Chapter 2: The Truth Behind the Drowning, Proposing to Split the Family

“I fell into the water because Shen Chunmiao pushed me!”

Shen Jintao’s hoarse yet calm voice was like a thunderclap in the room.

The scenes from her dream had felt so real, as if she had truly lived through them. However, in that dream, Shen Chunmiao had never pushed her. At that moment, Shen Jintao couldn’t even distinguish between dream and reality.

“What did you say, Taozi? You said Shen Chunmiao pushed you?” Old Master Shen turned to her, asking again with uncertainty.

“Yes! She deliberately coaxed me into wearing her new clothes and even suggested going to the riverside to pick wildflowers, saying it would make me look good so that Lu Qingshan would like me. But the moment I got to the riverbank, she pushed me in. Then I was saved by Huo Beichuan—how could that be a coincidence? She must have had something to do with it.”

In the past, she wouldn’t have been able to speak so calmly. She would have already rushed forward to fight Shen Chunmiao, only to end up being scolded for being immature. In the end, the matter would have passed without consequences.

Huo Beichuan looked at Shen Jintao, sensing that she was far too composed for a girl her age.

Her words also sparked some doubts in him. Logically speaking, the Shen family must have known he was returning to fulfill the engagement, but they shouldn’t have known the exact time.

“Stop talking nonsense! When did I ever push you? And why would I give you my new clothes? Those are for my wedding! I’m not an idiot!” Shen Chunmiao immediately retorted.

“Whether it was you or not, we can check by going to the riverbank. It rained a couple of days ago, so there should still be footprints there,” Shen Jintao replied, unhurried and calm.

Hearing this, Shen Chunmiao’s eyes flickered, and she even looked a bit frustrated.

Perhaps she was regretting not being more thorough.

“Either way, what’s done is done! Even if I accidentally pushed you, you’re fine now, aren’t you? My engagement with Huo Beichuan has to be canceled! You were held and touched by him, so you’re the one who has to marry him!”

Listening to her words, Shen Jintao suddenly realized—Shen Chunmiao had also been reborn.

In their previous life, after she had married Huo Beichuan, she grew resentful of the hardships of military life and stayed behind in their hometown. However, she couldn’t stay content—she got involved with another man and was caught.

The man, fearing punishment, refused to take her in.

Shen Chunmiao’s reputation was ruined, and she clung to Huo Beichuan, refusing to divorce him. In the end, she spent her life as a living widow.

Shen Jintao turned to look at Huo Beichuan. He was a good man—someone she could rely on.

“If you’re unwilling, I won’t force you. You saved my life—I wouldn’t repay kindness with betrayal.”

“I’ll marry you!” Huo Beichuan blurted out.

No one had expected such a decisive response from him—not even Shen Jintao herself.

Shen Chunmiao was still speaking in a mocking tone. “See? I told you they were already fooling around together!”

“Shut your mouth!” Old Master Shen was completely furious. He pointed at Shen Chunmiao. “Get out! Get out right now!”

The fact that Shen Chunmiao had pushed her own cousin into the river was already unacceptable to him. But now, she was still unrepentant—it was truly infuriating.

Shen Chunmiao huffed and ran outside, clearly feeling no guilt for her actions.

Old Master Shen stood up and sighed. “Beichuan, I’m sorry. I never expected Chunmiao to be like this… And thank you. If not for you, I might have lost my granddaughter today.”

“It’s alright, Grandpa Shen. Shen Chunmiao is Shen Chunmiao—this won’t affect the relationship between our families.”

Huo Beichuan helped Old Master Shen sit back down. “As long as Jintao doesn’t mind, we’ll proceed with the wedding as originally planned. I’ll also make sure to explain everything to everyone.”

“I have no objections!” Shen Jintao spoke up. She remembered that in her dream, Shen Chunmiao had still married Huo Beichuan as scheduled. So… had it really just been a dream?

But for some reason, whenever she thought of Lu Qingshan’s twisted face alongside that woman in her dream, she felt utterly disgusted. She had no desire to marry him anymore.

“Then I’ll go back and inform my parents first,” Huo Beichuan said with a smile.

“Alright, alright, go ahead!” Old Master Shen nodded, clearly satisfied with this outcome.

“Wait!”

Just as Huo Beichuan was about to leave, Xie Lanzhi suddenly called out. “Didn’t you just say you’d compensate our Chunmiao? Let’s hear it—what exactly do you plan to do?”

