The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 318 - 317: The Great Battle with Shen Baolan

Chapter 318: Chapter 317: The Great Battle with Shen Baolan

"Oh, don’t cry, don’t cry, Yuanbao, don’t cry..."

Shen Baolan was frantically soothing her son while she fumbled to open the door, curious to see who was causing a scene so late at night and frightening her son. She was determined to give the intruder a piece of her mind.

At the doorway, Ma Sufen glared outside at Qin Jinlian, "Who are you looking for?"

"I’m looking for your daughter-in-law, Shen Baolan. Tell her to come out!"

Shen Baolan had just stepped out of the house when she heard someone calling her name, a voice that sounded familiar. As she was trying to figure out who it was, Qin Jinlian had already barged in.

She was startled and didn’t have time to react before Qin Jinlian slapped her hard, leaving her head buzzing.

"What are you doing? Why are you coming to someone’s house to hit people in the middle of the night?"

Ma Sufen, who witnessed the scene, was both shocked and angry. It wasn’t that she wanted to defend Shen Baolan, but she felt extremely anxious about Qin Jinlian’s intrusion.

What if this madwoman, after hitting her daughter-in-law, turned on her?

Ma Sufen was known to be fierce in the housing complex, but compared to Qin Jinlian, she seemed less intimidating.

As the saying goes, the hard are afraid of the aggressive.

Qin Jinlian turned to Ma Sufen with a sneer, "This has nothing to do with you, stay out of it!"

Ma Sufen quickly took her grandson from Shen Baolan’s arms and beckoned Zhou Hao to hide behind her before throwing out a statement like she was watching a drama, "Let’s talk this out."

By then, Shen Baolan had come to her senses, staring at Qin Jinlian with a cold scoff, "Qin Jinlian, you’re finished. You come to my house for no reason to hit me, I’ll call the police and have you arrested, so you can join your son-in-law in jail!"

"Pah!"

Qin Jinlian spat disdainfully and pointed at Shen Baolan’s nose, cursing furiously, "You shameless hussy, with your ass where your face should be, spewing crap and cursing my son-in-law to jail. How come lightning hasn’t struck you dead, you damned nuisance!"

Shen Baolan was no pushover, "Your son-in-law is in prison because he was jinxed by your daughter, Shen Mingzhu. She has a curse that brings misfortune to her husbands! Just you wait and see, the hard times for Shen Mingzhu are still to come!"

"Bullshit, curse my Mingzhu again, I dare you! I’ll tear you to pieces today!"

Qin Jinlian grabbed Shen Baolan’s hair with one hand, and Shen Baolan cried out in pain before biting Qin Jinlian’s hand.

The two women were like two furious lionesses tussling together.

"Stop fighting, you can’t kill each other like this~"

Finally arriving at the scene, Shen Jianguo shouted and moved forward to break up the fight.

The noisy commotion had also drawn other residents out to watch.

Soon, someone called Shen Mingzhu to inform her.

At that moment, Pei Yang had just entered his home and hadn’t even had the chance to take off his coat before he was back on his bike, rushing with Shen Mingzhu to the housing complex.

By the time the couple reached the Zhou family’s place, the fight was over.

Qin Jinlian and Shen Baolan were each being held back by several women, who were trying to appease them with kind words.

"Pei Yang is back?"

Somebody said something, and everyone in the room turned to look.

Seeing the tall, handsome, and mature Pei Yang following behind Shen Mingzhu, faces showed surprise.

"Pei Yang?! Weren’t you arrested?" Shen Baolan exclaimed in shock.

"Thanks for your concern, Shuhuan’s wife."

Pei Yang replied with a smirk and turned to inquire about Qin Jinlian with concern, "Mom, are you hurt?"

Qin Jinlian, who had just been puffing up like a victorious rooster, suddenly had her eyes well up with tears the moment she heard her son-in-law’s concern, and tears started to fall.

"Wuwuwu, my son-in-law, that Shen Baolan is bullying people."

Upon hearing this, Shen Baolan almost exploded with rage, "You came to my house in the middle of the night to hit people, and you say I’m bullying you?"

Qin Jinlian spoke with conviction, "You asked for it! Who told you to cause trouble on a full stomach, cursing my son-in-law to jail?"

"Who cursed your son-in-law? He was just..."

