Chapter 48

The women in the village began gossiping, their eyes scanning Ho Jincheng and Zhou Mingyue. What did she mean by that? Could there be something between her and Ho Jincheng? Ho Jincheng’s face darkened as he heard her words. He scoffed and sneered at Zhou Mingyue, saying, “Of course, I know who you are. Aren’t you the most malicious woman in our village? Aren’t you the one who keeps trying to harm our family’s Zhou Mingyue? Zhou Mingyue, stop with your schemes! They won’t work on us. We won’t fall for your tricks!”

Yao Guizhi was also enraged by Zhou Mingyue’s words. If someone who didn’t know the truth heard this, they would think that there was something going on between Zhou Mingyue and her son. Zhou Mingyue was truly despicable. She glared at Zhou Mingyue and scolded, “Do you have no shame? My son has nothing to do with you. Stop talking nonsense! And asking my son ‘Who am I to you?’ Ha! You’re my son’s enemy! You’ve harmed our family time and time again. We’re sick of you, especially Jincheng—he hates you!”

After finishing, Yao Guizhi spat in disdain. Zhou Mingyue, however, was suddenly stunned. She looked at Ho Jincheng with disbelief, muttering, “You hate me? Your mother said… you hate me?” He was supposed to be her hero! How could he hate her? Ho Jincheng’s expression was cold and filled with mockery. He slowly spoke, his tone colder than before, “You’ve incited my wife to divorce me, caused chaos in our family, and repeatedly framed Yun’er. You tell me, shouldn’t I hate you? Should I love you instead?” Yes, you should love me! We are meant to be together! Zhou Mingyue desperately wanted to shout this out, but she held her tongue.

If she said it out loud, people would think she was a shameless lunatic, drowning in their spit. So, even though she wanted to scream, she swallowed her words.

She clenched her teeth and lowered her head, not saying anything further.

Ho Jincheng turned away from Zhou Mingyue, his eyes flashing with disgust. With his parents, he walked away. After they left, the women at the village entrance started to chase Zhou Mingyue away. Someone said, “What are you doing standing here? You’re ruining the atmosphere, hurry up and leave!”

“Yeah, just go! We don’t need you here. You’re like a piece of rat poop—who cares about you?” someone else sneered.

Zhou Mingyue clenched her fists, a shadow of malice in her eyes.

Rat poop? Hah, these ignorant women! What do they know? The real rat poop is Lan Yun’er! She’s the real rat poop! Grinding her teeth, she glared at the direction of the Ho family. Her eyes flashed with a sinister gleam. Soon, her plan would come into play.

Soon, she would make the Ho family kick Lan Yun’er out, make Lan Yun’er… the target of everyone’s hatred!

When Lan Yun’er returned home, it was getting dark. Zhong Cuipao and the third daughter-in-law were cooking dinner in the kitchen, while Yao Guizhi and Ho Jianzhang were sighing in the living room.

When Lan Yun’er entered the yard, she placed the things she had bought on a long bench and called over Ho Miaomiao, saying, “Miaomiao, look, I bought you new clothes. Do you like them?”

She had bought a pink floral cotton jacket. It looked cute and was warm. Ho Miaomiao’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the beautiful jacket, unsure if she was seeing things correctly. “Did you buy this for me, Aunt Si? Is this really mine? Can I really wear it?”

She hadn’t worn new clothes in a long time, so she was astonished that someone had bought her new clothes. Lan Yun’er smiled gently and touched Ho Miaomiao’s thin little face. “Yes, it’s for you. Miaomiao is a good girl, and this is a reward for you. Come, let’s try it on and see if it fits. If it doesn’t, I’ll exchange it tomorrow.”

When Ho Miaomiao heard the clothes were really hers, she couldn’t contain her joy. She nodded vigorously and smiled sweetly at Lan Yun’er. “Okay!”

Just as Lan Yun’er was putting the new jacket on Ho Miaomiao, Zhong Cuipao came out from the kitchen. She looked at the new jacket and said, “Xiaoyun, why did you buy this for the child? It’s so expensive.”

