Chapter 14: Only Evil Can Subdue Evil

“It’s snowing. The snow’s light over here, but in the neighboring county, it’s heavy. A lot of houses collapsed. The military is sending us for rescue.”

Qin Ye stood up without another word, grabbed his hat, and put it on his head. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Ye Qing said: “Hey, you haven’t eaten dinner yet!”

Qin Ye reached out and grabbed a steamed bun, stuffing it into his mouth as he spoke: “I’m full. You guys eat slowly. The spring cold’s getting worse, try not to go out too much.”

“Gao Hao, after we leave, go help your sister-in-law move all the stuff from the hostel over here.”

“Yes! Don’t worry, Regiment Commander, I’ll take care of everything here.” Gao Hao answered, then jogged after Qin Ye as they disappeared into the distance.

Ye Qing shook her head helplessly. That’s just how it was with soldiers—when orders came down, they didn’t even have time to finish a meal. It wasn’t easy for him either. All that allowance money was earned with his life!

That damned Su Fang! She spent someone else’s money for three years and still dared to bully their wife and child. Truly heartless! It was as if the son and older daughter were her real children, and Ye Qing was just some stray she picked up.

She never treated her own daughter like that!

But little did she know, that damned Su Fang wasn’t having such a good time herself right now.

…

Ding Lanhua had been discharged from the hospital. After losing the baby, she raised a fuss about divorcing Ye Dazhuang. The whole family nearly got down on their knees to beg her before the Ding family finally agreed to let her come home.

At that moment, Ding Lanhua was lying in bed cursing Su Fang.

“You damn old hag! If it weren’t for you insisting on setting Ye Qing up with someone, would she have run off? If she hadn’t run off, would she have taken all the family’s money? Would I have lost my baby? It’s all your fault! I don’t care, this isn’t over—you better give me an explanation!”

Su Fang was grinding her teeth in anger, but there was nothing she could do.

The last time she went to the commune, she’d already been scolded harshly. She didn’t even dare file a complaint now, afraid she’d get dragged in herself. Ye Qing had run far away—who was going to take responsibility now?

Besides, if this greedy daughter-in-law hadn’t wanted to introduce Ye Qing to her cousin, she wouldn’t have driven her away in the first place! Was this entirely her fault?

But she didn’t dare say that. She could only try to comfort her daughter-in-law with kind words. “Lanhua, don’t worry. This isn’t over! Unless that girl never comes home again, the moment she dares to step back here, I’ll make her kneel and apologize to you! And pay you back double!”

But Ding Lanhua wasn’t easy to fool. She rolled her eyes at Su Fang. “Her? Come back? She already ran off—of course she’s not coming back! Unless you give her a reason she has to return.”

“I don’t care. If she doesn’t come back, you’ll be the one paying for this loss! I’m not going to suffer this in silence.”

What she said was true. In fact, Su Fang herself had no confidence.

Ye Qing wasn’t uneducated. That damned old man insisted she go to school. And look what happened: the girl he raised could read and write, and her wings had hardened—she flew off.

If she had listened to Su Fang back then and not let her go to school, would she have even dared to run so far to find a man?

But that wasn’t something she could say aloud. All she could say was: “Don’t worry. Qin Ye doesn’t even like her. She used some underhanded tricks to marry him—he probably can’t even stand her! He’s not even giving her living expenses anymore.”

“When she hits a wall over there, she’ll realize how good she had it here. Then what? If she doesn’t obediently come back, what else can she do? She’s just a woman with a kid. She’s not going to stir up the sky!”

“Just wait. I’ll get you a couple of sweet eggs now. Once you recover, you can still have another child.”

Ding Lanhua wasn’t asking for that.

Her willow-shaped brows shot up as she continued to lash out at Su Fang. “Come back? Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I mean. Ye Qing may be gone, but you still have a daughter!”

“My sister-in-law’s like this and she didn’t even come for a look. You can tolerate that? Well, I can’t! She clearly doesn’t see me as family at all!”

Su Fang indeed had another daughter named Ye Lan. She didn’t study much and got married early, now living in the neighboring village. Ding Lanhua, seeing she couldn’t get anything out of Ye Qing, had shifted her sights to the other one.

Su Fang clenched her teeth and forced a smile. “What are you saying? Lanzi probably just hasn’t heard. We were staying in the hospital in town, and no one sent her a message, right? If she knew, she’d definitely come!”

Just as she was speaking, Ye Lan’s voice rang from outside the door.

“Mom, my sister-in-law’s in the hospital and you didn’t even tell me? I just found out today and rushed right over.”

“Sister-in-law, are you alright?”

The moment Ding Lanhua saw Ye Lan, she broke into a smile. “Lanlan, you’re here? Ah! I’m alright. It’s just such a pity about your eldest nephew! He was already over six months along, and now he’s just gone.”

“Tell me, what kind of madness got into Ye Qing? How could she suddenly do something so heartless? And now look, the money for my hospital stay was all borrowed, and we don’t even have enough food at home.”

“This life… it’s unbearable!” As she spoke, she reached up to wipe away tears—her acting skills could rival a seasoned performer.

Ye Lan, skilled at reading people, instantly understood what Ding Lanhua was aiming for from her tone.

She curled her lips and began to whine. “I always thought Ye Qing was so honest and quiet. Who would’ve thought she’d turn out like this? Sister-in-law, it must be so hard for you.”

“Every family has its hardships. Mine too. Sigh! My husband recently broke his leg, and just the hospital bills alone cost us so much! The kids’ school fees are due too. I was actually thinking of borrowing a bit from you, Sister-in-law. But now, looks like we all have to fend for ourselves.”

“It’s all Ye Qing’s fault! Why did she run off like that? What, was Mom going to harm her or something? And you, Sister-in-law, how could you be so careless while pregnant? Hurting your own body like this—it breaks my heart to see.”

The resentment on her face looked so real—her performance even outshone Ding Lanhua. The latter almost fainted from the sheer fury.

This little sister-in-law of hers had inherited every last bit of their mother-in-law’s temperament. Not easy to deal with at all! And now, just a few light words and she was trying to get away with it?

Not so fast! Ding Lanhua’s mind started churning with schemes to deal with Ye Lan.

Seeing her daughter-in-law stumped, Su Fang couldn’t have been more delighted. My daughter is amazing! Finally someone put that shrew in her place! She had been stewing in frustration the past few days, and this was a sweet release.

Only evil can subdue evil. Her own skills couldn’t match up to Ding Lanhua’s, so she had to send Ye Lan into battle.

Just as Ding Lanhua opened her mouth to say more, Ye Lan’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she slapped her thigh. “Ah! Just you wait, I’m going to have my husband write a letter to the army. Someone like her, with that kind of character, how can she stay with the military? Isn’t that a stain on their reputation?”

“Sister-in-law, don’t worry. The army will definitely do something about this. I’ll make sure you get justice!”

She left behind a few eggs and rushed off in a whirlwind. Ding Lanhua was left fuming, erupting into another round of curses.

…

Bianlan County, a mountain village.

Snow was falling heavily, already reaching over the knees. In front of collapsed houses, a unit of soldiers was clearing away the snow. Injured villagers were being carried out, immediately surrounded by medics in white coats.

It was a snow disaster the likes of which hadn’t been seen in a hundred years. The air was filled with shouting, cries of pain, and calls for help—all blending into chaos.

Someone suddenly shouted: “Regiment Commander Qin! Hey? Has anyone seen Regiment Commander Qin?”

A soldier who had been shoveling snow looked up and shouted back: “I saw him! Regiment Commander Qin went further into the mountains! Said he was going to check if there were still people over there.”