The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 789 - 788: Teaching a Lesson to the Mistress

As Zhan Xiaomeng walked up to Pei Wenping, Pei Yang’s face darkened, and he moved forward but was stopped by Shen Mingzhu.

Due to Chen Yi’s death, the Chen family already harbored resentment towards Pei Wenping. If they were to disrupt the funeral service as well, they might indeed become enemies in the future. By then, Xiaolu and Xiaochao, being siblings caught between the two families, would inevitably find themselves in a difficult situation.

"I’m Zhan Xiaomeng."

Shen Mingzhu took a few steps forward, "Miss Zhang, thank you for taking the time to come and mourn my brother-in-law. There are still plenty of seats in the back, please go and rest."

Noticing Shen Mingzhu’s guard and coldness, the other side twitched the corner of her lips, "I have a few words I’d like to say to her alone."

Shen Mingzhu turned to look at Pei Wenping and, seeing that she did not resist, led the two to the lounge.

"Sister, I’ll wait outside for you. Call me if you need anything."

Pei Wenping nodded, stepped into the lounge, and closed the door behind her.

...

After closing the door, Pei Wenping walked calmly towards Zhan Xiaomeng, "What do you want to say to me?"

Noting her action of locking the door, Zhan Xiaomeng didn’t mind, "Let’s skip the condolences; after all, you and I both know very well why Chen Yi met with his accident."

"It’s because of you!"

Zhan Xiaomeng’s emotions suddenly became intense, her eyes filled with resentment towards Pei Wenping, "Yes, Chen Yi and I did something to wrong you, but you have tormented us for so many years!"

Pei Wenping stood in front of her, her expression one of cold scorn, "You? What are you?"

At this point, Zhan Xiaomeng no longer hid her feelings for Chen Yi.

"Just like Chen Yi was waiting for you to change your mind, I was also waiting for him to give up on you. You don’t love him, yet you won’t let him go. Is this your revenge? If so, congratulations, you’ve succeeded!"

"But I’m not like you. Even if he loved me briefly, only to give me up because of you, I don’t hate him. I deeply love him, so I’m willing to understand and empathize with all the choices he made. It’s just unfortunate that we met too late."

Pei Wenping raised her hand and slapped her.

Perhaps not expecting Pei Wenping to get physical, Zhan Xiaomeng covered her face in disbelief, but quickly regained her composure.

"It’s okay, this slap is what I owe you..."

"Smack!"

Pei Wenping backhanded her another slap.

This slap was forceful, causing Zhan Xiaomeng to stagger back several steps.

Her swollen face and the visible anger suppressed in her heaving chest showed her emotions.

"I won’t quibble with you about these two slaps. Consider it a debt I owe you. In this lifetime, I’ve settled everything I and he owe you. In the next life, I won’t let him go to you again."

"All settled?"

Pei Wenping stepped forward and grabbed the other’s hair.

She was tall and strong, whereas Zhan Xiaomeng was a typical delicate woman from the South, easily overpowered by Pei Wenping.

"You’re just a home wrecker, who has the audacity to come and stir up trouble; I’ve wanted to deal with you for a long time!"

"Confessing your love for a woman’s man right in front of her, what, do you think being the other woman is something to be proud of? Should I go to your workplace and hometown, help you post a big-character poster to announce it?"

Hearing that Pei Wenping intended to make a scene at her workplace and home, Zhan Xiaomeng was obviously scared, yet stubbornly retorted:

"Love knows no order, Chen Yi and I are like-minded. We share common interests and topics...ah!"

Pei Wenping, unwilling to waste words, slapped her again:

"I think you’ve read too many books and fried your brain, forgetting even the basic human decency. That’s you, you wouldn’t even qualify as a concubine in ancient times, you’d just be something to warm the bed, treating you like a person is already elevating you!"

"You should be thankful you were born in modern times, otherwise, you would have been drowned in a pig cage a long time ago, and in your next life, you wouldn’t even qualify as a human being!"

"You still fantasize about having a next life with Chen Yi, dreaming! Don’t even mention the next life, even the next next life won’t be your turn!"

Outside.

Seeing that Pei Wenping and Zhan Xiaomeng had been locked in the break room for quite some time, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but worry.

Just as she was about to knock, the door opened automatically.

The first thing she saw was Zhan Xiaomeng sitting on the floor of the break room, her clothes disheveled and her face in a sorry state, with alternating red finger marks on both cheeks.

Looking at Pei Wenping, apart from a slightly panting breath, there was nothing improper about her appearance, and there was even a refreshing satisfaction in her eyes.

Knowing that Pei Wenping hadn’t suffered any loss, Shen Mingzhu felt relieved.

As for Zhan Xiaomeng inside, closing the door was already the greatest kindness she could show.

After the funeral, Chen Yi’s ashes were brought back to Fengcheng for burial.

Unlike the stormy night when the accident happened, the day of the burial was clear and sunny, with lush flowers and grass.

Once the burial ceremony was over, the members of the Chen family and the guests left one after another, and soon only Pei Wenping and Shen Mingzhu’s family of four were left in front of the grave.

After asking Pei Yang to take the children to wait in the car, Shen Mingzhu approached to console, "Big sister, you must take care of yourself. I think your husband would not want you to be so sad if he has a spirit in heaven."

Pei Wenping looked up at the sky, "The weather is really nice, he liked sunny days, he disliked the rain the most."

That is probably the will of heaven.

The man who disliked rain died on a rainy day.

From a metaphysical perspective, disliking something is actually an instinct to seek good fortune and avoid harm.

"Mingzhu, you go ahead, I have a few words I want to say alone to your brother-in-law. These past few days have been noisy, and I haven’t had the chance to really talk to him."

"Then I’ll wait for you in the car."

After giving a comforting pat on her shoulder, Shen Mingzhu turned and left.

On the tombstone, Chen Yi smiled peacefully and gently in the photo, far less than the night of New Year’s Eve.

"Chen Yi, I forgive you."

"If there really is a next life, let’s be husband and wife again, let’s do it well, I won’t be stubborn, and you don’t cause trouble."

A breeze passed, and a butterfly fluttered from afar, landing on the tombstone, its colorful wings gently vibrating in the sunlight.

The sudden appearance of the butterfly made Pei Wenping cry, "I’ll take that as your agreement."

...

For the death of Chen Yi, Shen Mingzhu sighed and was also very concerned about Pei Wenping’s state, visiting almost every day.

Perhaps it was because her siblings had returned to her side, aside from being emotionally down and not talking about Chen Yi, Pei Wenping’s life hadn’t changed too much.

Work, taking care of children, feeding cats, gardening.

In addition, Pei Wenping took over the unfinished renovation work of Chen Yi, and her days passed busily and fulfilling.

"You don’t need to come every day, I’m not as fragile as you think."

Back home after work.

Seeing Shen Mingzhu helping to prepare dinner in the kitchen, Pei Wenping spoke about Chen Yi’s death for the first time.

"The children have already lost their father, they can’t lose me as their mother too. Even for their sake, I must live well."

Shen Mingzhu felt relieved, "Big sister, knowing you think like this eases my mind and Pei Yang’s too."

Pei Wenping was noncommittal, "When the house is renovated, I’ll move over."