Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Chapter 50: Chapter 31: Jie Jingchen, Are You Tired of Living?

With Xu Chunyan’s tears and snot in it, who would dare to eat it? Even her husband and son would likely find it repulsive.

”Qin Mei, you’re committing a crime! This is murder! I’m reporting you to the police,” Xu Chunyan shrieked.

”Crime? Murder? You’ve got it all wrong! Second Sister-in-law, I grabbed you when you slipped. I grabbed you again when your head was about to fall into the cauldron of porridge. I was saving you, Second Sister-in-law. I’m your savior! And instead of being grateful and thanking me, you’re trying to frame me? You can’t be this kind of person.” Qin Mei put on a deeply wounded expression.

Xu Chunyan was dumbstruck, her reddened face filled with utter shock. ”Qin Mei, you’re twisting the facts and spouting nonsense!”

”I’m the one being wronged. You’re the one twisting the facts and talking nonsense,” Qin Mei said, flashing a harmless smile. Her strategy was to be unyielding. ’As long as I stick to my story, what can Xu Chunyan do to me? There are no security cameras, and she has no proof. It’s just her word against mine. Who’s going to believe her?’

”Qin Mei!” Xu Chunyan seethed, her face aching and her heart consumed by rage.

She felt like a scholar trying to reason with a soldier—it was utterly pointless.

Qin Mei felt no guilt. Xu Chunyan had provoked her first and had been the one to make the first move. She wasn’t a fool. Why wouldn’t she fight back when faced with someone acting like a lunatic?

”Qin Mei, I’m telling Father! I’ll have him give me justice!” Xu Chunyan refused to believe that after so many years in the Jie Family, her status would be lower than that of Qin Mei, who had only been around for two days.

’The Jie Family will definitely side with her because she’s supposed to treat Jing Qi’s leg. Hmph! But nothing is set in stone yet. We don’t even know if Qin Mei actually has the ability to cure Jing Qi’s leg.’

Xu Chunyan was genuinely worried that Qin Mei did have this ability. If Qin Mei really managed to heal Jing Qi’s leg, she would become the Jie Family’s hero. Given their hostile relationship, Qin Mei would surely target her and constantly find fault. Her own status as the wife of the eldest son would be greatly diminished.

”Do you have any physical evidence? Do you have any witnesses? Heh, you have neither, do you? Father is the head of this family. He can certainly judge for himself. It’s not a matter of just taking your word for it,” Qin Mei said, crossing her arms and staring down at the pathetic heap that was Xu Chunyan on the floor. Her expression screamed, ’You have no proof, so what can you do to me?’

Hearing this, Jie Jingchen silently withdrew. He turned to look at the three in the courtyard. They all shared a tacit understanding, and no one made a sound. A warm smile spread across Jie Jinghun’s face; he was in an excellent mood.

He and Jie Jingwei were full-blooded brothers. However, because Jie You constantly bullied his daughter, and Jie Jingwei and his wife did nothing to stop it, he had been forced to send his daughter to live with her maternal grandmother. He held a grudge over this. So now, watching Xu Chunyan take a major fall at Qin Mei’s hands was deeply satisfying.

’Good. Serves her right.’

Jie Jinghun returned to his room. Jie Jingjue scratched his head, stifling a laugh, then pushed Jie Jingshan back to her room.

”Qin Mei, what goes around comes around! Your day of reckoning will come! You just wait,” Xu Chunyan snarled, glaring daggers at Qin Mei.

Qin Mei let out a soft laugh, her gaze on Xu Chunyan turning ice-cold. ”I don’t know if I’ll ever get my comeuppance, but I do know one thing: I am yours.”

”Qin Mei!” Xu Chunyan shrieked, ripping off her shoe and hurling it at Qin Mei.

Qin Mei sidestepped the projectile. Whether by coincidence or design, Xu Chunyan’s shoe landed squarely in the cauldron, splashing hot porridge onto the back of Qin Mei’s hand.

And so, Qin Mei once again plunged her hand into the water vat. She glanced at the nearly full container. ’Well, it’s undrinkable now, but it’s still fine for heating up bathwater.’

Xu Chunyan was dumbstruck. She had only meant to hit Qin Mei with her shoe.

”Nice shot,” Qin Mei said sarcastically.

”You...” Xu Chunyan had a sinking feeling that Qin Mei was up to no good.

”You didn’t have any proof. But now, I do.” Qin Mei’s triumphant grin nearly drove Xu Chunyan insane.

”You did that on purpose!” Xu Chunyan glared furiously at Qin Mei.

”On purpose? Second Sister-in-law, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” As the pain subsided, Qin Mei pulled her hand out of the water, shaking off the droplets. She examined the reddened skin on the back of her hand, puckering her lips to blow on it gently.

