Seeing Tang Meiqin break down in tears, Li Yi and Xiao Zhanwu, who were hiding behind the statue, both breathed a huge sigh of relief!
They both knew this woman’s psychological defenses had crumbled. From now on, she wouldn’t be thinking about fighting to the bitter end, but rather how to atone for her crimes and exonerate herself.
In a normal investigation, reaching this point meant they were practically halfway to success.
After Tang Meiqin had cried for a while, Long Zhanjun said in a stern voice, “Enough. Wipe that cat’s-eye look off your face—we still have questions for you!”
“What… what do you want to ask?”
“Why did you set the clinic on fire?”
Tang Meiqin’s expression changed again; she suddenly didn’t know how to answer.
Seeing the woman’s eyes start to dart around again, Long Zhanjun said coldly, “You’d better think carefully before you speak. Otherwise, your son might end up in prison with you!”
“I…”
“You started the fire in the archives room. Was it because there were things in there you needed to destroy? What are you trying to cover up?” Long Zhanjun asked in a deep, stern voice.
Cold sweat broke out all over Tang Meiqin’s body. These people were terrifying—they even knew exactly where the fire had been started.
Moreover, this man’s mind was far too sharp—he’d immediately connected the dots to the items in the archives, deducing that they were destroying evidence to cover up the truth.
“I… can I not say anything?”
“What do you think? If you go to the police station to turn yourself in, they’re bound to ask you about your motive for setting the health center on fire. Do you think you can avoid answering?” Long Zhanjun said coldly.
Tang Meiqin was silent for a long moment, then sighed and said, “We set the clinic on fire to destroy a hospital record!”
“Whose medical records?”
“My cousin’s wife and another woman named Ye Lingwan!” Tang Meiqin replied.
“Why did you need to destroy their records?”
“Because my cousin’s family and I stole Ye Lingwan’s child!”
Hearing this, Li Yi’s heart began to race.
Sure enough, just as he had suspected, Tang Xue’s story wasn’t what Tang Jizhong had claimed—it wasn’t that her mother had abandoned her.
She had been stolen from her biological mother!
Recalling Li Yi’s words, Long Zhanjun said again, “Tell me the details of this matter!”
Tang Meiqin paused briefly, as if recalling the events of that time.
After a moment, she sighed and began to recount what had happened back then.
Tang Meiqin recalled that she was 26 that year, and her son was only 4, when her husband, who worked in a coal mine, died in a mining accident.
As if misfortune weren’t enough, shortly after her husband’s death, her son fell ill.
She had nearly depleted the family’s savings and even used her husband’s compensation money to barely manage to cure her son.
But her son still needed recuperation after being discharged from the hospital, and that required money. However, aside from her salary of about twenty yuan from the clinic, she had no other source of income. The arrival of her cousin and his wife brought a glimmer of hope to her desperate life.
Tang Meiqin remembers a rainy afternoon when her cousin suddenly rushed into the clinic, carrying her cousin’s wife in his arms.
It turned out that her cousin’s wife, who was eight months pregnant, had accidentally fallen while at work, causing the baby to be born prematurely.
Since she was family, Tang Meiqin immediately stepped in to help treat her. Unfortunately, while her cousin’s life was saved, the baby was lost.
Her cousin knew how much his wife cherished this child; if she found out she had lost it, she might do something reckless.
So he went to see Tang Meiqin and asked her if there were any babies at the clinic that their parents didn’t want to raise—even a girl would be fine. He planned to adopt one and tell his sister-in-law later that she had given birth to the child.
Of course, finding a child on such short notice was impossible, but just then, a pregnant woman covered in blood was brought into the clinic.
This woman’s situation was similar to his cousin’s—she had also accidentally fallen—but her pregnancy was already full-term.
After medical treatment, the woman successfully gave birth to a baby girl, though the infant’s vital signs were weak.
As Tang Meiqin carried the newborn baby and pushed the unconscious woman out of the operating room, she once again encountered her cousin, who was preparing to dispose of the child’s body.
Her cousin, Tang Jizhong, saw the baby girl in her arms and noticed that the mother was still unconscious with no man by her side. Immediately, he began to harbor ulterior motives.
He asked Tang Meiqin to swap the baby girl she was holding for his own stillborn child, claiming that the woman had given birth to a stillborn baby. After all, they were both girls, and the woman would surely never know.
Tang Meiqin was hesitant at first, but when her cousin pulled out two hundred yuan, she gave in.
And so, her cousin took the baby away from the woman named Ye Lingwan. When Ye Lingwan woke up and learned that she had given birth to a stillborn, she was devastated.
A few days later, several cars arrived at the clinic and took the woman away.
After hearing Tang Meiqin’s account, everyone present clenched their fists, their eyes burning with fury as they glared at her.
I never would have imagined there could be such a vicious person in the world.
Her own child had died, so she stole someone else’s—and kept it so tightly hidden that the mother would likely never know, even on her deathbed.
Li Yi, who had been hiding behind the statue, could no longer contain himself. He immediately leaped out and walked toward Tang Meiqin.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Zhanwu immediately followed him out.
Seeing two people suddenly dart out from behind the statue, Tang Meiqin was startled.
When she recognized Li Yi, she recoiled in terror: “You… how did you end up here… you…”
Li Yi clenched his teeth and said, “What? Is it so unbelievable to see me?”
“You… This is a trap you set. You did this to investigate Xiao Xue’s background?”
Tang Meiqin wasn’t stupid; the moment she saw Li Yi, she knew she’d fallen into a trap.
Li Yi said coldly, “Yes, but it’s also true that your son stole things to pay off his gambling debts!”
Then Li Yi pointed to Xiao Zhanwu standing nearby and said, “Now take a look at who he is!”
When Tang Meiqin saw Xiao Zhanwu in his white-and-blue police uniform, she recoiled in fear, taking several steps back.
“You promised that as long as I cooperated, you wouldn’t arrest my son. You’re breaking your word!” Tang Meiqin snapped.
“Hmph. As long as you cooperate fully, we certainly won’t make things difficult for your son. After all, his situation could be a big deal or a small one!” Li Yi said.
“Really?”
“Of course it’s true!”
“I’ll turn myself in. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know—I just beg you to spare my son. He’s innocent…”
“We’ll deal with your son later. I’m asking you: who is Xiao Xue’s biological mother?” Li Yi asked in a deep voice.
“I don’t know. All I know is her name is Ye Lingwan, 22 years old. I know nothing else!” Tang Meiqin hurriedly replied.
“Hmph. Are you really forgetting, or are you lying on purpose? You should know that the consequences of lying to me are dire!” Li Yi said coldly.
“I really am not lying to you… Oh, right, she was brought here by a worker from the cotton mill. You can go check it out!” Tang Meiqin said.
“I’ll look into it!”
Li Yi then looked at Tang Meiqin and said, “Things have come to this. You should know what’s in store for you. However, you weren’t the mastermind behind this. If you cooperate fully with the police, you might receive a lenient sentence. I don’t need to tell you what to do, do I?”
“No need… it’s just my son…”
“We won’t cause him any trouble. He’ll be able to go home tonight!”
Then, Li Yi turned to Xiao Zhanwu and said, “I’m leaving her in your hands. I expect to see the Tang family brought in tomorrow. Can you handle that?”
“I can!” Xiao Zhanwu replied, his voice tinged with excitement.
“Good. Go back now!”
……