Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

Mrs. Xie held back a laugh and said, ”He probably thought the last prescription wasn’t very effective.”

As a doctor, Mrs. Xie detested patients who didn’t follow her instructions.

”So, he deserves to be cuckolded. He deserves for the child to have nothing to do with him. He can just enjoy being a father to someone else’s kid,” Qin Mei said emotionlessly.

’When Jie Anqi latched onto Qin Xiang and forced him to marry her, how did Jie Anlin and the others persuade him?’

Qin Mei was very much looking forward to seeing whether Jie Anlin would gladly accept it or fly into a rage when Zhao Hong’s child turned out not to be his.

”How did Zhao Hong dare?” Mrs. Xie was perplexed. Zhao Hong had such a timid and weak-willed personality; how could she possibly dare to do something like this?

”Where there is oppression, there is resistance,” Qin Mei said. ”This era is cruel to women. When needed, they ’hold up half the sky,’ but when they’re not, they’re just freeloaders. This is especially true when it comes to childbirth. Never mind being married for several years—even after just one year, if you can’t have a child, no one suspects it’s the man’s problem. They only assume it’s the woman’s fault.”

The disgusted and vicious gossip alone was enough to drown a person.

Mrs. Xie fell silent.

”Mom, are you going to tell Dad?” Qin Mei asked. Her mother-in-law was the wife of the Jie family’s eldest son. Although this was a matter of the family’s second branch, it was still a scandal for the Jie Family. Zhao Hong hadn’t been pregnant for long, so aborting the child now wouldn’t cause too much physical harm. As for the consequences she would have to bear afterward, Qin Mei could already imagine them.

”What would I tell your father?” Mrs. Xie played dumb, saying emotionlessly, ”I don’t know anything.”

Qin Mei was stunned for a moment, then mimicked Mrs. Xie’s nonchalant tone. ”I don’t know anything either.”

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law looked at each other, then burst out laughing. Their laughter was filled with gleeful anticipation.

”What are you two laughing about?” Jie Jingchen asked as he entered the room, hearing their wild laughter. His gentle gaze rested on Qin Mei.

”Schadenfreude,” they said in unison. They both froze for a second, then clutched their stomachs and roared with laughter again.

”Tone it down a bit,” Jie Jingchen said, turning to Mrs. Xie. ”Mom, the Governor Mansion sent someone. Your cousin wants you and Grandfather to go over.”

”So soon?” Mrs. Xie was a little surprised, then gave a decisive smile. ”Your cousin is as impatient as ever.”

”The German Merchant’s people are already at the Governor Mansion,” Jie Jingchen reminded her.

”They want to settle this privately,” Mrs. Xie sneered.

Jie Jingchen glanced at Qin Mei with admiration and said, ”A private settlement is the only option. One hundred and eight stab wounds, each one looking dangerous but deliberately avoiding any vital spots. The medical evaluation ruled it a minor injury.”

Mrs. Xie raised her gaze slightly, her lips twisting in displeasure as a ruthless glint appeared in her eyes.

’If it were me, every single stab would have been fatal. If not to kill the German Merchant, then at least to cripple him.’

”Mom, is your reputation valuable?” Qin Mei asked, looking at Mrs. Xie with a serious expression, hoping for an honest answer.

Without a second’s hesitation, Mrs. Xie blurted out, ”It’s worthless.”

It was worthless because she didn’t care about it.

Qin Mei facepalmed. Her mother-in-law’s attitude was clearly uncooperative. ”Mom, your reputation was ruined because of him. Aren’t you going to take this opportunity to demand compensation?”

Jie Jingchen gave Qin Mei a complicated look. The idea had been hers, though her original target wasn’t his mother, but rather his grandfather for pushing his mother forward. The main culprits were she and his grandfather.

A ruthless smile played on Mrs. Xie’s lips. She shot a sideways glance at Qin Mei and said, both domineering and arrogant, ”The Qiao Family doesn’t need money. I don’t want compensation. I want his life.”

Qin Mei said nothing. ’My mother-in-law is so brutal, always talking about killing people. I really want to remind her that she’s a doctor who saves lives. Her temperament should be one that despises evil, so why was she good-tempered enough to tolerate the Xu Family exploiting her for so many years?’

’Although she didn’t personally care for her parents-in-law at their bedside, she provided them with more than enough money to live lavishly, and she helped her husband’s younger siblings whenever she could.’

”Mom, he can’t die right now.” Jie Jingchen’s implication was clear: once this matter was resolved, as long as the German Merchant didn’t return to his country, there would always be a chance to get him killed.

Mrs. Xie understood her son’s implication but was not satisfied. ”What would happen if he died?” she asked.

”It would be very troublesome,” Jie Jingchen replied.

”Hmph!” Mrs. Xie snorted coldly, declaring with wild arrogance, ”The Qiao Family isn’t afraid of trouble.”

”Mom, the Qiao Family may not be afraid of trouble, but *I* will be in trouble.” Jie Jingchen deliberately stressed the word ”I.”

Qin Mei’s ears perked up. There was a hidden meaning in Jie Jingchen’s words. Thinking about what he said, she looked at him gratefully. He had retired from the military, yet when her younger brother asked for his help, he hadn’t refused. He had stepped up without a second thought, even at the risk of implicating the Qiao Family.

Mrs. Xie relented. It wasn’t worth causing trouble for her son just to vent her anger. ”Fine. If he can’t die, he can’t die. I don’t want the compensation, either. I find it filthy.”