Gu Decheng looked helplessly at his stubborn son. “You…”  

Meanwhile, Lin Min was pulled by her mother-in-law into the main room.  

“Xiao Min, were you serious about what you said earlier? Do you really want to stay with our Jingchuan?” Wang Guixiang asked excitedly.  

Lin Min nodded. “I’ve thought it through. A woman must follow her husband, no matter what.”  

“That’s wonderful! Xiao Min, with those words, our whole family will never forget your kindness.”  

Wang Guixiang happily took her hand. “Xiao Min, what would you like to eat? I’ll make it for you.”  

“I’m not hungry.” Lin Min hesitated before speaking again. “I’d like to use the restroom.”  

“Of course, go ahead.”  

Wang Guixiang shot a glance at Gu Jingxiu, who was standing nearby. “Jingxiu, show your sister-in-law the way.”  

Gu Jingxiu understood her mother’s meaning. “Sister-in-law, I’ll go with you.”  

In rural areas, toilets were usually outdoor pits located in the backyard. What if this new sister-in-law was just pretending to comply to lower their guard and planned to escape during the trip to the toilet?  

After all, she had been desperate to die just last night. Gu Jingxiu didn’t believe she had suddenly changed her mind.  

Her heart was conflicted. As a woman, she sympathized with Lin Min. But from her second brother’s perspective, she also hoped she would stay.  

What if… what if that fortune-teller was right, and her brother could recover?  

Lin Min could sense Gu Jingxiu’s wariness and nodded at her. “Thank you.”  

Once outside, Gu Jingxiu followed closely behind her as they walked toward the outhouse.  

Wang Ying, the wife of Gu Jinghui, had thrown a tantrum earlier and was still sulking. To cheer her up, Gu Jinghui had gone to the street to buy her snacks.  

Now, as Wang Ying stepped out of her room, she saw Gu Jingxiu leading Lin Min toward the outhouse. She had overheard most of the commotion in her mother-in-law’s room earlier.  

She figured Lin Min was probably scheming to lull the Gu family into a false sense of security so she could escape.  

Ever since the Gu family started arranging a marriage for Gu Jingchuan, she, the eldest daughter-in-law, had become invisible. Even her pregnancy wasn’t as important as Gu Jingchuan’s marriage.  

If Lin Min stayed in the Gu household, would there even be a place for her, Wang Ying?  

Of course, there was another reason she didn’t want to see Gu Jingchuan get married.  

Her shrewd eyes glinted as she suddenly let out a cry and pretended to fall, sitting on the ground.  

Hearing Wang Ying’s voice, Gu Jingxiu turned around and saw her sister-in-law on the ground.  

“Sister-in-law, what’s wrong?”  

“I fell… my stomach…” When Gu Jingxiu heard her mention her stomach, she panicked and forgot about Lin Min, rushing over to help Wang Ying.  

Lin Min glanced at Wang Ying and caught the triumphant look in her eyes.  

She knew exactly what Wang Ying was up to.  

Wang Ying thought she was trying to escape and was helping by distracting Gu Jingxiu?  

What a wonderful sister-in-law!  

A cold glint flashed in Lin Min’s eyes as she calmly entered the outhouse.  

Wang Ying, of course, was perfectly fine, but she pretended to be in pain and distress. Gu Jingxiu was terrified, afraid something might happen to the baby in her sister-in-law’s belly.  

Panicked, she ran toward the front yard, shouting for help as she went.  

Gu Decheng and Wang Guixiang were in Gu Jingchuan’s room, trying to reason with him.  

Gu Decheng had been about to say that since the girl clearly didn’t agree to the marriage, maybe they should just let it go.  

Though they believed their son would recover, they couldn’t keep her locked up if she didn’t want to stay.  

But now that Lin Min had suddenly changed her attitude, Gu Decheng and Wang Guixiang saw a glimmer of hope.  

They urged their stubborn son to treat the girl well and stop talking about sending her away.  

But Gu Jingchuan remained firm. No matter how much his parents pleaded, he had only one demand—let Lin Min go!

Gu Decheng was utterly exasperated. When arranging his son’s engagement, a single phone call had settled the matter. So this time, for the wedding, he thought he could still make decisions for his son. But he hadn’t expected the boy to be so stubborn—once he dug his heels in, not even eight horses could pull him back.  

