Chapter 439: Chapter 439: Examples
Shen Yixiang had parted ways with the Lu family mother and daughter on bad terms.
Lu Hailing also beca quieter, and her visits decreased.
No one was more relieved than Chen Guizhi.
When Shen Yixiang returned, she made a point to look for Yang PeiMin and told her about her conversation with the Lu family mother and daughter.
After listening, Yang PeiMin nodded and asked, “Now you know, right? So, what do you plan to do?”
“I don’t want to have anything to do with them anymore. When Lu Haijun cos over, I’ll ask him… If he’s the sa way, then it’s over between us.”
“And what if he isn’t? Would you still be willing to marry into their family?”
Shen Yixiang was silent for a mont before shaking her head, “I don’t know.”
“Do you rember when our family split from the old Shen house? How old were you then?”
Shen Yixiang looked up at her, thought for a mont, and said, “I heard from my mother that we weren’t even born at that ti. We were born a year after the split. I’m not sure why sister is bringing up these things?”
Yang PeiMin let out a sigh. She had almost forgotten that back then, Shen Yiguang was only eight years old, and Shen Yiyue and Shen Yixiang had not yet been born.
“After the division of the family, did they from the old house ever co to bother you? Do you rember?”
Shen Yixiang nodded, “How could I forget? Those people over there were like leeches. Not only when they saw blood but even without seeing blood, they would cling on whenever they had chores to do, calling my mother over. Co alti, they’d send my mother back. My brother didn’t want her to go, since we had split from the family, but she still snuck off. One ti I saw her and told my brother, and he got very angry. My mother didn’t dare to show her anger towards him and instead scolded , saying I liked to tattle. In our family, my brother was the only boy, and with nobody to stand up for him if he got bullied… Anyway, she scolded fiercely. Once, my grandmother called her to do the laundry, and when she was late, my grandma beat her with a cane several tis. I saw it from outside the yard and ran ho to tell my brother. By the ti we got there, my mother was picking up the clothes, and my grandmother was cursing beside her. When she saw us, she scolded us too. Grandma had an awful way with words when she cursed at people. My mother was washing the clothes without reacting. That’s when my brother couldn’t take it anymore. He picked up a large rock and threw it towards my grandma. It hit her on the foot, and she started crying and cursing. My mother rushed to help her up, and grandma, livid with anger, found a handy vent for her rage in my mother, grabbing her hair and hitting her. My brother and I, of course, couldn’t let her beat our mother, so we ran to pull them apart. I was still small, not even five years old, with no strength to do anything but cry. My brother tried to pull, but my grandma wouldn’t let go. He started fighting her, and she scread to high heaven. Eventually, people ca back and separated them. My grandfather even held a family eting to criticize my brother, threatening to break his legs. It was quite chaotic. I was taken out of the house because I was scared; my sister carried out, and I don’t know how it was resolved. In the end, my brother was fine, but then I got in trouble. My mother blad for calling my brother, and my grandma hated to death. The fabric allocated to make clothes for was snatched away by that old hag… When my brother went to join the army, the people from the old house beca even crazier.”
“They ca asking for grain, tickets, money… Life then was not easy at all. By that ti, my sister had married and often helped support our household, but often the food never reached our stomachs. It was all taken by that old crone. I hated her so much then, even secretly cursed her. ‘Why doesn’t she die already?’ Such a spiteful, wicked person should have been in hell long ago. She didn’t even consider my mother a person. My mother could have sons, she wasn’t born from her, so why treat her that way?”
Watching Shen Yixiang grow angry with the recollection, Yang PeiMin couldn’t help but ask, “So do you think your married life here will be good or not? Although your mother-in-law is fierce and harsh, Shen Yi is a good man. Do you think she’s worth it?”
Shen Yixiang shook her head, “I think my mother had a raw deal. My father was too fortunate to marry her, it was like his ancestors had blessed him with smoke rising up to heaven. For the Shen family, a daughter-in-law like my mother is worth three others—good tempered, obedient, diligent, and hardworking. Where could they find soone like her? The Shen family really is blind. Today they co to harass her… Sister, I’ll tell you, even with a father like that, it’s hardly a good match. When that old hag mistreated my mother, my father was often silent. Compared to my brother protecting you, he couldn’t hold a candle to it. If you ask , with him like that, she’d be better off marrying a divorced man…”
Yang PeiMin couldn’t help but laugh, “Yixiang, you are so logical when it cos to others, so why can’t you see your own situation clearly?”
Shen Yixiang was stunned, then thought about herself, and the color drained from her face. She opened her mouth and finally stamred, “Not everyone is like my father…”
“It’s all the sa, Yixiang. You said your brother really protects , but rember, the person he’s up against isn’t our mother. Of course, his stance is firm. If I had a conflict with our mother, he wouldn’t stand on my side. A mother isn’t just related by blood; there’s also an irreplaceable bond of birth, nurture, love, and care throughout growth. There’s a saying, ‘Without a mother, you’ve lost one; without a wife, you can find another,’ possibly even one with better affection, younger and prettier… Moreover, if soone isn’t filial to their own mother, can they be good to you? I’m not talking about blind filial piety here, but regardless of how wrong his mother is, he will find it difficult. With a weak ntality, he might even beco trapped in such a dilemma, and that’s a significant test for your relationship. Can you accept living like that? Having a spiteful mother-in-law behind your back, and a husband who can’t defend you? Don’t think moving out on your own makes any difference; even if you went to the ends of the earth, those ties cannot be severed. Though they can’t confront you face to face, there are phone calls, letters, and other ans of communication that will annoy you to no end…”
“Yixiang, it’s really not worth it, to plunge into such a life for the so-called love, especially when this love may not even last long. I’m not talking about divorce or anything, but after marriage, love tends to slowly transform into affection. It’s a kind of warmth that doesn’t stir up passion… We can get that sort of affection with any man we spend enough ti with…”
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