Mother Xu groaned, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and looked like she was about to faint. “Oh, no, it’s just the old problem, the postpartum illness from when I had children when I was young, plus years of hard work. After your sister-in-law passed away, I’ve been taking care of the children day and night without a moment’s rest, never having a peaceful night’s sleep.”

Lin Shu sneered inwardly. Is she here to play the victim or what?

No matter how tired she is, she’s taking care of her own son’s children, not mine. I’m even taking care of her son’s daughter and haven’t complained to her.

Could it be that since my mother-in-law wanted to take a ladle of cornmeal yesterday, and you feel like you’ve lost something precious, you’re trying to get something back today?

Not knowing the other party’s clear intentions, Lin Shu decided to let her act a little longer.

Mother Xu glanced at Xu Xiaoyou and continued in a breathless tone, “Oh, this child is with her little aunt, and it’s hard for her little aunt. Your mother brought over a lot of food supplies yesterday. I thought I shouldn’t just give food without vegetables, so… cough cough, I sent over a basket of vegetables.”

Lin Shu raised an eyebrow.

Ah, indeed, she’s here to be passive-aggressive about the food.

Is she blaming my mother-in-law for not providing enough while asking for more food herself? And sending vegetables as a form of sarcasm?

And what’s with her attitude, calling me “her little aunt” right in front of me?

The tea flavor is really overwhelming.

Whether from the original character’s memories or the book’s original plot, Lin Shu didn’t like anything about Mother Xu.

In the original book, Xu Xiaoyou was seemingly mistreated by her stepmother, with everyone blaming the stepmother.

However, Xu Xiaoyou knew she had always been mistreated by her grandmother, while the stepmother had actually protected her.

When she was young, her grandmother wouldn’t feed her, and while the stepmother both disliked and pitied her, she sent her to the Lu family.

The grandmother didn’t want her to go to the Lu family because, at home, she had to help with the chores.

Although she couldn’t do heavy work, she could still handle tasks like lighting the fire, sweeping the yard, feeding the chickens, cutting grass, and washing clothes.

In the book, after her little aunt passed away, the little heroine had to stay at home and be controlled by her grandmother.

Once, while boiling water, she fell into the pot because the small stool she was standing on broke.

Fortunately, the stepmother heard the noise and rescued her right away.

But one of her hands was burned, turning red from the scald.

The stepmother placed her hand in well water and intended to take her to the hospital, but the grandmother refused to spend money, saying the girl should suffer for her mistakes and that spending money was unnecessary.

The stepmother ignored the grandmother’s objection and took the little heroine to the commune clinic.

Fortunately, the treatment was timely, and although she suffered and had blisters and peeling skin, she didn’t end up with scars.

However, the grandmother…

Grandma criticized the stepmother for wasting money and constantly causing trouble.

She pretended to casually let slip that the stepmother, who appeared kind on the surface, was actually quite cruel.

She had pushed her stepdaughter down, causing her to burn her hand, and only took her to the clinic after being scolded.

Grandma even feared that her son might find out and asked for help to cover it up.

Grandma also complained that the stepmother was stingy, not providing enough food for the stepdaughter, and only cared about giving the best to her own son while neglecting the others.

However, the young heroine saw through it all.

She noticed that Grandma didn’t treat the stepmother well either.

Behind the stepmother’s back, Grandma would stir up trouble, speaking ill of her and inciting conflict with her father.

Grandma herself was stingy, saving all the good food for her son and grandchildren who are boys, never allowing the stepmother or herself to eat well.

In Grandma’s eyes, women in the household were not worthy of a full meal.

The stepmother, unable to bear the hunger, would sometimes go to her own family to eat.

Despite this, she continued to grow thinner, and eventually, her first child starved to death.

When Fang Dihua came to scold her, the Grandmother pretended to be pitiful, claiming ignorance and absolving herself of responsibility.

She insisted that the household was run by the daughter-in-law, so it was up to her what to eat.

The young heroine, though, was sharp and perceptive.

She saw clearly that despite the pretense, Grandmother was the real power in the house.

Grandmother would manipulate things to her advantage.

If someone didn’t comply, she would persist with emotional manipulation, crying and complaining endlessly.

She would recount how hard her life had been—losing children during pregnancy, suffering during confinement due to her mother-in-law’s harshness, the exhaustion of raising children, being beaten and mistreated by her husband, and how she nearly starved for her children’s sake.

