Chapter 82 : Chen Jinhua’s Face

Chen Jinhua was really delusional. How could Jiang Sui betray the Xiao family and do what she wanted?

Right now, all Jiang Sui could hope for was that someone would show up at the river and rescue her.

But just as she thought that, Chen Jinhua clearly had the same thought. There was no way they were going to stay by the river and risk someone coming by.

They dragged Jiang Sui into the nearby woods. She had no strength to fight back and tried to scream, but they stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth.

Eventually, she was hauled deep into the woods.

Chen Jinhua finally pulled the cloth from Jiang Sui’s mouth to give her a chance to talk.

“Are you going to tell me or not? If not, I’ll let Qiaoqiao go and shout it all out loud.” Chen Jinhua was quickly losing patience.

She knew ordinary threats wouldn’t get Jiang Sui to talk, and it was impossible to reason with her. Jiang Sui hated her too much, how could she possibly show any kindness in return?

So she had racked her brains and finally came up with this plan: bring her nephew and threaten Jiang Sui with her “purity.”

A woman’s innocence was everything. Jiang Sui was living comfortably with the Xiao family now surely, she wouldn’t want to lose that. That’s why this plan was bound to work.

But what she didn’t know was that Jiang Sui, a modern woman, wasn’t so easily manipulated.

She just needed to stall. If she didn’t return for a while, clingy Xiao Hechuan would definitely come looking for her.

And since Chen Jinhua couldn’t get what she wanted, she wouldn’t actually dare to do anything too extreme. So Jiang Sui just had to grit her teeth and not give in.

“Go ahead. Let’s see if the Xiao family trusts you or me.”

Jiang Sui was confident. The Xiao family would believe her.

Ever since she married into the Xiao family, she had been with them every day. Later, she even set up her own stall. Where would she even find the time to seduce other men?

But Chen Jinhua’s plan to bring in her nephew was based on this.

“Don’t forget, he’s Qiaoqiao’s cousin. You two used to see each other all the time. I’ll say that you had a crush on my nephew when you still lived at home, but he looked down on you. Then you married Xiao Hechuan, but thought he was a fool. Later, you ran into my nephew again, and the moment you saw him, you tried to seduce him. I caught you in the act. That’s solid evidence, you won’t be able to deny it.”

Chen Jinhua was truly despicable, jealous of the Xiao family’s business, and willing to stoop to any low to steal the recipe.

Jiang Sui felt like a mouthful of blood was stuck in her chest.

“Aunt, what’s the point of wasting words on her? She’s just stalling. If it were up to me, I’d go ahead and make it real. If the Xiao family doesn’t want her, I’ll take her. Once she’s in my house, she won’t be able to keep secrets from me. When I get the recipe, both our families can get rich together.”  

The speaker was Jiang Qiaoqiao’s cousin.

His name was Chen Shu. He lazed around the village doing nothing, already over 20 and still unmarried. He had never been interested in Jiang Sui before, since she had been too scrawny. But seeing her today, more beautiful than ever, he started having wicked thoughts. A girl like her, he figured, shouldn’t be wasted on a fool like Xiao Hechuan, he’d rather take advantage himself.

At that moment, even Chen Jinhua started wavering, and Jiang Qiaoqiao fanned the flames.

“My cousin is right. I think it’s a good idea. Jiang Sui, you must feel wronged being married to Xiao Hechuan. Look at my cousin strong, capable, and smart. Why not just give in?”

Surrounded like this, Jiang Sui suddenly felt a wave of fear rising inside her.

But Chen Jinhua still had some sense left. She knew she couldn’t actually go through with it. If she really let her nephew touch Jiang Sui, she wouldn’t survive in Xianhe Village. The Xiao family men would make her life a living hell.

She was just a widowed woman, how could she ever stand up to them?

As she hesitated, Jiang Sui’s sharp eyes caught something a snake hanging from a tree behind Chen Shu, flicking its tongue and staring straight at his back.

The moment she saw the snake, her face went pale. But she knew, this was her chance.

So she pointed at Chen Shu and shouted. “Hey! There’s a snake behind you!”

Chen Shu thought Jiang Sui was just trying to distract him and didn’t take her seriously at all.

“Alright, little cousin, stop stalling. Either spit it out or just give in.”

At that moment, Jiang Qiaoqiao instinctively glanced behind Chen Shu and saw the venomous snake poised to strike. She screamed in terror. “Ah! There’s a snake, there really a snake!”

Terrified, Jiang Qiaoqiao ran off far into the distance. Chen Jinhua also panicked, losing her cool completely. She looked around frantically and started jumping in place.

“A snake?! Where’s the snake?”

When Chen Shu turned around, the snake bit him right on the face. He let out a sharp cry, and in that moment, Jiang Sui didn’t hesitate, she turned and ran for her life without looking back.

Chen Jinhua saw Jiang Sui escaping and wanted to chase her, but when she saw her nephew had been bitten by a snake, she rushed to help him instead.

Jiang Qiaoqiao, still terrified, was hiding far away and screaming, there was no way she’d even think about chasing Jiang Sui now.

Meanwhile, Xiao Hechuan had already arrived at the river. He found scattered clothes and a wooden basin, but no sign of Jiang Sui.

He picked up the clothes and the basin, calling out for his wife, but there was no reply.

Anxious, Xiao Hechuan’s eyes turned red, his beautiful peach blossom eyes filled with tears. He had a gut feeling something terrible had happened to his wife.

He kept calling her name as he walked into the woods. Jiang Sui, still running for her life, heard his voice. Her heart lifted as she sped up and rushed toward him.

“He… Hechuan… I’m here!”

Jiang Sui was out of breath, leaning forward as she panted.

When Xiao Hechuan saw her, he ran over and wrapped her in a tight hug, forgetting everything else.

“Wife, where did you go? I couldn’t find you anywhere… sob sob…”

Jiang Sui knew she was safe now, but she couldn’t just let Chen Jinhua and the others go unpunished. She had to put an end to it today.

“Hechuan, I’m okay. But we need to find the old village chief right away.”

Today, she was going to demand justice and reveal Chen Jinhua’s true face to everyone.

“Why are we going to see the old village chief?” Xiao Hechuan looked up at her with teary eyes, his expression soft and confused.

Jiang Sui wiped away his tears and comforted him.

“Don’t worry about it. Just go back and tell my third brother and my mom that Chen Jinhua and Jiang Qiaoqiao bullied me. Have them go to the Jiang household and block the door.”

Since Chen Shu had been bitten by a snake, Chen Jinhua would definitely be heading home to treat him, this was the perfect opportunity to confront her.

When Xiao Hechuan heard she had been bullied, his face flushed with anger. And said fiercely. “I’m going to tell Mother and Third Brother right now. If they dared to bully my wife, I won’t let them get away with it!”

Jiang Sui nodded. Then the couple hurried home to gather support, ready to go see the village chief and file a complaint.

Back in the woods, Chen Shu had grabbed the snake and thrown it aside. Two bloody puncture wounds were visible on his face where it had bitten him. Chen Jinhua’s face turned pale with fear as she rushed over to check if he was okay.

After a closer inspection, they realized the snake wasn’t venomous. Enraged, Chen Shu picked up a branch and beat the snake to death.

Then, Chen Jinhua helped him home to treat his wounds.