The negotiation had reached a deadlock, and the room was filled with suffocating silence.  

Suddenly, Gu Jingxiu’s panicked voice rang out in the courtyard.  

The old couple exchanged glances, both assuming Lin Min had run away.  

Without another thought for Gu Jingchuan, their expressions changed, and they sprinted outside.  

But when they heard Gu Jingxiu say that Wang Ying had fallen and was clutching her stomach, moaning in pain, Gu Decheng nearly lost his voice in alarm. His eldest daughter-in-law was pregnant—this was serious! He rushed out in a panic.  

Wang Ying was still sitting on the ground, wailing dramatically.  

Wang Guixiang’s soul nearly left her body in fright. She crouched beside Wang Ying, frantically feeling her belly. “Yingzi, are you okay? Does your stomach hurt? Are you bleeding?”  

Gu Decheng, as the father-in-law, couldn’t get too close. He paced anxiously, shouting, “Where the hell is Jinghui? Someone find Jinghui! We need to get Wang Ying to the hospital!”  

“Mom, I don’t know… Just help me inside,” Wang Ying whimpered, her voice trembling. “If anything happens to the baby… I won’t live either. I’d never forgive myself!”  

“Yingzi, don’t panic. Come on, let’s get you inside.”  

Wang Guixiang tried to help Wang Ying up, but whether Wang Ying was deliberately making herself deadweight or not, she couldn’t lift her.  

“Jingxiu, come help me with your sister-in-law!”  

“Okay!” Gu Jingxiu rushed over and grabbed Wang Ying’s other arm.  

With her mother-in-law and sister-in-law supporting her, and her father-in-law running off to find Gu Jinghui, no one gave a second thought to Lin Min, who had gone to the outhouse.  

A smug smirk tugged at Wang Ying’s lips as she was helped inside.  

Once she was settled on the kang, Wang Guixiang checked her again. No bleeding. She let out a deep sigh of relief.  

Wang Ying, worried that Gu Jingxiu might leave, quickly found an excuse to keep her busy. “Jingxiu, could you get me some water?”  

Then, turning to her mother-in-law with exaggerated distress, she whimpered, “Mom, can you check my stomach again? Are you sure it’s okay? I’m so scared…”  

Mother and daughter were kept in a flurry, tending to Wang Ying until Gu Decheng finally dragged Gu Jinghui back from the street—where he’d been buying snacks for his wife—and insisted on taking Wang Ying to the hospital.  

Only then did Wang Ying finally calm down.  

She estimated the time and figured that woman must have already run far enough.  

Sitting up on the kang, she said sweetly, “Dad, Mom, don’t worry. I think I’m fine now. No need to go to the hospital.”  

Gu Jinghui tossed the bag of snacks onto the table and hurried to his wife’s side, examining her. “Yingzi, what happened?”  

Seeing her husband return, Wang Ying sniffled pitifully. “It’s nothing.”  

“Yingzi, rest for a bit. If you feel any discomfort, tell us immediately.”  

“Mom, I will. You should go check on your second daughter-in-law. Don’t worry about me.”  

At the mention of Lin Min, Wang Guixiang snapped back to reality. Her face paled as she turned to Gu Jingxiu. “Jingxiu, where’s your second sister-in-law?”  

“Mom, she… I think she went to the toilet.”  

Gu Jingxiu suddenly remembered—she had been accompanying Lin Min to the outhouse when Wang Ying “fell.” She’d abandoned Lin Min to help Wang Ying instead.  

“Go check on her! Why hasn’t she come back yet?”  

Wang Guixiang and Gu Jingxiu rushed to the outhouse.  

When they reached the makeshift toilet in the backyard, Gu Jingxiu called out loudly, “Second sister-in-law? Second sister-in-law, are you in there?”  

No response.  

“Go in and look!”  

Gu Jingxiu searched the outhouse but found no trace of Lin Min.  

Wang Guixiang immediately bolted back to the front yard, shouting as she ran, “Old man! Come out! Something’s wrong!”  

Their first thought was—had Lin Min run away?  

Gu Decheng had just relaxed after confirming Wang Ying was fine, but now his wife’s shrill shouting frayed his nerves.  

He stepped out of the house, holding his pipe. “What now?”  

“Your second daughter-in-law… she’s gone!”