Chapter 809 - 278: Qin Mei Complains to Jing Si

"... " The crowd fell silent.

Mr. Xie’s face darkened. Was this habit of snitching contagious?

"Who bullied you?" Jie Jingchen’s voice was bone-chillingly cold, his anger on the verge of erupting.

"Your wife is more than capable of taking on a whole crowd with just her words. Who could possibly bully her?" Granny said with a hint of mockery.

Ignoring Granny’s sarcastic remarks, Jie Jingchen strode toward Qin Mei. He placed the mesh bag on the stone table and grasped her shoulders. "Who bullied you?"

"Him." Qin Mei raised her hand and pointed at Jie Anlin.

Qin Mei and Xu Chunyan had deep-seated grievances. Xu Chunyan had assumed Qin Mei would point at her; seeing her point at Jie Anlin came as quite a surprise.

"Fourth Wife of Jing, how did I bully you?" Jie Anlin was completely unfazed. With Granny here, he wasn’t afraid of Jie Jingchen.

Qin Mei’s almond eyes darted around slyly, and a hint of a sob crept into her voice. "Jie Jingsi, he wanted to touch my... chest. When I didn’t let him, he framed me. Jie Jingsi, I have reason to suspect he has inappropriate thoughts about me."

The crowd was dumbfounded.

They wondered if that had really happened. It probably hadn’t.

Jie Anlin, however, looked guilty. Yesterday at the hospital, he had indeed wanted to, but he hadn’t succeeded and had instead been stabbed with silver needles by Qin Mei.

He rubbed the back of his hand, which still ached even now.

Qin Mei was a woman with thorns, but the sharper she was, the more of a challenge she presented.

In an instant, a bone-deep chill spread across Jie Jingchen’s face, the murderous intent in his eyes blazing like a roaring fire.

He charged at Jie Anlin and delivered a vicious spinning kick. Jie Anlin’s miserable shriek echoed through the air.

It all happened so fast that no one had time to react. None of them expected Qin Mei to say such a thing, nor did they expect Jie Jingchen to believe her so implicitly that he would attack Jie Anlin without even verifying the claim.

"Stop fighting, stop it right now!" Watching her favorite, precious grandson get beaten felt like physical blows to Granny’s own heart.

"Jing Si, stop hitting him, please stop!" Chen Xiuhua was also heartbroken. Jie Jingchen was a military veteran, whereas Jie Anlin had been pampered since childhood. How could he possibly be a match for him?

"Granny... AH... Save me... AH..." Jie Anlin screamed endlessly.

"Jie Jianjun, what are you standing around for? Go save your son!" Chen Xiuhua yanked at Jie Jianjun, who stood there dumbstruck.

"Jianguo, stop them quickly!" Granny urged her oldest son as well.

Mrs. Xie stood up furiously, glaring at Mr. Xie as she threatened, "Jie Jianguo, if you dare help An Lin beat your own son today, I’m divorcing you."

Mr. Xie’s expression soured. She had never threatened him with divorce in the past. Ever since she did it that one time, she seemed to have either become addicted to it or tasted the benefits. Now, whenever things didn’t go her way, she would use divorce as a weapon.

Seeing her eldest son standing as immovable as a mountain, Granny was furious. "Jianguo, look at how pathetic you are, letting your wife manipulate you! You’re a total coward. And to think you’re the director of the machinery plant!"

"Enough, stop kicking up a fuss," Grandpa, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up.

"You go then," Granny glared at Grandpa.

Grandpa’s old face fell. With his fragile bones and old limbs, going over there would be a death sentence.

Naturally, a father’s heart ached for his own child, so Jie Jianjun rushed forward to save his son. However, Jie Jingchen was seeing red; even Jie Jianjun took a few kicks from him before being mercilessly booted out of the fray.

"What a sin! Jianguo, this rebellious son you raised is even beating up Uncle Jianjun!" Granny wailed.

"Jing Si is beating up the bastard who tried to bully his wife. Jianjun went up to help, and since fists and feet have no eyes, getting hit in the crossfire is his own fault," Mrs. Xie said icily. No one was allowed to lay a finger on her daughter-in-law.

"You..." Granny wanted to curse her out but didn’t dare. What if she offended Yan Qiu and stopped receiving her allowance? Especially since her eldest son obeyed his wife’s every word.

Ever since he married this woman, her eldest son had completely forgotten about his own mother.

Taking a deep breath, Granny said, "Are you all just going to believe her baseless claims?"

"There is no smoke without fire. I believe my daughter-in-law. If Jie Anlin didn’t have those intentions, she wouldn’t falsely accuse him." Mrs. Xie projected a powerful aura that seeped from her very bones, striking fear into those around her.

