Reborn in the 1970s — Married a Proud Rough Man

”What’s so strange about it?” Qin Mei asked, following Second Aunt’s lead.

”Doctor Qiao said Xu Chunyan bought the drug at the hospital by taking advantage of their connection. Why would Xu Chunyan buy that kind of drug?” Second Aunt asked, baffled.

”I don’t know.” Qin Mei shook her head.

”So who do you think Xu Chunyan gave the drug to? Jing Er? Or Teacher Lin? There’s no way Jing Er would drug Teacher Lin! He doesn’t even like her. And it’s even more impossible that Teacher Lin would drug Jing Er! The one she’s crazy about is Jing Si... Ah! I’ve got it!” Second Aunt shrieked as realization struck.

Qin Mei gave Second Aunt a sidelong glance and asked dismissively, ”Got what?”

Second Aunt leaned in close to Qin Mei and whispered in her ear, ”Teacher Lin was trying to drug Jing Si.”

Qin Mei was silent. The players are often lost, but the spectators see all. A sharp mind could easily read the subtext. Everyone knew, but it was an unspoken truth.

Qin Mei scrutinized Second Aunt. She had a strong suspicion that Second Aunt hadn’t come to analyze the situation with her, but rather to give her an indirect warning.

’Second Aunt is truly going out of her way,’ Qin Mei thought.

”Fourth Wife of Jing.” Seeing no reaction from Qin Mei, not even a flicker of surprise on her face, Second Aunt poked her on the shoulder. ”Teacher Lin was planning to drug Jing Si.”

”Yes, I know,” Qin Mei replied.

Second Aunt raised an eyebrow. ”Fourth Wife of Jing, don’t take this lightly. Teacher Lin is about to be your sister-in-law. You have to be on guard against her; don’t let up for even a moment.”

”Okay, I’ll be on guard against her. I won’t let up for a moment.” Qin Mei nodded. Seeing that the herbs had brewed long enough, she took the pot off the small stove and set it aside. She then placed another herbal pot on the stove, poured in half a small bowl of powdered medicine, and began stirring it with a pair of chopsticks.

Her response was far too perfunctory. Second Aunt felt a little defeated. Qin Mei was still too naive and didn’t realize the gravity of the situation. As someone with more life experience, Second Aunt was very fond of Qin Mei and felt it was her duty to teach the girl about how treacherous people can be.

”Fourth Wife of Jing,” Second Aunt said, ”when a person gets desperate, they’re capable of anything. Once Teacher Lin marries Jing Er, she definitely won’t settle down and live a quiet life with him. She’ll be watching you and Jing Si constantly, doing all sorts of awful things just to make life difficult for you two.”

”They won’t be living here.” Qin Mei smiled at Second Aunt. She was grateful for the warning; she could tell Second Aunt was genuinely concerned for her, though that concern was tinged with self-interest. Second Aunt, after all, saw her as a God of Wealth.

”I know. Jing Wu is busy helping them move. It’s for the best that Jing Er is moving back to the housing assigned by the factory—at least you won’t have to see them every day. But you’ll all be together for family gatherings, and there’s no telling if Teacher Lin will pull some kind of extreme stunt just to make everyone miserable.” Second Aunt was considering the long-term possibilities.

It was one thing when she wasn’t part of the family, but once she was, things would get complicated.

”We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I’ll handle whatever she throws at me,” Qin Mei said, smiling at Second Aunt, her eyes crinkling.

’What a naive girl,’ Second Aunt thought, full of worry. ”But dirty tricks and malicious schemes are hard to counter!”

Qin Mei simply smiled without a word. ’There was a way to counter dirty tricks, and there was a way to counter malicious schemes.’

Second Aunt went on, telling Qin Mei many more things. Qin Mei appeared to be listening intently, looking for all the world like a humble student, but in truth, she wasn’t paying much mind. Still, she let Second Aunt chatter on.

Second Aunt started to feel like she was worrying for nothing. Her mouth was dry from all the talking, so she got up and went to the kitchen for a drink of water. A moment later, she was back in front of Qin Mei.

”There’s one thing I just can’t wrap my head around,” Second Aunt said.

”What is it?” Qin Mei asked.

”If Teacher Lin was trying to drug Jing Si, why was Jing Er the one who got drugged?” Second Aunt asked. She looked up at the sky, but the sunlight was too harsh, and she quickly looked down, rubbing her stinging eyes.

Qin Mei hesitated for a few seconds. Second Aunt had gone to such lengths to warn her. She might as well just tell her the truth. ’All this worrying could take years off an older person’s life.’

”Jie Jingchen switched it.”

Qin Mei felt she could trust Second Aunt.

”What?” Second Aunt thought she must have misheard.

So Qin Mei didn’t hide anything and told her the whole story. When she finished, Second Aunt’s face was a mask of disbelief. The way she looked at Qin Mei had completely changed.

’I thought the Fourth Wife of Jing was just a naive little rabbit who only occasionally showed her claws. I never would have guessed she was actually a thousand-year-old vixen, cunning and sharp as a tack.’

’All that worrying I just did was completely pointless.’

’Even I can be soft-hearted at times. But when Qin Mei makes a move, she shows absolutely no mercy.’