Lin Yingxue didn’t doubt Jiang Baozhen’s determination to leave the Chen family at all.
Considering the sins Chen Huaiyuan committed in his past life, if it were her, she would have packed up and left ages ago.
Forming an alliance with Jiang Baozhen wasn’t a bad idea.
The more Jiang Baozhen hated the Chen family, the more she would pour her heart and soul into treating Lin Yingxue well.
She had a fierce temper—even the village dogs took a detour when they saw her.
With her around, let alone the Chen family, hardly anyone in the entire Jiangya Village would dare to bully them.
Furthermore, Jiang Baozhen was incredibly capable.
When it came to farming, she could wield a hoe and pull weeds just as well as any man.
As for household chores, whether it was sewing, washing, or cooking, she handled everything with ease.
The original book even mentioned that to fund Chen Tianhao’s studies, she had gritted her teeth and ventured into business.
She started by setting up a small stall in town and eventually opened a shop.
Her business thrived, and she even bought a large mansion for Chen Tianhao in Peng City.
Having such a fierce, capable, and money-making mother-in-law on her side would make her future days significantly easier.
Even if, taking a step back, Jiang Baozhen’s warmth toward her faded in the future, she could still pull out and leave at any time.
With this in mind, Lin Yingxue nodded gently.
“Alright, I’ll leave the Chen family’s home with you.”
Jiang Baozhen’s eyes grew hot, and she nearly shed tears again.
“Since you’re dead set on leaving, what are your plans now?” Lin Yingxue asked.
She knew very well that the path to a divorce would not be easy for her mother-in-law.
Chen Huaiyuan might seem to disdain Jiang Baozhen all day long, but in reality, he understood better than anyone that his pitiful sense of dignity in Jiangya Village was entirely propped up by her.
Without Jiang Baozhen, he was a useless good-for-nothing who couldn’t lift a finger.
How could he ever be willing to let her go?
Jiang Baozhen wiped the corners of her eyes.
When she looked up again, a fiercely tempered light blazed in her gaze.
“I have my ways.
If that bastard Chen Ergou refuses to divorce me, I’ll force him to.
“Doesn’t he treasure Qin Sangrou’s little bastard the most?
As long as I have a grip on that bastard’s future, I’m not worried he won’t agree.”
Now that Jiang Baozhen had made up her mind to get a divorce, she began plotting how to achieve it smoothly.
She had the strong backing of her maiden family.
As the most favored youngest daughter of the Jiang family, her family would definitely stand by her side if she wanted a divorce.
Her eldest brother, Jiang Shouren, was on the verge of becoming the village chief of Jiangya Village.
With him taking charge, the family’s fields and property deeds could all be transferred to her name.
No, she would treat all these things as a dowry and place them under Lin Yingxue’s name to feel truly at ease.
Jiang Baozhen clenched her fists, her chest heaving as every word dripped with fiery anger.
“Xue’er, I wish I could take you away from this filthy, rotten Chen family today!
But just leaving like this would be letting Chen Ergou and Chen Tianhao off too easily…
This courtyard and this house were built for me by your grandfather back then, and the family’s land was bought for me by him as well.
Every blade of grass and every tree in this house should have belonged to the Jiang family long ago.
If anyone is going to scram, it should be Chen Ergou and Chen Tianhao!”
Lin Yingxue agreed.
“Chen Ergou has been so vicious to you.
A simple divorce really is letting him off too easily.”
Jiang Baozhen felt comforted hearing this and hurriedly said, “Exactly!
That son of a bitch Chen Ergou doesn’t deserve to be a father!
Xue’er, don’t call him ‘Dad’ from now on.
It’ll just dirty your mouth.”
Lin Yingxue obediently nodded.
“Yes, Chen Ergou is not my dad.”
Jiang Baozhen’s eyes instantly curved into a smile, her heart filling with sweetness.
From now on, Lin Yingxue would be her daughter, and hers alone.
Divorce was just the first step.
Her daughter had just returned to her side and hadn’t yet grown her wings.
To protect her from being bullied, Jiang Baozhen had to plan carefully.
She wanted to save up a hefty dowry for her daughter and watch with her own eyes as she married into a good family with honor and glory.
Accomplishing all this would take at least three or four years.
Once her daughter had a stable home and she had no more worries, she would drag those two menaces, Chen Huaiyuan and Chen Tianhao, straight to hell with her!
She had already figured out the method.
She would wait until the dead of night when that “father and son” were fast asleep, and then burn the Chen family’s home to the ground!
