Chapter 1324: Chapter 1325: Pressing Step by Step Chapter 1324: Chapter 1325: Pressing Step by Step âIf I explain clearly what happened last night when I met Xu Yiqiu,â it would inevitably involve talking about how I was by those two menâŠâ
âSpeak!â
Old Meng could no longer hold back and roared at her.
With a jump in her heart, Duan Qingqing knew she had to speak now. She closed her eyes and blurted out, âI met Xu Yiqiu in Liuli Alley!â
âSo, you admit that you went out last night,â Meng Xinian asked sternly.
âYes, I went out because I felt suffocated and wanted some fresh air!â
âLiuli Alley is quite far from here. You went all the way there for some fresh air?â Meng Xinian pressed on, âYou always pride yourself as a noble ladyâarrogant, vain, hedonistic, disdainful of less glamorous places, and contemptuous of ordinary folks. Yet, Liuli Alley is exactly where ordinary folks live. What were you doing there?â
âIâŠâ Duan Qingqingâs palms sweated as she was cornered, her heart already in chaos, and she could only retort in annoyance and panic, âI was just wandering! I hailed a cab and told the driver to drive anywhere, and he ended up taking me there. I couldnât help it!â
Meng Xinian nodded, âAlright, letâs assume youâre telling the truth. You encountered Xu Yiqiu there, and you two were strangers. How did you start talking?â
Duan Qingqingâs heart skipped a beat, and she stammered, âAt that time, IâI encountered two drunk men whoâ who wantedâto rob me! Then Xu Yiqiu scared them off, and I thanked her, and thatâs how we started chatting.â
Right, robbery. Itâs always better to say it was a robbery rather than admitting that one of those drunken men groped her. Just remembering how one of those men, reeking of alcohol, had grabbed her breast made Duan Qingqing feel nauseous.
She knew how much Meng Chaojun cared about such matters. If she let another man touch her, it would be unbearable for him, and this would definitely affect their marital relationship.
She didnât want to give up on Meng Chaojun.
After all, the Meng Family still held some power, and perhaps Meng Xinian could be successful in the future. She couldnât hook a better man than those from the Meng Family now.
Besides, she absolutely had to stay in this family!
Upon hearing this, Chiang Xiao couldnât help but scoff.
Meng Xinian immediately grasped the suspicious point, âSo you mean to say, two drunk men, robbers, were just scared off by a single frail woman like Xu Yiqiu with just a scold? Such cowards, yet they dared to rob? Donât you know alcohol emboldens people?â
Duan Qingqing was startled and replied instinctively, âThatâs because Xu Yiqiu knew them, and they listened to herâŠâ
âSo, you clearly saw Xu Yiqiu knew two robbers, yet you still thanked her and felt no wariness or aversion against her, and even agreed to meet her for tea and a chat?â
He kept on pushing her step by step, exposing each flaw, leading Duan Qingqing rapidly toward defeat.
She was going insane.
âThatâs because, becauseâŠâ
Meng Xinian didnât allow her much time to think and further asked, âBecause she talked about something interesting to you?â
âYesâŠâ
âWhat was the topic? Something foreign? Wanting you to go abroad, or making you sell the news and conveniences you could provide through your identity as Madam Meng?â
âNo! Not at all! She just could help me buyâŠâ
Duan Qingqingâs words came to an abrupt halt.
Unable to contain herself, she collapsed onto the sofa, her face deathly pale, sweating profusely.
She tasted for the first time what it felt like to be caught between a rock and a hard place. To speak or not to speak, both were problematic.
If she didnât speak, she couldnât clarify what she talked about with Xu Yiqiu.
And if she spoke, how could she hide her secrets?