If emotional manipulation didn’t work, Grandmother would resort to threats of self-harm.

She’d refuse to eat and threaten to end her life, making the situation unbearable for everyone.

With her relentless tactics, it was challenging for anyone to withstand her pressure.

Add to this the societal pressure of filial piety, and the family felt compelled to comply with her demands.

The neighbors would also intervene, urging them to show respect and not make the old lady unhappy.

They were convinced that no matter how trivial the matter, it was best to let Grandma have her way, even if she claimed ignorance and passed off all decisions as the daughter-in-law’s(Lu Hehuan) responsibility.

In the end, the stepmother endured because she had a strong will and nerves of steel.

Despite the turmoil, she managed to stay resilient.

However, the stepmother’s own family faced a series of tragedies—her brother and sister-in-law had passed away, her father was gone, and her mother had lost her sight.

…and was subjected to emotional neglect by her husband and control by her grandmother.

She was gradually numbed and darkened by life’s torment, transforming from a vibrant and youthful girl into a rough, weary woman.

She increasingly disliked her stepdaughter, and when the grandmother said she would find a match for the stepdaughter after she grew up, the stepmother didn’t stop her.

So Xu Xiaoyou ran away.

She couldn’t understand why the stepmother liked her father so much and didn’t leave.

Even though the stepmother loved him deeply, her father did not reciprocate.

No matter who he claimed to love, he only loved himself!

Initially, he was like an ascetic, despising women, but later, he became a philandering playboy, indulgent and promiscuous.

Eventually, he juggled relationships with several women while drunkenly lamenting his loneliness.

Xu Xiaoyou thought he was just a terrible person!

He didn’t deserve anyone’s love, yet infuriatingly, the stepmother loved him unconditionally, never leaving him even after being deeply hurt.

Xu Xiaoyou later analyzed that the stepmother had devoted her youth and everything to him, bearing his children and being brainwashed and trapped by him, with her spirit and vitality drained.

If she left, it would mean negating all her existence and value on this earth, making her life meaningless.

The sunk cost was too great, trapping her in a lifelong cage with no escape.

At fifteen, Xu Xiaoyou didn’t understand such profound matters, so she ran away herself.

…

After learning about the Xu family, Lin Shu looked at Mother Xu with a particularly complex expression.

Fang Dihua was such a formidable person, not afraid of being called a shrew or being fierce, daring to stand up to men.

But when it came to Mother Xu, she was at a loss.

Mother Xu appeared fragile on the surface; you could poke her with a finger, and she would seem to break.

A loud scolding would scare her to death, but she’s not someone you can easily handle.

She doesn’t fear pain or suffering. If you beat her, she can endure it and cry pitifully, making others feel sorry for her.

If you don’t feed her, she’ll starve. If you make her work, she’ll be exhausted, yet she’s willing to suffer for her son and grandchildren.

What she fears is seeing other women living comfortably and happily when she believes they should be suffering just like her.

She can’t stand seeing her daughter-in-law or granddaughter well-fed or idle.

She fears they are happier than she is.

Lin Shu was determined to make sure Xu Xiaoyou had plenty to eat, could attend school, play, and live a comfortable and happy life!

She wanted to see the old schemer infuriated.

She didn’t want to deal with Lu Hehuan.

Lu Hehuan was infatuated, and unless she came to her senses on her own, no one could pull her back.

After all, when someone is in love, even the coldest demeanor of a man can’t pull them away.

She thinks that when he hits her, it means he loves her.

She says that even though he hits no other woman, he only hits her, which is a sign of his love.

When he is with other women, she still believes that he loves her because he provides for her and hasn’t given any money to the other woman.

She thinks that even though he married her and made her serve his mother, he loves her.

Lin Shu has no intention of getting involved in Lu Hehuan’s affairs, especially since even Fang Dihua, her own mother, has been unable to handle the situation.

However, this doesn’t mean that Xu Mother can use her “I’m weak, so I’m right” act to undermine Fang Dihua.

Anyone who bullies her mother-in-law is essentially bullying her, and she absolutely will not tolerate it!

Lin Shu looked at Xu Mother’s weary yet still youthful face.

Xu Mother appeared to be a delicate beauty once, but how had she become so twisted?