After going through the series of wedding procedures, Xie Mingzhu returned to the wedding room, changed into clean, neat clothes, rested for a while, and waited for the evening banquet.
In the meantime, Qin Haoyu didn’t come in to see her, but Zhang Zenglan came several times. She just asked her some trivial questions – whether she was hungry, whether she wanted to rest, that sort of thing. Xie Mingzhu gave perfunctory answers and then said no more. Zhang Zenglan thought she was just tired, so she didn’t ask further and turned around to go back to her busy work.
Lying on the bed, she thought about things from her previous life. Her second brother had gone to the battlefield in Yue Kingdom and never returned. Her father had received a call from Qin Haoyu saying she had an accident; her eldest brother, worried about her, had driven too fast, and both had died on the spot. When she was seven months pregnant, Qin Qing had bumped into her, causing a miscarriage… While she was still lying in the hospital bed, she had overheard their plot in a fit of rage, stabbed them, and then jumped out of the ward window.
As the sky gradually darkened, she wiped the tears from her face, looked at her watch, and when she saw the time was about right, she opened the door and walked out.
The Qin family was not well-off, and their house was very shabby. The already small courtyard had become even more cramped after they later added a room for Qin Qing, so the dinner banquet was held at the neighbor’s house across the street. Everyone was busy over there at the moment, and there was hardly anyone in this courtyard.
In the past, Qin Qing had always slept in the same room as Zhang Zenglan, but when she grew up, she wanted some personal space, so she begged to build a new room in the courtyard. At this moment, Qin Qing’s room door was closed, and nothing could be seen inside.
Xie Mingzhu walked to the door, listened carefully, and through the door panel, soon heard Qin Qing’s coquettish voice: “Brother, now that you’re married to her, will you stop liking me?”
Qin Haoyu quickly promised earnestly: “How could that be! She’s not even half as beautiful as you – how could I like her? Didn’t we agree earlier? Once we get the city household registration through her, I’ll divorce her then!”
“Do you really think her family can get us city household registration? Her father’s just a worker – what can he do? Look at her wedding, no one from her side even came!”
Qin Haoyu said mysteriously: “She doesn’t just have one family. Her birth father will probably resume his position soon. By then, we’ll be their relatives – won’t it be easy to get whatever we want?”
“Then… will you touch her?” Qin Qing asked awkwardly.
Qin Haoyu promised again: “Don’t worry, I definitely won’t touch her! Only you can have my children!”
“Really? You mustn’t lie to me!”
“Of course – when have I ever lied to you!”
“Then… kiss me!”
Qin Haoyu hesitated for a moment, then kissed her.
“Don’t make a scene either. Today she’s moving in, there are so many people outside! If anyone finds out…”
Before he could finish, Qin Qing interrupted him: “I don’t care! It’s fine if they find out – anyway, we’re not real siblings. That way I can be with you openly!”
What followed was an indescribable sound. Qin Haoyu pretended to refuse a few times, then gave in.
Xie Mingzhu listened to the sounds inside with a blank expression, then retched in disgust. In all her life, she had never felt so disgusted.
Since these two scoundrels liked being together so much, she would satisfy them!
With that thought, she wiped her mouth, turned around and walked to the gate, and looked at several children playing there. With a worried expression, she said to them: “Sister Qing is dying – she’s crying out in pain in the room. Hurry and call the adults over to take a look!”
When the children heard this, they immediately chattered and ran off, each going to find their parents.
Xie Mingzhu watched the children’s backs, let out a soft snort, then returned to her room to wait.
After a short while, urgent voices could be heard outside.
“What’s going on? She was fine just now – how did she suddenly get so bad?”
“Could it be that Sister Lan scolded her a few times, and she got so upset she drank pesticide?”
“Hurry! Kick the door open quickly! Don’t let her really do something stupid!”
As the door was kicked open, all sounds suddenly stopped. The scene inside really shattered their sense of propriety!
