Chapter 127: The Schemes of a Scoundrel

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Mrs. Fang nodded slightly, agreeing completely with her daughter-in-law. The old matriarch of the Qian family had always been fond of picking on Xihua. Wasn’t it just because they feared losing face, afraid of this and that, that they advised their daughter to let things slide? Yet the result was that Xihua’s temperament became more and more suppressed, and she suffered so much at her in-laws' house.

Mrs. Fang also felt that if her daughter-in-law had married into the family a few years earlier, Xihua would have already escaped her misery. This led Mrs. Fang to feel displeased with her eldest son as well. Clearly, her daughter-in-law was such a good woman—so why didn’t her eldest son hurry to marry her off back when Tang Zhiqing was first sent down three years ago?

Originally, the Qian matriarch had called upon the team leader and the party secretary of their production brigade to back them up, but unexpectedly, the matter escalated. Instead, it was the team leader who stepped in to calm things down, persuading the Li family to return home first and cool off, suggesting that the two families sit down face to face the next day to resolve the issue calmly.

The team leader’s suggestion was made with the Qian family’s dignity in mind. He had already noticed early on that although the opposing side had come with a few people, none of them were truly important. The key figure was the eldest daughter-in-law of the Li family, who seemed to be the center of the dispute and was reportedly the Zhiqing woman from the city.

Indeed, the educated Zhiqing from the city was different; she spoke with reason and always backed up her words with evidence, unlike the Qian matriarch who only knew how to throw tantrums and cause a scene.

Even though it’s hard for officials to judge family disputes, this Tang Zhiqing was clearly fearless. If things got worse, it would not bode well for their brigade’s reputation.

But the Qian matriarch was unwilling to concede. She had brought the team officials to support her side, so why did the team leader keep defending that Zhiqing woman?

She wanted to make more trouble, but the team leader’s one sentence frightened her: “If you keep causing a scene, your son’s dishonor will become known across the commune and even the entire county. Would you be happy then?”

So the Li family returned home smoothly, truly as a united family. When they had come out, it was Li’s father, mother, Gu Lao San, and the eldest daughter-in-law; when they left, they were also bringing along the eldest daughter.

Previously, they had left their cart at a neighbor’s house; now they went to retrieve it. Tang Xin gave the neighbor a bag of candy as thanks—ten whole pieces, enough for their little boy to enjoy for days. The neighbor was even more convinced that the Qian matriarch was at fault, seeing how well the Li family’s daughter-in-law was.

Before they could leave the production brigade, however, they saw Qian Darong rushing over in haste.

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After he fainted, Qian Laotou had taken him back to his room to rest. At first, he was genuinely unwell, so the noisy commotion outside didn’t wake him.

Later, when Qian Darong regained consciousness, he learned that his mother had fallen out with his wife and immediately became anxious.

By the time he rushed into the yard in a single bound, he realized that everything had been ruined by his mother and that there was hardly any chance to salvage the situation.

Qian Darong was deeply frustrated. He had always thought that his mother was a shrew and that his wife’s mother couldn’t manage her, so he trusted his mother to help him out.

Since childhood, whenever Qian Darong couldn’t handle something, he would have his mother step in.

His reputation outside was quite good, thanks to a junior high school diploma.

Only his family knew that certificate was obtained after his mother cried and caused a scene at the teacher's house and even at the principal’s office, forcing them to reluctantly issue a diploma.

If his mother could manage something like that, Qian Darong believed there was nothing she couldn’t accomplish.

It was this belief that gave Qian Darong the confidence to act recklessly outside.

After all, with his mother handling family matters and his wife, he could continue living his carefree life.

But as the saying goes, if you walk the night road often, you will encounter ghosts. Qian Darong never expected this time he would hit a brick wall—and it was because of a woman.

A woman who, whenever he saw her, made him remember and believe he could regain his manly vigor—but only because he suddenly recalled the strength of Li Sheng’s fists did he suppress his filthy thoughts.

Yet now, everything was about to be destroyed.

He might even lose the wife who had always been obedient and easy to appease.

Qian Darong refused to accept this, ignoring his mother for the moment as he hurriedly chased after his wife toward the village entrance.

Stopping her ox cart from leaving, this time Qian Darong didn’t dare to stare at the beauty; instead, tears brimmed in his eyes as he looked at his wife.

“Xihua, are you really this heartless?” Qian Darong said, voice thick with tears.

Oh my goodness, Tang Xin felt a chill run down her spine. Where had this melodramatic male lead from a romance novel suddenly appeared?

He never acted like this when talking to Brother Li Sheng.

Fortunately, Li Xihua was calmer and more level-headed than before.

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Looking at the man, she said simply, “Stop talking. No matter what you say, it’s useless.”

“My parents came today with good intentions, but your mother hurt mine, and I hit your mother. There’s no way our relationship can go back to how it was. Continuing is meaningless.”

The more Li Xihua spoke, the clearer she became, even slightly amused. She didn’t give him a chance to respond, preempting what he wanted to say:

“Are you going to say this isn’t your fault? That everything bad and wrong was done by your mother? That you’re innocent and want me to forgive you?”

During the whole event, Qian Darong had hidden in the room because of his fainting. He only woke up just as she was arguing with her in-laws.

In the past, this was always his tactic, and Li Xihua realized:

She had been a fool from beginning to end.

Having broken free from the traps she was once caught in, Li Xihua’s mind cleared, and she saw through the scoundrel’s schemes.

On the surface, Qian Darong appeared to be a filial son who obeyed his mother in everything.

But in reality, he was a sinister, deceitful, despicable man.

Since he was filial, he obeyed his mother, who always took the lead.

His mother did the dirty work, he reaped the rewards, and yet he was the one who collected any benefits.

The one who ended up with the bad reputation was the Qian matriarch.

Just like before, Qian Darong would always advise his mother to endure, telling her that she was only confused for a moment.

But in truth, the person kept in the dark all along was her.

Many past mysteries began to surface, and Li Xihua discovered:

From the very beginning, Qian Darong knew he could never be a real man and instead blamed her for being unable to bear children.

Over those years, she bore countless pressures, enduring the Qian matriarch’s poison without ever daring to fight back.

In the end, she was just an innocent victim, wrongfully suffering under others’ malice.