Because Ding Yun wasn't ruthless enough, and Miao Cuihua and her husband were indeed very lucky, they never encountered a fatal allergen that would swiftly end their lives.
Therefore, although the couple suffered greatly,
and had no good days from morning till night, their bodies were never healthy for a single day. Their skin and facial features were also never normal from one day to the next.
But they did stubbornly survive.
They lived on to spite Ding Yun.
Originally, Ding Yun had been contemplating whether to administer other toxins or to simply move away. However, Miao Cuihua and her husband suddenly went quiet.
There was no activity for nearly half a month.
Simultaneously, Ding Yun did not receive news of their deaths.
Faced with such a peculiar situation, she naturally had to quickly use her rudimentary artificial intelligence to inquire and understand the circumstances. Only then did she learn that the main reason for their silence was that their youngest son's marriage had fallen through.
Recently, they had been overwhelmed with comforting their son.
They had no time to bother with Ding Yun.
As for why the marriage collapsed, it wasn't due to issues with the bride price or the new house. The primary reason was that Miao Cuihua and her husband, in order to prevent their son from worrying about them hindering his work, had not disclosed their condition to him.
However, their son, Fu Jinghong, unexpectedly brought his girlfriend home to meet his parents without their prior knowledge. It was then that his girlfriend saw Miao Cuihua and Fu Haiyang, whose appearances were distorted due to allergies, looking somewhat grotesque and even lying on the bed being cared for by their daughter.
They weren't paralyzed, of course, but were merely unwell. The allergic reactions were so severe that they simply didn't want to move.
Hence, they lay on the bed, letting their daughter come to care for them.
To ensure their daughter would willingly come to care for them,
they feigned paralysis specifically.
But Fu Jinghong's girlfriend didn't know this. As soon as she entered the house, she saw her boyfriend's parents. One was swollen like a steamed bun, and the other, with exposed skin covered in rashes, was lying on the bed, being attended to by another middle-aged woman. They looked far from normal.
It seemed either a serious illness or a deformity.
Would she also have to care for them if she married into the family?
Considering she also had an older brother with a congenital disability,
her girlfriend immediately felt that there might be genetic issues in his family. She wondered if they would be able to have healthy, normal children or children with congenital disabilities. If they were to have a child with a congenital disability, it would be a lifetime of suffering.
Not only would she suffer, but the child would too.
With this thought, she immediately retreated.
She also left without any hesitation, running away.
Before leaving, she made sure to say that forget the twenty thousand yuan bride price, she wouldn't marry even for three to five hundred thousand yuan.
Thus, Fu Jinghong's girlfriend left, and the remaining people were thrown into complete disarray. This was because Fu Jinghong had told them the bride price was fifty thousand yuan, and had claimed his girlfriend had proposed it. Now, however, his girlfriend stated she only wanted twenty thousand yuan. It was obvious where the extra fifty thousand yuan bride price came from – Fu Jinghong had added it himself.
Consequently, his sisters, who had nearly broken ties with the family over this bride price, were naturally very dissatisfied and began to accuse him. Even Miao Cuihua and her husband, who were suffering greatly from their allergies and lying in bed, couldn't help but criticize their son.
They felt he was too inconsiderate of his parents.
What was he trying to achieve by demanding an extra thirty thousand yuan?
As for Fu Jinghong, while he felt guilty at first, as the scolding from his parents and sisters grew louder, he immediately retorted with dissatisfaction.
Firstly, he blamed his parents for their current disfigured state, which caused his girlfriend to run away. He estimated it would be difficult to win her back. He urged them to get treated if they were sick, and if they couldn't be cured, to just die rather than continue looking like that and scaring people.
Secondly, he argued that the extra thirty thousand yuan in bride price was for his future marriage and child-rearing. Children were expensive nowadays. Without at least thirty thousand yuan as a foundation, he wouldn't dare have children.
If he didn't want to have no heirs to continue the family line,
he absolutely needed that thirty thousand yuan.
If they wanted a second child, they would have to come up with another thirty thousand yuan.
Good heavens, with his statement, even Miao Cuihua and Fu Haiyang, whose moral compass was already skewed, couldn't tolerate it. They were almost angered to death, and his sisters were equally furious, not knowing how to reprimand him.
