Feng Xueqing hadn’t expected the west room to actually be locked.
The room was so shabby—what was there to steal?
They even locked the door just to come out for dinner. Truly the mindset of petty people.
Feng Xueqing tugged at the lock and noticed the screws on the latch were somewhat loose.
If she could find a screwdriver, she’d be able to remove the latch in no time.
“Ah, if only I could find a screwdriver…” she muttered while scanning the corners of the courtyard.
And she really did find one—a rusty screwdriver tossed into a corner and forgotten beneath a pile of junk.
Feng Xueqing possessed a lucky koi fate. Good fortune always seemed to fall into her lap.
The moment she picked up the screwdriver, a miserable cry of “Ow!” came from the street outside the courtyard wall.
Some unlucky passerby had apparently tripped and fallen flat on the ground.
Feng Xueqing wasn’t surprised at all.
Every time her luck appeared, it was destined to produce some random unlucky victim somewhere else.
She was already used to it.
Using the rusty screwdriver, Feng Xueqing unscrewed the latch, opened the west room door, slipped inside, and quickly shut it behind her.
But unlocking the door had wasted quite a bit of time. She needed to hurry if she wanted to find the jade bracelet.
Not long after Feng Xueqing entered the room, Yu Yao came out.
Yu Yao had guessed that after noticing she wasn’t wearing the bracelet, Feng Xueqing might seize the chance to sneak over and steal it.
But every valuable item in the west room—including the bracelet—had already been stored inside her space.
Even if Feng Xueqing turned the entire room upside down, she’d never find it.
Having eaten and drunk her fill, Yu Yao was bursting with energy.
She was ready for battle.
Quietly approaching the west room, she saw that the latch had indeed been removed and the door was slightly ajar.
Yu Yao silently picked up the old carrying pole leaning against the wall, kicked the door open, and charged inside.
Feng Xueqing, who was rummaging through boxes and cabinets, jumped in fright.
She wanted to escape, but Yu Yao blocked the doorway with the carrying pole in hand, standing there like a lone warrior guarding a pass against ten thousand enemies.
Swinging the pole wildly at the dark figure in the room, Yu Yao shouted at the top of her lungs:
“There’s a thief in the house!”
“Someone come catch the thief!”
“A robber broke into the house!”
Feng Xueqing was beaten so hard stars exploded before her eyes. She raised an arm to shield herself, nearly getting it broken.
“Stop hitting me! Stop!”
Crouching down and clutching her head, she cried while begging for mercy.
“It’s me, Feng Xueqing!”
Yu Yao acted as though she hadn’t heard a thing.
The pole in her hands swung faster and harder, as though she wanted to beat this wretched woman to death.
One strike—
That’s for repaying kindness with betrayal!
Another strike—
That’s for scheming against me and tormenting me!
Another strike—
That’s for sucking me dry and trampling me into the mud!
…
By the time the Liang family rushed over after hearing the commotion and pulled Yu Yao away, they practically had to scrape Feng Xueqing out of the corner of the west room.
She had been beaten beyond recognition.
Under the dim yellow glow of the kerosene lamp, everyone could see Feng Xueqing’s scalp had been split open. Blood seeped from her head and stained her hair red.
Zhao Chunhua shrieked in horror.
She ordered the second daughter-in-law to hold up the lamp while she carefully examined Feng Xueqing’s head, discovering at least five or six huge swollen lumps.
“Oh my heavens!”
“What kind of hatred justifies such viciousness?!”
“Laoxi, is your wife trying to kill someone?!”
Yu Yao had already thrown away the carrying pole and thrown herself into Liang Hui’s arms, trembling as though terrified.
“Husband, I thought there was a thief in the house!”
“You weren’t there, and I was so scared!”
“I just thought I should beat the thief first and call you afterward. I never expected…”
She looked on the verge of tears as she concluded in confusion,
“I never imagined Feng Xueqing would sneak into our room!”
