Chapter 110 - Chapter 110: Chapter 110: Confronting Head-on (2/2)
“Su Wenyue, how dare you hit me, I’ll fight you!” Jiang Chunlan said as she tried to hit back, but a sharp pain shot through her ankle whenever she tried to move or exert force, reminding her of her injury, which made her immobile.
“I’d advise you to stay well-behaved, otherwise don’t blame me if your foot ends up useless,” Su Wenyue said, not out of concern, but because Jiang Chunlan was recovering in the Han Family, and Su Wenyue feared she might blame the family if her foot suffered further damage.
Jiang Chunlan, presuming some triumph over Su Wenyue, exclaimed, “What, are you scared now? My injury happened in your Han Family’s home. If anything goes wrong, the Han Family members will be held accountable.”
Su Wenyue’s response to Jiang Chunlan was a cold laugh filled with chilling intent. Then, with a few adept movements on Jiang Chunlan’s hand, she inflicted pain that made Jiang Chunlan scream bitterly, clearly indicating the depth of her agony. Su Wenyue intended for Jiang Chunlan to remember this pain, to think thrice before acting, and to refrain from buzzing around her like an annoying fly. Jiang Chunlan would likely remember this lesson.
“What’s happened here, what’s the matter?” Mrs. Yang, not at ease about leaving her daughter-in-law and niece alone in a room, heard faint cries of agony from the kitchen. Panicking without further thought, she hurried over to find Su Wenyue being pushed down by Jiang Chunlan as she opened the door.
Jiang Chunlan had knocked over the cup of tea on the table due to the force she used, spilling it all over Su Wenyue, adding to her disheveled state.
“Chunlan, that’s too much! Lady Yue is your cousin-in-law, after all, and she’s here specifically to take care of you at your own request. How could you push your cousin-in-law to the ground?” Mrs. Yang rebuked Jiang Chunlan sternly, explaining that telling her daughter-in-law to let the niece have her way was not a sign of favoritism but rather out of concern for the niece’s injury. Now, the situation had reversed.
“Aunt, I… I didn’t push her, I… I didn’t mean it,” Jiang Chunlan didn’t understand how things escalated to this point. It was Su Wenyue who had pinched her hand, prompting her to push away reflexively due to the pain, and now she was misunderstood as the aggressor while the actual instigator appeared the unwitting victim; it couldn’t be more unjust.
Seizing a moment when no one was looking, Su Wenyue curled her lips into a smirk, using such a simple but effective trick not for the first time since her rebirth.
Han Yu had also heard the cries and, upon learning that it involved his wife, hastily came over, only to see Su Wenyue sitting on the ground, her clothes stained with tea. His heart ached and he helped her up quickly, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Chunlan harsh and cold.
Jiang Chunlan felt unjustly treated under Han Yu’s gaze and wanted to explain. Confronting Su Wenyue’s icy eyes, however, a shiver coursed through her, rendering her speechless. The searing pain and fear of Su Wenyue’s shadow hadn’t yet faded; to her, Su Wenyue seemed as terrifying as a demon.
Seeing that Jiang Chunlan had come to her senses and looked as if she had seen a ghost, Su Wenyue found it somewhat amusing. She had only used the simplest tricks; the real high-level techniques hadn’t even been deployed yet.
Although Jiang Chunlan was just a poor farmer’s daughter, she was raised somewhat indulgently by Yang Juxiang. The worst she ever experienced was a cut on her finger while cutting pigweed, and the recent ankle sprain in the fields was the most serious injury she had ever endured. She had never suffered the kind of pain that Su Wenyue, with methods learned from the backyard, was now inflicting on her.
Following this incident, Jiang Chunlan stayed quiet in the Han Family for some time, scurrying away at the sight of Su Wenyue just like a mouse would flee a cat. But that didn’t mean her jealousy had faded; it had grown even more distorted, she just hadn’t confronted Su Wenyue directly yet.
“Fourth Daughter-in-law, haven’t you noticed Jiang Chunlan acting a bit strange these past few days? She’s always out of sight during the day, who knows where she goes cavorting! That’s why they say, a woman like her changes as quickly as a vixen. She’s capricious, always clinging to Fourth Younger Brother. You don’t know, but I heard village people saying they saw Jiang Chunlan mixing with those untrustworthy young guys in the village. For a girl who isn’t even married yet, what’s happening to her reputation? We shouldn’t let her bring disgrace upon our family.”