Xie Mingzhu stood by the window, watching the colorful expressions on everyone’s faces, with no expression on her own. Inside the room, the two of them had been completely absorbed in what they were doing and had no idea anyone would burst in. Qin Haoyu, who had been in the middle of things, was so frightened he went limp on the spot. Qin Qing also screamed in fright and grabbed the quilt beside her to cover herself.
That scream attracted more people, and more and more people gathered around. Zhang Zenglan also followed the crowd over. Even with her silver tongue, looking at this absurd scene in front of her, she didn’t know what to say for a moment – her mind was filled with “It’s over, everything is ruined now!”
When Xie Mingzhu saw more and more people gathering, she opened the door and walked out. She went to the back of the crowd and pretended to be confused, smiling and asking: “What’s happening? Why is everyone gathered at Xiao Qing’s room door?”
An aunt who couldn’t bear to watch quickly reached out to stop her: “Ms. Xie, don’t look – don’t let those filthy things sully your eyes!”
When Xie Mingzhu heard the aunt’s words, she almost laughed out loud. That description was really apt. Even if they weren’t real siblings, they had lived as brother and sister for so many years and still did such a thing – they really were filthy.
However, Xie Mingzhu still moved the aunt’s hand away and asked with a smile: “What are you talking about? What filthy things? Let me see too – I’ve never seen anything like that in my life!”
The people in front subconsciously made way for her so she could see clearly inside the room. Inside, Qin Haoyu had already put on his pants, but Qin Qing was still naked on the bed. When Xie Mingzhu saw this, she immediately put on an Oscar-worthy performance – her big black eyes suddenly widened, and at the same time she raised her right hand, pointing slightly trembling at the two people inside, her face full of disbelief, and asked in a quivering voice: “You… you…”
As she spoke, a large tear rolled down her cheek. If her earlier expression might have been faked, this tear was real – tears of regret, shed for being so blind in the past that she had caused the destruction of her family.
Looking at her like this, everyone felt a bit sorry for her. Xie Mingzhu opened her mouth but couldn’t say a word, as if she was too angry to speak.
Zhang Zenglan finally reacted at this moment, her mind working quickly as she stepped forward to smooth things over: “My Xiao Qing has been spoiled by me and has become more and more unruly!”
As she spoke, she quickly entered the room, winking at the two inside while scolding: “How many times have I told you! You’re almost eighteen, not a child anymore – you have to avoid others when changing clothes, even your brother!”
It was obvious she was trying to fool everyone. One had to say she was really shameless – with so many people catching them in the act, she could still seriously try to deceive everyone.
Qin Qing also reacted immediately, saying with a wronged expression: “My back just hurt so much, and I saw you were busy, so I wanted my brother to take a look at it. I didn’t expect you to look at me like this!”
With those words, she made it seem like she had done nothing wrong and it was everyone else’s fault. After a pause, she continued crying: “Now that you’ve misunderstood me like this, I don’t know what gossip will spread in the village. I think I might as well die!”
As she spoke, she wrapped herself in the quilt and tried to hit her head against the wall. Zhang Zenglan quickly grabbed her: “Silly girl, you mustn’t do anything stupid! If you’re gone, how can this old bone of mine go on living!”
After saying that, she started crying along with Qin Qing, and for a moment, only their wailing could be heard.
Who among those present wasn’t sharp-witted? Could they not understand Zhang Zenglan’s intention? But everyone who had come to help today was someone who usually got along well with them, so when they saw Qin Qing acting like she was going to die, everyone looked at each other and didn’t dare say anything more. After all, today was a happy day.
Xie Mingzhu watched them put on their show and couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Just as everyone looked at her in confusion, she put away her smile and said in a deep voice: “Call the public security! I want to know if such improper relations between a man and a woman violate moral principles and the law!”
When Zhang Zenglan heard this, she immediately started crying: “Mingzhu, you can’t be so ruthless! You’re not giving them a way out!”
While crying, she talked about how hard it had been for her as a widow raising two children, making herself sound so wronged. Xie Mingzhu’s face was cold, and she was just about to speak when an angry voice came from the door: “Your whole family really has no shame! You got caught in the act and you still think you’re in the right?”