After saying this, Granny Sun walked off smugly. Though her eyesight was failing, her mind was sharp—otherwise, why wouldn’t Li Xiaolian be looking to marry out? It’s obvious she’s got her heart set on Wei Hu.

Tsk, Wei Hu is handsome and a skilled hunter. If it weren’t for his reputation for being a wife-killer, who knows how many families in the village would be lining up to marry into his family? Don’t think Granny Sun doesn’t know this.

Li Guifen was so startled that the sunflower seeds in her hand scattered all over the floor. She turned and rushed inside, only to find her daughter sitting by the bed, her face pale—clearly, she’d heard every word.

Furious, Li Guifen grabbed Li Xiaolian’s hand and yanked her toward her. “Is what that old hag just said true?!”

Li Gui’er’s wife, who had also just heard the commotion, hurried over to join in. “I’ve been wondering why Xiaolian’s been acting like she wants to die ever since the engagement was set. So she’s got her eye on that Wei Hu, has she?”

“Pah! I’ll tell you this, Li Xiaolian: even if you go your whole life without marrying, you’re not marrying that Wei Hu!”

Li Guifen and Chen Cuihua had been at odds ever since the day they both married into Daliushu Village. It wasn’t until Chen Cuihua’s husband died in an accident that Li Guifen finally managed to gain the upper hand over her.

But who would’ve thought! Her own daughter was actually setting her sights on Chen Cuihua’s son!

Li Guifen was so furious her head spun; her daughter-in-law, Li Gui’er’s wife, pretended to be helpful and gave her a hand.

“Mother, Granny Sun is a real busybody. Don’t let this get out to the whole village—it wouldn’t do for the Shi family to find out. I say, why not just invite the Shis over and have the wedding before the New Year?”

Li Xiaolian shot her brother’s wife a fierce glare, but Li Gui’er’s wife was overjoyed—finally, she could marry off this meddlesome younger sister-in-law!

Li Guifen hurriedly called out to Li Gui’er, “Li Gui’er, Li Gui’er! Go invite the Shi family over to discuss the wedding date!” Li Gui’er obeyed his mother’s orders and went to the Shi family’s house to fetch them.

Li Xiaolian began screaming, “I won’t marry him! I won’t marry him! I’m going to marry Brother Huzi! If it weren’t for you, Mother, and your feud with that family, I would’ve married Brother Huzi long ago. Back then, I wouldn’t have cared a bit whether Brother Huzi was a wife-killer or not!”

Li Xiaolian had originally planned to tell Wei Hu that she was willing to marry him, but who would have thought the Wei family would bring Song Ning back! She was so close—so close to marrying Wei Hu!

Li Guifen was furious. She raised her hand and slapped Li Xiaolian across the face, leaving half of her face swollen. Even Li Gui’er’s wife, her daughter-in-law, was shocked—after all, her mother-in-law had always doted on her as her younger sister-in-law.

It seemed her anger had boiled over; she’d actually struck her!

Li Xiaolian was stunned by the blow. “You hit me! You hit me!”

“You shameless girl! Now that we’ve set the wedding date, you’d better go marry him right away!”

“I’m not getting married! I’ve got plenty of ways to marry Wei Hu!” With that, Li Xiaolian ran out, heading straight for the Wei family’s house without looking back.

Li Guifen hurried after him. “Come back here! Where are you going?”

Li Xiaolian had gone to find Wei Hu. Even if she had to force the issue, she was determined to marry Wei Hu. Why should Song Ning come along and take all the advantages?

Just then, Wei Hu came down from the back mountain carrying a bundle of firewood on his back and was tossing it onto the ground. Hearing Wei Hu return, Song Ning hurriedly poured him some hot water to drink.

“Brother Wei Hu, it’s almost noon. Mom said we’re having dried mushrooms, green beans, and glass noodles for lunch today.” 

“Brother Huzi, help me!”

No sooner had Song Ning finished speaking than she saw Li Xiaolian, half her face swollen, running frantically toward them. She lunged at Wei Hu, but he quickly grabbed Song Ning and pulled her out of the way.

