The old woman had always been timid. Back when Su Yun was more agreeable, she could sometimes put on the airs of a mother-in-law. But now, with Su Yun’s eyes red and her entire being bristling with hostility, the old woman didn’t dare say a thing.

She opened her mouth and held it for a long time without speaking. When she saw Su Yun staring coldly at her, the old woman was so frightened she let out a hiccup.

At that moment, Mr. Qin, who was sitting by the door puffing away on his old-fashioned pipe, spoke up with displeasure. "That’s enough out of you. You’re the one who lost the child, so who are you trying to act tough for?" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Su Yun used to respect her father-in-law. Mr. Qin was educated and carried an air of authority. But respect didn’t mean fear, and at a time like this, she couldn’t care less about any of that.

Su Yun said, "Dad, there’s something wrong with what you just said. Yes, we lost Xiao Shi while rushing back here, and I bear the primary responsibility. But what Feng Lan said just now—that it’s fine if one is lost because there’s still another—is that something a human being would say? That’s my child, my own flesh and blood, not just some stray cat or dog! Besides, if you hadn’t been pretending to be on your deathbed, would our family have rushed back? And what happened? Not only did you not die, you were just helping with the act, all so you could help the third brother’s family take over our homestead!"

Mr. Qin’s eyes went wide. "Are you cursing me to die?"

"You were the one pretending to be dead!"

They had been searching for the child for hours. Su Yun and the others had gone door-to-door asking at the previous three stations, but they’d found nothing.

Now that it was dark, Qin Zhonghui had told Su Yun and Qin Na to head back first. He, along with some men from the village and the police, continued the search.

But as time ticked by with no news, Su Yun felt like she was on the verge of exploding.

If her sister-in-law, Qin Na, hadn’t been constantly trying to soothe her, she probably would have blown up long ago.

Even at a time like this, the old man was still putting on airs. How could Su Yun let that slide?

Mr. Qin was furious as well. In all his years, which junior had ever dared to talk back to him like this?

With a CLANG, he slammed his pipe down. "A woman like you has no right to be a daughter-in-law of the Qin family! You can’t even produce a son, yet you dare talk back to your elders. I’ll have Qin Zhonghui divorce you!"

Su Yun sneered. "Fine. Go and tell him. If he agrees to a divorce, I’ll leave without another word. But on one condition: both children come with me. With the Qin family’s despicable habit of favoring boys, being born a girl in your family is a terrible curse!"

Feng Lan chimed in from the side, "Su Yun, that’s where you’re wrong. It’s your own failure that you can’t have a son. And if the girl you did have has a bad life, that’s on you, her mother."

"Feng Lan, you shut your mouth!" Su Yun was livid. She wouldn’t lay a hand on an elder, but she had no such reservations about Feng Lan.

Seeing the ferocity in Su Yun’s eyes, Feng Lan quickly hid behind Mr. Qin, who was glaring sinisterly at Su Yun.

Su Yun wasn’t the least bit afraid and glared right back.

Qin Na was actually terrified of her father—a shadow that had loomed over her since childhood. But right now, she clenched her fists and stood behind her second sister-in-law.

There were other villagers in the courtyard. An older one couldn’t help but try to smooth things over. "Su Yun, we all know you’re anxious because you lost your child, but you shouldn’t talk back to your elders. Even if your father-in-law prefers grandsons, a granddaughter is still part of the Qin family. He’s worried sick, too."

Su Yun immediately retorted, "Take a look at them. Every last one of them. Do any of them look worried? They’re not upset about Xiao Shi being missing; they’re upset that this means you can’t keep trying to seize our family’s homestead!"

The villager who had intended to be a peacemaker looked at the faces of Mr. Qin and the others and found he had nothing more to say.

Meanwhile, Qin Jiao and Shen Yi had already entered the village. They went to Lin Nian’s house, but it was empty—Xiao Shi wasn’t there.

"Let’s go. We’ll head straight to Lin Xiaohua’s house!"