She would perish in the flames as well, leaving no evidence behind.
That way, her daughter would remain clean and wouldn’t have to bear the stigma of having a murderer for a mother.
Jiang Baozhen steadied her mind and gritted her teeth.
“Before the divorce, I’m going to make that father and son pay back everything they owe me, with interest!
I want to kick them out of here, ruin their reputations, and drive them into a corner!
Chen Tianhao still wants to study, take the imperial exams, and become an official?
Keep dreaming!
Since Chen Ergou cares so much about that little bastard, I will personally destroy the bastard’s future!”
She turned to look at Lin Yingxue, her eyes full of tender affection.
She wished she could pull the girl into her arms and cover her in kisses.
Thank goodness—thank goodness she had been reborn, and her daughter was right here by her side.
Otherwise, what would be the point of this second life?
Jiang Baozhen was brimming with fighting spirit.
Suddenly remembering something, Jiang Baozhen asked, “By the way, before I woke up, I saw you rummaging under the bed.
What were you looking for?”
Without waiting for Lin Yingxue’s reply, she continued, “Were you looking for your contract of indenture?
Silly girl, it’s a new dynasty now.
The government might not even recognize that thing, and it was never registered at the government office anyway.
Wait here…”
As she spoke, Jiang Baozhen pulled the crumpled contract from under the bed.
She struck a flint and, right in front of Lin Yingxue, didn’t hesitate to burn the piece of paper to ashes.
After burning the contract, she reached into her quilt and pulled out the wooden box and the five taels of broken silver that Lin Yingxue had uncovered earlier.
She didn’t mind in the slightest that Lin Yingxue had been secretly digging through her things.
Her belongings would all belong to her daughter sooner or later anyway.
Jiang Baozhen took a key from inside her robe and unlocked the wooden box.
Inside lay a pair of gleaming silver bracelets.
These were her most prized possessions, kept hidden at the bottom of her trunk.
Everyone knew how stingy and money-grubbing she was.
Back in the most difficult times when they were hiding in the mountains to escape danger, she had preferred to gnaw on tree bark and swallow wild vegetables rather than part with these bracelets for grain.
Yet now, she picked up a bracelet without hesitation, grabbed Lin Yingxue’s wrist, and slipped it on, brokering no refusal.
“Wear this,” Jiang Baozhen said with unquestionable resolve.
Feeling the weight on her wrist, Lin Yingxue estimated that this bracelet could be traded for quite a few taels of silver, and couldn’t help but feel slightly surprised.
Jiang Baozhen was actually willing to give away her most precious hidden treasure; it seemed her sincerity in wanting her to stay was genuine.
Lin Yingxue touched the cool silver bracelet, the corners of her lips turning up slightly.
If life became too difficult in the future, or if she found herself short on travel funds when she needed to run, this silver would come in handy for emergencies.
Seeing her daughter’s eyes light up as she stared at the bracelet, Jiang Baozhen was delighted.
This was truly her biological daughter—just like her, she loved practical things like gold and silver.
“Wear this silver one for now.
In the future, Mom will buy you a gold one!” Jiang Baozhen promised, her mind already calculating further ahead.
This meeting gift was still too modest.
She needed to figure out a way to make more money so she could forge gold bracelets, buy gold hairpins, and tailor clothes from the most fashionable silk for her daughter.
Jiang Baozhen’s daughter deserved to be pampered.
She shouldn’t suffer even the slightest grievance!
Seeing her like this, Lin Yingxue decided to hide nothing.
“Mom, since you already know I was digging through your things, I’ll be straight with you.
I was looking for my longevity lock.
It’s something I’ve worn since I was a child.
Could you return it to me?”
That single “Mom” melted Jiang Baozhen’s heart.
A sweet feeling spread all the way from her throat into the depths of her heart.
She frowned.
“A longevity lock?
I haven’t seen anything like that since you came to me.”
Lin Yingxue knew that Jiang Baozhen definitely wouldn’t lie at this moment.
That longevity lock had most likely been pocketed by Chen Huaiyuan.
Anxious, Jiang Baozhen grabbed her hand and pressed, “Good child, tell Mom, what does your longevity lock look like?”
Lin Yingxue gestured with her hands as she spoke.
“It’s about this long, a heavy solid lock made of gold-plated silver.
On the way back when Chen Ergou brought me here, he said he was afraid I’d lose it, so he put it away for me.
I thought he had handed it over to you.”
Upon hearing this, a surge of pure hatred shot straight from the soles of Jiang Baozhen’s feet to the top of her head!