Chapter 12: Good, He Remembered!

Her utterly convincing performance successfully deceived Jiang Yanqing, who was standing behind her.

His dark expression made people mistakenly think he was angry about what Lu Niannian had just said. Lu Niannian wanted to explain, but Chen Xueying gave her no opportunity to do so.

She kept excitedly pointing at Lu Niannian and screaming to prove she wasn’t lying.

Liu Guixiang was now completely convinced by Chen Xueying’s words. She grabbed a nearby broom and started viciously beating Lu Niannian: “You little slut! Flirting around! Looking where you shouldn’t! And you dare covet my money? You’re just asking for death!”

“Ah~ Help~ Ah~ I didn’t!”

“Still screaming? Being so promiscuous this late at night, who are you trying to call for?”

“I didn’t… I really didn’t… Wuwu… Chen Xueying, you’ll die a terrible death! Ah~ Stop!”

Chen Xueying watched timidly from the side, though internally she was dying of laughter. Even if Lu Niannian tried to explain now, it would be useless. Who told Lu Niannian to keep stealing glances at Jiang Yanqing? That was no different from dancing on Liu Guixiang’s grave!

Besides, what she herself had just said was ambiguous – even if Liu Guixiang might suspect she had exaggerated, Lu Niannian had admitted it. But who knew what exactly she was admitting to?

So rather than let someone go who might be guilty, it was better to punish someone who might be innocent. This beating was unavoidable.

Chen Xueying pushed Jiang Yanqing into the room to prevent the fire from spreading to him. Jiang Yanqing had lived in this family for many years, and if he returned to his room now, Liu Guixiang would question why his personality had changed so much.

After all, since joining the military, he had always been known for his righteous character and standing up for justice at home.

He could tell this young woman was stirring up trouble. Since this family was already rotten to the core, he didn’t mind helping her out.

He then stepped past Chen Xueying, walked up to Liu Guixiang and reached out to stop her: “Mom, that’s enough. If you injure her, Second Brother will be heartbroken. As the eldest brother, there’s not much I can do except earn some money. If my sister-in-law needs money, we can just give her some later.”

The Boss intervening was within Liu Guixiang’s expectations. After all, she had taught this son since childhood to be good to his younger brother. After joining the military, he became even more inclined to rescue the dying and help the injured, earning a good reputation in the village.

But his words today felt like a stab at her heart, making her even angrier. Holding the broom, she looked at the terrified, pale-faced Chen Xueying and said:

“Boss’s wife, take your man inside, or I’ll deal with you next!”

Chen Xueying shrank back in fear and went to pull Jiang Yanqing. Though being pulled away, Jiang Yanqing didn’t forget to add fuel to the fire:

“Mom, stop hitting her. It’s just some money. Anyway, everything you and I have will eventually belong to Second Brother. Since Second Brother likes his wife, we can just give it to her!”

Others might not know the underlying circumstances of why Lu Niannian married into this family, but Liu Guixiang knew perfectly well.

Lu Niannian’s parents wanted to sell their daughter to the butcher, but that butcher beat his wives – he had already beaten two wives to death. Lu Niannian’s parents, seeing that he was willing to pay two hundred yuan in bride price, didn’t care about their daughter’s life and were determined to marry her off to him.

Lu Niannian had begged Jiang Jiali for help. Everyone in the village knew the Lu family’s character – marrying a daughter from the Lu family was no different from marrying her entire extended family.
Lu Niannian couldn’t find anyone to help her, so she took advantage of Jiang Jiali’s deep affection for her.

The Lu family wouldn’t let their daughter leave without money. If there was money, their daughter could go with anyone.

Jiang Jiali had no job and not enough money, so he could only beg Liu Guixiang for help. However, Liu Guixiang firmly refused to let her son marry this burden.

She believed in marrying for virtue, knowing well that marrying the wrong woman could ruin three generations. For her only biological son, she had always been far-sighted. While she genuinely did not do anything to him, she would never compromise on matters of principle.

But Jiang Jiali, for the sake of his beloved, tormented himself by refusing to eat or drink. So, Liu Guixiang came up with a compromise.

Not wanting her son to remain obsessed, Liu Guixiang thought of her eldest son in the army who had never married. She devised a plan to kill three birds with one stone: arrange a marriage for the Boss, meet her younger son’s condition to save Lu Niannian, and sever his attachment all in one move.

The other two family members didn’t know how tightly Lu Niannian had Jiang Jiali wrapped around her finger, but Liu Guixiang was aware.

Jiang Yanqing’s words were like adding fuel to the fire.

Though Jiang Yanqing had only spoken casually, Liu Guixiang knew it could become a reality. Would she then be manipulated by that wretched girl in the future?

That simply wouldn’t do. No matter what, she had to beat her into submission today!

She grabbed whatever was nearby and threw it. At first, Lu Niannian could dodge, but when a stool hit her leg, she immediately collapsed to the ground.

Chen Xueying and Jiang Yanqing had already entered the room. Even through the door, they could hear Liu Guixiang straddling Lu Niannian, slapping her while scolding and lecturing her.

Chen Xueying curled her lips. In her previous life, right after Jiang Yanqing passed away, Jiang Jiali had coaxed her into a divorce, only to turn around and marry Lu Niannian. Back then, Lu Niannian loved to provoke her, flaunting her relationship.

Knowing full well how badly Chen Xueying had been treated, Lu Niannian a woman herself—felt no shame for being with her brother-in-law. Instead, she constantly humiliated and provoked her!

The laughter from her memories overlapped with the painful wails now. It turned out laughter never truly disappears; it just shifts.

Indeed, it was quite amusing!

Jiang Yanqing sat on the only relatively clean stool, scrutinizing Chen Xueying. He knew that everything she had just done was likely revenge for Lu Niannian seducing Jiang Jiali.

But in truth, if Jiang Jiali hadn’t tricked him into leaving, none of this would have happened.

He had belatedly realized that the sweet rice wine dumplings were spiked, and Lu Niannian, who had also eaten them, must have been drugged as well.

Judging by Liu Guixiang’s reaction, she had intended to set him up with Lu Niannian. The biggest disruption came from Jiang Jiali, who had deliberately sent everyone away and entered Lu Niannian’s room on his own.

As for whether Lu Niannian was innocent, based on Chen Xueying’s earlier words, it was clear that his mother’s insistence on him marrying this woman was suspicious. Perhaps those two had already been involved.

Liu Guixiang was indeed not his birth mother, knowing she was passing off damaged goods to him. Fine, he’d remember this!

His gloomy eyes darkened like night, as if covered in a layer of frost. After a long moment, he blinked, returning to his usual calm.

“Pack up early and rest well today. I’m leaving tomorrow. If anything comes up, write to me!” He handed Chen Xueying an address.

He no longer held any hope that Chen Xueying would help him investigate the truth about his origins. Once he left, he reckoned the household would likely be filled with drama every single day.

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Zephyr Yizelle

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