Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”Mom, please, calm down.” Seeing Mrs. Xie about to charge out, Qin Mei quickly grabbed her arm. ”Mom, don’t be rash. Hear me out first.”

”What is there to say? It has to be Xu Chunyan. She made up an excuse to have Lin Yaru bring Xiao You home. She just can’t stand to see you two happy, so she’s deliberately using Lin Yaru to get under your skin. Last time, she tried to pass Lin Yaru off as Xiao You’s savior. What excuse is she using to torment you this time?” Mrs. Xie struggled to contain her fury.

Mrs. Xie knew that with Qin Mei coming to her directly, she had to take a firm stand on the matter.

”Teacher Lin said that Xu Chunyan’s mother is sick and she has to stay at the hospital to care for her, so she has no time to look after Xiao You. She asked Teacher Lin to help out for a few days. Teacher Lin is in the kitchen cooking for Xiao You right now,” Qin Mei explained.

Mrs. Xie looked like she was about to explode. ”Let Lin Yaru take care of Xiao You? What, does the Jie Family not have anyone who can do it?”

”Mom, you and Dad have to work, and so does everyone else. The only ones who don’t are me and Jing Qi. Oh, and my brother. Are you suggesting you want us to look after Xiao You?” Qin Mei asked with a smile.

”Of course not,” Mrs. Xie immediately shot down the idea. ”I’ll pay for it. We can have Jing Wu take time off work to look after Xiao You. He has experience.”

Qin Mei thought for a moment, then decided not to beat around the bush. She said bluntly, ”Mom, my second sister-in-law and I don’t get along. I want a new one.”

”...” Mrs. Xie was stunned. ’If sisters-in-law don’t get along, you just... get a new one?’ She was completely floored by Qin Mei and began to seriously wonder if she had heard correctly.

”Xiao Mei, what did you just say?” Mrs. Xie asked tentatively.

”Xu Chunyan wants to set Ms. Xu up with Jie Jingchen, so I’m going to set Ms. Xu up with Jie Jingwei. I’m going to give her a taste of her own medicine,” Qin Mei declared righteously.

Mrs. Xie was at a loss for words. ’An eye for an eye.’ She had to admit, she liked that about her... but...

”Ah, Xiao Mei, this won’t be easy to pull off. Xu Yaru is in love with Jing Si, not Jing Er. Xu Chunyan setting her up with Jing Si is like pushing a boat with the current, but you trying to set her up with Jing Er is like rowing against it,” Mrs. Xie said.

”So what if I’m rowing against the current?” Qin Mei asked defiantly.

Mrs. Xie felt a headache coming on. ’Rowing against the current... is that even possible?’

Qin Mei pulled Mrs. Xie to sit on the edge of the bed, leaned in close to her ear, and laid out her plan. When she finished, a look of horror crossed Mrs. Xie’s face. She asked, worried, ”Will that really work?”

”Mom, I think Xu Chunyan gave the drug to Teacher Lin. Xu Chunyan is impatient and wants a quick victory. My guess is that Teacher Lin will use cooking for Xiao You as an excuse to have the child invite Jie Jingchen over, and then she’ll take the opportunity to drug his food.” Qin Mei left the consequences unsaid.

Qin Mei knew for a fact that Xu Chunyan had that kind of drug. Xu Chunyan had asked her for it once before, wanting to use it on Aunt Zhang. She had flatly refused, but Xu Chunyan had managed to get her hands on it anyway and give it to Aunt Zhang.

The drug was extremely potent. If Xu Chunyan hadn’t brought Grandpa and Granny to stop things, Aunt Zhang and Father-in-law would have actually done it.

”How vicious! How can that Xu Chunyan be so malicious? It’s time she got a taste of her own medicine. Xiao Mei, I support you. Go ahead and do whatever you need to. I’ve got your back. If anything goes wrong, I’ll take the fall,” Mrs. Xie said indignantly. ’To scheme against her son like this... does she think I’m just a corpse?’

”Thank you, Mom.” With her mother-in-law’s support, Qin Mei was finally at ease.

When a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law team up, they are truly an unstoppable force.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! A knock sounded at the door.

Qin Mei and Mrs. Xie both jumped, exchanging a look of alarm. ’They had been speaking quietly, but what if the walls had ears?’

”Who is it?” Mrs. Xie asked warily.

”Mom, it’s me,” came Jie Jingchen’s voice.

Hearing it was Jie Jingchen, they both breathed a sigh of relief. ”Come in.”

Jie Jingchen entered the room but didn’t close the door. His face was dark as he stared at Qin Mei.

Qin Mei’s heart dropped. ’Did he overhear us? Does he think I’m a horrible person now?’

”Um, I...” Qin Mei lowered her gaze, twisting her fingers nervously.

”Where are you hurt?” Jie Jingchen asked, his voice cold, but his dark eyes were filled with worry.

Qin Mei froze, stunned. She looked up at Jie Jingchen, and seeing the undisguised worry in his eyes, she felt small. ’I misjudged him.’ ”I’m not hur—”

”She scraped her knees, elbows, and wrists,” Mrs. Xie chimed in. ”Jingchen, they aren’t serious, but you have to be careful. Don’t let the scrapes get wet, or they might get infected.”

Jie Jingchen grunted in acknowledgment, then scooped Qin Mei up in his arms right in front of his mother and carried her out.

Seeing this from the kitchen where she was cooking, Lin Yaru was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of jealousy and bitterness. ’The one Jie Jingchen dotes on should be me! But that despicable Qin Mei stole him away!’