"Hmph! Stunned, aren’t you? Speechless now, huh?" Wang Cuifen lifted her chin, radiating arrogance as she reached out to grab Su Xue. "I’m taking you to the police station right now to settle this!"
"Ah!" Su Xue shrieked, wrenching her hand free before snapping back to her senses. "You’re spouting nonsense! You’re slandering me! You... you Xie family bullies! Waaah~"
This was the Su family’s turf, and they had numbers on their side. Su Xue’s mother, He Laidi, quickly stepped in to help. "You vile old hag! How dare you smear my daughter like this? I’ll tear your mouth apart—"
Wang Cuifen yanked He Laidi’s hair, ready to brawl, then barked at her son, "Xie Jianhua! Are you just going to stand there like an idiot? Get over here and fight!"
The key to a group fight? Backup!
If her reinforcements just stood there dumbfounded, how was she supposed to win alone?
Xie Jianhua had been scrutinizing Su Xue’s belly and the expressions of the Su family, trying to figure out whether her pregnancy was real.
Getting caught off guard was his mistake. He’d originally planned to agree to the Su family’s demands to settle the matter and secure his future.
But sensing something fishy, Xie Jianhua didn’t hesitate. He grabbed a nearby stool and charged ahead of Wang Cuifen, beating the Su men until they howled in pain.
Xie Jianhua was strong enough to take on several men effortlessly. After pinning them down, he frowned and asked, "Mom, how did you know about Su Xue’s pregnancy?"
He mainly wanted to know if the source was reliable.
Had Wang Cuifen known earlier, she wouldn’t have waited until now to expose it. She’d have stormed into the Su family right away, demanding the dowry back, and wouldn’t have let Xie Jianhua walk into this trap unprepared.
If Su Xue wasn’t actually pregnant, stirring up trouble like this would only force the Xie family to pay a steeper price to smooth things over.
Su Qing also tilted her head, curiosity gleaming in her wide eyes as she studied Wang Cuifen.
She, too, wanted to know how Wang Cuifen had found out about Su Xue’s pregnancy.
In the original host’s memories, this scene didn’t exist.
When the original host was caught in bed by her family and neighbors, her world had collapsed. Terrified and sobbing, her mind went blank, leaving her like a puppet, easily manipulated into agreeing to the marriage.
To avoid gossip, the Xie family hastily held a simple wedding banquet the next day, with the marriage certificate and military report filed later.
Right after the banquet, Xie Jianhua left for the army and rarely returned. The original host became the talk of the town—a scheming woman who’d shamelessly climbed into a man’s bed to stay in the city, enduring pointed fingers wherever she went.
The Su family’s scheme had flaws, but the original host never doubted them, blaming Xie Jianhua instead—for getting drunk, sleeping in the wrong bed, and refusing to take responsibility.
It wasn’t until Su Xue’s child was born that the original host finally sensed something was off. How could a premature baby be so big? Only then did she confront her mother.
"I did it for your own good! If you hadn’t married Xie Jianhua, you’d still be farming in the countryside. Enough already—stop acting ungrateful. Go back and tend to your mother-in-law. You’re the one who’s useless, making me suffer Wang Cuifen’s curses…"
But what good did knowing the truth do? Even after realizing she’d been tricked, the original host couldn’t bring herself to retaliate against her own mother.
She cried all night, sleepless with rage, and in the end, let it go.
Recalling this, Su Qing quickly patted her chest to calm herself. She couldn’t dwell on it—with medical conditions like this era, getting worked up over mammary nodules wouldn’t end well.
Su Xue’s pregnancy had been tightly concealed by the Su family. Even the original host only found out later. There was no way Wang Cuifen could’ve known so clearly.
Plus, Wang Cuifen’s attitude toward her now was nothing like how she’d treated the original host in the memories. She was way too friendly.
Su Qing crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes with certainty. Wang Cuifen must’ve had an underworld mishap, just like her—either a transmigrator or a reincarnator.
Judging by how naturally Wang Cuifen spoke and acted, she was probably a reincarnator.
And since she was so protective of Su Qing, their relationship in Wang Cuifen’s past life must’ve been good.
In that case, Su Qing couldn’t let her ally fight alone. She could revisit the original host’s memories later—right now, Wang Cuifen needed backup.
"Stop fighting! You’re bleeding! I’ll go get help!" Dropping her spectator act, Su Qing instantly switched to a panicked, pitiful tone.
The moment her hand touched the door, the Su family’s expressions twisted in unison. "Don’t you dare!" "Don’t open that door!"
If Wang Cuifen started shouting and drew the neighbors in, it’d be a disaster.
Their reaction said it all—no more denials needed.
Su Qing spun around, eyes welling up. "So... Su Xue really is pregnant. Is the father that Ren Chao guy? He’s married! If you didn’t want to marry Xie Jianhua, was sending him to my bed the solution? And then bringing the neighbors to humiliate me?"
Not only did she know about the pregnancy, but she’d even named the lover.
Su Xue felt the sky crashing down. "Elder Sister, it’s not what you think—I didn’t—"
"You did." Su Qing’s eyes reddened. Then—smack!—she slapped Su Xue so hard her own hand stung.
In seconds, a bright red handprint bloomed on Su Xue’s left cheek.
Su Qing silently rubbed her palm. Her strength seemed to have increased again.
"Why are you hitting your sister? She did this for you! If you hadn’t married Xie Jianhua, you’d still be farming in the countryside. Don’t act ungrateful."
He Laidi had said the same thing to the original host.
But Su Qing wasn’t a pushover. She fired back, "You’re the ungrateful one. You didn’t want to return the 500-yuan dowry, so you threw me under the bus. You’ve got no shame, but I do! Am I not your daughter too? Trampling my reputation—did you ever think about what my life would be like married into the Xie family like this?"
The original host’s bottled-up grievances poured out as Su Qing seized the moment to vent for her.
Seeing this, Xie Jianhua relaxed. With a cold smirk, he released Su Youjin and pulled out a stool for Wang Cuifen. This wasn’t over yet.
Why was this kid so dense? Wang Cuifen shot Xie Jianhua a look, then pointed imperiously at Su Qing’s feet, signaling him to hand her a stool instead.
Mother and son locked eyes in a silent standoff. Two seconds later, Xie Jianhua sighed and passed the stool to Su Qing.
Su Qing glanced at it. "Thanks, but no. A stool could kill someone. I’ll stick to my hands."
