Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”What part of our An Qi isn’t good enough for Qin Xiang?” Granny retorted, unconvinced.

”No part of her is.” Jie Jingchen’s words were deliberate, his voice as cold and hard as a bullet.

Granny gritted her teeth. ”An Qi is your cousin.”

’How could he, her own cousin, belittle her like that?’

”She should be thankful she’s my cousin.” Jie Jingchen’s gaze was frosty. If Jie Anqi weren’t his cousin, he wouldn’t tolerate her antics for a second.

Granny’s idea to have Qin Xiang marry into their family was simple. An Qi could then move to his military post with him. It would get her out of sight and out of mind, and it would also prevent her from fighting An Lin for the house. It was a plan to kill two birds with one stone.

Just as she was pondering how to convince Jie Jingchen to give An Qi a helping hand, Grandpa returned with a somber expression.

”Grandpa, how is An Qi?” Granny asked anxiously.

Grandpa didn’t answer. He walked over with a dark expression and sat on the stone stool. His brow was tightly furrowed, his cloudy eyes veiled with an obscure film, and his wrinkled face was lost in complex thought.

”Grandpa, did something happen to An Qi?” Granny was frantic. Seeing him hesitate, she nearly collapsed, her body swaying precariously. Jie Jingchen stepped forward to steady her, helping her into a rattan chair. A thick, inconsolable grief spread across Granny’s face as she began to mutter to herself, ”An Qi is dead. My An Qi is dead.”

Qin Mei was taken aback. ’Jie Anqi cut her wrist, but she was taken to the hospital in time. Her life shouldn’t be in danger.’

She couldn’t believe Jie Anqi would actually die.

Tears streamed down Granny’s face. She shoved Jie Jingchen and accused him, ”This is all your fault! All your fault! You knew what An Qi was like, yet you still pushed her! She’s your cousin, why couldn’t you just give in to her? She only wanted to marry your brother-in-law. Even if you wouldn’t help her, you should have tried to calm her down first! Jie Jingchen, you’re the one who drove her to her death! You’re her murderer! Now that An Qi is dead, your second uncle and aunt will never forgive you!”

Jie Jingchen remained silent, but his eyes darkened and his jaw tensed.

Qin Mei stood up, pulled Jie Jingchen behind her, and shielded him with her body. She glared at Granny, her gaze sharp. ”Give in to her? On what grounds should he give in to her?”

”On the grounds that she’s Jing Si’s cousin.” Granny’s gaze was vicious. Emotional blackmail was her favorite tactic.

”Forget a cousin—even if it were his own sister, Jing Qi, we wouldn’t indulge her if she dared to threaten us with suicide.” Qin Mei’s voice was severe, her tone revealing an unyielding resolve. She refused to tolerate anyone who would use suicide as a weapon.

”You two... you’re so cruel and heartless.” Granny pointed a trembling finger at the couple.

”Oh, so *you’re* the one with feelings? You’re the one who cares? When Jie Anqi was threatening suicide, you didn’t show your face. When she was banging on your door, you didn’t open it. You let her pound on the door and scream while you hid in your room like a coward. But now that something’s actually happened to her, you’re all fired up and ready to demand justice for her? Granny, don’t you find your own behavior shameless?” Qin Mei demanded coldly.

Shielded by Qin Mei, Jie Jingchen felt no discomfort at all. ’Being protected by his wife... felt pretty good.’

Knowing she was in the wrong, Granny puffed out her chest to hide her guilt. ”I... I was asleep.”

”Asleep? Hah!” Qin Mei sneered, her eyes brimming with contempt. ”You were asleep? Or were you sleeping the sleep of the dead?”

”You... you... you’re cursing me! Jing Si, look at this wife you married! She’s so vicious, cursing your own grandmother! Jing Si, hit her! Hit her for me! An unfilial granddaughter-in-law like her deserves to be beaten to death!” Furious and ashamed, Granny pointed a violently trembling finger at Qin Mei. In her indignant grief, she had forgotten that Jing Si didn’t take orders from her.

’Besides the eldest son’s family, who would ever dare to disobey her? Her sons and daughters, her daughters-in-law and sons-in-law, her grandsons and granddaughters, her granddaughters-in-law and grandsons-in-law—every single one of them had always obeyed her every command.’

’The eldest used to be so filial, too. But ever since Zhang Hongyan died and he married Qiao Yanqiu, he stopped listening to her.’

’Marrying Qiao Yanqiu brought wealth to the family, but it cost her a dutiful son. And now, even his children were unfilial.’

’She could lord over everyone in any of her other children’s homes, but at the eldest’s house, she felt completely stifled.’

Qin Mei couldn’t believe Granny was actually encouraging Jie Jingchen to hit her. A wave of desolation washed over her—not for herself, but for the women of this era. ’In conflicts between a wife and a mother-in-law, most men would choose the mother who raised them. They would listen to their mother’s words and inflict violence on their own wives.’

Qin Mei turned to face Jie Jingchen directly. Her eyes were devoid of emotion, but her voice was laced with ice. ”Would you dare hit me?”

’There’s no such thing as hitting your partner just once—it’s either zero times or countless times. And her tolerance for domestic violence was zero. If Jie Jingchen dared to lay a hand on her, she wouldn’t even bother with a divorce. She would just leave, cleanly and decisively, without a single look back.’