I Got Rich in Period Fiction
Chapter 516: Jump Down Together

Chapter 516: Chapter 516: Jump Down Together

"In such cold weather, they hadn’t even given her a sip of hot water before chasing her out.

At this very moment, Wang Mei’s heart was truly ice-cold.

She didn’t have time to think whether her life had been right or wrong, she was very cold, she dared not go into the village nor did she dare return to Qiao Family Team, she turned and ran towards the rear mountain. Wang Mei knew there was a shack in a hollow on the rear mountain where the people of Wangjia Village had set up to watch over the medicinal herbs they grew during summer.

In the middle of winter, especially at midnight, no one in the north would venture out into the biting wind, so the whole forest was eerily quiet except for the occasional sound of wild animals.

Just like that, Wang Mei hid in the shack for one whole day and night.

There was plenty of firewood in the mountains, and there was a box of matches in the shack. Although the shack had a small heated brick bed, she wasn’t freezing, but she was very hungry.

She had to go down the mountain to find something to eat, otherwise, she would perish here.

For someone of her age, it was a miracle she hadn’t collapsed from such torment.

She walked with a deep step followed by a shallow one until, looking up under the moonlight, she saw a figure standing on a hillside that shocked her completely. But on closer examination, it was Qiao Zhihai.

Qiao Zhihai didn’t say anything; he was wearing a military coat and heavy cotton shoes.

He had been searching for this woman for a day. Shengbao had reported her missing, he had agreed with Shengbao’s decision to report it, if not, he himself would have gone to report it. Wang Mei was not at Wangjia Village, she had indeed arrived on that night, but her brothers had driven her out.

He went home, not intending to search for her.

This woman had run towards the rear mountain. If she froze to death, then it was fate. If she didn’t freeze, he would find her the next day.

After searching for a day, he finally saw smoke rising from the shack where medicinal herbs were watched in the distance on the hillside.

Before he reached her, Wang Mei, that wretched woman, approached him, grabbing him tightly. However, unexpectedly, he remained calm, looking at her, the two really had spent a lifetime together, but he hadn’t imagined it would come to this.

"Wang Mei, you would risk your life for your parents’ family, but now that you’re in trouble, how come your own mother and your brothers don’t care for you?" Qiao Zhihai mocked.

Wang Mei’s lips trembled, unable to utter a word.

Qiao Zhihai felt utterly bored. He knew that at this point, speaking of so-called reasoning was meaningless. He grabbed her and walked forward while Wang Mei was dazedly dragged by him, and when she came to her senses, she found that he hadn’t taken her back home or to the police station.

Instead, they were standing on the edge of a cliff.

The moon was exceptionally round tonight, and combined with the bright white snow, it was as light as day.

This place was familiar to Wang Mei; she had picked mushrooms here in the autumn.

She asked with a trembling voice, "My lord, why have you brought me here?"

"Wang Mei, I’ve thought about it. If I were to send you to the police station, but since we are not yet divorced, reporting this would surely validate your arson charge. Once you are inside, you’ll have a criminal record which would affect my three sons and their children later on."

Wang Mei was so cold that she was barely conscious.

But she finally gave in because she was scared, having never seen such an expression or attitude on Qiao Zhihai’s face before."

"Head of the household, I was wrong, I... I was wrong. Why don’t you just take me to the police station? If we get divorced, I won’t drag the children down with me, okay?"

Qiao Zhihai shook his head, his voice calm, "Wang Mei, as I was walking here, I thought about it. You’ve contributed to this family; you gave me three sons. But then I think back, and all three kids were raised by my mother. What have you done? You only care about your own family, you never had a place for me, Qiao Zhihai, in your eyes. You’ve never considered the Qiao family as your own."

He pointed to the cliff, "I wanted to kill you, but if I killed you, I would be a murderer, and our descendants would never see good days. I haven’t done much for them, I can’t burden them. Let’s jump together, leave our fates to heaven. If we live, we live; if we die, it’s fate."

Wang Mei struggled in terror, but she was tired, hungry, and cold, her resistance feeble. She didn’t want to die. Although she was old, she could live twenty more years, the same age her mother reached.

Tears in her eyes and a plea on her lips were cut short as Qiao Zhaihai took off his military coat and put it on her.

Underneath it, he just wore a sweater. Without hesitation, he grasped Wang Mei’s arm and jumped from the top towards the bottom of the mountain.

Before leaping, he wondered if his sons could find the one thousand yuan left in the house.

The next morning, Qiao Qingyu received a call from his hometown.

It was Qiao Shengbao who made the call.

Perhaps it really was fate not wanting them dead yet, sometimes the will of heaven is inexplicable and unreasonable.

Under ordinary circumstances, Qiao Zhihai and Wang Mei should have undoubtedly died from such a fall, especially given the cold weather. Even an hour in the cold could be fatal, not to mention frostbite.

Qiao Zhihai hadn’t intended to live; perhaps it was guilt, not knowing how to face his parents and brothers, or maybe because with Wang Mei alive, his sons’ lives would never improve.

So, he decided to die with her; that way, he wouldn’t be a murderer.

But half an hour after they jumped, a forest ranger from the mountain station happened to pass by and found two people lying in a snowdrift.

This area had a forest, with a state-run station. Two rangers were on duty that night, and after drinking a bottle of liquor, they went outside to relieve themselves and heard cracking sounds from the woods. Drunk but determined, they grabbed flashlights and sticks and went to investigate.

They discovered two people in the snow.

One quickly went to get help while the other frantically rubbed snow on the slightly breathing man’s hands, feet, and ears.

Qiao Zhihai miraculously survived.

Wang Mei, however, died.

Not from the cold, but likely from fear; analysts said it was the shock from Qiao Zhihai pulling her to jump, but regardless, she was gone.

The police station closed the case.

That was the outcome.

The old master and the old lady moved into Qiao Zhihai’s house.

Qiao Zhihai eventually left the hospital, but he was emotionally unstable. Once the old master and the old lady came to terms with the situation, all they could do was look after their second son.