Tan Qingjuan refused to believe it. She looked at Su Qing suspiciously. "If you didn’t seduce Fushan, why would he send a matchmaker to your house to propose marriage?"

Su Qing raised her hand as if to slap her. "Say one more disrespectful word, and see if I don’t hit you again."

"That’s right. If you slander Su Qing’s reputation again, I won’t let you off either," Aunt Tao said, standing to the side and glaring like a tiger watching its prey. Although Aunt Cuihua didn’t say anything, her look toward Tan Qingjuan was anything but friendly.

Tan Qingjuan immediately backed down and said hastily, "Fine, I won’t say it."

’When you’re under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head.’ She would endure it!

"Let me tell you one more time. I have nothing to do with that Liang Fushan, and I don’t want anything to do with him. From now on, if you or Liang Fushan come and bother me again, I’ll beat you every single time I see you. If you don’t believe me, just wait and see," Su Qing said coldly to Tan Qingjuan.

"Did you hear that?" Zhao Youcai glared at Tan Qingjuan. "You came here stirring up trouble without figuring anything out first. You deserved to get hit. Who wouldn’t have hit you in this situation? Now hurry up and get to work. Stop looking for trouble all day. If you cause any more problems, I’ll deduct your work points."

Zhao Youcai didn’t actually threaten to deduct Tan Qingjuan’s work points today, partly because he could see she had been beaten quite badly. Tsk tsk, it was a truly miserable sight. Her face was swollen up like a pig’s head.

Tan Qingjuan clutched her face, still unwilling to let it go. "Brigade Leader, so... so I just got beaten for nothing?"

"What more do you want?" Zhao Youcai asked.

"I’ve been beaten this badly. At the very least, I need to get my injuries looked at," Tan Qingjuan muttered.

Hearing this, Su Qing raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Fine. You want me to pay your medical fees? Sure. But first, let’s take a trip to the Public Security Bureau. You slandered my name in public, and the whole village saw it. How about we go talk it over with the comrades from Public Security first?"

Tan Qingjuan was speechless. ’As if she’d dare go to the Public Security Bureau over this.’

"Forget it, forget it. I won’t argue with you anymore. I... I’ll be going now." Tan Qingjuan gritted her teeth. It seemed she’d have to take this beating for nothing. But she was still confused. If Su Qing hadn’t seduced Liang Fushan, then why would he send a matchmaker to discuss marriage?

Just as Tan Qingjuan was lost in thought, Su Qing’s voice came from behind her. "Oh, right, Tan Zhiqing. Since you and Liang Fushan are a couple, you should probably get married soon. Otherwise, if you two end up creating a new life, it’ll be a messy situation to clean up."

The others didn’t understand the meaning behind Su Qing’s words, but Tan Qingjuan understood instantly. She stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.

Tan Qingjuan turned to look at Su Qing in horror, only to see Su Qing raise an eyebrow and sneer at her. Her heart suddenly began to pound. She felt as if Su Qing had seen right through her secret, and the feeling made her chest tighten.

She frantically tried to reassure herself: ’No, it can’t be. There was no one around at the time. If there had been, wouldn’t they have shouted something long ago?’

But even with that thought, Tan Qingjuan’s heart was still racing. The more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong. She couldn’t help but touch her stomach. ’If it’s really... ’

’No, I have to go find Liang Fushan. I need to make things clear. I can’t be so passive anymore. I have to take the initiative and tell him. In the past, I’ve listened to him too much.’

At the same time, Tan Qingjuan began to doubt the things Liang Fushan had told her before. ’Is he just stringing me along? Does he not actually want to marry me?’

Watching Tan Qingjuan’s dazed and dejected figure retreat, Aunt Cuihua and Aunt Tao suddenly understood. They quickly looked at Su Qing. "Su Qing, you don’t happen to know something, do you? What was that about creating a new life? Don’t tell me those two..."

Su Qing smiled sweetly. "I don’t know anything. I was just saying whatever came to mind."

Aunt Tao frowned. "Goodness, you say one thing offhandedly, and that Tan Zhiqing starts acting all strange. Don’t tell me she and that Liang Fushan really have something going on."

Zhao Youcai, who was standing nearby, got a headache from listening. "You old gossips, all you know how to do is chatter on and on. Hurry up and get to work."

"Oh my, Brigade Leader, what are you still doing here?" Aunt Tao looked at Zhao Youcai in surprise. She thought he had already left.

Zhao Youcai’s head throbbed even more. "Where else would I be? Hurry up, get to work."

"Oh, yes, Brigade Leader."

Su Qing couldn’t help but suppress a smile. Zhao Youcai shot her an exasperated glare. "You little rascal, you’ve gotten fierce, haven’t you? Beating someone up like that."

Su Qing raised an eyebrow. "Brigade Leader, I don’t start fights, but I finish them. As long as no one provokes me, I promise I won’t hit anyone. But if they do provoke me, I’ll beat them half to death."

"That’s right," Aunt Cuihua added.

"You all..." Zhao Youcai said helplessly. "Alright, everyone, get back to work."

Chen Danou and her son, Liang Chengcai, discussed the matter all night. Early the next morning, Chen Danou decided to make a personal trip to the Old Su Family’s home in Lihua Village. She felt it was best to discuss this matter in person and, at the same time, gauge the Old Su Family’s attitude.

But who would have known that before she could even leave the house, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

Zeng Hui opened the gate and saw a young woman she didn’t recognize. Zeng Hui quickly asked, "Who are you looking for?"

"Is this Liang Fushan’s house?" The visitor was none other than Tan Qingjuan. She asked after sizing up Zeng Hui.

"Yes. Are you here to see Fushan?" Zeng Hui didn’t particularly like the way Tan Qingjuan was looking at her, but she still asked politely.

"Yes," Tan Qingjuan nodded. "I’m here to see Liang Fushan. And you are?"

Tan Qingjuan observed Zeng Hui’s appearance. Her hair was a bit messy, as if she hadn’t had time to wash up and comb it. She wore an apron, and her face was sallow and thin, giving off an impression of being malnourished.

Tan Qingjuan knew that Liang Fushan’s family was well-off. With such a large house made of red bricks and tiles, it stood to reason that everyone in the family should be well-fed. It was impossible that they were malnourished. Even she, who had to support herself, had never starved herself to this state.

"I’m his sister-in-law. Please, come in." Seeing that Tan Qingjuan was indeed here for Liang Fushan, Zeng Hui let her into the courtyard.

’Sister-in-law!’

Tan Qingjuan lowered her head and narrowed her eyes. ’Liang Fushan told me his mother was very reasonable and treated her daughters-in-law like her own daughters. But from the looks of this, that doesn’t seem to be the case at all!’

"Eldest’s wife, who’s here so early in the morning?" Chen Danou shouted from the main hall.

"Ma, it’s a young woman. She says she’s here for Fushan," Zeng Hui said quickly.

Inside his room, Liang Fushan had just woken up and hadn’t gotten out of bed yet. Every day, his family basically waited for Zeng Hui to finish making breakfast before they would slowly get up, get ready, eat, and then head off to work.

Hearing Zeng Hui’s words, Liang Fushan was jolted fully awake. He hadn’t expected Tan Qingjuan to come looking for him; he had thought it was Su Qing.

He hurriedly threw on his clothes, quickly neatened his hair, and excitedly opened the door. But when he saw Tan Qingjuan, his brow furrowed instantly. "What are you doing here?"