I Was Reborn into the Past and Saved My Stunning Sister-in-Law at the Beginning - Chapter 69:

Chapter 69: The Posthumous Child

With Jia Dongxu gone, not only was the beautiful widow Qin Huairu coveted by many, but even the vacant job position left behind was eyed greedily. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call this a dog-eat-dog world—this was human nature.

Let’s shift the focus to Yi Zhonghai’s house. At this moment, Yi Zhonghai hadn’t returned yet. Aunt Yi, upon hearing the news, was so anxious at home that she didn’t even have the mind to cook. Of course, only three-tenths of her worry was for Jia Dongxu, while the remaining seven-tenths were for her own husband. That three-tenths was merely because she had hoped to rely on Jia Dongxu to care for them in their old age.

What she really feared was that this incident at the factory would reflect poorly on her husband Yi Zhonghai. But there was nothing she could do. They only had one bicycle at home, which her husband used for work. She could only wait at home for him to return.

In the Courtyard, aside from He Yuzhu, who was eyeing the freshly widowed Qin Huairu, there was also Xu Damao. From the first time he saw this beautiful woman, Xu Damao couldn’t help but harbor certain thoughts. However, he only dared to touch widows, which was why he had been a scoundrel for years without ever getting into trouble.

Though Qin Huairu was indeed beautiful, she had a husband, and they lived in the same courtyard. If something happened and the neighbors found out, not only would he be shamed, but he might even end up in prison. Now things had changed. Who would have thought Jia Dongxu would be so short-lived? Xu Damao could already foresee Qin Huairu taking over her dead husband’s job. As a woman working in such a rough environment, surrounded by crude men, she would surely be bullied. With low wages, she might even be exploited by that malicious mother-in-law.

It was predictable that this beautiful widow’s days ahead would be filled with hardship. And just at that time, Xu Damao would appear like a savior, rescuing her from the fire and water. This method of winning over a widow’s heart was a trick Xu Damao had perfected. In the end, this beautiful widow wouldn’t escape the palm of his hand. The more Xu Damao thought about it, the more delighted he became, his face displaying a lecherous smile.

“Xu Damao, what are you laughing about?” Lou Xiaoe frowned upon seeing her husband smirking so indecently.

“Nothing, Xiaoe. I was just thinking how unlucky Yi Zhonghai is now.” Since Yi Zhonghai was partial to Jia Dongxu, it was normal for Xu Damao to hold a grudge, so this excuse worked.

“Don’t talk like that. Someone just died, saying such heartless things will bring bad karma.”

Lou Xiaoe, as the daughter of a capitalist family, surprisingly didn’t have a princess complex. In fact, her heart was much kinder than Xu Damao’s.

“Yes, yes, I’ll listen to my wife.” After brushing off his wife, Xu Damao secretly began to prepare his hunting plan.

It wasn’t until dusk that Yi Zhonghai brought Jia’s family back. On the way, they had agreed to handle Jia Dongxu’s funeral matters simply. Their family was already dirt poor; there was no need to waste what little money they had on a dead man. Moreover, the 500 yuan compensation had already been handed over, which Jia Zhangshi gripped tightly as her own coffin fund.

But things were far from over. Once they returned to the Courtyard, Jia Zhangshi immediately caused a commotion.

“It’s all your fault, you jinx! You killed my son! Why couldn’t it have been you!” Now that the money was in hand, Jia Zhangshi began to cry for justice for her son, pointing at Qin Huairu and cursing her in front of the whole courtyard.

Qin Huairu, already filled with grief, almost wanted to bang her head against the wall to end it all when faced with such cruel words from her mother-in-law.

“My son, you died so tragically. How will your poor mother live on now!” The commotion attracted all the neighbors. Yi Zhonghai, exhausted and barely having had a sip of water after returning home, sighed deeply upon hearing the noise.

“This damned old woman, what on earth is she trying to do?” Yi Zhonghai cursed under his breath. Aunt Yi hurried to comfort him, not even having time to ask how he got the injury on his face.

In no time, almost everyone in the Courtyard had gathered. Seeing the crowd, Jia Zhangshi became even more aggressive, raising her hand to strike Qin Huairu.

Fortunately, He Yuzhu reacted quickly, stopping Jia Zhangshi just in time. Had that slap landed, Qin Huairu’s beautiful face would have been swollen instantly.

“Old woman Jia, your son died because he was careless at work. What does that have to do with her?” This matter had already spread through the factory, and of course, He Yuzhu knew.

“You bastard, He Yuzhu! My son just died, and you’re already eyeing my daughter-in-law. I’ll fight you!” Jia Zhangshi unleashed her shamelessness and tried to scratch He Yuzhu.

“Enough!” Yi Zhonghai arrived just in time and shouted loudly. He wasn’t saving He Yuzhu, but rather Jia Zhangshi. If she really angered He Yuzhu, that brute wouldn’t care about respecting the elderly—breaking two of her teeth would be the least of it.

To be fair, He Yuzhu was a thug. Even the cleanest official couldn’t meddle in domestic affairs, let alone him. And meddling in disputes between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was none of his business. Did he really think Qin Huairu would be grateful? On the contrary, Qin Huairu might even blame him for getting involved and making people gossip.

“Look down from heaven, Dongxu, He Yuzhu and Yi Zhonghai are bullying your mother. Tonight, take both of them with you!” Jia Zhangshi’s curses became more outrageous, turning Yi Zhonghai’s face as dark as coal.

“Old woman Jia, what exactly do you want? Do you think you’re the only one grieving? The most important thing now is to take care of the funeral, not to make a scene like this!” Yi Zhonghai only bothered with this because of his position as the head of the Courtyard.

“Besides, Dongxu just got married yesterday. Maybe they’ve already conceived. If you push the girl too far and something happens to her, aren’t you cutting off your own bloodline?” Yi Zhonghai spoke bluntly, and the onlookers immediately caught on.

Yes, after all, Jia Dongxu had consummated the marriage last night. If Qin Huairu really was pregnant, wouldn’t that be a posthumous child? And if it was a boy, it wouldn’t be impossible. Thanks to Yi Zhonghai’s reminder, Jia Zhangshi realized that if she drove the girl out now, the Jia family would truly have no heir.

Moreover, she had seen the bloodstain on Qin Huairu’s white cloth this morning—maybe there really was a chance she was pregnant.

“Enough, today’s matter ends here. It’s getting dark, everyone go back to rest. After work tomorrow, no one is to leave early—we’ll have a full courtyard meeting.” Yi Zhonghai’s move was indeed clever. On the surface, he was upholding justice for Qin Huairu, though no one knew what scheme he had in mind.