After that, they were embroiled in internal conflict and arguments.
They even tried to find ways to compromise.
Naturally, they had no time to bother with Ding Yun.
This was why Ding Yun enjoyed half a month of peace.
Upon discovering this situation, Ding Yun naturally did not want them to regain internal harmony and unite against her. Therefore, she immediately began to interfere.
For example, she used her contacts and social media to inform her brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law about what her younger brother had said. She also informed his ex-girlfriend, who was unlikely to return, about his demand for fifty thousand yuan in bride price and how his family had accused her of being greedy.
In essence, Ding Yun didn't do much.
She merely facilitated the flow of information.
She didn't add any embellishments or fabrications.
It was purely out of good intentions, not wanting certain people to remain in the dark, and wanting some people to clearly understand what had happened. These were all good deeds!
Due to Ding Yun's interference, their internal arguments undoubtedly continued for a while longer, and the outcome was likely altered compared to normal circumstances. For instance, Fu Jinghong and his girlfriend had completely fallen out. His girlfriend even publicized his past actions, such as him demanding an extra thirty thousand yuan in bride price and framing her for it, on social media platforms.
It was public execution.
At the same time, several sisters came to their senses. They realized they likely couldn't rely on their brother for support. Instead of relying on him, they might as well rely on their own sons.
Despite this,
Miao Cuihua and Fu Haiyang still couldn't bear to give up on their son. Ultimately, they compromised and reconciled with him, expressing their hope that their son would quickly find another partner or get back together with his previous girlfriend, marrying and having children soon.
To continue the Fu family's lineage.
They couldn't afford a new house in the big city, but they could afford a new house locally. They could also pool some money for the bride price. All they needed was for him to find a partner quickly.
They felt their bodies were nearing their end.
They just hoped to hold their grandson soon.
As for grandchildren on their daughter's side, they were of no consequence to them.
They couldn't carry on their Fu family line, could they?
Then, they went around asking people to arrange blind dates for their son. Furthermore, they stopped bothering Ding Yun, only sending word through an intermediary that they hadn't met with Ding Yun for many years and hoped to meet during the Mid-Autumn Festival that year, and gather for every festival thereafter.
Facing their overtures through an intermediary,
Ding Yun could only scoff.
Because their private communications revealed no genuine desire to invite her for a reunion. They merely intended to lure her out of her residential compound and back to their home, where they could deal with her as they pleased. This was a more sophisticated tactic than others.
They just had to wait for her to walk into a trap.
They even discussed privately that if Ding Yun refused, they would find a way to kill her, sacrificing their congenitally disabled son, who was still unmarried, to take the blame. Although it might have just been a plan, Ding Yun believed that if given the opportunity,
they would do it.
They were willing to sacrifice their congenitally disabled son to pave the way for their healthy son, so that he could continue the family line.
While some people prefer to venture into danger when they know it exists, Ding Yun was not that kind of person. Therefore, she had no intention of going. To appease them and prevent them from bothering her further, she told the messenger that she would go on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Following this, Ding Yun continued writing.
And she decided to take a gamble.
She wanted to see whether her husband and wife would die from allergies first,
or if the Mid-Autumn Festival would arrive first.
If they were still alive by the Mid-Autumn Festival, she would devise another plan. In any case, she would never walk into a trap herself.
As it turned out, Ding Yun had good luck. The day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, their youngest son, Fu Jinghong, unusually bought two jin of crabs, calling it a gesture of his filial piety. He then took a thousand yuan from them, stating he wanted to treat a potential date to dinner.
The couple, thinking it was a gesture of goodwill from their son, and not wanting to save it for the grandchildren who would return for the reunion dinner the next day, cooked and ate both jin of crabs that evening. Less than half an hour after finishing their meal, they began to twitch all over, their breathing became rapid.
They collapsed immediately, unable to move.
Their throats also swelled, making it impossible to speak.
Not long after, they died.
Clearly, the crabs or some element contained within them were the highly sensitive allergens that triggered their reaction.
When Fu Jinghong returned late at night, after ostensibly treating a date to dinner but actually spending the night at a bar, the old couple had already been dead for a considerable time.