Chapter 18: Wang Dazhu Faces Defeat

With Wang Dazhu’s words, there was no way they wouldn’t go in now.

He Daxing led the way inside. As he passed by Wu Meixia and the others, he noticed beads of cold sweat forming on their foreheads, and his heart suddenly sank.

Could there really be so-called forbidden books?

He Daxing entered the room with a heavy heart, followed closely by Wang Dazhu.

They went straight into the room where Wu Meixia was. The small room revealed everything at a glance.

Apart from a few quilts, some neatly folded clothes piled on the bed, and some pots and pans in the corner, everything else looked like an ordinary household.

He Daxing looked at Wang Dazhu. “Where exactly did you say the forbidden books are?”

Wang Dazhu scratched his head and casually pried open a jar near his feet. “I don’t know where they’re hidden. Captain, help me look. They must be somewhere in this room.”

“This is really causing me trouble,” He Daxing muttered as he moved aside a stall nearby. Finding it empty, he went on to rummage through another box.

The others were ordered to stay outside, not allowed inside, so they could only watch from the doorway or outside the window.

Wu Meixia nervously held Tong Lingxian’s hand. Every time Wang Dazhu or He Daxing moved something, her heart jumped.

There were no forbidden books in the house, but there were other things—under the bed, a few porcini mushrooms were hidden.

It was partly her fault for being lazy this morning. She had intended to secretly eat the porcini, but after overeating last night, she couldn’t stomach anything this morning. She never expected someone would report her tonight.

Porcini mushrooms weren’t as serious as forbidden books, but they still invited jealousy.

Tong Lingxian was also tense, frequently glancing toward her own home.

They hadn’t gone inside since returning. Yaoyao wasn’t home either; perhaps she was next door with Xixi.

The items they had brought weren’t valuable, just a baby bottle, malted milk powder, and a jade pendant hanging on Xixi.

If these people decided to search their home, it wouldn’t withstand the scrutiny.

In the blink of an eye, the room had been mostly searched, with only the bed left untouched.

He Laixing was about to lift the bedding when Wang Dazhu suddenly stopped him.

“I’ll do it, Captain. You’ve worked hard; leave the rest to me.”

Wang Dazhu eagerly pulled He Daxing aside, then quickly climbed onto the bed and shook open the folded quilt.

He Daxing folded his arms and stood behind him. Seeing Wang Dazhu’s unusual behavior, he finally understood why he was acting so strangely today—it was a case of the thief crying “stop thief.”

He should have known earlier. Wang Dazhu was never this diligent. Not only did he not go home after work today, but he also volunteered to help him with the search.

Hmph, who would have thought he had such a scheme.

But why did Wang Dazhu single out these people for no reason? They hadn’t provoked him. Was he trying to drag He Daxing into this mess?

He Daxing stared steadily at Wang Dazhu’s back, unconsciously clutching his sleeve tighter.

The quilt was lifted, but there was still no sign of the forbidden books Wang Dazhu had mentioned.

He Daxing grew impatient. “Wang Dazhu, are you done? This room is hardly big; where else could anything be? Do you really take me for a fool?”

“Don’t worry, Captain. Let me look a bit more,” Wang Dazhu replied casually, immediately letting go of the quilt and reaching into the gap between the bed frame and the wall. “Captain, I…”

A smile spread across his face as if he had found something, but it froze at the corner of his mouth.

His hand found nothing; the space between the panels was empty.

Cold sweat broke out all over Wang Dazhu’s body. He hurriedly stretched his hand lower, sweeping back and forth along the edge of the bed several times.

Nothing. How could there be nothing? He had personally hidden it there. So where had it gone?

He Daxing’s heart was suspended. “What? You found something?”

Wang Dazhu shivered and quickly withdrew his hand, turning pale as he looked back. “Captain, wait a moment, there must be something here.”

He climbed down and lay on the floor, reaching under the bed to search again.

Wu Meixia’s pupils dilated, and her grip on Tong Lingxian tightened without her realizing it.

Her heart pounded like a drum. She felt she was about to be dragged away to the labor farm for reform and feared she wouldn’t survive it.

Please, don’t find anything. She prayed desperately for it not to be discovered.

One second, two seconds—the people inside the room felt as if time dragged on endlessly.

Minutes passed. Wang Dazhu, having found nothing, withdrew his hand from under the bed. He knelt on the floor, eyes lowered, lost in thought.

“Captain, I didn’t find any forbidden books.” His voice was hoarse as he reluctantly stood empty-handed.

His face darkened as he said to He Daxing, “Sorry, Captain. I was mistaken.”

“This sister, I was the one who was mistaken last night. Sorry about that,” Wang Dazhu then apologized to Wu Meixia.

At these words, Wu Meixia and the others relaxed deeply. Thank heavens, nothing was found tonight.

He Daxing breathed out quietly and sneered, “Wang Dazhu, next time, make sure you get your facts straight before coming to report to me. No one has time to play games with you.”

“If you delay the double harvest, I’m telling you, no one can take responsibility for that.” His scolding was merciless, dragging in Niu Dacao as well.

Wang Dazhu and Niu Dacao shrank their necks, no longer arrogant. Like quails, they stood silently.

After venting his anger, He Daxing left. Just before stepping out, seeing Wang Dazhu still standing motionless, he frowned and scolded again, “Aren’t you leaving?”

“Going, going, I’m going,” Wang Dazhu hurriedly followed, shooting a glare at the others as he passed by the door. “Just wait.”

Once they left, the remaining onlookers gradually dispersed in small groups. Only after they were completely out of sight did Wu Meixia collapse in Tong Lingxian’s arms.

“Xia, are you okay?” Tong Lingxian asked with concern, helping her up.

Wu Meixia waved her hand, steadying herself. “Lingxian, you don’t know—I was nearly scared to death just now. I was so afraid Wang Dazhu would find the hidden things. Luckily, he didn’t, or tonight would have been terrible.”

Just a moment ago, she nearly imagined her old man coming to take her away. Thank goodness Wang Dazhu found nothing; otherwise, she felt her soul would have fled.

Tong Lingxian also felt relieved. She had feared the captain might search other rooms, but it seemed he was still sensible enough to see through Wang Dazhu’s deliberate act.

Since they started searching, she and Fang Baisong had noticed Wang Dazhu’s odd behavior. He seemed to be rummaging aimlessly, but his eyes kept fixed on the bed.

After finding nothing inside, he was impatient to climb onto the bed, targeting the wall panels directly without even properly looking under the quilt.

All these details made it clear Wang Dazhu was acting intentionally—perhaps sneaking in when no one was home to plant evidence against Xia.

But why did Wang Dazhu fail to find anything in the end? Had someone taken the items away beforehand?