80 village women marry military officers; it was supposed to be a fake marriage.

Chang Jinxiang sneered, "Then why should I believe you?"

Knowing that Lin Yue didn't believe her, Lin's mother could only shamelessly bring up her status, "Chang Jinxiang, don't go too far. I'm still your mother-in-law. If you act so disrespectfully, believe me, I'll report you to your workplace."

Lin Yue didn't want to argue with her mother anymore. "Do you still want Lin Mei to get married? If you do, then don't cause trouble and don't force me to back out."

Lin's mother said irritably, "Xiaomei is getting married and needs to prepare some dowry so that she can go out in style. You will pay for this, as well as the cost of the wedding banquet at her parents' home. We don't have any suitable clothes to attend her wedding, so we need to buy some new clothes and shoes."

Lin Yue and her mother exchanged glances. In Lin Yue's mother's eyes, she saw cruelty and calculation. "Why should I pay this money?"

Lin's mother rolled her eyes at her, "I've raised you for so many years for nothing, and you just cut ties with me and give me nothing back? There's no such thing as a free lunch. Right now, the family needs money, so if you give me this money, consider it repayment for the kindness of raising me."

A thousand yuan is no small sum. Even if she and her father worked hard all their lives, they wouldn't earn that much.

Buy Lin Mei a simple dowry as a token, and save the rest of the money for Lin Erdan's future schooling and marriage.

Lin Yue scoffed, "The debt of raising you? How much money do you think I should give you?"

Lin's mother started counting on her fingers, muttering to herself, "You're nineteen years old this year. I've raised you for over nineteen years. Let's say it's one hundred yuan a year, that's two thousand yuan. I won't ask for more, just give me one thousand yuan."

Lin's mother had been eavesdropping outside the ward ever since Shen's parents arrived. When they took out the money, she wanted to just come in and snatch it away.

Fearing that it would leave a bad impression on her future in-laws and affect Lin Mei's marriage, she endured it.

She thought and thought before coming up with these excuses. She figured Lin Yue wouldn't be able to refuse, and since Lin Mei was the Shen family's future daughter-in-law, the money should go to Lin Mei.

She couldn't say these things directly, so she could only ask for money in this way, and she couldn't let Lin Yue get away with it.

When Lin Yue heard this number, she immediately understood that her mother had overheard her conversation with Shen Rong's parents.

Lin Yue remained unmoved and asked her sarcastically, "When I got married, I didn't have a dowry or a wedding banquet. Now that Lin Mei is getting married, what's the logic in asking me to pay for it?"

Lin's mother scoffed, "How can that be the same? You sneaked into a man's bed, it's not proper, why would you hold a banquet? Besides, you know our Lin family's situation, we can barely afford to eat, where would we get the money to buy you a dowry?"

Lin Yue didn't argue with her. She had long understood that reasoning with her mother was like casting pearls before swine, a waste of time and energy.

She just smiled faintly and asked in return, "Are you sure the child in Lin Mei's belly is Shen Rong's? What if it isn't? Aren't you afraid that the Shen family will make trouble for you? You've seen what his sister has done."

"Of course..." Lin's mother said, only realizing Lin Yue's meaning halfway through her sentence. "I know you're jealous of Lin Mei, but you can't just say things like that. Xiao Mei only has Shen Rong as a man. If the child isn't his, whose is it?"

Lin's mother also asked Lin Mei, and Lin Mei insisted that she was forced and that Shen Rong was the only one from beginning to end.

Compared to Lin Yue, Lin's mother believed Lin Mei's words more; Lin Yue just couldn't stand seeing them doing well.

Lin Yue's lips curled up slightly, and she looked at her mother with a firm gaze. "Do as you please. This has nothing to do with me. I was just trying to be helpful."

She paused, then continued, "You heard that Mr. and Mrs. Shen sent a thousand yuan. I can give you the money, but you have to write a receipt explaining that you took the money and that it has nothing to do with me, Lin Yue."

Lin's mother wrote the receipt without thinking. As long as she could get the money, she didn't care about anything else.

This was the first time she had ever seen so many banknotes, all brand new, clearly just withdrawn from the bank. This made Lin's mother even more certain that the marriage with the Shen family was a sure win.

They haven't even discussed the bride price yet! She'll ask for a lot more then, and after the wedding, Lin Mei will give some money to her family from time to time. Even if they don't work, they won't have to worry about food or clothing.

She carefully slipped the money into the lining of her bra, then happily followed Chang Jinxiang to the newspaper office, where she promptly published a notice severing her relationship with Lin Yue.

Then she went to the police station, filled out a bunch of forms, and waited with the Shen family at the police station entrance.

At this time, she needs to show that it was her own merit in order to get Shen Rong out, and the Shen family will remember her kindness for a lifetime.

Chang Jinxiang ignored them and went straight back to the hospital. He ran into a nurse in the corridor, who saw him beaming and asked curiously, "Comrade Chang, what's making you so happy?"

Chang Jinxiang stopped smiling and thanked him sincerely, "It's nothing, thank you for helping to look after Xiaoyue. I'll thank you properly another time."

The young nurse waved her hand, looking righteous and awe-inspiring. "Why are you being so polite? It was just a small favor. I just felt sorry for her, having such a shameless relative. If it were me, I would have wanted to hit her."

Chang Jinxiang didn't say much, just exchanged a few simple pleasantries before returning to Lin Yue's ward.

Lin Yue handed the receipt written by her mother to Chang Jinxiang, saying, "Keep this safe; you might need it later."

Based on her understanding of Lin Mei and Shen Rong, she knew that if they found out about the money, they would definitely not let it go and might cause some trouble, so she couldn't take the money.

Lin Yue didn't want to take it either; she didn't want to have anything to do with these people anymore.

A moment later, the nurse rushed in again, laughing heartily, "That guy named Shen Rong has been sent to the hospital again. I heard he got into a fight with other prisoners at the police station and his leg was broken. The doctor is setting it up now. It looks much more serious than yours."

Lin Yue glanced at Chang Jinxiang and saw him with a smile on his face, happily packing his things and even whistling.

It's obvious what's going on. The nurse also noticed something and winked at Lin Yue, "Your husband is really something, he's quite the hidden talent."

Lin Yue remained silent, only smiling with her lips pursed. The nurse teased her a few more times before running off to watch the commotion.

Chang Jinxiang walked to the bedside, ruffled Lin Yue's hair, and asked softly, "How is it? Is Madam Chang satisfied with this result? If not, have him break another arm."

Lin Yue hurriedly covered Chang Jinxiang's mouth, looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief when she found no one passing by. "It's not worth it for someone like him. Don't let it affect your work."

"It's okay, it's normal for prisoners to get into arguments and fights."