Chapter 124: Flaunting Might

As soon as Qian Darong returned home and mentioned the matter, Li Xihua was displeased.

That was what had led the two of them to quarrel, and so Qian Darong had not gone with Li Xihua to visit her family for the New Year.

In Li Xihua’s heart, naturally, having a child of her own came first.

Tang Xin stared straight into Qian Darong’s eyes and asked again, “Do you dare go to the hospital?”

“You are always bullying my sister. Can you guarantee that the problem isn’t yours?”

Confronted by Tang Xin’s relentless questioning, Qian Darong grew intensely uneasy. He did not even dare meet her gaze.

Madam Fang might not have known much about academic matters, but she had lived all these years and understood a great deal about human nature and proper conduct.

One glance at her son-in-law’s face was enough for her to notice that something was wrong. Suspicion began to stir in her heart as well.

Tang Xin knew that her earlier explanation and her present interrogation had already taken effect. At the very least, she had planted seeds of doubt in the minds of her mother-in-law and her elder sister-in-law.

She could not say that she had learned the plot in advance from a book, so she simply struck at the foundation and said, “During the New Year, I already took my elder sister to the hospital for an examination. The doctor said that she was perfectly healthy and had no problems at all. If that is the case, doesn’t it mean that after several years of marriage without a child, the problem is entirely yours?”

Qian Darong was completely stunned. With a thud, he dropped to his knees.

Of course, he had no idea that Tang Xin was deceiving him. He genuinely believed that she had already gone to the hospital and discovered that he was the one incapable of fathering children.

Qian Darong no longer knew what to do. His younger sister-in-law, Tang, had come from the city and clearly was not someone to be trifled with. She had dared to humiliate him in front of everyone.

If she truly found out that he was the one who could not have children, would she not shatter the last scrap of his dignity as a man?

And if word spread throughout the production team, what face would he have left? Would he not be unable to hold his head up wherever he went?

At that moment, Qian Darong could not help feeling fortunate that, after returning earlier, he had sensed something was wrong and shut the courtyard gate, sending away all the neighbors who had come to watch the spectacle.

But now, in this situation, Qian Darong truly had no idea how to salvage matters. His mother had spent every day cursing Li Xihua as a barren hen.

If they learned that he was actually the one who could not have children, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Seeing matters develop in the direction most disadvantageous to him, Qian Darong instinctively looked toward his mother.

In his heart, his mother was the most formidable person in the family. Had he not seen how his father was kept completely under her thumb every day?

Receiving her son’s desperate look, the old woman assumed she understood him. As it happened, she too had been wanting to deal with this shameless daughter-in-law who occupied the nest without laying eggs.

Of course, Old Madam Qian was no fool.

If her son wanted to find another daughter-in-law as long-suffering and obedient as Li Xihua, someone he could freely mistreat, it would not be easy. Replacing her would actually mean a loss for their family.

But that barren hen had already delayed her son for several years. The matter could not simply be forgotten.

Now her mother and younger sister-in-law had even come to their door and were trying to turn things around, claiming that Darong was at fault?

Old Madam Qian had been furious, but after exchanging a glance with her son, she believed she understood his intention.

Heh. This time, they would give Li Xihua a proper fright. It would not be unreasonable to make her family compensate the Qian family for its losses, would it?

With that thought, Old Madam Qian straightened her back and found her anger flowing smoothly again. She immediately began cursing Madam Fang and Tang Xin.

“Well, look at you, matchmaker’s mother-in-law! You actually sent your daughter-in-law to our Qian family to throw her weight around? Your own eldest daughter is clearly the one who cannot bear children, yet you still want to push the blame onto my son? Let me tell you, there is no chance of that!”

Qian Darong nearly fainted on the spot. His mother had completely misunderstood what he meant.

What was he supposed to do? Tang, the educated youth from the city, was obviously not someone who could be bullied. He was terrified that others would truly discover that he was the one with the problem.

At the same time, he was afraid his mother would really fall out with his mother-in-law’s family. Besides, from last night until late that morning, he had been fooling around with his mistress—

In truth, Qian Darong had long been unable to perform as he once had. But Li Xihua knew little about such matters. Before her marriage, embarrassment had prevented her mother from explaining anything to her in detail.

Their married life had never truly been consummated, yet she believed that this was simply how relations between husband and wife worked. How many ignorant country women had allowed a lifetime to pass them by because of the so-called shame and modesty surrounding such matters?

That was how Qian Darong had managed to deceive Li Xihua. In reality, his virility had disappeared long ago.

The woman he kept outside had not come from a respectable family and knew all sorts of things. Even without truly going through the act, she could still bring him pleasure.

Little by little, Qian Darong naturally came to prefer fooling around outside rather than returning home.

He had already been carrying on for an entire day and night, leaving his body completely drained. Then, after suffering this mental blow—

He actually collapsed, stiff as a board, and fainted.

Now the matter truly had grown serious. Old Madam Qian wailed and shouted without pause, ordering her husband to go call for help.

“Go! Go bring all the production-team cadres here! Tell them that the old Li family has come to our Qian family home to bully people!”

And so the three of them created a great commotion. Meanwhile, Li Xihua’s heart was in turmoil as well.

Her mother, Madam Fang, was also feeling deeply conflicted.

Ever since her daughter’s in-laws had branded her with the disgraceful name of barren hen, Madam Fang had hardly dared visit her daughter’s home. She was afraid that Old Madam Qian would insult her until she could no longer hold up her head.

But now, after hearing what her daughter-in-law had said, could it be that the problem actually lay with Qian Darong?

While Qian Darong and his mother were putting on their farce, Tang Xin leaned close to Li Xihua’s ear and quietly explained some private matters between husband and wife.

Tang Xin knew the plot of the original novel, so she naturally understood that Li Xihua had been ignorant of these things and had been deceived by that scoundrel Qian Darong.

Without hesitation, Tang Xin tore away the last veil of secrecy and told her elder sister-in-law that, in all likelihood, she and Qian Darong had never truly consummated their marriage during most of their time together.

Li Xihua listened with her eyes wide, staring at Tang Xin in disbelief.

All she saw was her younger sister-in-law from the city—someone who knew a great deal and dared to say anything—nodding solemnly.

Li Xihua was stunned. Her entire mind had fallen into a daze.

She was not the only one bewildered. Madam Fang was even more at a loss. Although she did not know why her daughter-in-law had lied, they were family, and she knew perfectly well that her eldest daughter had not gone to the county town at all during those ten-odd days of the New Year.

Yet instinct told her that her daughter-in-law would never harm them.

Before they could do anything, Old Madam Qian had already begun making a scene—and Qian Darong had fainted?

After all, this was the Qian family home, and the old man had gone to call for help. Old Madam Qian therefore felt entirely confident.

Pointing straight at the people before her, she began to curse.

“Li Xihua, you barren hen! You were the one who delayed my son, and now you even brought your mother and your younger sister-in-law to my house to throw their weight around. Just wait and see how I deal with you today!”

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