On This Day in Her Past Life

On this very day in her past life, she had demanded a hefty bride price of 888 yuan from the Liu family.

Later, upon hearing that the Liu family had a bad reputation, she tried to stop the marriage.

Liu’s father had been fired from his factory job for sexually harassing a female coworker and had been idle at home ever since.

Liu’s mother was a temporary toilet cleaner, greedy and fond of taking petty advantages.

Liu Qin’s younger brother, Liu Yong, was a complete rascal and a frequent visitor to the local police station.

Upon hearing this, she opposed the marriage.

She tried to persuade her second son to give up, explaining in detail how Liu Qin’s family — the parents and especially the brother — would become a burden.

But her second son seemed bewitched.

He insisted on marrying Liu Qin and accused her of looking down on the Liu family through “colored glasses.”

He even claimed Liu Qin’s father had been wrongly accused — that the female worker had seduced him, and when he refused, she falsely accused him.

He swore that if he couldn’t marry Liu Qin, he’d never marry anyone in his life.

She felt sorry for him — he’d suffered a lot while working in the countryside.

Unable to change his mind, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and agree.

What she didn’t know was that her son told Liu Qin everything she had said.

And Liu Yong, seeking revenge, deliberately targeted her — the groom’s mother — on the wedding day.

It wasn’t until she later moved in with her second son and Liu Yong came visiting that he proudly told her himself.

Grinning smugly, Liu Yong said, “We don’t do this around here, but back in our hometown, it’s tradition to ‘tease the groom’s mother.’ And if she gets upset, it’s considered unlucky.”

As he spoke, his hands blackened with soot, he smeared her face with ash.

Trapped and unable to dodge, her face turned pitch black, and her carefully styled hair became a mess.

“Strip off her coat and hang a sign on her!”

A few people grabbed at her and forcibly removed her new outer garment.

They hung a sign around her neck that read:
“Proud to Be the Servant Mom, Gloriously Serving My Daughter-in-Law!”

“Quick, take her outside!”

“Let go of me!” Having just returned to life after two bedridden years in her past life, she hadn’t adjusted to her younger body and had no strength.

Her voice was faint, and she was dragged out like a criminal.

The moment she appeared outside, laughter erupted.

Hearing that mocking laughter, her vision darkened — just like in her past life.

Forcing herself to lift her head, she saw Liu Qin sitting on her second son’s bicycle, laughing uncontrollably with her hand over her mouth. Her son was laughing too.

She glanced around and saw her eldest son’s wife, Zhang Jiao, holding their grandson Junjun, frowning slightly.

Her eldest son, Lin Guodong, had a cigarette in hand and was laughing along with the crowd.

So… in her past life, had her sons really laughed as she was humiliated like this?

Then she saw her husband, Lin Yongnian, looking much younger — not a trace of gray in his hair.

He sneered and stepped aside, curling his lips.

In her past life, she had been too ashamed to lift her head during the humiliation, so she never noticed how those closest to her had reacted.

But now she saw it clearly — they had all watched her suffer and laughed along.

“Proud to be the Servant Mom…” Liu Yong jumped beside her and read out the words on the sign, triggering another round of laughter.

“This is too much! Who humiliates the groom’s mother like this? This kind of thing would never happen in our courtyard,” said Auntie Wang angrily.

Auntie Zhao patted her hand and whispered, “Don’t say anything. It’s Lin family’s big day. Shuping and Old Lin haven’t said anything. If we speak up and spoil the wedding, we’ll be blamed.”

Liu Yong: “Come on, have the groom’s mom bow to the bride!”

Furious and trembling, she was forced to bow to Liu Qin.

“Cack-cack-cack…” She heard Liu Qin laughing like a crowing hen.

“All right, all right, that’s enough.” Lin Qiufang, standing next to her sister-in-law, waved her hands.

Even she felt embarrassed for her.

Liu Yong leaned in and mocked, “Auntie Li, you’d better treat my sister well. If I find out you mistreat her, I won’t let you off.” Then he ordered his cronies to release her.

Freed at last, Old Madam Li slapped Liu Yong hard across the face.

The slap stunned Liu Yong.

Covering his cheek, he stared at her in shock.

Everyone else was stunned too.

They never expected the usually gentle and meek Old Madam Li to fight back — especially on her son’s wedding day.

Shaking her now-stinging hand, she finally felt adapted to this young, healthy body.

The feeling of having strength again was exhilarating.

“Lin Jianshe!” Liu Qin screamed, enraged at seeing her brother slapped.

“Mom, how could you hit someone?!” Lin Jianshe shouted, frowning.

Lin Yongnian tugged at Old Madam Li’s sleeve. “Why are you acting crazy on such a happy day?”

Even if she was upset about the teasing, she should’ve endured it — it was her son’s wedding!

How could she hit the bride’s brother?

Her chest heaved.

Her beloved son, the man she’d served half her life — they were all blaming her.

They saw only her act of hitting someone, blind to the humiliation she endured.

“You damned old woman! You dared hit me!” Liu Yong snapped out of it and tried to retaliate, but Liu family members quickly stepped in to hold him back.

“Yongzi, don’t! It’s your sister’s wedding!”

“Calm down, hold it in…”

They’d told him not to go overboard.

He’d insisted that the Lin family’s old woman looked down on them and that she needed to be taught a lesson — that she’d have to take it.

And now, look at the mess.

Honestly, with Liu Qin’s background, marrying someone like Lin Jianshe was already a huge stroke of luck.

She was pretty, yes, but anyone who looked into her family would’ve turned and run.

That’s why she was 22 before finding a match.

“Lin Jianshe, your mother must kneel and apologize to my brother, or I’m not getting married!”

Liu Qin was shaking with anger.

Her brother had been slapped before she’d even entered the Lin household — how was she supposed to hold her head high in the courtyard?

She had to reclaim this moment.

She had known about her brother’s plan to “tease” her future mother-in-law.

She was angry at Li Shuping for looking down on her family and had wanted to humiliate her on the wedding day — to show everyone she wasn’t to be messed with.

She thought the old woman would just suffer in silence and smile through the shame.

She hadn’t expected this.

“Yes! She must kneel and apologize to my brother, or my sister’s not marrying!” Liu Yong shouted.

Old Madam (Li Shuping) trembled with barely contained rage and scanned the crowd for their reactions.

Lin Jianshe sat stiffly on his bicycle.

The elder couple, though frowning, said nothing.

Lin Yongnian looked at her with a gloomy face, as if she had caused some huge disaster.

Old Madam Li’s heart slowly turned cold.

“Since when does an elder kneel to a junior? Don’t they fear shortening their own lives?” Auntie Wang finally couldn’t hold back and pointed at Liu Yong.