"An Lin testified for Second Daughter-in-law Jing, so Fourth Wife of Jing is framing him in retaliation," Granny argued.

"Framing him? Hmph! Why wouldn’t my daughter-in-law frame someone else? Why specifically him?" Mrs. Xie questioned coldly.

"She’s just targeting An Lin!" Granny stubbornly craned her neck. "Jianguo, do you believe this too?"

He didn’t believe it. He really didn’t. But Mr. Xie didn’t dare say so, as Yan Qiu had threatened him with divorce.

Qin Mei could easily dislocate the jaw of a burly man like Xu Chunwang. Could someone like An Lin really take advantage of her? It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that An Lin was just digging his own grave.

"You married a wife and forgot your mother! Unfilial, rebellious son!" Granny scolded her eldest son before glaring fiercely at Qin Mei. "You jinx, you troublemaker! Ever since you married into the Jie Family, we haven’t had a single day of peace.

"You bullied Xu Chunyan, got An Qi sent to a mental asylum in Xiangjiang, and instigated the brothers to turn against each other. Now you’re provoking Jing Si to beat up An Lin!

"Qin Mei, you’re a disaster who does nothing but harm! Will you only stop when our Jie Family is completely ruined?"

Qin Mei looked at Granny, wanting to fire back. On second thought, simply talking back wouldn’t inflict enough damage. A wicked smile spread across her face as she shouted to Jie Jingchen, "Jie Jingsi, hit him! Hit him hard! Beat him to a pulp, and I’ll reward you with an extra chicken leg!"

"Yan Qiu, are you really going to indulge her like this? If your son beats my son to death, he’ll have to pay with his life!" Chen Xiuhua roared viciously.

Mrs. Xie turned a deaf ear to her.

Qin Mei called out again, "Jie Jingsi, I changed my mind! Paying with your life for scum like him isn’t worth it. Just beat him half to death!"

"Qin Mei!" Chen Xiuhua was exasperated.

Seeing this, Xu Chunyan quietly slipped away, while Li Axiu snatched the kitchen knife from Mr. Lin’s hands.

"AH—" Mr. Lin was startled, but upon seeing Li Axiu shove the knife into Chen Xiuhua’s hands, he immediately understood and fell silent.

They were more than happy to watch the Jie Family fight among themselves.

"I’ll hack you to death!" Losing her mind to anger, Chen Xiuhua raised the cleaver and charged at Qin Mei.

"Xiao Mei!" Mrs. Xie panicked and instinctively shielded Qin Mei with her own body.

Qin Mei’s almond eyes narrowed slightly, a silver needle pinched between her fingers. Just as she flipped her wrist, she saw a figure stepping in front of Mrs. Xie. Her gaze flickered, and she decisively pulled her hand back.

Chen Xiuhua swung the knife. In the nick of time, Mr. Xie grabbed her wrist. Chen Xiuhua instantly snapped back to reality, her grip slackening in terror as the cleaver slipped from her hands. With a swift kick from Mr. Xie, the knife deflected and landed squarely on Granny’s foot.

"AH!" Granny let out a bloodcurdling scream and fainted on the spot.

"Dear!"

"Mom!"

The scene descended into chaos.

In the kitchen.

Jie Jingchen was draining the rice while Qin Mei sorted the vegetables. The atmosphere was oppressive and bizarre.

Qin Mei peeked at Jie Jingchen from time to time. Ever since peace had been restored to the household, he hadn’t spoken a single word. He had just holed himself up in the kitchen to cook, his face cold and gloomy, leaving Qin Mei feeling somewhat unsettled.

"Jie Jingsi." Qin Mei took a deep breath and flashed an exceptionally charming smile.

"Mm," Jie Jingchen replied flatly. He poured the drained rice into the steamer, covered it with a lid, and proceeded to wash the colander and the pot.

"Jie Jingsi, are you angry?" Qin Mei asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"Mm," Jie Jingchen hummed again, hanging the clean colander on a nail on the wall.

"Don’t worry. As long as I don’t want to, no one can make a cuckold out of you," Qin Mei said, giving him a dose of reassurance.

Jie Jingchen silently watched Qin Mei sort the vegetables, unreadable emotions hidden deep within his eyes.

"I promise, I swear," Qin Mei asserted her resolve, thinking he didn’t believe her.

She was always so quick to swear oaths. Jie Jingchen frowned slightly.

He stepped toward her. She was sitting on a small stool sorting vegetables. As Jie Jingchen stared down at her from above, Qin Mei instantly felt a heavy sense of pressure.

He crouched down and grasped her shoulders. His gaze was profound as he spoke with utmost seriousness, "Meimei, if he dares to harbor any inappropriate thoughts about you or make any out-of-line moves, you don’t need to hold back. Just cripple him."