Seeing that the two brothers were about to fight, Qiao An roared, “Enough. The old man’s is still fighting for his life inside. All the doctors went in for seven hours and forty minutes without rest. They’re racing against time to save him, but you’re arguing at the door of the operating theater. Do you want the old man to die from anger again after he is saved?”

Second Brother glared at Li Tingfeng angrily and stopped talking.

The two brothers squatted to the side, despising each other.

Second Madam glanced at the mistress, then silently pulled Qiao An to the side and said, “An’an, as the saying goes, time will tell. Second Sister-in-law doesn’t usually speak well, but I’m honest. I know you’re a rare good girl who doesn’t care about fame and fortune. Second Sister-in-law will say a few words to you from the bottom of her heart.”

After a pause, she glanced at the mistress. After confirming that she had not walked over, she continued, “You’ve seen the situation of the Li family. When the old man was healthy, everyone was still afraid of him and didn’t dare to do anything wrong. But after the old man fell, these descendants all revealed their intentions. The first branch is bent on fighting for the assets, and the third branch’s wife is restless. As for our second branch, we’ve always been sandwiched and can’t be doted on by the old man. An’an, since your fourth branch wants to return to the Li family, Second Sister-in-law will remind you that the vixen beside your third brother is not a good person. We prevent boycott her from entering the house. Otherwise, the Li family will not be at peace.”

How could Qiao An not see that the other woman was more difficult than the first wife?

“Second Sister-in-law, I know how you feel. However, this is someone else’s matter, so we can’t interfere too much. We can only take it one step at a time,” Qiao An said.

Second Madam glanced at the woman and shook her head. “Sigh.”

That night, Li Tingye, who had disappeared for most of the day, finally arrived at the hospital with his wife and child.

This time, Third Madam, Li Zecheng, and Wei Xin came.

The waiting area outside the ward was immediately surrounded. It should have been a lively scene, but for some reason, everyone was very silent.

The scene was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Things looked calm, but trouble was surging in secret.

First, Third Madam and Li Tingfeng looked at each other, filled with hostility. Third Madam’s eyes were about to spit fire, but Li Tingfeng glared back at her.

Li Zecheng was stunned to see Qiao An. Then, as Qiao An paced alone, his gaze lingered on her from time to time. Wei Xin glared at him warningly several times before he restrained himself.

Then, it was Li Tingye’s turn. He had run out in the morning because he had suffered a heavy blow. Perhaps because he was completely calm now and was a little embarrassed by his loss of composure in the morning, his eyes flickered and he did not dare to look at every one. Instead, he turned his head to the other side.

If the atmosphere could remain so dull, it might not be a bad thing.

But for the first time, Third Madam walked up to Qiao An and begged her in a pleasant voice, “Qiao An, I want to talk to you alone. Can I?” Her tone was no longer arrogant and domineering. It was filled with uneasiness and restraint.

Qiao An thought for a moment and nodded.

Therefore, she followed Third Madam to the end of the corridor.

It was especially quiet and deep there. Third Madam stood in front of the window and quietly looked at the blue sky and white clouds. She sighed faintly.

“Qiao An, you must hate me very much.” She suddenly turned her head, and there was some sincerity on her face.

Qiao An was at a loss. In the end, she didn’t know how to answer her.

To be honest, she had indeed not sorted out her emotions for a long time and did not know if her hatred for Third Madam had changed qualitatively.

“Qiao An, even if you hate me, I don’t blame you.” A bitter smile appeared in Third Madam’s eyes.

“In the past, I was the one who let you down. I was short-sighted and felt that you, who were born in a village, were not worthy of Zecheng, so I tried all means to tear you apart.”

Third Madam regretted what she had done.

“Don’t blame me, Qiao An. I’m not naturally narrow-minded. I’m just burdened by my native family.”

Then, Third Madam told her about her childhood with tears in her eyes. “My parents were uncultured and had never left the mountains in their lives. They favored boys over girls and left all the good food and drinks at home to my brother. Even the money I earned after graduating from high school was taken by them to be my brother’s betrothal gift. Later on, I married Li Tingfeng. When my parents found out that I had married a rich man, they always came to me for money. At first, my relationship with Li Tingfeng was good, and he didn’t care about the money. However, my parents’ appetite slowly increased. Later, my brother got married, bought a house, and had children… All his family’s expenses came to me. Li Tingfeng was annoyed, and I felt that Li Tingfeng was petty. As time passed, our relationship as husband and wife faded. Only then did I realize that I was a typical Voldemort. But it was too late since he had found a mistress.”

“I was too hurt by my parents’ shortsightedness and their preference for boys, so I’m quite resistant to people from small places. And you’re from a small county, so I can’t help but worry that you’ll drag Li Zecheng down because of your family, so I’m always worried that you can’t give Zecheng and your children a happy family.”

When Third Madam said this, her eyes were red, as if they were hiding deep helplessness.

“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have broken you and Zecheng up.”

Faced with Third Madam’s confession, Qiao An was stunned and at a loss.

After a long time, she said objectively, “Actually, you were never the one who separated Li Zecheng and me.”

“What really made me break up with Li Zecheng was that he betrayed our marriage and pretended to be Brother Xiaoran. These two things are my bottom line. Whether you exist or not, I will break up with him.”

Third Madam opened her mouth. She looked at Qiao An in surprise.

“But you clearly loved him in the past.”

Qiao An shook her head. “From the beginning to the end, it wasn’t him I loved. It was Xiaoran. When I learned that he wasn’t Xiaoran, my feelings for him were immediately sucked clean.”

Third Madam’s eyes darkened.

Qiao An continued, “Third Sister-in-law, our marriage was a mistake from the beginning.”

Third Madam looked at her and said sincerely, “No matter what, the harm I caused you when I joined forces with Wei Xin was real.”

“Qiao An, I didn’t know it hurt so much to be betrayed by the man I love. I think I should apologize to you.”

“It doesn’t matter if you forgive me or not. I’ve received my retribution now. I just feel better after I apologize to you.” With that, Third Madam turned around and staggered away.