Seeing this, Li Xiaolian’s heart burned with even greater fury. “Brother Huzi, why do you like Song Ning, that good-for-nothing little slut? I can do everything—I’m a hundred, a thousand times better than her! Brother Huzi, marry me! I’ll be your secondary wife!”

Li Xiaolian’s words left Song Ning speechless. Had this once-respectable woman gone mad? Had she lost all regard for her reputation to say such things?

Chen Cuihua and Qiu-ger heard it too, and they were both taken aback. What kind of nonsense was Li Xiaolian spouting?

Li Guifen and her daughter-in-law came over as well, grabbing her by the arms. “Li Xiaolian, get back home this instant!”

Li Guifen was absolutely against Li Xiaolian marrying Wei Hu. Not only was Wei Hu already married, but the two had been at odds for years—Li Guifen simply couldn’t afford to lose face over this!

Li Gui’er’s wife, on the other hand, was afraid the whole thing would blow up. If the Shi family found out and called off the engagement, she’d be in big trouble. Her troublesome younger sister-in-law had finally managed to get married—she couldn’t let this ruin everything.

For once, the two were on the same page. They both lunged to grab Li Xiaolian, but she dodged them, refusing to go home. She threatened, “Brother Huzi, if you don’t want to marry me, I’ll kill myself right here in front of you!”

Wei Hu, holding Song Ning, remained unmoved, as if it were none of his business.

Seeing that Wei Hu wasn’t responding, Li Xiaolian burst into tears and ran out, shouting, “Then I’ll go jump into the river at the village entrance!”

Chen Cuihua hurriedly said, “Hurry up and catch her! Your family may have no shame, but mine still does!”

Li Xiaolian ran out, and Li Guifen chased after her, leaving only a few people standing in the courtyard, dumbfounded. Qiu-ger sighed, “Has Li Xiaolian lost her mind? With her making such a scene, won’t the whole village find out?”

Chen Cuihua also went out. “I’ll go take a look. We can’t let her go spreading rumors around the village and ruin Huzi’s reputation.” Song Ning pulled Wei Hu along with her. 

“Brother Wei Hu, let’s go check it out.”

By the time the group arrived, a crowd of onlookers had already gathered by the riverbank. Li Xiaolian had run all the way here—how could the villagers not have seen her?

Li Xiaolian stood on the ice. The river surface grew thinner the further out she went. She looked toward the shore and only felt relieved when she spotted Wei Hu’s figure.

“Brother Huzi, I know you wouldn’t let me die!”

Wei Hu’s face darkened. He grabbed Song Ning and tried to pull him away. “Let’s go home. Come on.”

Li Xiaolian began to shout, “Brother Huzi, don’t leave! If you take another step away, I’ll take another step forward. Then it’ll be you—Wei Hu and Song Ning—who drove me, Li Xiaolian, to my death! I’ll haunt Song Ning and make sure he never finds peace for the rest of his life!”

Wei Hu stopped in his tracks. He heard that someone had jumped into the river at the village entrance, and someone had hurriedly summoned the village chief—this was turning into a life-or-death situation. The village chief also came over to try to reason with them, saying, “We’re all from the same village—why make such a scene?”

Li Guifen had been utterly humiliated by Li Xiaolian’s outburst. Everyone in the village knew she and Chen Cuihua didn’t get along—and now her own daughter was publicly embarrassing her in front of so many people!

“Li Xiaolian, get out of the water right now!”

Wei Hu didn’t move, and Li Xiaolian refused to come up. Instead, she took step after step toward the river. With every step, her legs trembled. Song Ning turned pale with fear, terrified that someone might get killed. “Brother Wei Hu, what should we do?”

“She wouldn’t dare kill herself.”

Wei Hu could tell that Li Xiaolian was scared to death; she was just trying to force him. Her voice trembling, Li Xiaolian said, “Brother Huzi, as long as you give me the nod, I’ll come up. I promise.”

Li Guifen was still yelling, “You little brat, you’re dreaming! If you’ve got the guts, just jump!”

