Chapter 85: Wang Tufu Died

Su Ruo stood before Chen Xiaomei's corpse, her face deathly pale; Wang Liangping thought she was afraid and advised, "If you're scared, don't look. Rest assured, the evidence is solid—Wang Tufu, that scumbag, won't escape."

Su Ruo didn't explain; instead, she looked toward the Chen Dazhuang family.

At that moment, Mother Chen was lying on Chen Xiaomei's corpse, wailing bitterly: "My poor daughter! How did you die so horribly? That damned Wang Tufu actually beat you into this state—she's not even human."

Mother Chen wept sorrowfully, but no one knew how much of it was genuine and how much feigned.

Moreover, even if her grief were sincere, what does it matter? The dead cannot be revived; while alive, no one treated her well, and now that she's dead, what's the point of putting on a show of deep feeling?

Su Ruo believed that Chen Xiaomei, beneath the Nine Springs, would not need these few crocodile tears.

Had the Chen family ever treated Chen Xiaomei a little better, Wang Tufu would not have dared to beat her so wantonly.

If the Chen family had not, for money, married Chen Xiaomei to Wang Tufu, she would not have died.

She could have married and borne children like an ordinary girl, possessing her own life.

The reason Chen Xiaomei was beaten to death by Wang Tufu lies in the Chen family's inescapable responsibility.

Wang Tufu is certainly hateful, but as Chen Xiaomei's relatives, the Chen family are even more hateful!

Thus, while everyone around sympathized with the Chen family's plight, Su Ruo's gaze toward them held only coldness.

When the police came to Wang Tufu's door, he was writhing in pain inside the room, and in his heart he secretly swore he would get his hands on Su Ruo, make her wish she were dead, to avenge today's affront.

At that moment, several police officers suddenly burst in and pressed him to the ground.

After Wang Tufu reacted, he still thought it was Su Ruo who had called the police, and he immediately shouted:

"Comrades, have you got the wrong person? I did nothing to that lowlife Su Ruo; she stabbed me with needles, and now my whole body aches—you must uphold justice for me."

The police, however, directly handcuffed him and admonished, "Behave yourself."

Although Wang Tufu usually acted arrogantly in the village, he immediately became meek before the police, whispering his defense: "Comrades, have you made a mistake? I truly haven't broken the law."

One officer immediately said, "If you haven't broken the law, then how did your wife Chen Xiaomei die?"

Wang Tufu's face instantly turned ashen; he hadn't expected that Chen Xiaomei had been dead for many years, that everything had been peaceful, and that the police would suddenly show up at this moment.

The officers who came to arrest him were all seasoned veteran detectives; taking one look at Wang Tufu's demeanor, they needed no interrogation to know that Chen Xiaomei's death was surely linked to him.

After a long moment, Wang Tufu finally came to his senses and protested, "I'm innocent—Chen Xiaomei died of illness, it has nothing to do with me!"

The police, however, couldn't be bothered to listen to his excuses: "Whether you're framed or not will be known after the investigation." Then they dragged Wang Tufu outside.

Wang Tufu's face was ashen; he felt he was done for. When he killed Chen Xiaomei earlier, he had felt neither fear nor guilt.

He claimed Chen Xiaomei was his private property, bought for fifty silver in bridal gifts, and that he could beat or kill her as he pleased, with no one able to intervene.

But now Wang Tufu truly knows fear; the dread of death seeps bit by bit into his heart, making his whole being feel as if he has fallen into an ice cellar.

Dragged to Chen Xiaomei's grave, upon seeing her desiccated bones, Wang Tufu immediately shrieked in terror and scrambled backward, losing control of his bowels and bladder.

Seeing this, Su Ruo felt only irony—Wang Tufu, who wasn't afraid to beat someone to death, actually feared a cold corpse.

The villagers and police present all glared at Wang Tufu with anger; they regarded such a perverse killer with contempt.

Mother Chen and Chen Dazhuang wanted to rush forward and strike Wang Tufu, but the police stopped them.

The scene was in chaos, but Su Ruo felt only boredom; she left the crowd and silently walked alone toward the riverbank.

Su Ruo knew Wang Tufu would surely die this time; she had avenged her former self, yet she felt no joy at all.

Even if Wang Tufu were punished, what would it matter? The deceased Chen Xiaomei would never come back to life, and the anguish she suffered in her past life could never be erased from memory.

Su Ruo felt an emptiness in her chest, as if she had suddenly lost her bearings, leaving her feeling lost.

Until Li Zhaodi brought An'an over to find her, and upon hearing An'an sweetly call her "mama," Su Ruo instantly came to her senses.

Su Ruo watched the smiles on Li Zhaodi's and An'an's faces, and a sense of happiness spread through her heart.

In this life she has kin, friends, and a future full of hope; she will surely live well, protect them well, and together stride toward a brighter future.

Moreover, she still has a formidable opponent lurking in the darkness, ready at any moment to deal her a lethal blow; she absolutely cannot let herself decline.

Everything that belongs to Su Ruo she will reclaim; she will let no one who wishes to harm her go unpunished.

Su Ruo thought she would have to wait a long time for Wang Tufu's verdict, but she didn't expect that on the fifth day after he was taken away, she would hear the news of his suicide in prison.

Because Wang Liangping was busy, the one who came to deliver the message was the office clerk, a woman in her forties.

As soon as she saw Su Ruo, she couldn't wait to gossip: "Little Su comrade, let me tell you, Wang Tufu died a miserable death……"

According to the clerk elder sister's words, Su Ruo quickly learned that after Wang Tufu was captured, faced with overwhelming evidence, he soon confessed his crimes.

But after being locked up, he kept complaining of pain; however, the prison doctor's examination found no injury on him, and everyone thought Wang Tufu was lying.

Yet seeing his pained state didn't look like feigning, so the office had no choice but to send someone to take him to the county hospital.

Yet the county doctors examined him thoroughly and found nothing wrong.

The clerk elder sister paused here, glanced at Su Ruo, then continued: "This Wang Tufu even claimed that you had stuck over three hundred needles into his body, causing him pain so intense he was about to die."

"Naturally, no one believed this; we all thought he must have gone mad, suffered hysteria, to say such things."

Su Ruo curled the corner of her mouth in a cold smile; she had dared to act against Wang Tufu initially, so she feared no investigation.

If the hospital had a CT scanner to image Wang Tufu, it could indeed detect those needles, but unfortunately the county hospital lacks one, so even if Wang Tufu spoke of heavenly matters, no one would believe him.

Seeing Su Ruo hear her words, the clerk elder sister's expression showed no change, and she continued:

"After Wang Tufu was brought back from the hospital, he kept complaining of pain; his cellmate, annoyed to the point of exasperation, gave him a vicious beating."

Even after being beaten, Wang Tufu didn't stop; he continued to yell about pain, so the guarding prison warden, fearing an incident, had no choice but to move him to a solitary cell.

Who would have thought that the very next day after the transfer, Wang Tufu would smash his head into the prison wall and die instantly? You don't know— the scene was horrific, brains spattering, staining the whole wall." The clerk elder sister's face showed only sorrow.