Liang Hui almost couldn’t hold back his laughter.
Maintaining a completely serious face, he comforted Yu Yao:
“Don’t be afraid. It’s alright now.”
Hearing that, Feng Xueqing nearly exploded from frustration.
Afraid? She looked more like she’d been possessed by a bandit!
Zhao Chunhua immediately exploded again.
“Your wife’s pretending to be stupid after beating someone into this state, and you call that ‘alright’?!”
“I’m telling you now, unless you pay one thousand yuan for medical expenses, this matter isn’t over—”
Liang Hui interrupted her calmly.
“I remember locking the door before we came out to eat. So how did she get inside?”
Zhao Chunhua: “……”
Liang Dajun shone a flashlight at the lock and discovered the latch had indeed been removed. Beside it lay the rusty screwdriver.
Every questioning gaze instantly turned toward Feng Xueqing.
Not only had the Liang family crowded into the room—even more neighbors had rushed over after hearing the noise.
Since it was dinnertime, many of them had come carrying bowls and chopsticks in hand. They practically only lacked little stools to complete the spectacle.
“What’s going on?”
“How’d it turn into a fight?”
“Goodness, with that bruised and swollen face, is that still Liang Third Brother’s pretty fiancée?”
Feng Xueqing was humiliated and furious, wishing she could dig a hole and bury herself.
Covering part of her face with one hand, she stammered an explanation.
“I felt Yu Yao misunderstood me and held some prejudice against me, so I wanted to improve our relationship.”
“When I saw the latch on their room was loose, I thought I’d help fix it.”
“I removed the broken latch first, then went into the room to look for a replacement.”
“I never expected Yu Yao would misunderstand me again…”
At that point, she burst into aggrieved sobs.
Hearing this explanation, everyone found it somewhat unbelievable, yet after thinking about it carefully, it did make a certain amount of sense.
After all, Liang Third Brother was a university student, and his fiancée looked gentle and refined—not the sort of person who’d sneak around stealing.
Zhao Chunhua immediately pressed her advantage.
“See? I told you Xueqing was wronged! She was trying to help out of kindness and got beaten half to death instead!”
“Laoxi, your wife is too vicious!”
Yu Yao looked even more aggrieved than Feng Xueqing.
“If the lock was broken, my husband could’ve fixed it himself. She secretly removed the latch and rummaged through our belongings. Of course I thought a thief had broken in.”
“Besides, Third Brother isn’t even home. Who would expect his unmarried fiancée to sneak into her younger brother-in-law’s room in the dark without even lighting a lamp?”
“Who wouldn’t yell for thieves in that situation? How is this my fault?”
Her defense wasn’t loud, but it was perfectly clear to everyone present.
The neighbors all felt her words made sense.
Even the Liang brothers unconsciously nodded along.
If either of their own wives had crept into a younger brother-in-law’s room in the dark, there definitely wouldn’t be anything good about it. They’d deserve a beating too.
Feng Xueqing was crying from anxiety now.
Turning toward Liang Hui, she pleaded tearfully,
“Liang Hui, believe me!”
She gazed at him with the exact same tearful expression from her previous life, hoping he would once again soften only toward her and protect her unconditionally.
The corners of Liang Hui’s mouth twitched as he looked at her strangely.
Before Feng Xueqing could figure out why, Yu Yao moved.
Picking up the little red plastic mirror Liang Hong had bought, Yu Yao kindly held it in front of Feng Xueqing’s face while asking the second daughter-in-law to turn up the kerosene lamp.
“Take a good look at yourself first before deciding whether you still want to flirt with him.”
Feng Xueqing stared into the mirror and froze.
The person reflected there had a bruised and swollen face covered in lumps. Half her hair was stained red with blood, while the other half had been clawed into a bird’s nest.
And just moments ago, she had tilted that exact face toward Liang Hui while acting coquettish and asking for sympathy.