It took Sister-in-law Lu Da’s intervention to calm them down.

She demanded to know who dared to suggest forcing her brother-in-law into a marriage.

Sun Er was so enraged that his face turned purple.

Lu Da made a disgusted face and implied that anyone interested in her sister must be from a very low class.

Sun Er tried to retort but was stopped by Sun San, who punched him to keep him quiet.

If Sun Er had spoken out, it would have ended the argument immediately.

Sun Xiaohong was livid, cursing Lin Yue.

She couldn’t believe he would dredge up old grievances.

She thought that after her suicide attempt, he would soften and let things go, but instead, he seemed more determined to confront the past.

Sun Xiaohong felt as if Lin Yue was trying to destroy her.

She believed that their past bond should have protected her, but he was now treating her as if she was worthless.

Sun’s family was adamant about not discussing the past or agreeing to a divorce.

After a divorce, Lin Yue could easily find a younger, more suitable wife, especially with the support of his two city-dwelling sisters, and possibly even get a job in the city.

In contrast, Sun Xiaohong, who was already ordinary in looks, would be left with few options.

Her history of scheming and mistreating her mother-in-law, coupled with her age, meant she would struggle to find a good match.

Her future might involve becoming a stepmother or marrying a much older man.

Inside the house, Lin Mother held Lin Shu and cried.

She thought about her son and the large dowry, and felt that maybe it would be better not to divorce.

But every time she thought about how Sun Xiaohong would scold and beat her every day, she was terrified and felt that divorce was still the better option.

Struggling with this dilemma, she had nightmares over the past two days, and during the day she felt dazed and more and more convinced that her life had been too repressed and not worth living.

She was the fourth daughter of her parents.

As soon as she was born, her mother tried to drown her in a chamber pot, but her eldest sister couldn’t bear it and rescued her, cleaned her up, and took care of her.

She never had a drop of milk; she survived on a diet of coarse porridge.

She didn’t know why heaven left her this wretched life or why she survived without even having a drop of milk.

Was it just to make her suffer?

Since she could understand things, she had to fight for every meal, and was often beaten by her brothers.

In the dead of winter, starving, she would stuff rotten sweet potatoes into her mouth, only to be slapped to the ground by her mother who thought she was stealing dry food.

She had been scared of beatings since childhood, truly afraid of every little noise.

Fortunately, as she grew up, she married a good man who never hit or scolded her and would secretly give her treats.

Although her mother-in-law found her weak, she never hit or scolded her.

Even though the villagers laughed at her, they never physically harmed her.

After marriage, it seemed like she was living a new life, leaving behind the misery of her childhood.

Who would have thought that her son would marry such a wife?

She always had a sour expression and was critical of her, with a look reminiscent of her own mother, scaring her back to her childhood days.

She repeatedly dreamed of her old age, being mistreated by her daughter-in-law, deprived of food and drink, and ultimately beaten to death from starvation.

She would wake up scared each time but dared not tell her husband or son.

She even thought that her daughter-in-law would definitely beat her someday, perhaps waiting until she couldn’t work, or perhaps until she was sick.

As long as her daughter-in-law hadn’t beaten her yet, she felt uneasy, sensing that day would come sooner or later.

Finally, that day arrived.

She felt like the executioner’s knife had finally fallen.

The certainty of being beaten meant that the nightmare of starving to death was no longer a nightmare but a looming reality as she grew older.

When she became old and unable to work, she would be starved to death by her daughter-in-law.

She was despised when she came into the world and would still be despised in old age.

She wasn’t worthy of living a good life; she was destined to be beaten and mistreated.

Lin Shu didn’t expect Lin’s mother to be trembling like this, with an alarmingly low body temperature.

Lin’s father quietly stepped forward, took his wife into his arms, and comforted her, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”

Other women, seeing Lin’s mother in such a state, put aside past grievances and sympathy.

Looking at how terrified the old lady was, one can imagine how fierce the daughter-in-law must usually be, and how badly she must have been beaten.

Lin Shu gently patted Lin Mother’s back and massaged a few acupoints to help her relax.

“Mother, don’t be afraid. No one will ever hit you again. I promise, no one will dare to hit you again.”

Lin Yue, listening from below, had red-rimmed eyes and his heart ached.

Gritting his teeth, he said, “Forget it. Let’s not bring up the past. Let’s get a divorce.”

He suddenly realized that the truth of the past wasn’t important—at least not the most important thing.

His mother and father were the most important.

His mother was terrified by Sun Xiaohong.

