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The day after, when I met Miao Miao for a meal, I brought up the argument I had with Wang Xu. To my surprise, as she listened, Miao Miao fell into deep thought. A few seconds later, she slowly raised her head.
“Zhuang Jun, this matter needs careful consideration.”
I swallowed my food and wiped my mouth with a napkin. “Yeah, I came to talk to you because I couldn't make up my mind. I wanted to ask for your opinion. My parents definitely won't let Wang Xu and his mother come over. So what should I do next? Should I go back to Wang Xu's hometown or stay here for the New Year? I think spending the New Year apart is no longer an option; Wang Xu won't agree to that.”
“Hmm.” Miao Miao nodded slightly, looking thoughtful. “If you really go to your mother-in-law's hometown, it will be crowded and noisy. I'm afraid there could be some issues. His mother will definitely want to show you off everywhere, announcing your pregnancy to gain face, which could easily lead to complications.”
“Exactly, that's what I've been considering. If Wang Xu really takes me there, there will be so many relatives; it would be hard to manage everything. I feel like the chances of exposure are much higher.”
“But think about it: if you really go with Wang Xu and his mother takes you around to promote the news, everyone in their hometown will know. If you end up getting divorced later and you're not pregnant, wouldn't that just embarrass Wang Xu and his mother?” Miao Miao patted her knee with enthusiasm. “Yes, this is quite fitting! As long as you pay attention and don’t expose yourself, there will be plenty of opportunities for Wang Xu and his mother to face embarrassment later.”
Indeed, thinking from this perspective, when the time comes for confrontation, wouldn’t it put Wang Xu’s mother in a difficult position?
“But I'm really nervous; I'm afraid that if I don't handle it well, it will raise suspicions and not achieve the desired effect.”
“True.” Miao Miao agreed with my concerns. “But this opportunity isn't bad either. By the way, your mother-in-law is from the countryside; there should be a Village Doctor. If the Village Doctor happens to be at home and asks questions, that could be quite troublesome since you won’t know anyone there. If something goes wrong, it could be hard to deal with. You might need to prepare in advance…”
“Ugh, it's far away and unfamiliar territory. How can I prepare in advance? Everything feels daunting when you're on someone else's turf; it's impossible to prepare well ahead of time—everything is complicated.”
What Miao Miao suggested was indeed tempting; at least it would give me a chance to embarrass them in the place where they had spent the longest time together. For me, this could be a great opportunity—high rewards come with high risks; I couldn’t possibly ignore that.
But at least there was still a possibility worth fighting for.
I shared my thoughts with Miao Miao, who agreed and mentioned the issue of the Village Doctor. Suddenly she seemed to have an epiphany and exclaimed while slapping the table, “Right! How did I not think of this!”
“What’s up?” Seeing the joy on Miao Miao’s face made me feel more at ease; at least her happiness was for me and couldn't possibly be a bad thing.
"You said, can we make something out of Village Doctor, or even a big deal!" Miao Miao said with an exaggerated expression. From her tone, it seemed to be a good thing, and I felt both anxious and happy inside.
"What big deal?"
"You're not pregnant right now, so there's no way for your mother-in-law and Wang Xu to believe you're pregnant under false pretenses, right?"
"Yes, that's obvious."
If they could really believe I was pregnant just by looking at my empty stomach, then I would need some *soup* for that.
"But what if, hypothetically, you actually have a child in your belly? As long as we make them think the child exists without Wang Xu and his mom knowing, and then suddenly it disappears, wouldn't that solve everything?"
Miao Miao looked at me with delight, her eyes sparkling as if she had discovered something monumental.
I suppressed my unease and sorted through Miao Miao's words, then restated my understanding: "So you mean they should believe I'm pregnant now, and then one day they should believe that due to some accident, my child disappeared—essentially a miscarriage, right?"
"Yes, yes! Oh, I'm so clumsy with words; I can't explain it clearly, but as long as you understand the idea. You have to know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
I was still a bit confused: "So what does this have to do with Village Doctor?"
"Of course it matters! Think about it; in a big hospital in the city, you can't possibly take Wang Xu and your mother-in-law to see a legitimate doctor who will conclude that you're pregnant. But the doctors in the Village are just Old Doctor sitting at home treating patients. It's much easier to bribe them; just throw some money at them and they'll say whatever you want."
After gathering my thoughts, I slowly began to understand Miao Miao's point. The route through a formal hospital was definitely not feasible, but finding a country doctor in the Village to back us up was just a matter of money.
However, this felt more like a gamble—betting on whether I would be ready first or if Wang Xu and my mother-in-law would act first. Overall, this idea was worth considering deeply, but right now it seemed full of holes.
