Chapter 110: Confronting Head-on
Su Wenyue and Jiang Chunlan both agreed amiably, but as each harbored their own motives, coexisting peacefully was clearly unlikely.
As soon as Mrs. Yang left, Su Wenyue’s face turned cold, and Jiang Chunlan also changed hers, no longer the obedient appearance she had before Mrs. Yang. She looked at Su Wenyue with resentment and dislike, not bothering to hide her malice.
“I’m thirsty, go and pour me a cup of tea,” the two exchanged glances briefly before Jiang Chunlan began to order Su Wenyue around, as if only by doing so could she vent the resentment in her heart.
Su Wenyue’s eyelids twitched but she said nothing, indeed pouring a cup of tea for Jiang Chunlan. Anticipating that Jiang Chunlan wouldn’t take it, she placed it right beside Jiang Chunlan’s table.
“There you go, drink up.”
“Su Wenyue, what’s with that attitude? Don’t you know I’m injured? Aunt specifically told you to take good care of me, and this is how you do it!”
“Otherwise, what? You said yourself it’s only your legs that aren’t nimble; you haven’t lost a single other part. The water’s right beside you and you can’t reach for it yourself; you really think you’re disabled.” Su Wenyue retorted with a mocking smile.
“What did you say? You shameless vixen! Cousin Yu was originally my fiancé, and yet you snatched him away. I’ve never seen such a shameless woman. Your mother’s family is so wealthy, what man couldn’t you marry? Why did you have to steal mine? You’re just a shameless woman!”
Since there was no one else in the room, Jiang Chunlan spewed out what had been on her mind without reserve, something she had wanted to say for a long time but had postponed until now.
Even as Jiang Chunlan pointed and cursed at her, Su Wenyue simply walked up to her, step by step, and stopped right in front of her.
“What, what do you want to do? Don’t think I’m afraid of you!” Jiang Chunlan’s heart began to panic as she was stared down by Su Wenyue’s expressionless face. “So what if I cursed you? Who told you to steal Cousin Yu? If not a vixen, then what are you!”
A loud “slap” rang out as Su Wenyue directly slapped Jiang Chunlan in the face. Instead of lowering herself to bicker with such fools, it was better to strike directly. Su Wenyue felt her palm turn red – perhaps Jiang Chunlan had thick skin, as her face wasn’t clearly marked.
The trick wasn’t just about strength; having spent so much time in the backyard in her previous life, Su Wenyue knew how housewives punished servants with subtle yet vicious methods that didn’t leave visible marks but inflicted deep torment. Although she hadn’t mastered all those techniques, she had learned a fair amount.
Jiang Chunlan felt a burning pain on her face and stared at Su Wenyue incredulously. This woman had actually dared to hit her—and just like that?
“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.”