Even if Sun Xiaohong never hit her again, she would still be scared.

The most important thing was to get Sun Xiaohong out of the house and make sure his mother was no longer afraid.

Sun Xiaohong shouted from the west room: “Lin Yue, you’re dreaming! Just because you act like a scoundrel doesn’t mean you can deny it!”

Lin Yue said, “I admit the past, but I still want a divorce. You can go ahead and sue me.”

Sun Xiaohong yelled, “I didn’t hit her. She’s just pretending! Lin Shu instigated her to fake illness and cause trouble! So, Lin Yue, are you all ganging up on me?”

Lin Yue took out a piece of paper and handed it to the village chief’s wife. “Auntie, I’ve written everything clearly about what happened back then.

Sun Er called me to take a bath.

We were sleeping in the same room, but when we woke up, Sun Er was gone, and Sun Xiaohong was lying there.

I did something disgraceful. Sun Er then appeared immediately.

They pressured me to propose and even wanted to force my third sister to marry her second brother, and they demanded a lot of dowry…”

Old Sun, the village chief’s wife, and Sun Er all shouted for him to shut up.

Back then, they were in the right because their daughter manipulated and controlled Lin Yue.

Lin Yue didn’t resist, so they could pressure the Lin family.

Their attitude was naturally high-handed.

Today, they were in the wrong, and Lin Yue brought up the old grievances.

Their faces would be torn apart.

Because such a clumsy scheme was obvious to everyone, Lin Yue was not blind to it back then.

He just hesitated, afraid of being beaten by Sun Er and placated by Sun Xiaohong.

Now, he no longer wanted to admit it, and the Sun family would be hit back.

The Sun family’s reputation was doomed.

Because Lin Yue no longer cared about face.

His mother had been beaten badly and was on IV drips.

What more face did he need?

If he cared about face, his parents might end up being harmed by him.

Old Sun began to use the children as a bargaining chip again.

Sun Xiaohong said fiercely, “I gave birth to them after ten months of pregnancy. If you divorce, don’t even think about seeing the children.”

Lin Mother was anxious. “The children belong to the Lin family. You can’t take them away.”

Lin Shu signaled for her not to be anxious, “Bringing up children is pointless. Whose family is lacking children now? If Lin Yue remarries, he can have three or five children.

Even if you’re reluctant, you shouldn’t show it.

Otherwise, you’ll be at a disadvantage.

“Lin Shu, you bastard, you’re an elder sister meddling in your brother’s family affairs!

You won’t have a good end!

Sister-in-law Lu Da: “If you’re just talking about the issues, fine. But if you’re cursing, we won’t be polite.”

Old Sun told his daughter to calm down.

Lin Shu looked at the old man and sneered, “Old Sun, in your eyes, your face must be more important than your daughter’s marriage, right? For the sake of your own face, you would never apologize for what happened back then.

You set up a scheme to calculate Lin Yue, but insist that Lin Yue and Sun Xiaohong were willing to give a high dowry.

The truth is, you schemed against Lin Yue so that he would marry Sun Xiaohong and pay a high dowry.

If you hadn’t schemed against Lin Yue, if the Lin family didn’t have a handle for you to grasp, how could you have received such a high dowry?

How could Lin Yue have married Sun Xiaohong?”

Lin Shu laid out the facts clearly, and other women nodded in agreement, “Lin Shu is right. That’s exactly the way it is.”

Old Sun didn’t want to admit it, but after Lin Shu laid it all out, everyone was convinced that he had schemed against Lin Yue back then.

The face had to be lost.

The only question was whether to lose it quietly or openly.

Old Sun just couldn’t bring himself to admit it or apologize.

Not admitting it meant that no matter how others talked about it, it didn’t count as a real confession.

Apologizing would mean admitting guilt, and the Old Sun family’s reputation would be completely ruined!

Apologizing would also mean refunding the 300 yuan!

Absolutely not!!!

Old Sun was in agony, with blood boiling in his chest.

Admitting it would mean spitting out his heart’s blood, but not admitting it might cause even greater internal damage.

At worst, let his daughter get divorced and marry someone far away.

With four sons and one daughter, which is more important?

This is not even a question!

He stood up in a rush, “Let’s go! Our Old Sun family can’t afford this marriage with the Lin family!”

Sun Xiaohong yelled and protested, “I’m not leaving, I’m not leaving! This is my home. I gave birth to a son, why should I leave?”

She was even more reluctant to part with Lin Yue.

Lin Yue was the best man she had ever known!

After the divorce, she would never find another man as good as him.