"Let's think about it some more; I just feel like things won't go that smoothly."
Miao Miao nodded in agreement. "That's natural; everything carries a certain risk. Your mother-in-law's Old Doctor in the Village needs to be carefully selected—someone with a good reputation, who can resist the temptation of money and keep things confidential. Honestly, that's difficult."
I understood what Miao Miao meant. The people in the Village could be described as simple-minded, or bluntly put, straightforward. They might initially be tempted by money to help us, but when someone else offers more, wouldn't the situation turn against us?
At that point, if he were to take double the money and expose our situation, it would be troublesome.
"First, we need to make him aware that he cannot speak about this. He must understand the consequences of revealing it. Then we need to think about how to ensure his silence completely. I remember you visited before; did you meet the doctor? What was he like? Is there a good chance?"
"Yes, I met him once or twice, but it was a long time ago. He's an Old Doctor who runs a clinic at his home in the Village, and he sees quite a few patients. As for whether he would accept our deal, I can't be sure."
Since I had met him too few times, I couldn't blindly trust that he would agree. Besides, the doctors in the Village are still professionals and are unlikely to accept such a proposal.
"An elderly man? You said he's an Old Doctor? He should have children, right? Does he live in the city or in the Village?" Miao Miao suddenly asked.
I thought for a moment and shook my head. "I really don't remember well; maybe his children are working in the city now."
"Then this is easy," Miao Miao said with a sigh of relief. "This is very manageable. Think about it: if the doctor himself won't accept this kind of thing but has children, if I arrange a good job for them in the city, wouldn't he be tempted? Besides, this matter can be resolved with just a few words—just say you're pregnant or something like that. Later on, we can arrange for an accident to cause a miscarriage. In short, we need to make him understand that there's no way he could get caught at this stage. Isn't this killing two birds with one stone?"
Although I wanted to agree with Miao Miao's words because they sounded so tempting, I needed to stay calm and not let myself be blinded by immediate allure. Even though my biggest worry seemed to have found a solution, it was still necessary to think it through carefully.
"But how do I design the miscarriage? Even if I go through with it, won't Wang Xu and my mother-in-law hate me even more? I can't just bring trouble upon myself; that would only complicate matters further! My mother-in-law will definitely despise me even more than before!"
The thought of this was terrifying; the difficulty of what lay ahead was unimaginable.
"Don't rush it, Zhuang Jun. You mentioned that having a child is something Wang Xu and your mother-in-law value highly, right?"
"Yes, of course."
"That's fine. If the child falls, they will definitely feel heartbroken. The key is, who caused it? The resentment should be directed at that person. You are the child's mother; if your child falls, you can easily shift the blame elsewhere. Do you understand?"
What Miao Miao said seemed straightforward, but I still didn't grasp her ultimate point. After taking a sip of water, Miao Miao slowly continued, "If the child is to fall, the reason cannot be on you. In other words, if there is indeed a child in your belly, it would be your mother-in-law who caused it!"
"My mother-in-law?!" I gasped in shock, never expecting Miao Miao to make such a startling statement. Her words made me laugh repeatedly while my heart raced as if filled with hot blood, rekindling a glimmer of hope.
"Yes, didn't your mother-in-law previously ask you and Wang Xu to go buy some talisman water to drink? She's superstitious; older people are easily swayed by such nonsense. As long as she listens to the doctor and brings back some medicine for you, then when you take the medicine she gives you and have a miscarriage while traveling, you can tell Wang Xu everything afterward. His anger will be directed at your mother-in-law, and she will only blame herself!"
My heart raced even more at this idea. What Miao Miao suggested sounded plausible: "But where can we find a doctor willing to take responsibility? Isn't that difficult? What if we find him later and he slips up?"
"Well, just find someone to impersonate a so-called fortune teller. Fool your mother-in-law a couple of times until she genuinely believes him. After that, things will be easier to handle. This is just a rough idea; we need to work out the details. Thinking about it now, the chances of being discovered or slipping up are quite high, but don't worry—if we stick to this general direction, we can iron out the small details."
I felt my blood boiling with excitement. I had been wandering in darkness for too long, constantly anxious about my child being discovered. Now Miao Miao had raised a torch at the exit to illuminate my path and told me to go this way—this way leads to the exit.
How could one not be moved by that?
"Alright, let's think about the details some more. Once we have it figured out, we'll go through with it. You still have some time before returning home; during this period, we should prepare thoroughly. I refuse to believe that two of us can't outsmart an old woman and a young man!"
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