Chapter 1141: It Was Finally Over 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

When Jiang Yao received the summons from the police, he wasted no time. He rushed straight to the prison, his face drawn with worry. After completing all the necessary statements, he firmly requested to see Jiang Nan in person.

The officer, after a moment’s hesitation, finally agreed.

The moment Jiang Yao set eyes on Jiang Nan, his entire body tensed. Clenching his back molars, he snarled through gritted teeth, “Jiang Nan, you black-hearted widow! How could you be so vicious? How could you do this to Li Mei? She always treated you like her dearest sister! She was carrying a child at the time—how could you bring yourself to harm her?”

Jiang Nan lifted her head slowly, a chilling, sinister smile curling on her lips. Every word she spoke was like a dagger, precise and brutal.

“How could you possibly blame me?” she said mockingly. “Li Mei was simply unlucky—unlucky enough to marry a man like you. If anyone’s to blame, it’s you. Hah! As her husband, you never trusted her, never protected her. Everyone in the village knew you had a habit of beating your wife! That’s why I was able to sow discord between you two so easily. You gave me the opportunity. And down there, in that hellish underworld, I’m sure Li Mei wishes for nothing more than your death—to pay for her life. Hahaha…”

At that moment, it was as if Jiang Yao had been struck by a bolt of lightning. He stood there, paralyzed, his mind reeling. In that instant of devastating clarity, he realized that while Jiang Nan’s evil was undeniable, he himself had been the accomplice in the death of his own wife and unborn child.

He deserved nothing less than death.

When Jiang Yao stumbled out of the prison, his steps were faltering, unsteady, like a man lost in a nightmare he couldn’t wake from. Oh, how he wished he could turn back time. How he wished none of this had ever happened.

…

Back at the Su family’s residence, Gu Zi recalled what Jiang Yao had said earlier. On a hunch, she asked Su Shen to search the courtyard meticulously.

After several hours combing through the grounds, they finally unearthed something near the crabapple tree: a battered old wooden box, hidden deep within the earth. Inside, it contained a woman’s brand-new outfit—and three sets of children’s clothes, all lovingly folded.

The moment Gu Zi laid eyes on the contents, tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks. The box felt impossibly heavy in her hands, not because of its weight, but because of what it represented: a simple woman’s beautiful dreams for a future that never came to be.

Stroking the new garments gently, Gu Zi whispered with deep reverence, “To the fated soul I have never met… In the next life, I pray you live a life free of sorrow, blessed with health, happiness, and peace.”

Gu Zi then instructed Su Shen to deliver the box to Jiang Yao.

When Jiang Yao received it, he clutched it tightly, carrying it to Li Mei’s lonely grave. There, he broke down, wailing in anguish, begging for forgiveness.

Villagers said he sat by that grave for three whole days and nights, refusing food, refusing to move. In the end, he dug a small grave mound beside Li Mei’s tomb and gently buried the wooden box within it—burying not just the clothes, but all his regrets, his sins, and his shattered soul.

After that, Jiang Yao vanished from Jiangjia Village, leaving behind nothing but whispers and sorrow.

…

In those days, news spread like wildfire throughout the village: Jiang Nan was not just a murderer—she was responsible for several lives, and she had even been involved in the trafficking of children.

The villagers were stunned beyond belief. Who could have imagined that the woman they thought of as simple, kind, and reserved was hiding such monstrosity within her?

Some spat her name like poison. Others, strangely, pitied her.

When her trial finally came, Jiang Nan was sentenced to death. To the very end, she showed no remorse and refused to reveal the whereabouts of the missing children.

She died with her secrets buried deep inside her.

…

When Gu Zi saw the news in the paper, she wasn’t the least bit surprised.

Jiang Nan had spent her entire life crushed under the weight of others’ expectations, smothered until any goodness left in her had rotted away. That she had reached such an extreme wasn’t solely her own doing—her birth family, her in-laws, they had all played their part in pushing her toward madness.

But no matter the reason, it was over now.

A tragic, miserable chapter had been closed.

Of course, the story wouldn’t have been complete without a bit of unexpected heroism.

Big Yellow—the scruffy but brilliant village dog—had been pivotal in cracking the case. He made it into the newspapers, proudly dubbed the “Strongest Civilian Dog Detective.”

The local police station even awarded him a special medal of commendation and brought him a whole crate of pet biscuits as a reward.

Ever since, Big Yellow strutted around the Su family courtyard with his medal dangling from his neck, patrolling like a conquering general, looking every bit the part of a canine hero.

The article also mentioned Lin Miao—though barely.

Because she had fled the scene so quickly, the reporters never got the chance to interview her. They didn’t even know her name. In the end, they simply referred to her in passing as “a mysterious woman who performed a good deed and left without revealing her identity,” inspiring admiration from readers everywhere.

…

As for Lin Miao herself, she still had no idea the case had been solved, nor that she had missed her chance to become famous overnight.

At the time, terrified that her actions might somehow alter the course of fate—this life and the last—she had panicked. She slipped away during the chaos, making her way to the train station as fast as her legs could carry her. That very night, she boarded a train back to Guangcheng, determined to disappear before anyone could trace her involvement.

She consoled herself, thinking, ‘Once things quiet down, I’ll head to the capital to buy property and meet the rich heiress Sun Yi. It’ll just be one more trip—far better than getting dragged into a legal mess!’

Little did she expect that the moment she got home, Zhang Mei would be talking about the case.

Zhang Mei sighed dramatically as she said, “Apparently, a mysterious woman appeared out of nowhere and pointed the police in the right direction. Such a shame she was too proud to leave her name. What a missed opportunity! You know, some people pray all their lives for a moment like that!”