"Oh my! What a job well done." Granny Yu slapped her thigh, then left with the other woman without bothering Qin Mei any further.

Qin Mei stepped out of the room, closed the door behind her, and walked over to Jie Jingshan’s room. She knocked. "Jing Qi."

"The door’s not locked, Sister-in-law," Jie Jingshan said.

Qin Mei pushed the door open but didn’t go in. She stood at the entrance and saw Jie Jingshan studying. "Jing Qi, I’m going to Second Granny’s house to drop off some salve. Just wanted to let you know."

"I’ll go with you, Sister-in-law," Jie Jingshan said, getting up.

"No need. With things as they are now, I don’t have to worry about leaving you alone. Time is short, so you should stay home and study." Qin Mei refused. She used to take Jing Qi with her because of Aunt Zhang, but Aunt Zhang was no longer a problem. As for Grandpa and Granny, while Granny didn’t dote on her granddaughters, she wouldn’t harm them, either.

"Okay." Jie Jingshan sat back down.

"Keep it up, Jing Qi." Qin Mei made a cheering gesture at her, then closed the door and headed for Second Granny’s house, humming a little tune.

Second Granny was home. Qin Mei gave her the salve, and Second Granny invited her to stay for lunch, but Qin Mei politely declined, saying Jing Qi was at home alone.

"Fourth Wife of Jing, did you really heal Jing Qi’s leg?" Second Granny asked. She had stumbled upon something she shouldn’t have that day, and she hadn’t dared to visit the Jie Family for the past two days.

"Yes, it’s healed," Qin Mei nodded.

"As long as it’s healed, that’s all that matters. It’s good that it’s healed." Second Granny couldn’t hide her excitement, and tears streamed down her face. "It was a blessing for Jing Qi when Jing Si married you. Fourth Wife of Jing, you’re a good one."

Second Granny gave Qin Mei a thumbs-up. By healing Jing Qi’s leg, Qin Mei had completely changed the course of her life.

Qin Mei was rendered speechless by Second Granny’s words.

"Second Granny, Jing Qi is at home, so I’ll be going now." Qin Mei turned and walked out of the yard.

"Fourth Wife of Jing!" Second Granny called out to her. Qin Mei stopped and turned to look at her, waiting for what she would say next. Second Granny seemed conflicted. She wanted to ask about Aunt Zhang, but on second thought, she decided it wasn’t good to be too curious about certain things. It was better to pretend she knew nothing. "It’s nothing. Be careful on your way."

Qin Mei smiled, turned, and continued on her way.

Instead of going home, Qin Mei went to the grocery store. She hadn’t bought any groceries yesterday, and since she had nothing else to do today, she decided to go shopping.

As she neared the grocery store, Qin Mei saw a familiar figure standing at the entrance: Jie Jingchen.

Qin Mei was puzzled. ’Shouldn’t Jie Jingchen be at work at the machinery factory right now?’

Jie Jingchen kept glancing at the watch on his wrist, then looking inside the grocery store. He seemed to be waiting for someone.

’Waiting for someone? Who? A man or a woman?’

’We just gave our hearts and bodies to each other last night, and today Jie Jingchen is already cheating on me? I swear I’ll neuter him.’

When Jie Jingchen saw Qin Mei, his eyes flickered. He glanced inside the grocery store, and his lips curved into a smile. He was about to walk toward Qin Mei, but she was already running toward him.

When she was just a few steps from Jie Jingchen, someone suddenly grabbed her from behind. Qin Mei froze, her body stiff. Before she could react, the arms around her loosened, and a pair of large hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who?" a clear voice asked, as pleasant as a gentle breeze.

"Guess my ass." Qin Mei lifted her foot and stomped hard on his instep, immediately following it up with a swift and clean shoulder throw.

"AHH!" A pained scream rang out as the man was thrown onto his back, his limbs splayed.

"Qin Mei!" Jie Jingchen cried out in a panic.

"You dare grope me? I’ll cripple you!" With a sudden burst of ferocity, Qin Mei raised her foot to stomp on the man’s vital area.

"Qin Mei, that’s your brother!" Quick-witted and even quicker-handed, Jie Jingchen grabbed her and spun her around gracefully, just in time to prevent a kick that would have ended a family line.

The foot missed Qin Xiang’s vital area and landed squarely on Jie Jingchen’s instep. He winced. ’When did my wife learn Mom’s signature move?’

"My brother?" Qin Mei’s face was a blank slate. ’Jie Jingchen did say I had a brother. What was his name again? Qin Xiang, I think.’

Jie Jingchen let go of Qin Mei and went to help the wretched-looking Qin Xiang up from the ground. He thoughtfully brushed the dust off his clothes. Looking at Qin Xiang’s defeated expression, a flicker of concern flashed in his cool eyes. "Are you okay?"

"What do you think?" Qin Xiang shot Jie Jingchen a glare. He had almost been crippled by his own sister. If word of this got out, he’d be too ashamed to ever show his face in public again. He pounded Jie Jingchen on the chest and whined resentfully, "Jing Si, how did my little sister get so vicious after marrying you?"

’She’s ruthless enough to attack her own brother.’ Qin Xiang felt deeply wounded. ’Before she married Jie Jingchen, my little sister was... COUGH, COUGH... well, whatever she was, she definitely wouldn’t have gotten violent with her own family.’