I Crossed Over with My Enemy, Only to Find Him Running the Empire - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Sweet Revenge

Wei-shi had thrown this particular “black pot” of blame with lethal precision, slamming it once again firmly onto Li Qiaoqiao’s head.

Li Qiaoqiao took a deep breath and slowly raised her head. Her face was now a mask of calm, tinged with a hint of grievance from being misunderstood.

“Second Sister-in-law is right to lecture me. It’s my lack of ability as a wife that I haven’t been able to teach Tieniu-ge to your satisfaction.” She paused, her gaze lingering on Wei-shi’s distorted face, a tiny, almost imperceptible smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. “However, since the Second Sister-in-law sees things so clearly and speaks with such a reason, surely you must have a brilliant method in mind for teaching Tieniu-ge?”

Her tone shifted suddenly, becoming exceptionally sincere, almost as if she were a humble student seeking guidance. “How about this: Second Sister-in-law, could you take on the burden? Tieniu-ge’s body is weak these few days, and he can’t be left alone. You are the most capable and knowledgeable person in this house. Why don’t we trouble you to look after him for a few days and teach him the rules while you’re at it? Don’t worry, I’ll stay by your side as your assistant and learn properly from you how to ‘guide’ Tieniu-ge into the man you want him to be. What do you say?”

The room fell into a dead silence.

Her clear eyes looked at Wei-shi with complete openness, devoid of any provocation, showing only a translucent sincerity.

The venom on Wei-shi’s face froze instantly, as if trapped in ice.

Let her take care of this crazy fool, Wu Tieniu? And teach him rules?

What a cosmic joke! When this fool lost his mind, he’d even bite his own parents. Did Wei-shi have a death wish, or did she just think her life was too comfortable?

The fire of her rage, met with this bucket of ice water, hissed and sputtered out, leaving only a choking cloud of smoke in her throat that made her chest ache.

“You… you…” Wei-shi’s finger trembled as she pointed at Li Qiaoqiao. “You sharp-tongued girl! I don’t have that kind of free time!”

“Oh?” Li Qiaoqiao tilted her head slightly. “The second sister-in-law is busy? That’s such a pity. I thought since you cared so much for Tieniu-ge and knew so much about discipline, you’d be willing to lend a hand.”

The words were light, but Wei-shi felt a rush of blood to her head, and her vision blurred.

She stomped her foot, looking ready to charge forward and fight to the death, but catching a glimpse of Zhang Jinhua’s increasingly darkened expression, she forced herself to stop.

Zhang Jinhua had been watching this exchange with a cold eye.

One playing the fool, the other sharp-tongued—neither of them was easy to deal with!

And Wei-shi, that idiot, couldn’t even suppress a fool’s wife; she had been rendered speechless by a few sentences. She was truly a disgrace to the Wu family!

“Enough!” Zhang Jinhua barked, waving her hand dismissively.

She stopped looking at Wei-shi and fixed her gaze like a nail onto her foolish son on the bed.

Wu Tieniu was still clutching Li Qiaoqiao’s wrist tightly. His eyes were open but vacant, and saliva began to drip from his mouth again, glistening under the dim light of the oil lamp.

He seemed entirely oblivious to the storm that had just occurred, merely mumbling again: “Cold… Mother… cold…”

Zhang Jinhua frowned, stepped forward, and quickly felt Wu Tieniu’s forehead and neck.

He was icy to the touch, carrying the chill of the water, but fortunately, there was no sign of a fever yet.

Her tight jawline seemed to soften just a fraction. With a grim face, she whipped around and shouted at the frozen Wei-shi: “Are you standing there like a corpse? Have your eyes moved to the top of your head? Didn’t you hear Tieniu say he’s cold? Get to the kitchen and boil a bowl of hot ginger sugar water! Use plenty of ginger! Plenty of sugar! Drive the chill out of him! If he falls ill because of this, I’ll have your hide!”

The command was blunt and non-negotiable.

Wei-shi, who was bursting with suppressed rage, found an outlet.

She stiffened her neck. “Mother! Look at the time! The stove fire is out! Besides, I still have that fo— I have Tieniu’s spit on me! It’s disgusting! I need to go wash up and change!”

She shook her sleeve in disgust, then her eyes darted toward the other sisters-in-law who were shrinking back like startled quails. “Second Brother’s wife, Third Brother’s wife, why don’t you go? I’m really not clean right now, I’m afraid I’ll pass some illness to Tieniu!”

The two women mentioned immediately looked reluctant, instinctively pulling back.

Who wanted to fumble in the dark to light a fire and boil ginger soup for a fool in the middle of the night? Especially after that spit incident—the very thought was revolting.

Seeing this display of excuse-making, a spark of fury shot straight to Zhang Jinhua’s brain.

Her eyes nearly spat fire as she glared at Wei-shi.

The look was so fierce and sharp, like a poisoned blade, that Wei-shi’s scalp went numb, and the rest of her words died in her throat.

“Fine! Very well! One by one, I can’t order any of you around anymore, can I? You’re all just waiting for my old bones to serve you, aren’t you?” Zhang Jinhua’s voice suddenly rose to a scream. She stomped her foot so hard the dust on the floor flew up. Without looking at anyone, she turned toward the door.

“I’ll go myself! I’m not dead yet! I clearly can’t command you ‘precious’ people anymore!”

Her heavy footsteps, carrying a thunderous rage, thudded against the packed earth floor as she stormed toward the kitchen.

The remaining sisters-in-law, including Wei-shi, remained as silent as cicadas in winter. None dared to breathe loudly, their faces all looking grimmer than the last.

Only after the footsteps completely faded, and a long moment passed to ensure Zhang Jinhua wouldn’t return immediately, did the others exchange terrified glances.

With heads bowed, they hurried out of the room.

Creak—

As soon as the last person left, Li Qiaoqiao immediately bolted the wooden door.

The soft click of the bolt was like a signal to release all restraint.

“Pfft… Hahaha… Hahahaha!”

Uncontrollable laughter finally erupted from Li Qiaoqiao’s throat.

She collapsed like she had no bones, sliding down the door to sit on the floor. One hand clutched her stomach while the other pounded the ground as she shook with laughter.

Tears rolled down her face like broken strings of pearls.

“Oh… my god… Haha… Wu Ya… did you… did you see that? Hahaha…”

Gasping for air, she messily wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand and pointed toward the bed, her voice trembling. “That ‘divine water’ of yours was brilliant! A total bullseye! Did you see Wei-shi’s face? It was purple, like she’d swallowed a toad whole! She gagged so hard… Hahaha… she almost threw up her dinner from last night! That was so satisfying! Hahaha…”

She laughed until she almost passed out, her chest heaving, feeling more refreshed than she had in her entire life.

However, the only response was silence.

The “fool” on the bed was now turned away from her, facing the wall. Curled into a ball inside that patched, thin quilt, only the back of his dark head was visible.

It was as if that brilliant performance just now had nothing to do with him. His back radiated a stubborn resistance… or perhaps even a bit of a sulk?