Someone nearby tried to calm her down: “Guifen, don’t say that. Just talk to her nicely and get her to come up.”

Li Xiaolian cautiously tested the water beneath Wei Hu, inch by inch, making her way toward the middle of the river. Song Ning clutched Wei Hu’s hand tightly, looking even more nervous than Li Xiaolian herself, terrified that someone might get killed.

“Brother Wei Hu.”

“Don’t worry, she’s fine.”

Li Xiaolian’s foot slipped; she let out a shriek and fell face-first onto the ice. The ice emitted a creaking sound as it cracked. Terrified, her face went pale as she struggled frantically to stand up, but this only caused the ice to crack even faster.

The people on the shore gasped in alarm—this was no joke.

Li Guifen was so furious that she slapped her thigh. “You little brat! Get out of there right now! You’re making a complete fool of yourself!”

Li Xiaolian didn’t really want to die; she just wanted to scare Wei Hu. She didn’t believe Wei Hu was that heartless—after all, what man doesn’t want to have multiple wives and concubines?

She just couldn’t believe it—but to her shock, Wei Hu actually refused, standing there with his own eyes wide open as she faced certain death!

Li Xiaolian was truly terrified. She managed to crawl to her feet and started toward the shore, but the thin ice, already weakened by her struggles, couldn’t hold her. She took just one step and fell through. Li Guifen let out a scream and collapsed to the ground. “Xiaolian! Xiaolian!”

The village chief hurriedly called out, “Quick, get a rope to save her!”

The men on the shore hurried to the nearest house to fetch a rope. It was the dead of winter, and everyone was bundled up in padded jackets. Li Xiaolian couldn’t even struggle to get up. In the freezing cold, the men were too timid to go down, afraid they’d catch a chill and freeze to death.

For a moment, no one dared to go down. Wei Hu snorted coldly before slowly beginning to take off his padded jacket. 

Song Ning’s heart sank. “Brother Wei Hu, be careful.”

“It’s fine. We’ll be back home for dinner in a bit.”

Wei Hu stepped onto the ice barefoot, wearing only his undershirt. He handed his coat to Song Ning to hold—getting it wet in the dead of winter would mean having to take it apart and wash it, which was a hassle.

Wei Hu walked toward the hole in the ice. Song Ning’s heart was pounding so hard she felt like she might jump out of her skin; her face turned pale with fear.

He grabbed Qiu-ger by the arm. “Qiu-ger, go home and boil some ginger water for me. Put plenty of ginger in it—we’ve got brown sugar at home, so add that too! Also, light a fire in the main hall and in my room—make it a big one. Don’t skimp on the firewood!”

“Okay!” Qiu-ger hurried off toward the Wei household in long strides.

Song Ning and Chen Cuihua stared at the ice, not daring to blink. Chen Cuihua was so furious that her face turned ashen. “Li Guifen, if anything happens to my Huzi, I’ll never let this go!”

Before Wei Hu even reached the hole, the ice cracked, and he fell into the river. Song Ning was so frightened that tears streamed down his face.

The river water was bone-chillingly cold in the dead of winter. Wei Hu swam a few strokes and grabbed Li Xiaolian’s coat. By now, Li Xiaolian had lost the strength to struggle, which actually made things easier for Wei Hu; otherwise, if she’d put up a fight, both of them might have been in danger.

Wei Hu dragged her onto the ice. The young men from the village threw a rope over to them. Seeing Wei Hu pull himself up, Song Ning’s legs went weak with relief—they’d finally made it.

Wei Hu held the rope in one hand and Li Xiaolian in the other; the two of them lay on the ice as they were pulled ashore. Song Ning hurried over. “Brother Wei Hu!”

“It’s okay. Let’s go home.”

“Okay!”

Wei Hu took off his soaked undershirt, and Song Ning quickly draped her coat over him. She hurried home with Wei Hu.

Chen Cuihua glared at the person lying on the ground. “Listen up, Li Guifen! My son Wei Hu has already saved your life. If you’re looking to die, don’t blame it on my family! Stop trying to pin this on us!”