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“Lin Yao! Your son has been pushed into the river!”

Lin Yao woke with a start, her mind still dazed. Hearing the shout from outside the courtyard gate, she ignored the throbbing pain in her forehead. Spotting a hoe in the corner of the yard, she grabbed it and smashed open the locked gate.

The moment she got out, she sprinted toward the river.

“Yuanbao! Hold on! Mommy’s coming to save you!”

Tears streaming down her face, Lin Yao raced to the riverbank and immediately saw her son struggling helplessly in the icy winter water.

It was the same day as in her previous life.

Back then, she had argued fiercely with her eldest sister-in-law, He Yun, and her younger sister-in-law, Liu Lan, over the division of family housing. Unable to win the argument, He Yun had thrown a bundle hiding a brick inside it at Lin Yao’s head, splitting it open.

Panicked, He Yun and Liu Lan abandoned her and ran off to fetch their husbands from the fields.

That would have been bad enough, but fearing Lin Yao would tell the villagers and ruin their reputations, they deliberately locked the courtyard gate from the outside before leaving.

In her previous life, she had fainted from the blow.

When she finally regained consciousness, she heard villagers shouting just as they were today.

By the time she broke down the gate and rushed to the river, Yuanbao had already stopped breathing.

Remembering the greatest regret of her previous life, Lin Yao didn’t hesitate. She leaped straight into the river.

“Yuanbao! Yuanbao!”

Fighting against the freezing current, she reached out and grabbed her son just as he was sinking beneath the water.

“Mommy… sob…”

Yuanbao clung to her arm, his face pale with terror.

“Don’t be afraid, Yuanbao. Mommy’s here.”

A crowd of villagers had already gathered at the riverbank. Someone extended a long bamboo pole toward her.

“Lin Yao! Grab the pole! Hurry, come up!”

Her head was already spinning. She paddled weakly and barely managed to catch hold of the bamboo pole.

The villagers worked together to pull them ashore.

Clutching Yuanbao in her arms, Lin Yao finally crawled out of the river. Her thin cotton jacket was completely soaked, water dripping onto the frozen ground.

Ignoring her own condition, she laid Yuanbao on the ground and pressed on his abdomen to force the swallowed water out.

“Cough! Cough!”

Yuanbao’s thick eyelashes fluttered.

When he opened his eyes and saw Lin Yao, he burst into tears and threw himself into her embrace.

“Mommy! Qin Zhenzhen pushed me into the river on purpose! I was so scared!”

A surge of rage exploded inside Lin Yao.

In her previous life, she had only learned after Yuanbao’s death that it had been He Yun’s daughter, Qin Zhenzhen, who pushed him into the water.

When the truth came out, the villagers condemned Qin Zhenzhen, but no one ever suggested that she should pay with her life.

He Yun had cleverly put on a show, beating her daughter in front of everyone and forcing her to kneel and apologize.

But Yuanbao was already dead.

Qin Zhenzhen received only a beating and a forced apology. Later she continued attending school as if nothing had happened.

What infuriated Lin Yao even more was that Qin Zhenzhen later bragged to her that she’d done it intentionally.

In her previous life, Lin Yao hadn’t tolerated it.

The moment she heard that confession, she pushed Qin Zhenzhen into the river herself and watched her drown.

But even Qin Zhenzhen’s death couldn’t bring Yuanbao back.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

Lifting her dripping head, she spotted Qin Zhenzhen hiding in the crowd, preparing to slip away.

Lin Yao rose to her feet like a vengeful ghost.

In the blink of an eye, she reached the girl, dragged her to the riverbank, grabbed her by the neck, and shoved her head underwater.

“You little bitch! How dare you deliberately push my Yuanbao into the river? Just because you’re jealous I gave birth to a son, you wanted him dead? Then let’s all die together!”

“Ah—! Waaaah! Help—!”

Ten-year-old Qin Zhenzhen was old enough to understand what was happening.

Every few seconds Lin Yao would pull her up for air, only to force her back beneath the water again.

The terrified girl tried desperately to beg for help, but Lin Yao gave her no chance.

“Lin Yao! What are you doing? Let the child go!”

The villagers rushed forward.

“Don’t come any closer!” Lin Yao shouted.

“If you don’t let me vent my anger today, I can always sneak out tonight, tie Qin Zhenzhen up, and throw her into the river then. Unless you want someone to die and have our production brigade publicly criticized by the commune!”

Her words immediately stopped everyone in their tracks.

Lin Yao’s reputation in the village was notorious.

Anyone who offended her could expect revenge.

Even if she remained silent at the time, she’d always strike back later.

Dumping manure at people’s doorsteps, terrifying men by eavesdropping on them at night, cursing children into submission, setting her in-laws’ house on fire…

And now making Qin Zhenzhen experience drowning firsthand.

No one doubted she’d do exactly what she threatened.

Because she absolutely would.

“Quick, get the brigade leader!” someone shouted.

“Already sent someone!”

“Lin Yao, don’t do anything you’ll regret! Your son is still alive! If you go to prison, what will happen to him?”

But Lin Yao ignored them.

Before the brigade leader arrived, she continued dunking Qin Zhenzhen in the river.

Only occasionally did she allow the girl a breath of air.

Within ten minutes, Qin Zhenzhen’s face was ghostly pale, barely breathing—suffering roughly what Yuanbao had endured.

At last, the production brigade leader, Guo Dezhang, arrived.

“Lin Yao, stop this immediately! If Qin Zhenzhen dies, even your husband being a military officer won’t save you.”

Privately, however, Guo Dezhang was somewhat on Lin Yao’s side.

She was clever, and every conflict she started had usually been provoked by someone else’s wrongdoing.

Besides, her husband, Qin Shishen, was the most successful young man in the village—a military officer with a promising future. Maintaining a good relationship with him was worthwhile.

“I want a divorce from Qin Shishen.”

Lin Yao tossed Qin Zhenzhen onto the riverbank as though she’d dirtied her hands and even washed them in the river afterward.

“Mommy! I’m going with you!”

Yuanbao, having recovered somewhat, ran over and hugged her leg. Looking up with bright, admiring eyes, he thought his mother was the most amazing person in the world.

“What?!”

Guo Dezhang and the villagers gasped in shock.

“Lin Yao, don’t be impulsive! Divorce? That’s disgraceful nowadays! If you divorce him, you won’t receive Qin Shishen’s military allowance anymore!”

“Captain Guo, please write me a letter of introduction. I’m taking Yuanbao to the army base.”

She had already made up her mind.

“Don’t bother trying to persuade me. For years, He Yun and Liu Lan have been jealous because Qin Shishen is more successful than their husbands and because I’ve lived a better life than they have. They’ve been sabotaging me every chance they got…”