Xu Chunyan was too furious to speak. ’She’s putting on an act. Such a good little actress.’

”Second Sister-in-law, all I know is that you slipped, and I caught you. Your head almost fell into the cauldron, and I pulled you back. But instead of being grateful, you repay my kindness with malice. Look, the back of my hand is burned now!” Qin Mei held up her injured hand. She hadn’t anticipated the shoe landing in the pot, and the porridge had splashed out too quickly for her to dodge completely.

Xu Chunyan was livid. ”You’re spouting nonsense!”

”I have proof,” Qin Mei said with a smug smile, pointing at the cauldron. ”Your shoe in that pot is all the proof I need.”

”Qin Mei!” Ignoring the pain in her face, Xu Chunyan scrambled up from the floor and snatched up a kitchen cleaver. In her rage, she didn’t stop to think, her only thought to teach Qin Mei a lesson. She never questioned why a cleaver was lying on the ground in the first place. ”I’m going to kill you!”

”AHH! HELP ME!” Qin Mei shrieked, bolting out of the kitchen. The moment she saw Jie Jingchen, she ducked behind him and cried out, ”Jie Jingchen, help! Your sister-in-law is trying to kill me!”

”Fourth Brother, move! Qin Mei, if I don’t kill you today, then my name isn’t Xu Chunyan!” Xu Chunyan brandished the cleaver. She knew who her target was and didn’t direct her anger at Jie Jingchen.

’She’s actually pulled a knife and is threatening to kill Qin Mei. How could I tolerate this?’ A cold glint surfaced in his dark eyes. He was about to kick Xu Chunyan away when a flicker of movement at the courtyard gate caught his eye. A cunning, dark smile played on his lips.

In a swift turn, Jie Jingchen pulled Qin Mei into his arms, shielding her with his body and exposing his back to Xu Chunyan.

Xu Chunyan swung the cleaver, intending only to scare Jie Jingchen into backing off. She never expected him to pull a stunt like this. It was too late to stop; the silver blade slashed across Jie Jingchen’s back.

”Jing Chen!” cried Mrs. Xie.

”Xiao Si!” cried Mr. Xie.

”Fourth Brother!” cried Jie Jingjue.

Several horrified cries rang out in unison.

Seeing this, even Jie Jinghun, who had been enjoying the drama from his window, couldn’t help but gasp.

Qin Mei was utterly horrified, frozen stiff in Jie Jingchen’s arms. She knew that with his abilities, even with his waist injury, he could have easily subdued Xu Chunyan. She’d sensed he was about to make a move, but at the critical moment, he had suddenly changed his mind.

”You...” Xu Chunyan’s startled eyes filled with shock. Her body was trembling violently, especially the hand clutching the cleaver.

”Jie Jingchen!” Qin Mei snapped back to reality, the worry in her eyes instantly replaced by a nameless fury. She roared, ”Jie Jingchen, have you lost your mind?”

”I’m fine,” Jie Jingchen said, the corners of his lips lifting. ’I calculated the angle perfectly the moment Xu Chunyan swung the blade. It looked terrifying, but in reality, it would only be a flesh wound. The only real casualties would be two layers of clothing.’

Still reeling from the shock, Mrs. Xie rushed to Jie Jingchen’s side to inspect the wound on his back. The cut was long, stretching nearly across his entire back, but it was shallow and wouldn’t even require stitches.

”Mom, here.” Jie Jingjue handed the first-aid kit to Mrs. Xie. The two of them had a perfect understanding; as she had run to Jie Jingchen, he had gone straight to her room to retrieve the kit.

Mrs. Xie took the kit and carefully treated Jie Jingchen’s wound. After disinfecting it and applying medicine, she glared fiercely at the stupefied Xu Chunyan, her expression a mixture of heartbreak and uncontrollable rage. ”They say it’s hard being a stepmother. Second Daughter-in-law, I want you to ask yourself, have I ever treated you badly?”

”Aunt Qiao,” Xu Chunyan stammered, her face filled with dread. She began to tremble even more violently. With Mr. Xie present, she didn’t dare show anything but feigned respect for Mrs. Xie.

She always provoked Mrs. Xie behind Mr. Xie’s back. At first, she had been more restrained, afraid Mrs. Xie would tattle on her. But she gradually discovered that Mrs. Xie never complained about her to her husband in private. Over time, this made her bold and reckless.

”Second Daughter-in-law, no matter how you’ve targeted me in the past, I’ve overlooked it because you’re my junior. But now you’ve taken it to a whole new level, swinging a cleaver at my son. Tell me, how am I supposed to tolerate that, hmmm?” That last syllable from Mrs. Xie was packed with menace.

”I... I didn’t...” Xu Chunyan dropped the cleaver, the fear in her heart intensifying. She was trapped, with no way to defend herself.