Chapter 170 - 70: Fourth Brother, Lend Me 2000 (3)
"Two thousand. You must have counted until your hands went soft. The Fourth Wife of Jing is certainly delicate." Jie Jingwei’s tone wasn’t overtly sarcastic, but his words were clearly aimed at Qin Mei.
"It’s more than two thousand..." Qin Mei was cut off by Jie Jingwei before she could finish.
"Right, more than two thousand. And the IOU for two thousand you won from Jing Wu." A smile played on Jie Jingwei’s lips, and his meaningful gaze went past Qin Mei to land on Jie Jingjue.
Jie Jingjue was quite frustrated. He was getting dragged into this just by sitting there quietly. The two thousand he’d lost was just an IOU, while his second brother and sister-in-law had given their fourth sister-in-law two thousand in cold, hard cash. Jie Jingjue could understand their resentment.
"Do you have to count an IOU?" Qin Mei asked Jie Jingchen, who was beside her, before adding sarcastically, "That would be a first."
"You don’t need to count an IOU, you just need to be able to read." Jie Jingchen replied in all seriousness, then mimicked Qin Mei’s sarcastic tone to add, "It’s not like you’re an idiot."
The couple was taking a jab at him. Jie Jingwei was embarrassed and furious, but he could only endure it.
Qin Mei nodded in agreement and continued what she’d been saying before Jie Jingwei interrupted her. "I won two thousand from you two, Dad gave me a thousand, Jing Qi gave me a thousand, and Mom gave me a few hundred for spending money. Not counting the two-thousand IOU from Jing Wu, wow! Jie Jingchen, have I even been in the Jie Family for half a month? I’ve already made over four thousand."
She was flaunting her wealth, openly and brazenly.
Mr. Xie was speechless. She had just announced the thousand he’d given her in front of everyone. He had three daughters-in-law. His second daughter-in-law had given him a grandson, and his third daughter-in-law had given him a granddaughter, yet he had never given either of them that much money.
Mr. Xie felt like Qin Mei had just thrown him into the fire, yet she was looking at him with a grateful expression.
"Third Sister-in-law, Dad gave our fourth sister-in-law a thousand. When you married into the Jie Family, did he give you that much? Because I certainly didn’t get that." Xu Chunyan directed her question to Shen Qing, her gaze on Qin Mei filled with resentment and jealousy.
Xu Chunyan didn’t dare question her father-in-law directly, so she wanted to pull Shen Qing onto her side. After being scammed out of two thousand by Qin Mei, getting a thousand in compensation from her father-in-law would be nice.
Her calculations were shrewd, but unfortunately, Shen Qing held herself above such things. She had no desire to stoop to Xu Chunyan’s level, nor was she after anyone’s money, so she ignored her.
Having been snubbed, Xu Chunyan was both humiliated and furious.
"Second Sister-in-law, you’ve misunderstood. The thousand Dad gave me wasn’t a bride price or a greeting gift," Qin Mei said.
"Then what was it for?" Xu Chunyan asked, the words tumbling out before she could think.
"Your father came to our house to cause a scene and made me have a miscarriage, remember? I was wronged so badly and suffered so much. Of course Dad had to show his support and comfort my wounded heart." After speaking, Qin Mei turned to Mr. Xie. "Right, Dad?"
Mr. Xie gave an awkward laugh, wondering inwardly, ’Have I done something to offend my fourth daughter-in-law?’
Xu Chunyan became agitated and blurted out, "Your miscarriage was fake!"
"Oh, my miscarriage was fake!" Qin Mei admitted freely. She sighed, then continued, "Jie Jingchen and I went to great lengths to get your father locked up in the police station for a few more days. It really wasn’t easy for us. Because of that, Jing Wu even thought I’d betrayed his fourth brother. Ugh! And Jing Wu, in his attempt to catch me cheating, almost beat up Mom."
Qin Mei’s blunt words left everyone at a loss for what to say.
The fake miscarriage was a stopgap measure. Father Xu had wanted to cripple Jie Jingchen, so it was understandable that they used the fake miscarriage to send him to the police station. By admitting it publicly, Qin Mei had also cut off any chance for malicious people to use the incident against her.
"Fourth Sister-in-law." Jie Jingjue looked at Qin Mei with a pleading gaze. ’Can we please not talk about the whole ’catching you cheating’ thing?’
Qin Mei chuckled. "Hehe, don’t misunderstand. I don’t mean anything by it. I just want to remind you that the next time you go trying to catch a cheater, make sure you can tell a man from a woman. You don’t want to mistake our mom for the other man again."
Jie Jingjue fell silent.
Those who didn’t know the full story were curious but dared not ask for details.
"Let’s eat." Mr. Xie spoke up, ending their war of words.
Everyone picked up their chopsticks, except for Qin Mei and Jie Jingchen.
