For something that appeared so deadly, Wu Xia was of course firmly opposed. Unfortunately, her two fists couldn't fight the four hands of the brothers and sister-in-law, nor the oblivious Lianshan who didn't know when to make himself scarce.
Shuzhen, who had been hoping to take this opportunity to induce a miscarriage and cut off Wu Xia's chances to return, felt slightly regretful, and couldn't help but curse Wu Xia for being useless under her breath.
Although the multigoal plan didn't succeed, ultimately Wu Xia's true colors were exposed in front of the elder and second brother. Because of Wu Xia acting self-destructively, the situation smoothly escalated to the level of divorce.
Although the Wu family would certainly be unwilling and would inevitably come up with some schemes to send Wu Xia back, soldiers will block it and water will cover it. As long as the elder brother remained resolute, Shuzhen was confident that the name Wu Xia would become a thing of the past in the Liu family!
As long as this confession letter was in hand, no matter how fierce the Wu family got, how dare they raise a fuss in front of her?
The second brother personally pushed the cart full of Wu Xia's dowry boxes and clothes, while the elder brother grabbed onto a still-crying Wu Xia's shoulders, sending her back to the Wu family together.
Seeing the unruly daughter-in-law of the Liu family being sent back to her parental home, the daughter-in-law Su Hongying was attentively looking after Shuzhen's sister, making Lianshan secretly sigh in relief. He asked Shuzhen to let him know if she needed anything in the future, promising not to shirk if he could help, then bid farewell to Shuzhen and her second sister-in-law who looked at him like a defensive wolf and walked back to his little horse shed.
The second sister-in-law's obvious look of relief after Lianshan left was so noticeable that Shuzhen couldn't ignore it even if she tried.
She couldn't bear to listen again to the second sister-in-law's comments that although Lianshan had nice looks and character, he was ultimately too poor and biased towards his younger siblings. Even though coming back to life had taught her many things, showing her that this second sister-in-law, far less eloquent and superficially skilled than the former sister-in-law Wu Xia, had a genuine heart for her. She feared marrying Lianshan would result in hardship and poverty for her. After all, the gap from being a regiment's wife to marrying a poor, old farmer was hard enough for this meticulous-minded young lady to endure.
Thinking back to her being forced to marry in her past life, didn't she just go through turmoil with all her might?
She resented everyone she saw, hurting those who truly cared about her while harboring foolish hopes for wild animals. After her dreams shattered, she grew suffocated and insane, leaving behind endless chaos, grievances, and humiliation for a man who had never given her a kind face in decades.
Even so, Lianshan never gave up on her.
For decades, he cared for her daily, rather wearing less himself to ensure her warmth and nourishment, buying the latest special medication for her. Muttering that even if she couldn't fully recover, she should suffer less. Single-handedly, he played both father and mother roles, taking care of several children. On his deathbed, he even held his youngest son, Yanzi's hand, telling him to treat this no-good mother who only hindered kindly.
His unwavering commitment alone was enough to make Shuzhen feel that her brother Lianshan was the best man in the world. Compared to Dai Weiguo, who discarded his wife and children for career and wealth advancement, he wasn't fit to even carry his shoes!
Yearning to marry Lianshan and become husband and wife immediately, how could Shuzhen be willing to hear her second sister-in-law criticize him?
Even knowing that the second sister-in-law truly meant well, it didn't make it okay!
In her past life, she was protected by Brother Lianshan for a lifetime. In this life, Shuzhen thought she ought to be stronger. Even if she couldn't become Brother Lianshan's pillar, they could at least face life's challenges together as a couple. At a minimum, her sharp daughters ought to attend school. Rather than just basic literacy classes, isolated in distant places, or having to marry above their league to escape a life of hard labor. Due to her malnourished state in the past, her fragile eldest daughter, who was weaker from birth, even outlived her mother due to excessive hardship.
Her youngest son was born intelligent, self-teaching himself good mental arithmetic skills. The eldest daughter loved tailoring and could replicate clothes she saw, crafting similar pieces out of old fabric. Yanzi consistently excelled academically, with awards covering a whole wall at home. These excellent children were fully hindered by this impoverished family and a mother distracted in the early days and mad in later times, unable to work and requiring caretaking and medication.
The only one carefully nurtured to high school turned into an ungrateful one like his father, Dai Weiguo, a heartless "wolf of the Chen family..."
Reflecting on her undoubtedly tragic past life, Shuzhen felt a knot in her heart. She repeatedly told herself: it's okay, there's still time. If you put in effort, those past tragedies won't repeat. See for yourself — you've only been back for one day, and one of the people who contributed to your miserable downfall, Wu Xia, is already unlucky. With your determination to change and foresight, you could avert some tragedies and life would surely get better.
Reassuring herself in this way, Shuzhen finally felt much calmer.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the daughter-in-law Su Hongying had already cleaned the elder brother's house inside and out, so diligently that Shuzhen was left puzzled. Unable to understand why in her past life, she couldn't see the goodness in this hardworking and warm second sister-in-law, yet followed lazy, greedy, and heartlessly Machiavellian Wu Xia, allowing herself to be manipulated for years.
Was it because she resented the second sister-in-law's dissatisfaction with Dai Weiguo? Because when that bastard talked about divorce, the second sister-in-law advised her a few words? That even if a man who had changed his heart was successful, he was just trash, and it was better to throw him by the roadside instead of letting others watch her endure grievances?
Admittedly, in the past life, her brain must have taken a swim or she'd taken a hard fall off a big goose. Maybe there were cases where she couldn't recognize good from bad, nor discern unscrupulous comments.
Feeling embarrassed, Shuzhen was relieved that time had given her another chance, with plenty of opportunities to rectify and make amends. Correcting all the mistakes she made in the past was her form of restoring order from chaos, wasn't it?
"Auntie…"
"Sis-in-law…"
As Su Hongying tidied the elder brother's house thoroughly, as instructed by her husband, to ensure he wouldn't feel bothered upon returning, noon had already passed. Now considering if the younger sister-in-law might be hungry, she thought of preparing something for her. After all, regardless, the younger sister-in-law carried a baby. This was definitely something not to be neglected. As she opened her mouth to speak, she found herself speaking in unison with the auntie saying exactly the same words, what was it called? Oh, speaking in unison!