutes would probably be Lu Shaoming.

Wasn’t he busy with his meetings?

And he was still concerned about her matters even though he was busy!

“The president told me to bring a blank document here, saying that Madam would understand. Madam, you did a very good job.” Zhu Rui praised.

They had no evidence in their hands but Ning Qing was very intelligent and fought a psychological battle with Li Meiling. Since she was going to expose the documents to the media, it was a fight to win or die. It required amazing courage. Ning Qing did a very good job.

Ning Qing felt a little embarrassed after being praised by the secretary. “I almost lost. Luckily, Secretary Zhu came to the rescue. Secretary Zhu, thank you.”

Zhu Rui laughed modestly. “I can’t accept Madam’s gratitude. If you want to say thank you, you had better go and say it to the president.”

Ning Qing’s face was a little red.

Yue Wanqing took her daughter’s small hand and said with relief and regret, “Qingqing, it’s all Mom’s fault. If it weren’t for Shaoming, Mom would have dragged you down.”

After this, Yue Wanqing would always praise her son in law.

“Mom, I’m your daughter. There’s no dragging me down. I’m just sad. Why didn’t you tell me about the incident from 20 years ago, and about Grandma?” Ning Qing asked.

Yue Wanqing’s expression was full of pain. “Qingqing, it’s not that Mom didn’t want to say it, but that Mom didn’t dare. That period used to be the most cowardly and selfish time in my life. I dare not face that version of me, let alone tell you about it. But Qingqing, Mom really did not push your grandmother down the stairs. At the age of 8, your grandmother brought me back from the orphanage to be a child bride for the Ning family. Your Grandmother and I are like mother and daughter. Even under threat of death, I would not do such a blasphemous thing.”

“Yes, Mom, I believe you,” Ning Qing said with relief, holding her mother’s trembling shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’ll look into this. I’ll definitely find the real perpetrator who pushed Grandma down the stairs, and reclaim your innocence.”

Yue Wanqing took the tissues handed by Xiao Zhou and wiped away her tears. She looked up and asked hesitantly, “Qingqing, do you think your father knows about Li Meiling hiring those gangsters 20 years ago? Did your dad know that he was tricked?”

Ning Qing stiffened and looked slowly into her mother’s gentle eyes. “Mom, the questions you are asking now are meaningless. Even if Dad had been manipulated by Li Meiling that night, nobody forced him to have sex with Li Meiling…”

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