Old Master Shen nearly choked in anger. He turned to his second son, Shen Jianguo. “Jianguo, control your wife!”

Shen Jianguo avoided his father’s gaze and remained silent, which was as good as tacit approval of Xie Lanzhi’s actions.

“There should be compensation.”

Before Huo Beichuan could even speak, Shen Jintao spoke first. “After all, Shen Chunmiao pushed me into the river. If we report this to the police, they’ll immediately recognize it as attempted murder. I wonder how many years she’d have to spend behind bars?”

“Considering how serious the crime is, she’d be looking at a minimum of ten years,” Huo Beichuan added smoothly.

The two of them worked together seamlessly, leaving Xie Lanzhi completely speechless. She could only watch helplessly as Huo Beichuan walked away.

Meanwhile, Xu Xuemei dragged her daughter back to the room, pressed her onto the bed, and sat beside her, wiping away tears in frustration.

“That damned Shen Chunmiao! She’s too much! How can she be so heartless? What was she even thinking? But honestly, it serves her right. She ruined her own future—she’ll regret this sooner or later!”

Xu Xuemei kept cursing, clearly furious.

After a while, she noticed that her daughter’s eyes were red and swollen, and her heart ached.

“Oh, my dear, listen to me. Beichuan is actually a good man. In a way, things are just going back to how they were supposed to be. You were originally engaged to him, but that damn Shen Chunmiao insisted on marrying him instead. She kept saying she was born to be a military wife. And now? She’s the one backing out. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. But I’m telling you, Beichuan is someone we’ve watched grow up. He’s far better than that Lu Qingshan!”

Shen Jintao knew her mother was trying to comfort her. But one thing was certain—she would never marry Lu Qingshan.

Now that she had woken up from the dream and thought about it carefully, she couldn’t think of a single remarkable quality that Lu Qingshan had.

She had really been blinded by pig oil before.

“Mom, I know Beichuan is a good man. But right now, our top priority is to split from the family. You know how biased Grandma is—if we keep living under the same roof with this big family, sooner or later, Second Uncle’s household will drain us dry.”

Xu Xuemei fell silent. What her daughter said made perfect sense. She was well aware of how her mother-in-law and Second Uncle’s family behaved. “I just worry that your father will feel bad about it.”

“What’s there to feel bad about? Splitting the family doesn’t mean cutting ties. Dad isn’t that clueless. You’ve seen it yourselves—if we don’t separate, sooner or later, Dongzi and I will end up being bullied to death right under your noses.”

Shen Jintao also knew that this was the perfect opportunity to bring up the idea of splitting the family.

Sure enough, after hearing her daughter’s words, Xu Xuemei firmly nodded. “Alright, we’ll split the family. But your grandma and Second Uncle’s family won’t agree so easily.”

“Then we’ll call my uncles!” Shen Jintao had no fear of their refusal. “My uncles aren’t pushovers!”

“Alright!”

Only after Shen Jintao couldn’t stay awake any longer and fell asleep did Xu Xuemei leave the room and head straight to the chicken coop.

“Cluck, cluck, cluck…”

Amid the flurry of startled chickens, she swiftly grabbed an old hen.

“Oldest daughter-in-law, what are you doing?”

A lot had happened today, and throughout it all, Old Madam Shen, Wang Lanxiu, had remained silent. But now, she finally couldn’t sit still.

“I’m killing a chicken to nourish my daughter. If anyone dares to object, I’ll go straight to the police and have the attempted murderer arrested!”

Before Wang Lanxiu could say a word, Xu Xuemei had already shut her down.

Wang Lanxiu opened her mouth but said nothing in the end. She had always been biased toward Second Uncle’s family, so of course, she didn’t want anything to happen to Shen Chunmiao.

Boiling water, plucking feathers, and stewing the chicken—Xu Xuemei’s movements were swift and practiced. Before long, the rich aroma of chicken soup filled the air, making everyone’s mouths water.

Second Uncle’s youngest son, Shen Chunwang, started whining about wanting chicken. Xie Lanzhi, holding a large bowl, came over to scoop some, but before she could, Xu Xuemei grabbed her by the hair and threw her out.

“I’ve tolerated a lot for the sake of family, but after what that wretched girl Shen Chunmiao did, do you really think I’ll just let this go? And you still have the nerve to come here for chicken soup? Go to the outhouse and taste the filth in the pit—it’s more suited for you! Just wait—once my Taozi recovers, I’ll make sure to deal with all of you properly!”