Chapter 52: Chapter 32: Fourth Brother, She Doesn’t Love You (Part 2)

Having calmed down, Xu Chunyan pointed at Qin Mei and accused, "Dad, it was Qin Mei who deliberately provoked me."

’Only then did Xu Chunyan realize she’d fallen into a trap. How could a cleaver have been on the floor? When she collapsed, there was clearly no cleaver there. Qin Mei must have put it there on purpose, then deliberately provoked her until she lost her mind. What a vicious scheme! Not only had she been set up, but Qin Mei had even managed to implicate Jie Jingchen in her plot.’

’Such a venomous person wasn’t fit to be her sister-in-law. This only strengthened Xu Chunyan’s resolve to make Jie Jingchen divorce Qin Mei and marry Teacher Lin. As long as Teacher Lin became her sister-in-law, she could easily control her, given their relationship.’

"So Xiao Mei provoked you, and that gives you the right to swing a knife at my son?" Mrs. Xie questioned coldly.

Xu Chunyan gritted her teeth. ’She wished she could just kill Mrs. Xie,’ but her face wore an aggrieved expression. "Aunt Qiao, I didn’t swing the knife at Fourth Brother. I warned him, but he wouldn’t listen, and that’s how I accidentally hurt him."

"Hmph!" Mrs. Xie snorted, her eyes turning icy and her face filled with rage. "From the sound of it, you were trying to kill Xiao Mei. If Jing Si hadn’t protected her, would she be dead at your hands right now?"

Dead at her hands? What a sharp accusation.

"Murder is a capital offense, Aunt Qiao. You can’t just make accusations like that," Jie Jingwei couldn’t help but interject.

With Jie Jingwei defending her, Xu Chunyan instantly found her confidence. "I wasn’t trying to kill her. I understand that murder is a capital offense and that lawbreakers will be prosecuted. I have a husband and a son. My husband and I are deeply in love, and my son is well-behaved and obedient. I would never be so foolish as to do something illegal. I was just so angry I couldn’t stand it, so I wanted to scare her a little."

Mrs. Xie pointed at the cleaver on the floor, her voice bone-chillingly cold. "Anyone can say pretty words, Chunyan. But your so-called ’scare’ nearly cost my son his life."

"I’m not that vicious! It’s Qin Mei! She’s the real culprit, the one with the venomous heart! We’ve all been deceived by her appearance. Her marrying Fourth Brother was a part of her malicious scheme." Xu Chunyan angrily pointed at Qin Mei. Ever since Mr. and Mrs. Xie had arrived, Qin Mei hadn’t made a peep, acting like a coward hiding in her shell. ’Qin Mei must have a guilty conscience,’ Xu Chunyan concluded.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Xu Chunyan said with renewed confidence, "She’s only been in this house for two short days, and she’s already thrown the whole family into turmoil."

"The Jie Family? When has it ever been peaceful?" Mrs. Xie said sarcastically. To say it was a place of open strife and surging undercurrents would not be an exaggeration.

"Turmoil?" Jie Jingchen’s brows drew together, his amber eyes frosting over as his anger simmered, ready to erupt. "Second Sister-in-law, are you talking about yourself?"

Xu Chunyan’s breath hitched. "Fourth Brother, what do you mean by that?"

"Everyone here knows full well what I mean. Let’s not talk about anything else—why did Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law send Xiao Duo to her maternal grandmother’s house?" Jie Jingchen asked bluntly, voicing the thoughts Jie Jinghun had been keeping to himself. Hearing this, Jie Jinghun, who had been watching the drama unfold from the window, looked at Jie Jingchen with tears of gratitude in his eyes.

Shen Qing, who was working at her desk, paused her writing, her grip on her pen tightening slightly.

"Fourth Brother," Jie Jingwei said as a warning. ’He’s getting off-topic. They hadn’t even sorted out their own issue yet, and he was worried that Third Brother, who loved nothing more than stirring up trouble, would jump out and kick them while they were down.’

’He and Third Brother were full-blooded brothers, yet because of the conflict between Xiao You and Xiao Duo, Third Brother had turned his anger on him and his wife, siding with Jing Si, their half-brother.’

Jie Jingchen ignored Jie Jingwei and turned to his father, his thin lips parting. "Could it be because Dad favors boys over girls?"

Mr. Xie was taken aback, then immediately retorted, "Nonsense. How could I possibly hold such a backward belief?"

Jie Jingchen’s reminder prompted Mr. Xie to start reflecting. Xiao You was a sweet-talker and loved to cling to him, while Xiao Duo was timid and didn’t dare to even get close. Mr. Xie suddenly realized that he truly had neglected Xiao Duo in favor of Xiao You.

’Favored boys over girls? No, absolutely not. He swore he held no such belief.’

’If even an outsider like Jie Jingchen misunderstood him as favoring boys, what must Third Brother and his wife think?’

"Fourth Brother, the children are young, they don’t know any better. Besides, what family’s children don’t have conflicts?" Jie Jingwei said. ’This topic really couldn’t continue.’

"The children are young and don’t know any better, but what about the adults? Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law is a teacher. Xiao You is older. Watching him bully Xiao Duo without stopping or disciplining him—looking on coldly is the same as condoning it." Jie Jingchen had no intention of letting Jie Jingwei off the hook.

Xu Chunyan was fuming. Her proud identity as a teacher was now being used as a weapon against her. "Fourth Brother, what are your intentions, trying to drive a wedge between our family and Third Brother’s?"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com