Seeing the tall and burly Pei Yang standing beside Shen Mingzhu, Shen Baolan’s words got stuck in her throat.

What’s going on, wasn’t Pei Yang arrested?

Noticing that Shen Baolan had run out of things to say, Qin Jinlian pressed her advantage. "Let everyone be the judge here. My daughter Mingzhu didn’t provoke her at all, yet she ran back to her parents’ home to spread rumors and make trouble, cursed my son-in-law to eat prison food, and even insulted my Mingzhu as a husband-cursing woman. Was I wrong to seek an explanation from her? If your daughters or sons-in-law were slandered and had mud thrown on them like this, could you endure it?"

The onlookers looked at each other, silent for a moment.

It’s true that the food factory was investigated and Pei Yang was arrested.

However, it was indeed Shen Baolan’s own doing, as everyone had been discussing this matter for the past two days, albeit quietly and privately. Who else would brazenly run back to her parents’ home to badmouth others and let herself be caught in a vice like she did? Who else could she blame?

Suddenly, someone spoke up, criticizing Shen Baolan, telling her to accumulate some virtue and gossip less about others in the future.

Agitated, Shen Baolan retorted, "It is not me who said those things; it was Tian Guiying who spread the rumors. Didn’t you all hear her say it in the family yard yesterday?"

The few people whom Shen Baolan had named obviously did not want to get involved, and they all made excuses to leave amid awkward laughter.

Shen Baolan was infuriated and felt helpless.

Pei Yang apologized to Ma Sufen and Zhou Quanxiong, the couple generously stated they would not pursue the matter further.

After all, they were not the ones who took the beating.

Shen Baolan felt aggrieved, but with her in-laws unwilling to support her, she had no choice but to swallow her anger.

...

After leaving the Zhou family’s house, Qin Jinlian, feeling guilty, avoided Shen Mingzhu’s cold gaze.

Having stirred up such a scene, she felt relieved but was also aware that she had caused trouble for her son-in-law.

"I, I’m tired, I’ll go back and sleep first."

Without waiting for Shen Mingzhu to respond, Qin Jinlian hurriedly left.

Shen Jianguo spoke up for his wife to his daughter and son-in-law, "Your mom has always been competitive and sharp-tongued. I’ll take her home first thing tomorrow morning to prevent any further trouble for you."

"Dad, if you’re not busy at home, why not stay in the city for a few more days? You’ve been busy for half a year; take some well-deserved rest."

Having said that, Shen Mingzhu walked away.

Pei Yang greeted Shen Jianguo and quickly followed his wife away.

Shen Jianguo watched his daughter and son-in-law’s retreating figures for a long while, a smile of relief spreading across his face.

He knew his daughter still had a soft heart.

...

It was getting late, and with the cold weather, the streets were deserted, with hardly a soul in sight.

Shen Mingzhu sat on the back seat of the bicycle, wrapping her arms around Pei Yang’s waist and resting her face against his sturdy broad back, her mind drifting back to her previous life.

Her parents had divorced when she was very young. Her father lived a life of pleasure, while her mother remarried and had another child, leaving her to her own devices.

Once, she had an argument with a classmate over a trivial matter, which escalated into a fight.

When the school called for a parent meeting, her father was on a trip with his girlfriend, and her mother was too busy taking care of her newly born little sister. Neither came to the school, and she was punished by the teacher to stand in the office for two periods.

In truth, she was a person desperately lacking maternal love.

If someone showed her even a little bit of kindness, she would become soft-hearted.

Standing in the Zhou family’s living room tonight, looking at Qin Jinlian’s tousled hair as she went all out against Shen Baolan to fight for justice for her and Pei Yang, she suddenly understood the meaning of "blood is thicker than water."

In dealing with her three children, Qin Jinlian was indeed selfish, prejudiced, and foolish, but when it really came down to her daughter being bullied by outsiders, Qin Jinlian would still stand up for her.

...

Outside the city Public Security Bureau.

"Many thanks."

Meiqian leaned on the jeep with one hand, the other hand pinching half a cigarette, his face mockingly eyed Yan Yi, "You needn’t thank me; a little shrimp that I haven’t even put one percent of my effort into resolving. But I’m very curious, who exactly merits your personal involvement to come and ask me to interrogate?"