The time was thirty minutes earlier.
After stumbling out of the hospital, Lin Dequan headed straight for Li Youqing’s house.
The group had just returned from the funeral, exhausted and starving. Jiang Li and several other wives from the extended family were busy setting out food and preparing to eat.
Lin Dequan kept his head down and hugged the edge of the room as he walked, so no one noticed an extra person had joined their midst.
By the time Lin Dequan reached Jiang Hongdou’s location, he was just at the doorway when he heard her curses.
"A bunch of spineless wretches! I don't believe for a second she was pregnant. Who are you trying to fool with a pocket full of chicken blood? That sharp-tongued shrew Youfeng couldn't possibly have a son in this lifetime. I curse every one that comes along. May the entire Lin family die out, may they have no descendants! Hahahaha!"
Suddenly, the door was shoved open. Lin Dequan stood in the doorway, his face twisted with malice, glaring at her like a viper lurking in a sewer.
"Keep cursing! Why did you stop?" Lin Dequan’s vicious gaze made Jiang Hongdou shiver violently, and her voice cut off instantly.
Looking at Lin Dequan’s frail, thin frame, Jiang Hongdou felt no fear.
She snapped, "Lin Dequan, what do you think you’re doing? This is my house, and I am your Eldest Uncle's Wife. It’s not your place to run wild here. Get out immediately; I don't want to see you."
As she caught a glimpse of the bamboo skewer in his hand, her heart began to race, and she scrambled toward the inside of the bed in terror.
"You don't want to see me? That’s perfect, because I don't want to see you either. My son told me he really misses his Eldest Uncle's Wife. When I think about it, he’s all alone over there in an unfamiliar place; it would certainly give me peace of mind to have an elder there to look after him. Don't worry, I’ll be very, very gentle."
As he spoke, Lin Dequan locked the door, turned around, and began walking toward Jiang Hongdou like a demon, step by agonizing step.
"Don't come any closer! Stay away! Help! Help! Murder—ah!"
The moment Lin Dequan approached, Jiang Hongdou threw everything she could—pillows, quilts—at him without a second thought.
Unfortunately, he dodged them all.
Before her cry for help could even fade, Lin Dequan had a bamboo skewer pressed against her neck.
A slight thrust forward, and she would be sent straight to meet the King of Hell.
"Move or scream again, and I’ll send you to your grave this instant," Lin Dequan hissed viciously.
"I won't move, I won't move! What do you want? I’ll give you anything, I’ll give you everything! I have two hundred yuan in savings, you can have that too. Please, don't kill me, don't kill me!"
As she spoke, urine began to trickle down her legs.
Lin Dequan curled his lip in utter disgust.
"I thought you were so tough? Why aren't you still cursing? I’m telling you, my son went to heaven because of you. I want you to pay for my son’s life!"
When Li Jianguo arrived, he saw his mother being held hostage and was overcome with terror.
"Uncle, please, don't do anything rash. Don't be impulsive!"
No sooner had he spoken than Li Youqing, followed by other relatives and neighbors, rushed in.
Upon seeing the scene, Li Youqing cursed inwardly. He didn't need to guess; the child in Youfeng’s womb was definitely gone, and now Lin Dequan was trying to drag his wife down to hell with him.
If Jiang Hongdou died, the two families would become mortal enemies—the kind that never stops until one side is destroyed. This was a catastrophe.
The most important thing now was to rescue his wife before the situation escalated further.
He hurriedly signaled one of his sons to sneak around to the back and wait for the right moment to act.
Then, he tried to pacify him. "Dequan, don't be impulsive. Put down the skewer first. Let’s talk this through; we’ll agree to whatever you want. Why go to such lengths that everyone gets hurt? I promise, as long as you let her go, you can hit her or punish her however you like. Just put the thing down first, okay?"
Lin Dequan was in a state of absolute madness and could hear nothing. All he knew was that he had to avenge his son.
"My son is too lonely on his own down there. He needs someone to accompany him, to guide him. This is the last thing I can do for him as his father."
As he spoke, the skewer pressed deeper into her neck. The bamboo pierced her skin, and blood began to trickle down.
Jiang Hongdou let out a muffled, "Ah—ah—"
Paralyzed by sheer terror, she dared not say a word, dared not move. In that moment, death felt incredibly, chillingly close.
She had been wrong. She was wrong. She shouldn't have provoked him. They say a dog that bites doesn't bark, and this dog, Lin Dequan, really meant to take her life. If she had known, she wouldn't have fought for that moment of spite. She was full of regret. Lin Dequan was a demon.
"Dequan, everything is negotiable. Even if you kill your Eldest Uncle's Wife now, your child won't come back to life. Why bother?" a cousin from Li Youqing’s side urged.
"That’s right! That’s right! You’ll go to jail for murder, and you’ll get a bullet for it. You don't want your father to have to bury his own son, do you?"
"You’re the only man in your family. If you don't hold the house together, the family will really fall apart. You have six daughters! Any one of them could bring in a son-in-law to live with you, and your family line would continue. Don't act on a moment of foolish bravery, or you’ll regret it forever."
"Exactly! Why throw away such a bright future? I recall your factory was planning to promote you to a core staff position. If you do something reckless now, you’ll never even have the chance to regret it."
"You wouldn't want the Lin family to be known for having a murderer like you, would you? How could your children hold their heads up at school? And your parents—they certainly don't want to spend the rest of their lives in regret and misery."
...
Everyone chimed in, trying to persuade him. It was working; Lin Dequan’s rationality slowly began to return, though he didn't relax his grip.
By then, Li Jianguo had quietly circled to Lin Dequan’s side, waiting for the chance.
"You talk a good game. You’re all in this together, all just trying to let her off the hook. I’m telling you, even if the sky falls, my Eldest Uncle's Wife is going to pay for my son’s life. My parents, Youfeng will look after them. At worst, I’ll just die—I’m not afraid. My poor son... my son I waited sixteen years for—he hadn't even seen the world before she destroyed him with her own hands. Is this what an Eldest Uncle's Wife does? She’s a heartless devil. Leaving her in this world will only lead to more evil. I might as well finish her off myself and save others from her."
Lin Dequan’s emotions ran high; he grew more agitated with every word, a hint of mania underlying his tone. Without realizing it, he lifted the skewer slightly away from Jiang Hongdou’s neck.
In that split second, the nephew standing to the side saw his chance and lunged forward with a fierce kick.
Lin Dequan was knocked to the ground by the sheer force of the impact, falling toward his right. Realizing something was wrong, he tried to scramble up, but he was immediately pinned from behind and his hands were bound.
"Li Youqing, you bastard, this isn't over!"
With Lin Dequan subdued, everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief.
Jiang Li quickly stepped forward to help her mother-in-law up from the floor.
The moment she stood steady, a resounding slap landed on her mother-in-law’s face.