Chapter 256: Chapter 256: Reporting the Case

Once Wei Shuan spoke, the brothers Wei Guojun and Wei Guoliang immediately headed for the village head’s house.

First, they needed to tell the village head about Wei Shan’s disappearance so he could rally the entire village to help find her.

Second, they had to borrow a flashlight from him.

The walk from the village to the town was over ten li, including many mountain paths. Without a flashlight to light the way, it would likely take them until dawn.

Seeing that things weren’t going according to her plan, Wei Qing grew anxious.

She instinctively stood up to block Wei Guojun and Wei Guoliang. "Eldest Brother, Second Brother, don’t be so hasty! Once you report this, the marriage between Xiao Shan and Zhao Jingyang will be beyond saving... Ah!"

Before she could finish, Liu Sufen grabbed her by the hair.

"Xiao Shan has been missing for days, and you’re not worried about her at all! All you care about is the marriage to Zhao Jingyang. Don’t think for a second I can’t see right through your little scheme!"

As she spoke, Liu Sufen slapped Wei Qing across the face again and again, the smacks echoing loudly:

"You bitch! You’re probably hoping Xiao Shan is never found, aren’t you? You want to take her place and marry into the Zhao Family? In your fucking dreams! Even if Xiao Shan’s marriage to Jingyang falls through, it would never be your turn, you black-hearted, rotten-to-the-core, unwanted tramp!"

Enduring the pain, Wei Qing tried to defend herself. "Auntie, I wasn’t! I was truly thinking about Xiao Shan and all of you..."

SLAP!

Liu Sufen slapped her across the mouth, which immediately began to swell.

"Xiao Shan’s father and I aren’t dead yet! Is it your place to worry about her? Ever since she went missing, you’ve done nothing but make excuses to stop us from looking for her. What are you planning? Are you the one who harmed her!?"

Wei Qing’s heart leaped, but her face was a mask of aggrieved innocence, her eyes turning red. "Xiao Shan is my sister. How could I ever harm her? I was genuinely trying to look out for her, which is why I resorted to this desperate plan. If you all think I’m just a busybody, then I have nothing more to say. Go on, report it to the police if you want."

"If you know you’re a busybody, then shut your damn mouth!"

Liu Sufen shoved her aside forcefully. Turning, she saw Wei Shuan and the two brothers still standing there, and she let out a furious roar:

"What the hell are you gawking at? Do you need me to hire a sedan chair to carry you there?"

The three men finally snapped out of it and left together.

Before long, Wei Shuan returned home, bringing the village head, Bi Yongxiang, with him.

A dozen or so other villagers came with them, having heard about Wei Shan’s disappearance and wanting to help.

Of course, many were just there for the gossip.

At Village Head Bi Yongxiang’s direction, the villagers lit their torches and began to help search for Wei Shan.

Some searched along the river, some went up the mountain, and others went to the neighboring villages.

Tonight, Lotus Village was illuminated by a sea of torches that flickered like stars, bringing a glimmer of hope to the Wei Family.

’With so many people helping, surely they could find their daughter, right?’

Wei Qing also joined the villagers in the search party.

Watching the torchlights moving all around the village, she couldn’t help but feel resentful.

She hadn’t expected the Wei Family to be so stubborn. They were willing to throw away such a good match with the Zhao Family and raise such a fuss just to find Wei Shan.

But at the same time, she was a little envious of Wei Shan.

’If she had parents and brothers so devoted to her, her life definitely wouldn’t be this miserable!’

The entire village searched all night, but Wei Shan was still nowhere to be found.

Early the next morning, the local police station sent two officers to the Wei residence to investigate Wei Shan’s disappearance.

Arriving at the same time was the Zhao Family’s wedding party, there to pick up the bride.

This time, the Wei Family held nothing back. They explained everything in detail, from the time Wei Shan went missing to the fact that Wei Qing had been impersonating her to handle the betrothal gift ceremony with the Zhao Family.

Upon learning the truth, the Zhao Family couldn’t be bothered with assigning blame. After all, what was more important than a person’s life?

The police, however, were not as easily fooled as the Wei Family.

When they learned that Wei Qing was the last person to see Wei Shan, had offered to impersonate her to mislead everyone, and even wanted to take her place in the marriage, the police immediately designated her as the prime suspect and took her aside for questioning.

"When Wei Shan left on the morning of the 5th, what was she wearing? What did she say to you?"

Wei Qing knew the police suspected her. While inwardly reassuring herself, ’They’ll never find Wei Shan,’ she forced a calm exterior to face their questions.

An officer asked her, "You had your uncle’s family hide the news of Wei Shan’s disappearance and even impersonated her to deceive the Zhao Family and the villagers. Weren’t you afraid Wei Shan would suddenly return and expose you? Or did you believe she wasn’t coming back?"

As time passed, the police’s questions grew sharper and more pointed.

Wei Qing replied, "At first, I just wanted to help Xiao Shan. I thought that when she came back and saw the marriage wasn’t called off, she would thank me. It was only after she didn’t return for a while that I slowly started getting other ideas, like taking her place and marrying into the Zhao Family."

Wei Qing cleverly mixed truths and lies, which managed to temporarily allay the officers’ suspicions.

With no new leads from the Wei Family, the police expanded their investigation to the rest of Lotus Village and Wei Shan’s social circle.

But after making their rounds, they still had nothing.

By this point, it was the sixth day since Wei Shan had disappeared.

The police verbally reassured the Wei Family that they wouldn’t give up the investigation, but they knew the chances of finding Wei Shan alive were minuscule.

When a young woman disappears, it usually means she’s been abducted and trafficked.

And once she’s taken to another province, tracking her down is next to impossible.

"Oh heavens, Xiao Shan, where in the world have you gone...?"

Watching the police officers leave, Liu Sufen seemed to sense the truth and collapsed to the ground, wailing.

"My daughter, who I worked so hard to raise... gone, just like that. Oh, heavens, it’s like you’re carving out my heart! I don’t want to live anymore... *sob*..."

As Liu Sufen cried in despair, the three Wei men began to weep as well.

The surrounding villagers couldn’t help but sigh, their hearts aching for the family.

To lose such a beautiful, precious daughter like that... who could possibly bear it?

"Auntie Sufen, please get up. We’ll find a way. We’ll definitely find Xiao Shan."

Zhao Jingyang stepped forward to help Liu Sufen to her feet.

Even though the wedding was off, he hadn’t just left. Instead, he had stayed in Lotus Village to see if he could help.

Wei Qing also moved to help, but Liu Sufen slapped her across the face in front of everyone.

"This is all your fault, you bitch! You’re a jinx, bringing disaster wherever you go! I should never have taken you in! I’m the one who hurt Xiao Shan... *sob*..."

To the villagers who didn’t know the full story, it looked as if Liu Sufen was simply taking her anger out on Wei Qing.

Like the police, the villagers assumed Wei Shan had been trafficked, so they couldn’t pin the blame on Wei Qing.

Wei Qing clutched her cheek and remained silent, perfectly playing the part of a dependent relative forced to swallow her pride and endure abuse.

After helping to calm Liu Sufen down, Zhao Jingyang left the Wei residence to head back.

He had been staying at an uncle’s house for the past two days.

He saw Wei Qing squatting in a doorway, sobbing, but he didn’t pay her much mind and walked straight past.

Wei Qing stared at his retreating back, biting her lower lip in frustration.

’Zhao Jingyang had called her pretty before, so he must be at least a little interested in her.’ She was crying here specifically to give him a chance to approach her.

She never imagined he would just walk away.

’What a blockhead!’

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