Chapter 2: Confrontation

“Lin Erya, have I been too kind to you?” Hua Guixiang’s voice trembled with fury, her teeth clenched. “All these years, I tolerated you for the sake of Shunzi and Jiaojiao, choosing not to stoop to your level—but I never imagined you’d grow so bold. How dare you covet Nian Nian’s engagement?”

Before Lin Shi could respond, Hua Guixiang snapped again,

“I truly regret it now—why did we ever let Second Son marry a troublemaking shrew like you? You’ve completely ruined my good grandson and granddaughter.”

“Don’t think I don’t know why the Chen family wants to swap the engagement. Stealing Nian Nian’s marriage arrangement wasn’t enough for you? Now you still want to bring her more misfortune?”

She spat in disgust. “You must be dreaming if you think I’ll let that happen.”

“The eldest couple may be gone, but this old woman is still here. It’s not your place, as a distant aunt, to meddle in their children’s marriage!”

“That Wang Butcher is a wife-beating old widower, more than ten years older than Nian Nian. And you actually want her to marry him? You vile, black-hearted wretch—how dare you?!”

By the time Hua Guixiang finished speaking, two silent streams of tears had already rolled down her cheeks. Her heart was overwhelmed with grief and fury—grieving for her eldest son and daughter-in-law who had passed so suddenly, and furious that the second branch now dared to bully the three of them, left behind.

“Let me make this clear today—if anyone dares lay a finger on Nian Nian or Ping’an, they’ll have to step over my dead body first. I don’t care if the heavens themselves come down—it won’t change a thing!”

Her words poured out like a torrent, her chest heaving violently with rage. She didn’t believe for a second that her second daughter-in-law had come to her on her own—would she dare speak of this without the second son’s approval?

She had raised a pack of ungrateful wolves. Not only had they instigated their daughter to steal Nian Nian’s engagement, now they even wanted to marry Nian Nian off to such a man?

Nian Nian was their own niece!

Her eldest son and daughter-in-law had only been gone for a little over a month, and already their children were being treated like this!

Hua Guixiang trembled from head to toe, the fire in her eyes practically blazing. If it weren’t for Qiao Ping’an holding her up tightly at her side, she might not have been able to stay on her feet.

Seeing Hua Guixiang this enraged—and facing Qiao Ping’an’s glare that looked as if he wanted to devour her—Lin Shi’s heart wavered. Her voice faltered and softened, “Mother, please don’t get upset. I’m only thinking of what’s best for Nian Nian. She was already rejected, and now without her Father or Mother to rely on, what decent family would still want her? But the Wang Butcher, he…”

Slap—!

Before Lin Shi could finish her sentence, Hua Guixiang delivered a heavy slap across her face.

“You dare spout nonsense in front of me?” she shouted. “And you even have the nerve to bring up Nian Nian being rejected? Do you really think this old woman is blind? Just what’s going on with Jiaojiao—do you dare let Physician Li come and take a look? Do you take everyone for fools?”

Lin Shi’s face swelled red and puffy in an instant. She stared at her mother-in-law in disbelief, seething with rage, nearly on the verge of stomping her feet and shouting back. But the moment she heard Hua Guixiang’s words, her eyes went wide, her complexion paled, and her lips trembled as she stammered, “Mother…”

Qiao Ping’an, who had been supporting Hua Guixiang all this time, couldn’t hold back any longer. He turned to speak coldly, “Second Aunt, even if my Jiejie never marries in this life, I’m more than capable of supporting her. You don’t need to worry about that.”

His tone was unflinchingly blunt. His young face flushed bright red from anger, and his eyes locked tightly on Lin Shi like burning coals.

At that moment, Qiao Nian, standing quietly at the doorway, was already in tears.

Not far from her stood her Grandmother, fiercely shielding her—this woman resembled her grandmother from her previous life in seven or eight parts.

Hua Guixiang looked a bit younger than her past life grandmother, thinner too. Her skin was rough and tanned. Though she was visibly furious now, the way she spoke—the tone, the expression—mirrored her grandmother to perfection.

Hearing her fiercely protective words stirred a deep ache in Qiao Nian’s heart. It was not just the lingering emotions of the original host, but her own sorrowful yearning for the grandmother she had lost in her previous life.

In a faraway time and space, there had once been an old woman just like this—who had protected her without hesitation, no matter the cost.

Qiao Nian could no longer hold back. Yielding to the longing in both her heart and body, she ran forward and threw herself into Hua Guixiang’s arms, clutching her tightly and murmuring softly,
“Grandmother… Grandmother…”

Tears flowed freely, unstoppable.

Hua Guixiang was briefly stunned as her granddaughter suddenly ran over and embraced her. Then, she quickly held Qiao Nian close, her voice choked with emotion.
“Good girl, Nian Nian, don’t be afraid. Don’t be scared—Grandmother’s here. As long as Grandmother’s here, there’s nothing to fear.”

As she spoke, her callused, work-worn hands gently stroked Qiao Nian’s back again and again, silently comforting her. In her heart, she thought it was good to let the girl cry it out. At noon, when her granddaughter had lain so motionless on the bed, it had torn her heart in two just to watch.

