Chapter 24: Meng Shi’s Miscarriage

Upon hearing Li Qingsong’s question, Zhao Shi looked up and gave her younger son a quick glance.

Li Qingsong noticed his mother’s evasive look and immediately sensed that something might be related to him.

He remembered that he had been in the fields all day, so the person involved could only be his wife.

Realizing this, Li Qingsong’s mind exploded with worry, and he hurriedly ran toward the inner room.

Li Qingsong was still confused about what was happening when he saw his younger brother already running ahead, like the wind.

Entering the inner room, he found his wife sitting on the floor, clutching her stomach in agony. The fresh red stain on her pants painfully caught his eye.

Meng Shi was too hurt to speak, only tears flowed down her face. When she saw her husband, she could no longer hold back and collapsed into Li Qingsong’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

She knew the baby might already be gone. She hated her sister-in-law, but more than that, she hated herself for not protecting the unborn child.

Li Qingsong’s heart broke as he held his wife tightly. He thought, if the baby was gone, they could try again, but if something happened to his wife—what would he have left to live for?

He comforted her, “It’s okay, I’m back.”

“If we’ve lost the baby, we can have another one. I just want you to be alright,” he said, gently lifting Meng Shi and walking toward the room.

Li Laotou and his wife were still unsure about what had happened, and they both turned to their eldest son, Li Youjin, who was standing in the room.

Li Youjin looked at his younger son’s pale face and trembled as he said, “It was your sister. She accidentally pushed your wife.”

After hearing Li Youjin’s words, it was clear what had happened. It was most likely his arrogant sister-in-law who had quarreled with his wife and, seeing things going badly, ran off to hide.

Li Qingsong ignored his father’s words. After carefully placing his wife on the bed and covering her with a blanket, he saw his mother enter with an old doctor carrying a medicine box.

After settling his wife, Li Qingsong let the doctor feel her pulse. After a while, the doctor said, “Your wife is early in her pregnancy, less than three months, and her body is very weak.”

The doctor advised, “The child was lost because of the fall. Prescribe a few doses of medicine and let her rest well. Remember, she must not get angry and should keep a calm and happy mood, as it is crucial for her recovery.”

After hearing the doctor’s words, Meng Shi, who had held onto a shred of hope, became even more pale and stared blankly at the bedside.

Seeing her daughter-in-law in this state, Zhao Shi felt a strange sense of fear in her heart.

She said a few comforting words to Meng Shi before hurriedly leaving with the doctor.

Li Qingsong, seeing his wife like this, felt an intense surge of anger. He stormed out of the room in fury.

In the main room, the family was sitting down to dinner, as if nothing had happened. This only made Li Qingsong feel colder inside.

What bothered him even more was seeing his dear sister, Li Mei, eating with gusto, completely ignoring him.

Li Qingsong could no longer hold back his anger and sorrow. He stormed forward, overturned the table, and shouted, “How can you all be so heartless?”

“Especially you, Li Mei! Your sister-in-law has always treated you well. How could you do this to her?”

“You may act arrogantly toward outsiders, and I don’t care, but how could you lay a hand on your own sister-in-law?”

Seeing Li Qingsong so furious, Li Youjin and Zhao Shi, feeling somewhat guilty about their daughter-in-law’s miscarriage, surprisingly remained silent and didn’t rebuke him.

Li Laotou and his wife also felt that Li Mei had truly gone too far this time and deserved some kind of lesson. After all, the child Meng Shi had lost was also their grandchild.

So, Li Laotou and his wife chose to remain silent, not pointing fingers at Li Qingsong.

Meanwhile, Li Mei, still in her room, thought for a while and convinced herself that she hadn’t done anything wrong. She believed the loss of the child was simply due to bad luck.

When she heard that her second brother had overturned the table and was now accusing her, she stood up and retorted, “It was her fault for looking at me with such a gaze. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have pushed her. If the child is gone, you can’t blame me.”

Li Qingsong, hearing Li Mei’s words, realized that she had completely lost her way.

Seeing her speak so coldly, no one in the family dared to intervene, and Li Qingsong’s disappointment grew.

He had worked hard for over ten years in this family, and yet his position in his parents’ eyes was still less important than his sister, who was arrogant, lazy, and only cared about herself.

The fact that no one stood up to reprimand Li Mei only deepened his heartache.

Determined, Li Qingsong thought, “Since everyone here doesn’t care about me and my wife, it’s time to leave this family.”

With that, he made up his mind and said with a serious face, “Father, Mother, we should divide the family!”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shi stood up angrily, saying, “As long as your parents are alive, we don’t divide the family! You ungrateful child…”

Li Longsong and his wife, on the other hand, brightened up at the mention of dividing the family.

They had long been dissatisfied with Meng Shi, who, despite being skilled in embroidery, never helped with the farmwork or household chores. She claimed that her hands were too rough to do embroidery work for a living.

Though their mother didn’t like Meng Shi, she tolerated her because of the money she earned.

The thought made her angry. Why was it that she had to work so hard every day, going out early and returning late to work the fields, her skin becoming tanned and rough, while Meng Shi only needed to sit at home and embroider, keeping her skin fair and smooth, never having to deal with the sun or rain?

Li Changsong turned to Zhao Shi and said, “Mother, since my second brother has proposed dividing the family, he must have thought it through carefully. How about we listen to his thoughts first?”

“The doctor said my wife needs to rest, or she could be left with lingering health problems. And our little niece is still young and might make noise. It would be better for my wife’s health if we move out. Besides, Niu Niu is growing up every day; we can’t keep letting her sleep in the same room as you and Big Sister-in-law, can we?”

Upon hearing Li Changqing’s words, Yuan Shi quickly added, “What second brother said makes sense. The house is indeed getting a bit crowded. If second brother moves out, we can give Niu Niu a room of her own.”

Then, leaning closer to Zhao Shi’s ear, she whispered, “This way, I can give you a big grandson.”

After hearing her eldest daughter-in-law, Zhao Shi felt that it made some sense. She thought for a moment and then walked over to Li Laotou and his wife.

“Father, Mother, a tree needs branches, and a person needs to separate when they grow. Changqing is married now. Let him and his wife chart their own path.”

Hearing his eldest daughter-in-law’s words, Li Laotou thought back to the time when he had separated the second son’s family and felt guilty. He sighed and waved his hand, saying, “You decide. I’m not going to interfere.”

In the past few years, the family had bought over ten more acres of land, making a total of twenty-seven acres. Zhao Shi gave ten acres of land and twelve taels of silver to her second son. As long as he moved out, Li Changqing didn’t mind the number of acres.

Since they hadn’t found a suitable house to move into yet, Zhao Shi agreed to let them stay at the old house for now.

Li Changqing returned to his room and discussed the separation with Meng Shi. The moment Meng Shi heard the news, her energy returned.

The couple had been thinking about separation for a long time but hadn’t found the right moment. Finally, they could break free from the extended family and live their own life. Meng Shi’s complexion even brightened up.

The couple decided to build a house next to the second uncle’s place, as it was far from the old house.