Upon hearing Wang Cuilian’s words, Li Xuemiao could hardly contain the glee in her heart. She knew Fang Yao would soon follow in her footsteps!
But this was only the beginning!
Li Xuemiao grabbed Wang Cuilian’s arm, pretending to be thoughtful. “Mom, calling her a jinx is just hearsay. We shouldn’t spread rumors without proof.”
Wang Cuilian immediately shook off her sleeve, gritting her teeth. “I’m not spreading rumors! Before the wedding, I had Fang Yao’s eight characters of birth calculated by a fortune-teller. She was born with a strong, rigid fate—husband-repelling and son-repelling!”
Li Xuemiao feigned surprise. “Then why did you still let Man Jiang marry her, knowing that?”
“It’s all because Man Jiang insisted! Plus, the fortune-teller said my eight characters could suppress hers, so I agreed to let her into our Xu Family! How could Wang Hua, with her wishy-washy nature, compare to me? The day she made Qingzhou marry Fang Yao, I knew it wouldn’t end well!” As she spoke, Wang Cuilian puffed up with pride, boasting about her foreknowledge.
Li Xuemiao saw through it but didn’t expose her. She knew that even without the exchange marriage, Xu Qingzhou’s disability was a foregone conclusion—it had nothing to do with Fang Yao’s eight characters!
Still, she played along. “Oh, Mom! You can say these things to me, but don’t go saying them in front of Auntie. With Xu Qingzhou’s life hanging in the balance, she’s terrified Fang Yao might reject the marriage. How could she possibly listen to you? If anything goes wrong, she might think you’re stirring up trouble and blame you for everything!”
Hearing this, Wang Cuilian exploded, spittle flying everywhere. “Do you really think I care about their family’s business? I’m just furious that Fang Yao extorted so much money from me. Just thinking about it makes my blood boil!”
Li Xuemiao pursed her lips. Since her rebirth, everything had gone according to plan—except for the two thousand yuan in compensation Fang Yao had extorted from Xu Manjiang.
Because of this, she and Xu Manjiang had been caught up in a scandal that became public knowledge.
Naturally, she couldn’t swallow this grievance either!
“Mom, I have an idea!” Li Xuemiao leaned close to Wang Cuilian’s ear. “Tell Grandma her birth date and hour characters. Once she knows Xu Qingzhou was harmed by Fang Yao’s fate, won’t she have something to say about it?”
“Right! Why didn’t I think of that?” Wang Cuilian slapped her thigh excitedly, analyzing to herself. “Fang Yao’s fate is too strong and repels husbands—Qingzhou is living proof! Once she leaves the Xu Family, no one will dare marry her. Let’s see how she dares act tough in front of me then! She extorted compensation from me, but I’ll make her spit it all back out!”
After saying this, Wang Cuilian marched off with great swagger to find Old Mrs. Xu.
Li Xuemiao narrowed her eyes triumphantly and turned back to her room to await the “good news.”
Wang Hua spent considerable effort persuading her mother-in-law to stay home and wait patiently. Then, she packed her things and had Yang Fan take her to the hospital.
Xu Qingzhou woke up after a short nap. Seeing his lips were parched, Fang Yao went to the nurse’s station for some glucose water. Using the tip of a spoon, she carefully dripped it into the corners of his mouth.
Hearing the door open, she set down the mug and stood up to take the things from Wang Hua’s hands.
The ward wasn’t large—only about four square meters. Apart from a cabinet, a table, and chairs, there was hardly room for much else.
Now, with four people in the ward, even if they took turns keeping watch over Xu Qingzhou at night, three of them would have nowhere to rest.
So Fang Yao discussed with Wang Hua the idea of booking a room at the guesthouse outside the military district.
Wang Hua was about to agree when Liu Shitou spoke up: "No need, Auntie, Sister-in-law. Brother Yang Fan and I are rough men—we can manage a night anywhere. We'll just spread a quilt on the chairs in the common area and sleep there."
"But that’s too hard on you. I’ll get a room so you can rest and take a hot shower. It’s settled." With that, Fang Yao went out.
Liu Shitou couldn’t bear it and chased after her: "Sister-in-law, our boss is injured so badly—how can we abandon him to enjoy ourselves? Please don’t get the room, really!"
Seeing the sincerity on his face, Fang Yao understood his loyalty to share hardship with Xu Qingzhou. The more he felt this way, the more she felt she should help uphold this camaraderie.
"His injury is serious, but your health matters too. Don’t worry—with so many of us taking turns looking after him, he won’t be neglected. It’s not about abandoning him for comfort. I believe if we asked him, he’d agree."
Touched by her words, Liu Shitou rubbed the back of his head. "Our boss has never treated us subordinates poorly. Alright, Sister-in-law, we’ll listen to you."
Across from the Military District Hospital was only one state-run guesthouse. Fang Yao crossed the street, pulled hard on the wind-stuck door, and walked to the front desk, requesting a twin room.
However, the receptionist merely glanced at her rustic rural attire, frowned, and said coldly, "We only have single rooms and multi-bed rooms left—no twins! Also, do you have a letter of introduction or work certificate? Without one, I can’t check you in!"
Unfazed by her attitude, Fang Yao took out Xu Qingzhou’s military officer’s ID and handed it over. "This is my husband’s ID. Please use it to book a multi-bed room."
The staff member took the ID, glanced at it, and still spoke sharply. "Rooms can’t be booked by proxy. Have your husband come in person!"
Fang Yao hadn’t expected such a rule and sighed in frustration, trying to negotiate. "Comrade, could you make an exception? My husband is in the hospital…"
Before she could finish, the sound of the door opening behind her drowned out her words, and the receptionist’s expression instantly changed upon seeing the newcomer.
Leaning past Fang Yao, she asked warmly, "Sir, did you have a reservation?"
The man wore a black Zhongshan suit, a rabbit-fur hat, and black-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose, his every movement exuding refinement.
"I’m here on a business assignment and didn’t have time to book in advance. Could you get me a twin room? I have an assistant with me."
"Oh, you’ve come just in time! There’s one twin room left! But you’ll have to wait a moment—I’ll go prepare it right away!" With that, the receptionist abandoned Fang Yao and prepared to escort the man upstairs.
Fang Yao couldn’t hold back her anger and said sternly, "Comrade, didn’t you just say there were no twin rooms? How is there one now? And I was here first."
The receptionist grew even more displeased and replied impatiently, "You don’t have the right documents, and even if you did, I couldn’t check you in without your husband here! Step aside—don’t block the way!"
Fang Yao raised her hand again. She hadn’t argued earlier because she wanted to save her energy for caring for Xu Qingzhou, but that didn’t mean she would tolerate being bullied!
"I can have someone else come to book it, but since I was here first, you must hold that twin room for me. I’ll even pay a deposit."
The staff member, seeing that she was a woman from the countryside who wouldn't stop making a fuss over such a trivial matter, shook off her hand with a jerk.
His face turned livid as he snapped, "Are you done yet? This gentleman is a special commissioner from the capital, here on official business. I've temporarily arranged a room for him. Can't you, as a comrade, show a little understanding of the rules?"