Chapter 28

The doctor came by and said she could be discharged, which meant Lin Jingguo’s responsibility was over.

As for the scheme cooked up by Chen Meiling and Chen Xiaoli, he had no intention of interfering. Since Chen Xiaoli had already slept next to her, as long as Jiang Ying still cared about her reputation, she would have no choice but to marry him.

In the end, sure enough, Chen Xiaoli took her home.

When Lin Jingguo got back, he told his wife about what had happened, sighing heavily.

But Chen Guiying took it lightly. “So what if she went? Better she’s out of our village. That Jiang Zhiqing was nothing but trouble here—everyone who saw her disliked her.”

Before going home, Chen Meiling went to Jiang Ying and demanded back the four yuan, happily taking the money home.

She entered the house and sought out Ma Yueying. “Mother, I brought the money back. Five yuan, not a single cent spent.”

Ma Yueying, who had already been preparing to throw her out, was surprised when she saw the bundle of bills. “Second daughter-in-law, how come you didn’t spend a penny? Don’t tell me… you murderer! We can’t have a killer in this family!”

She threw a shoe at Chen Meiling, who hurried to grab it and hand it back. “Mother, Jiang Zhiqing recovered. She paid for the medical fees herself.”

Ma Yueying still didn’t believe her, until Chen Meiling explained what her brother had done with Jiang Ying.

When she heard Jiang Zhiqing had a hundred yuan, Ma Yueying threw another shoe at her. “That Jiang Zhiqing has so much money, and you didn’t bring it back? Instead, you let your mother’s family profit from her!”

Chen Meiling dodged as she spoke. “We couldn’t take it openly, so the only way was to marry her off. And since there’s no unmarried man in our family, it could only be my brother.”

Ma Yueying snorted. “Then let the second one divorce you, and have Jiang Zhiqing marry in instead!”

The more she thought about it, the more sense it seemed. “Yes, that’s what should be done! Get rid of a troublemaker like you, and bring Jiang Zhiqing into the family!”

Chen Meiling hadn’t expected her mother-in-law to think that way, and quickly protested. “My brother and Jiang Zhiqing have already done everything. Even if you want that, it’s impossible now.”

News of Jiang Ying marrying into Chenjia Village spread quickly, shocking Jiang Cheng and the other educated youths.

Wang Dayou, who knew about Chenjia Village, mentioned it while eating with the new arrivals.

“Chenjia Village is the worst when it comes to favoring boys over girls. Sons are treasures, daughters are weeds. If Jiang Zhiqing marries there, she’ll definitely suffer. I don’t know what she was thinking.”

Hearing this, Lin Muyu suddenly felt a hollow ache in his chest, as if he had lost something.

Jiang Tian found out about the matter at Auntie Zhang’s house.

“You know, I just can’t understand why Jiang Zhiqing would throw her life away like that, marrying into Chenjia Village. Then again, maybe it’s for the best—saves us all the trouble of her stirring things up here.”

Curious, Jiang Tian asked, “Auntie Zhang, do you know which family she married into?”

Auntie Zhang lowered her voice. “Do you remember what happened in the Xie family a while back? Second daughter-in-law Xie pushed Jiang Zhiqing, and she ended up in the hospital. After being discharged, she went with them to Chenjia Village and married Chen Meiling’s brother.”

She went on, “A woman like Jiang Zhiqing would never marry willingly. It’s obvious they set her up in the hospital. How else could they have gotten leverage over her? They probably did that thing, and with her reputation gone, she had no choice but to marry. Plenty of women in the village are gossiping about it already.”

With that explanation, Jiang Tian finally understood. She had wondered why Jiang Ying would suddenly agree to marry—turns out there was more to it.

Having collected her daily share of gossip, Jiang Tian went home.