“It didn’t cost much. Miaomiao’s clothes are worn out and not warm anymore, so it was time to buy her something new,” Lan Yun’er replied as she dressed Ho Miaomiao.

Ho Miaomiao wore it perfectly, and she looked much livelier and more spirited.

“Mom, look! I have new clothes now! Aunt Si bought them for me!” Ho Miaomiao said happily, twirling around in front of Zhong Cuipao.

Zhong Cuipao’s eyes suddenly reddened. She wiped her eyes and looked at Lan Yun’er, saying, “Xiaoyun, you’ve been so good to Miaomiao. You buy her treats and now clothes… I don’t know how to thank you.”

Lan Yun’er smiled softly and said, “Aunt, don’t say that. We’re family, helping each other is what we should do. Now that Jincheng and I are a bit more comfortable, we’ll help you and Uncle. When you and Uncle get better, you can repay us.”

Zhong Cuipao was deeply moved by her words and quickly nodded. “Yes, Xiaoyun, don’t worry. When Junnli and I get better, we will never forget what you and Jincheng have done for us.”

Lan Yun’er knew that her second aunt was kind-hearted and spoke from the heart. She smiled gently, “I believe you, Aunt.”

In Ho Junli’s room, he and Ho Jincheng were chatting. When they heard the noise outside in the yard, Ho Junli smiled and said to Ho Jincheng, “Jincheng, your wife is really a good one. You should treat her well.”

Ho Junli truly considered Lan Yun’er as part of the family now. After all, she had treated his wife and child well, and now, she was even helping him with his leg.

Ho Jincheng moved his eyes slightly, gazing out the window. He nodded, “I know, second brother.” Although his little wife sometimes behaved oddly, making him suspect something, as long as she treated his family well, she would still be a good wife.

He stood up from the bench beside the bed, glanced at Ho Junli, and said, “Second brother, I’ll go back to my room now. If you need anything, call me.”

“Go ahead,” Ho Junli smiled and nodded.

Ho Jincheng left the room and returned to his own. He walked to his chest and, from the bottom, took out a pair of worn-out pants. From the pocket of those pants, he retrieved a red string bracelet.

This bracelet was made by his grandmother before she passed. She had told him to wear it half a month after his marriage.

He had never understood why his grandmother emphasized those two weeks. What was so special about them?

Staring at the bracelet in his hand, Ho Jincheng rolled up his sleeve and slowly put the bracelet on his wrist. As soon as he did, a red light suddenly shot out of the bracelet. It was so fast that it disappeared out the window in the blink of an eye.

Ho Jincheng blinked, wondering if he had seen it wrong. Did a red light just come out of the bracelet?

Meanwhile, in the yard, the red light shot directly into Lan Yun’er’s back. She had been talking to Zhong Cuipao and didn’t notice anything behind her. The moment the light entered her back, she felt an itching sensation and instinctively scratched her back.

Late that night, Lan Yun’er suddenly furrowed her brows and tossed and turned in bed, feeling uneasy.

It was a cold winter night, but she felt inexplicably hot—like she was sweating all over.

She kicked the covers off and twisted in bed. After a moment, she got up, intending to drink some cold water to cool down.

It was strange, she had eaten nothing unusual. Just some sweet potato porridge, wild boar meat, and vegetable pancakes, which she had eaten before without any problems. So why was she feeling this way tonight?

Confused, she put on her shoes and walked quickly towards the table. As she got up, Ho Jincheng opened his eyes.

He looked at her, clearly able to see her figure in the dark. She wore a thin autumn shirt that clung to her body, outlining her perfect figure. Her face was flushed, as if she had been drinking.

He had always known his wife was beautiful, but at this moment, she seemed exceptionally stunning, almost like a fairy descending from the heavens.

He watched her for a few moments. When she drank from the cup on the table and was about to leave again, his eyes shifted. He called out, “Yun’er, where are you going in the middle of the night?”

He sat up and put on his worn military coat.