Qiao Ping’an thought his Jiejie was crying because she had overheard their second aunt’s vicious words—and because of the Chen family calling off the engagement earlier that day. He quietly added another grudge to his mental ledger against Second Uncle’s household.

Bullying him was one thing—but bullying his Jiejie? Absolutely not. Even if it was Second Uncle and Second Aunt, he wouldn’t allow it.

“All right now, Nian Nian, no more tears,” Hua Guixiang said, her heart aching as she forced herself to sound cheerful. “You’re already in poor health—don’t cry over people who aren’t worth it. You still have Grandmother and Ping’an. Even if you never marry in this lifetime, Grandmother will still dote on you.”

She rambled on with all sorts of comforting words to distract her. Qiao Nian knew she couldn’t go on crying either. Gradually, her sobs faded, and she gently stepped back from Hua Guixiang’s embrace.

After that good, long cry—combined with the warmth of the kind elderly woman before her, and her younger brother looking at her with such tender concern—Qiao Nian naturally reached out to pat his head, as if it were the most natural, intimate thing in the world.

Amid tears that turned into a smile, the unfamiliarity she had felt upon first arriving here vanished, as if by magic.

“Grandmother, Ping’an, don’t worry. I’m fine now. I won’t marry into the Chen family or the Wang family,” Qiao Nian said as she wiped the tears from her face, beaming brightly at the two of them.

“Families like that—if I really married into them, it would ruin my whole life. From now on, as long as I have you both, that’s more than enough.”

Hua Guixiang saw the clarity in her granddaughter’s eyes and the bright smile on her face—there was no trace of sorrow or grief. She knew then that Qiao Nian had truly come to terms with everything. Relieved, she nodded with satisfaction.

“Good. It took me most of my life to understand this truth, and you’ve figured it out in just a few days. Families like that are not worthy of my precious Nian Nian. It’s for the best that you’ve come to this understanding.”

“Jiejie, if you don’t want to get married, you can stay home forever,” Qiao Ping’an said seriously. “I can support you. Tomorrow, I’ll go to town to find work.”

The boy stood tall and straight, his eyes filled with determination. Though still young, he spoke with the weight of someone twice his age.

Qiao Nian’s heart melted into a soft puddle. She could feel their wholehearted care and love—something the original Qiao Nian had failed to cherish. Since she had been given this life, she would be the one to protect it now.

“Tch, that’s rich. Staying home while you support her?” came Lin Shi’s sharp, mocking voice, laced with disdain. “Don’t make me laugh. You think you can raise her without our help?”

Her harsh words shattered the warm moment between the three of them.

“The household allowance is only five hundred wen a month. Shunzi still has to attend school. We can’t afford to feed two freeloaders!”

She glared with open contempt, full of resentment toward her mother-in-law, who she believed favored the eldest branch—and even worse, favored a useless, money-losing girl.

Now that the eldest couple was dead, and the old hag still expected their second branch to care for her in her old age, she actually dared to say the money-losing girl should stay too?

Did they think she was dead? They weren’t about to raise some worthless girl for free.

Disdain and fury twisted her expression; she didn’t bother to hide the bitterness in her heart.

Hua Guixiang was fuming at the sight of her attitude and spat on the ground. “Rely on your second branch? I think your whole family’s just a pack of ungrateful wolves. When your Big Brother and Sister-in-law were around, who wasn’t handling everything in the house and in the fields? Even so, your Big Brother still had to go up the mountain from time to time. And whenever he made money, was there ever a time he didn’t bring back more for your second branch than for himself?

If it weren’t for your Big Brother and Sister-in-law working themselves to the bone and holding up this family, do you really think that measly five hundred wen your husband sends home each month would be enough to pay for Shuanzi’s schooling? Old woman, you must have nothing better to do than hang around the latrine all day, dreaming up nonsense.”

At this point, Lin shi was no longer afraid. Perhaps it had been true that the first branch had done more of the work in the past, but going forward, the entire household would be relying on their second branch. Times had changed, and she was finally ready to assert herself.

“Mother, no matter what, that was all in the past. And you make it sound like our second branch hasn’t done anything for this family. All the chores, big and small, haven’t Jiaojiao and I been helping out with them?”

“Lin Erya, you really know how to flatter yourself. Washing clothes, cooking meals, cleaning the Courtyard—which of those have you ever actually done?

Anytime there was heavy or exhausting work to be done, you were either feeling unwell or suddenly had urgent matters at your maiden home.

You didn’t lift a finger and even dragged Jiaojiao back to your natal family with you. Don’t think I don’t know the little schemes you’ve been hiding in your heart. Before, I held back for the sake of family, not wanting to argue with you. But now you really think you’re something special.”

Lin shi was left speechless by Hua Guixiang’s words. It was true that she had relied on her husband working in town and rarely touched any chores at home. She even planned to keep doing so in the future. But she couldn’t admit that out loud—otherwise, her reputation in the village would be ruined.

Her eyes darted slyly, and she immediately decided to change the subject…