Jie Jingchen’s words stung. Jie Jingjue clutched his chest as if wounded and said aggrievedly, "Fourth Brother, I’m your brother. Your full-blooded younger brother."
"Fifth Brother, they’re about to eat. If you don’t go now, there won’t even be any leftovers," Jie Jingshan said, tugging on Jie Jingjue’s sleeve. She was genuinely worried her fourth and fifth brothers would start fighting.
Jie Jingjue huffed, then turned and stalked out of the kitchen.
Watching Jie Jingjue storm off, Qin i waited until he was a good distance away before she couldn’t help but ask, "He won’t be coming here to freeload off us now, will he?"
"Hard to say." Jie Jingchen’s eyebrow twitched slightly as he went back to washing the pots and bowls. Once they were clean, he swapped in another pot to heat water for a bath.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, one of my fifth brother’s good qualities is that he doesn’t hold a grudge," Jie Jingshan said with a smile.
Qin i fell silent. ’It’s true, Jie Jingjue doesn’t hold a grudge. He could argue with you until he’s red in the face one day and be chatting with you amicably the next.’
When Qin i saw Jie Jingchen heating water for a bath, she rembered they still needed to go to the black market. She walked over to him, squatted down, and whispered, "Did you forget? We have to go to the black market after dark."
Jie Jingchen shot Qin i a look. "I haven’t forgotten. I’m heating water for Jing Qi’s bath."
"Oh." Qin i breathed a sigh of relief. ’I really thought he’d forgotten.’
"Wheel Jing Qi back to her room," Jie Jingchen said.
"Okay." Qin i nodded, rising to her feet. She walked over to Jie Jingshan and wheeled her back to her room.
Since she couldn’t exercise on a full stomach, Jie Jingshan didn’t waste any ti and threw herself into her studies.
Qin i was very pleased. ’With an attitude like Jing Qi’s, she’ll definitely get a great score on the college entrance exams when they’re reinstated.’
"Jing Qi, this is for you." Qin i placed a small dicine vial on the table. It was one of many empty vials she had gotten from her mother-in-law; she’d scraped the labels with the old dicine nas and dosages clean off and filled it with the pills she had refined.
Jie Jingshan stared at the small vial for a few seconds, then looked up at Qin i, her eyes crinkling into a smile. "What is it?"
"Pills," Qin i said, reaching out to pat Jie Jingshan’s head. "One a day."
"Okay." Jie Jingshan smiled and carefully put the small vial away without asking Qin i any questions.
Since Jie Jingshan didn’t ask, Qin i didn’t elaborate. ’Jing Qi’s trust in is absolute,’ she thought. ’The kind of trust that ans if I gave her poison, she’d swallow it without a single question or a mont’s hesitation.’
Qin i left Jing Qi’s room and had just reached the door to the room she shared with Jie Jingchen when Xu Chunyan rushed out from sowhere. Qin i’s back was to her, but she sensed soone approaching. Just as she was about to turn, Xu Chunyan shoved her straight into the room.
Stumbling, Qin i nearly fell. By the ti she regained her footing and turned around, Xu Chunyan had followed her inside. Xu Chunyan cast a wary glance outside before shutting the door and locking it from the inside.
Qin i crossed her arms, her voice as cold as ice. "Xu Chunyan, this is my room."
’Xu Anshan is powerful, but Xu Chunyan has no fighting ability. I’ve fought her before—she doesn’t have a shred of martial arts training. Xu Chunwang only has brute strength, too. It’s strange that Xu Anshan didn’t teach any of his skills to his own son and daughter.’
"Qin i, let’s put the grudge between you and the Xu Family aside. After all, you and I are sisters-in-law," Xu Chunyan said.
Qin i froze, stunned. ’From the sound of it, is Xu Chunyan also here to make peace?’ she wondered. ’First Aunt Zhang, and now Xu Chunyan. What in the world are they plotting? Sothing’s definitely fishy!’
"And?" Qin i asked coldly.
"Qin i, do you want Aunt Qiao and Father to get a divorce?" Xu Chunyan asked.
Qin i was stunned again. ’My mother-in-law and father-in-law, divorcing?’ She narrowed her eyes, studying Xu Chunyan, trying to read her expression for any clues.
"What do you an by that?" Qin i asked, her voice cold.
Xu Chunyan hesitated for a few seconds, then took a deep breath. "Aunt Zhang wants to marry Father."
Qin i’s heart skipped a beat. ’I knew Aunt Zhang wasn’t a simple person, but I never expected she wanted to marry my father-in-law. It’s not unheard of for a woman to marry her brother-in-law after her sister passes away to help raise the children.’
’But her brother-in-law already remarried, and his eldest son is twenty-five years old. Isn’t it a bit late to want to marry him now? What was she doing all this ti? Aunt Zhang is the younger sister of my father-in-law’s late wife. If she’d had these intentions from the start, my current mother-in-law would never have even been in the picture!’
"Qin i," Xu Chunyan called out anxiously when she saw Qin i’s silence.
"Xu Chunyan, are you sure you’re not just spreading rumors?" Qin i had a feeling Xu Chunyan was setting a trap. ’Considering her relationship with Aunt Zhang, she would definitely help her. Xu Chunyan would probably much rather have Aunt Zhang as her new mother-in-law than her current one.’
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