Chapter 22: You Want to Marry Her?

The village head and the brigade leader arrived even faster than the police, repeatedly questioning Lin Qin about the situation.

Lin Qin, her voice choked with sobs, appeared utterly helpless. "After my father was injured, I didn't dare sleep too soundly, fearing he might need help in the middle of the night. I heard a noise in the courtyard and woke up. At first, I thought it was a cat, but a moment later, a draft blew in from the door. I knew then it wasn't a cat—it had to be a thief."

"I was hiding there holding a stick; I never intended to kill anyone. But he lunged at me, and I was terrified. By the time I regained my senses, he was already like that."

To this day, she still does not know who that man was, filled only with boundless panic.

Most of the villagers were reasonable and knew that Lin Qin’s life was not easy; hardly anyone felt sympathy for the thief who had been beaten to death. When the police arrived, the villagers even spoke up for Lin Qin, mentioning Lin Yi’s injuries, the hardships Lin Qin faced, and condemning the thief for his wicked deeds.

The police stepped forward to examine the intruder and found he was still breathing, though barely clinging to life. They immediately ordered the village head to gather men to transport the thief to the hospital.

Since Lin Qin had to stay behind to care for Lin Yi, the police did not force her to go to the station to give a formal statement. After investigating the scene at daybreak, they left.

With such a major incident occurring at home, the plan to bring Liu Yaya back had to be temporarily shelved.

While the villagers were all talking about how difficult Lin Qin’s life was, Li Lian was the only one seething with rage. She had originally intended to use Lin Yi’s injury to pressure Lin Qin into remarrying, hoping to scheme her way into Lin Yi’s house and fields. She figured that once Lin Qin remarried, they could logically take over those lands.

But Lin Qin was ungrateful and adamantly refused. The plan she had suggested to Qian Dashan was to ambush Lin Qin in public, abduct her, and spread rumors, forcing her into marriage even if she wasn't willing.

Everything had been planned perfectly, yet a wild card had appeared out of nowhere. No one knew exactly what had happened, but the thief had been beaten half-dead by Lin Qin, and upon hearing the news, Qian Dashan had been so scared he ran away.

What a useless man! It was no wonder he was still a bachelor at his age!

Just as furious as Li Lian were Liu Yongming and "Fang Ying."

"What did you say? The thug who went to steal the money was beaten to death by Lin Qin?" "Fang Ying" looked blank, unable to accept the truth.

Liu Yongming was even more depressed than her, his expression so sinister it looked as if he might kill someone. He took a deep breath, opened his eyes again, and said slowly, "I see it now. That woman has truly thrown caution to the wind. Dealing with her will require a long-term plan. She’s definitely on high alert right now; we’ll wait until she lets her guard down before we strike again."

"What about that thug? Will his family come after us?" "Fang Ying" was more worried about them getting dragged into it.

Liu Yongming shook his head, his expression uneasy. "I don't think so. I didn't say anything specific; I only told him that Lin Qin had five hundred yuan on her. It was his own decision to steal it—what does that have to do with us?"

"Fang Ying" gnashed her teeth in hatred. "That bitch is just too lucky! She’s dodged every attempt we’ve made! It’s like she’s haunted!"

Liu Yongming froze for a moment, and as it dawned on him, his face turned pale. "Now that you mention it, I hadn't thought about it that way. You’re right—it seems like ever since we plotted to frame her for adultery, our luck has been abysmal. Maybe she really is haunted!"

Goosebumps broke out on "Fang Ying," and she kept slapping Liu Yongming. "Stop scaring me! We need to get our marriage registered immediately so we don't run into any more trouble."

"Fine! We’ll go get the certificate tomorrow!" Liu Yongming agreed readily.

Ever since the thug was taken away, Lin Qin had been listless at home, startled by the slightest sound outside the courtyard.

Seeing this, Lin Yi couldn't help but worry. "It’s all my fault. If I hadn't been injured, you wouldn't be having such a hard time."

Lin Qin shook her head. "Dad, it has nothing to do with you. I’m just worried that this kind of trouble will never end."

Lin Qingxiang and Lin Shaojun had told everyone outside that the man was after her divorce settlement, but only she knew the truth: the man had also intended to assault her, perhaps hoping to take both her money and her body.

She could be on guard for a while, but not forever. Once this storm passed, others would surely set their sights on her.

Lin Yi could only sigh again.

The next morning, Chen Wenjun brought Liu Yaya to Shanglin Village.

Liu Yaya hadn't seen her mother for several days. Seeing Lin Qin, she immediately rushed toward her. "Mommy, I missed you so much! Didn't you say you would come see me? You broke your promise!"

Lin Qin hugged her tightly, her heart aching. "Mommy missed you too, but there were too many things happening at home, and I really didn't have the time to come pick you up."

At that moment, Lin Qin felt incredibly grateful that Liu Yaya hadn't been by her side. If the child had been there, she dared not imagine what might have happened.

Chen Wenjun asked with a grave expression, "When I entered the village just now, I heard people talking about you killing someone. What on earth happened?" He did not believe Lin Qin capable of such a thing.

Lin Qin’s eyes reddened as she shook her head. "I don't know... A thief slipped into my house that night. I was panicked and just kept striking out. By the time I realized what was happening, he was lying in a pool of blood. I never meant to kill anyone!"

Thinking back to that harrowing night, Lin Qin still felt a lingering fear.

Chen Wenjun looked at Lin Yi, who was sitting in a chair in the main hall unable to move. After a moment of thought, he stepped forward and said, "Uncle, things can't go on like this. You need several months to recover. What if next time, a group of people breaks into your house? We can't just sit here waiting for disaster. In my opinion, you should come stay at my place for a while. My home is on a boat; thieves can't get on, and with me there, I can lend Lin Qin a hand, and it’ll be more convenient for your recovery."

Lin Qin was tempted, but she didn't want to make the decision herself and looked toward Lin Yi.

Lin Yi was silent for a while before saying to Lin Qin, "Go to the vegetable patch and harvest whatever is ready to eat."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yaya jumped and skipped, following behind Lin Qin. "Mommy, I'll go with you."

Lin Qin agreed, took a large basket, and headed toward the vegetable patch.

On the way, she asked about Liu Yaya's life on the five-sailed boat.

Liu Yaya was excited and gestured wildly. "Mommy, on the boat I played cat's cradle with Brother Ping'an, and we stacked stones. Uncle Chen took us fishing and to pick river snails. He even caught a little turtle for us! It was so small, so small! I kept it as a pet right there on the boat."

Seeing her daughter so happy, Lin Qin’s mood lifted as well. "Then why didn't you bring it back?"

Liu Yaya shook her head. "The little turtle’s home is in the river. We didn't want to keep it anymore, so we let it go home. I was afraid that if I brought it here, it would die."

Seeing that her child was so compassionate, Lin Qin didn't say anything more.

Back at the house, Lin Yi asked Chen Wenjun about Liu Yaya’s life on the boat.

Chen Wenjun did not hide anything. "Yaya gets a little seasick, so during the day, I take them to a small deserted island on the Nanxi River to pick rocks and fish. When it gets dark, we go back to the boat. She knows to lie down in the back cabin and falls asleep quickly. She’s been quite happy these past few days."

Lin Yi smiled with relief and looked deeply at Chen Wenjun. "Now that it's just the two of us, tell me the truth, Uncle: what is going on between you and A-Qin? Are you thinking of marrying her?"