"Oh, my memory is so bad. I haven’t brought out the chicken soup I specially made for the Fourth Wife of Jing. Fourth Wife of Jing, you never told me your miscarriage was fake. I was thinking you were in your postpartum confinement, so when I was making the chicken soup, I made half a chicken just for you. I’ll go get it now." Aunt Zhang stood up and headed for the kitchen.
"Fourth Sister-in-law, Auntie is so good to you. Hearing you’re still in your confinement, she even made you a special chicken soup," Xu Chunyan said in a deliberately sour tone.
Qin Mei smiled without a word, not taking Xu Chunyan’s bait.
Seeing this, Xu Chunyan didn’t say anything more. Saying too much would make her ill intentions obvious.
Qin Mei tugged on Jie Jingchen’s sleeve. Jie Jingchen glanced sideways at her. Qin Mei gave him a look, and although Jie Jingchen understood it, he pretended not to.
"Eat," Qin Mei said in a low voice. Jie Jingchen still didn’t pick up his chopsticks. Qin Mei leaned slightly toward him and whispered, "Go on and eat. There’s nothing wrong with the food."
Jie Jingchen still didn’t move. His eyes were gentle, and a faint smile appeared.
Qin Mei frowned. ’What is this guy playing at?’
Seeing that they weren’t eating, Mrs. Xie asked, "Jing Si, Xiao Mei, why aren’t you two eating?"
Everyone looked at them. Qin Mei was momentarily stunned, then replied with a smile, "I’m waiting for the chicken soup Mrs. Zhang made specially for me."
Hearing how Qin Mei addressed Aunt Zhang, Mrs. Xie’s hand paused as she was picking up food with her chopsticks. She didn’t correct Qin Mei and simply continued to eat gracefully.
"The chicken soup is here." Aunt Zhang carried a large bowl of soup and carefully placed it in front of Qin Mei. The soup was scalding hot, but she hadn’t used a towel or a cloth, carrying it directly from the kitchen to the table with her bare hands.
A faint smile played on Qin Mei’s lips as she watched Aunt Zhang with a mocking expression. The older woman’s fingertips were red from the heat, and she kept blowing on them or pinching her earlobes. Qin Mei felt not a shred of pity or gratitude; instead, she looked on with schadenfreude.
’A ploy to win sympathy. Was that really necessary?’
"Auntie, let me see. Are your fingers burned?" Xu Chunyan, who was sitting next to Aunt Zhang, put down her bowl and chopsticks to grab Aunt Zhang’s hand and inspect it.
"Sister Zhang, is your hand alright?" Mrs. Xie looked at Aunt Zhang. There was no concern in her expression, and her tone was somewhat perfunctory.
Aunt Zhang was all smiles and said nonchalantly, "It’s fine, it’s fine. My skin is thick, a little heat won’t burn it."
Xu Chunyan looked at Aunt Zhang’s reddened fingers, her heart aching for her. She then said to Qin Mei in a commanding tone, "Auntie, look, they’re all red. Fourth Wife of Jing, go get the burn cream for Auntie."
The smile on Qin Mei’s face didn’t fade, but her eyes darkened slightly. ’Aunt Zhang’s own daughter is here, along with her two biological nephews and their wives. But Xu Chunyan doesn’t order them around; she just has to order me, an outsider. Where does she get the confidence to think she can command me?’
"I’ll go." Jie Jingjue put down his bowl and chopsticks and volunteered.
Qin Mei rolled her eyes. ’Jie Jingjue really can’t tell friend from foe.’
Jie Jingjue stood up. Just as he took a step, Jie Jingchen stuck out his left leg and tripped him.
"AH!" Jie Jingjue cried out, falling heavily to the ground. He looked up at Jie Jingchen, humiliated and aggrieved. "Fourth Brother..."
"Be careful." Jie Jingchen calmly stood up and helped Jie Jingjue to his feet. "You can’t even walk straight, yet you’re so eager to suck up. People who know will say you’re close to Aunt Zhang. People who don’t might think you have ulterior motives—like you want to be Aunt Zhang’s son-in-law."
Qin Mei was stunned for a second. ’Jie Jingchen is as black-bellied as ever.’ She mentally shed a tear of sympathy for Jie Jingjue.
The speaker’s words were intentional, and the listeners took them to heart. Mr. Xie and Mrs. Xie both looked at Jie Jingjue simultaneously. Mr. Xie’s brow was tightly furrowed, and Mrs. Xie’s face was clouded with displeasure.
Jie Jinghun and Shen Qing remained spectators. Jie Jingwei had no reaction. Xu Chunyan looked displeased. Compared to Hu Wan’er, whom she didn’t know well, a cousin she knew inside and out would be easier to control. Hu Wan’er was Jie Jingwei’s cousin; Bai Aiyun was *her* cousin.
Jie Jingjue inwardly cried out in alarm and hurriedly explained, "Fourth Brother, what nonsense are you spouting? Aunt Zhang burned her hand, I was just worried..."
"Your future mother-in-law got burned. Of course you should be worried," Jie Jingchen cut in, a mocking sneer on his lips.