"Chunyan," Jie Jingwei said, his heart aching for her. He was well aware of how much Xu Chunyan had supported her family after their marriage. To hear his mother-in-law call her an ungrateful wretch was already excessive. And telling her to go hang herself? ’Is that sothing a mother should say to her own daughter?’
"Boo hoo hoo..." Xu Chunyan cried out loud. Pained, Jie Jingwei pulled her into his arms. Xu Chunyan wept against his chest. "Jing Er, I’m not an ungrateful wretch, I’m not..."
Just as Jie Jingwei was about to offer so words of comfort, a discordant, mocking voice cut in.
"Well, well! What do we have here? Staging a lodrama about a mother and daughter turning on each other?" Qin i taunted.
Jie Jingjue pushed open the courtyard gate. Qin i stood there, one arm folded, leaning lazily against the doorfra.
They had been back for a while, eavesdropping at the gate the entire ti.
"MMPH! MMPH!" The mont he saw Qin i, Xu Chunwang grew frantic. He made muffled noises, gesturing wildly at Liu Guihua and Xu Chunyan, trying to tell them to get Qin i to fix his jaw.
Seeing that they were back, Liu Guihua beca even more agitated. She let go of Mrs. Xie’s leg and charged toward Qin i.
"Xiao i!" Mrs. Xie cried out. Liu Guihua had been clutching her left leg for so long and so tightly that it had gone numb. She couldn’t even stand steadily. Just as she was about to fall, Mr. Xie’s quick reflexes kicked in, and he caught her.
"Honey, are you alright?" Mr. Xie asked, his heart aching as he saw Mrs. Xie wince in discomfort.
"I’m fine. Just let recover for a mont. Help sit down. Quick, go help Xiao i! Don’t let Liu Guihua get near her." Mrs. Xie knew from personal experience just how awful it felt to be latched onto by Liu Guihua.
"He should protect his own wife," Mr. Xie said, implying that Jing Si would protect his.
Mrs. Xie shot him a glare. "And did you protect ?" she asked, her question cutting right to the quick.
Mr. Xie was left speechless. The ferocity of Liu Guihua had completely shattered his worldview. He had never been ho for any of her previous rampages at the Jie residence. Hearing about them was one thing, but experiencing her antics firsthand was entirely different. She had caught him completely off guard, making it too late to protect his wife. Liu Guihua was simply too heavy; even he and Jing Er together couldn’t pull her away.
"Honey, I’m sorry," Mr. Xie apologized. He then made a vow, "Honey, I swear, this will never happen again. I was negligent this ti, and I had no idea what to expect. Next ti, I absolutely will not let her get near you."
"You’re forgiven." Seeing his sincere apology, Mrs. Xie didn’t press the issue.
Liu Guihua was so large that she ran very slowly. Each step was heavy, making the ground seem to tremble slightly. Her obese fra alone was an intimidating sight, creating a sense of oppressive weight.
Jie Jinghun, standing by the window, couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat for Qin i. ’If that woman lands on her,’ he thought, ’it’ll be a miracle if she isn’t crushed flat.’
A gloating expression spread across Xu Chunyan’s face. ’I hope Mom pins Qin i down,’ she fantasized. ’Even if she doesn’t crush her to death, she should at least cripple her. Once she’s a cripple, we’ll see if Jing Si still wants her. We’ll see if Qiao Yanqiu can accept a crippled daughter-in-law.’
As he watched Liu Guihua close in, Jie Jingchen’s hands clenched into fists. His gaze darkened, and a ruthless glint slowly surfaced in his eyes.
He took a step, intending to stand in front of Qin i, but she tugged on his sleeve, stopping him. Jie Jingchen paused, looking down at her. Qin i gave him a reassuring smile. His gaze then shifted, locking onto sothing behind her back—the faint glint of silver.
Qin i’s right hand was held behind her back. Unseen by the others, Jie Jingshan had silently slipped a kitchen cleaver into her grasp.
A faint, wicked smile then touched the corners of Jie Jingchen’s lips. ’The worst that can happen is that Qin i beheads Liu Guihua,’ he thought. ’A life for a life. I’ll pay for it with mine.’
As Liu Guihua charged, Jie Jingjue was still debating whether he should intervene. But before he could react, Qin i had already raised the cleaver to her chest in a defensive stance.
"Mom, she has a knife! Be careful!" Xu Chunyan shouted urgently. Her heart seed to stop as she saw her mother about to run right into it.
’This is bad,’ Jie Jingwei thought with a sense of dread.
Mr. Xie froze, completely baffled. ’They just got back from outside,’ he wondered, ’where did Qin i get a cleaver from?’
Mrs. Xie’s face was pale, but her expression was calm. ’The worst that can happen is Qin i commits murder here in Shijiu City,’ she resolved. ’If she does, I’ll just take her back to Xiangjiang.’
Xu Chunwang was frozen in place, stunned. He was used to bullying the weak, using his size and brute force to get his way. Qin i looked petite and easy to pick on, but in reality, she was unbelievably audacious, ready to pull a knife at the slightest provocation.
Liu Guihua couldn’t brake in ti. Just as she was about to impale herself on the cleaver, Qin i suddenly retracted it. She kicked Jie Jingshan’s wheelchair, sending it gliding backward. Simultaneously, she shoved Jie Jingchen aside and sidestepped, clearing a path for Liu Guihua.
Liu Guihua’s massive body crashed heavily to the ground. Her nose was broken, and she even lost a front tooth.
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