Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Painful Memories and Unresolved Grudges

The marriage certificate has been received, and Grandma Liu had no choice but to recognize this son-in-law, but ultimately she couldn’t reconcile with it, so she directly stated not to bring him in front of her.

Liu Yulan’s matter became a knot in Grandma Liu’s heart. She was despondent every day, blaming herself for not watching over her daughter, for harming her, and not long after, she passed away.

At the time when the family faced such a significant event, both Liu Yufeng and Liu Yuxiang were not at home.

Liu Yufeng was in another province at the time, secluded in a research institution, working on his studies. By the time he received the news and rushed back on leave, his father had already passed away, his mother was bedridden, his sister was deceived into marriage, and the family had undergone a drastic change, deeply affecting him.

His father passed away, and his mother was sick, so he couldn’t take care of his father, but he had to return to take good care of his mother. Liu Yufeng immediately decided to return to City J, and after several maneuvers, he got a transfer back to work as a small clerk in the municipal government.

Meanwhile, Liu Xiuli was originally from another province, with some minor influence in her family. Because of Liu Yufeng, she had to leave her hometown and live in this unfamiliar place, which naturally made her unhappy.

Initially, she agreed to marry Liu Yufeng because of his status at the research institute. After marrying him, she continued to live at her own family’s house, and Liu Yufeng seemed more like a visiting son-in-law.

But who would have thought he would give up such a good job to come back as a small clerk, taking her away from her home? How could she not resent that?

If she hadn’t already given birth to Liu Jian Country at the time, she might not have willingly come.

When Liu Yulan returned to Shanghuang Village with Wang Baoxing, she realized what kind of person she had married: a man who had lost his wife, had a daughter, and was saddled with a mountain of debt.

She was subjected to ridicule and bullying from her mother-in-law and sister-in-law while having to do farmwork she had never done before and repay that massive debt.

She felt cheated, already harboring little affection for Wang Baoxing, and now that resentment brewed inside her, making her life unbearable. She became irritable, short-tempered, and gained a worsening reputation in the village in a very short time.

When she was heavily pregnant and went to visit her mother with Mid-Autumn Festival gifts, she discovered that her mother had passed away a month earlier.

Sun Xiuli naturally spoke no good about her sister-in-law, heaping sarcasm and blame, even attributing their mother’s death to her, clearly looking down on this poor rural relative.

Meanwhile, Liu Yuxiang was attending university in another province. His father’s illness came too abruptly, and at the time, no one thought to inform him. Even if they had, he couldn’t have helped, and returning would have disrupted his studies.

His father passed away, and he barely managed to return in time to pay his respects before hastily heading back to participate in his graduation exams. Indeed, he came in a rush and left just as quickly.

Now, he is a workshop director at the boiler factory in City J, married to Wen Jing, who is an accountant at the same factory. They have two sons: the elder, Liu Jianmin, is the same age as Wang Miaomiao, 15, and the younger, Liu Jiandang, is 12.

“When I heard the news of mom’s passing, my original resentment turned to hate, hate for you and for myself. It was I who killed my mother, I knew…” Liu Yulan clutched the fabric over her chest, crying uncontrollably.

“Yulan, I didn’t know at all. I…” Wang Baoxing stood awkwardly, wanting to comfort her, yet unable to do so. Awkwardness, guilt, and heartache flooded his heart, and he crouched to the ground, banging his head repeatedly, “It’s all my fault, taking advantage, your big brother was right, I’m just a liar…”

Wang Miaomiao, after listening to all this, felt very complicated. Her mother, Liu Yulan, she genuinely felt that her mother was too pitiful. From a naive and kind little princess, she had turned into a farmer filled with grievances. Her beauty was destroyed, but the culprit was her own foolishness and her closest bed companion. Oh… plus those two women conspiring to sell her.

As for her father, sigh… she felt contempt. Truly took advantage in a time of vulnerability, completely deceitful in marriage, no denying that.

Borrowing money to pay the bride price, and the money had to be repaid by the wife together with him, does that even count as bride price?

No wonder he had no say at home, subjected to Liu Yulan’s oppression yet dared not make a sound, he lacked confidence indeed.

But even so, he is still her father, she couldn’t let them keep blaming themselves like this.

Wang Miaomiao went forward and hugged Liu Yulan, “Mom, it’s okay once you’ve cried it out, you still have us. I believe Grandma’s spirit in heaven wouldn’t want to see you live in self-blame; she would definitely feel distressed. She loved you the most, didn’t she?”

“Yes, your grandma loved me the most, but I let her down, harmed… her…” Liu Yulan sobbed, unable to speak more.

“Mom, you can’t think like that.” Wang Miaomiao patted her back while comforting her, “Grandma cherished you, she cherished you being willing to sacrifice everything for Grandpa. Maybe she herself felt guilty, guilty for not taking care of you. She cared for you so much and wouldn’t want you living in blame and pain.”

“I believe those words, your grandma loved me the most.” Liu Yulan presumably recalled the beautiful times of her childhood and smiled slightly.

“Exactly.” Wang Miaomiao continued to comfort, “Grandma has gone to join with Grandpa, they’re reunited in the sky, it’s a kind of happiness. And with them gone, the one thing they would worry about the most is you. If you’re not happy, can they rest easy in heaven?”

Liu Yulan remained silent.

“And dad, though he took advantage of the situation, it was because he liked you.” Wang Miaomiao, though reluctant to excuse her father, had no choice, “Moreover, at least he saved you. Without his interference, who knows, you might have ended up being sold to some fool as a wife. And you wouldn’t have given birth to my sister, or had such clever, cute, and sensible children like my brother and me…”

Liu Yulan’s heart stirred, yeah, without him, she’d probably be worse off. If he hadn’t mentioned it today, she wouldn’t have known she nearly got sold… Thinking back to after their marriage, he worked hard without complaint, enduring beatings and scoldings, always prioritizing others when there was something good…

Sometimes, people are like this; when thinking poorly of someone, all their flaws fill their mind. Yet when seeing their good, it’s all about their tolerance and contributions… seemingly like with a filter.

Liu Yulan glanced at Wang Baoxing, seeing him squatting, head lifted, eyes red, looking at her so pitifully.

Wang Baoxing, having been resentfully banging his head, was stopped by their son-in-law, daughter, and son, preventing him from self-harming any further.

Hearing his youngest daughter comforting his wife, and hearing her saying good words about him, he almost cried, not knowing if he could still earn his wife’s forgiveness.

Wang Miaomiao noticed Liu Yulan’s softer demeanor and felt it might be good to give them some private space. Thus, she pretended to stroke her belly, feigning a complaint, “Sigh, I don’t even know what time it is, but I’m hungry. Mom, Dad, you rest inside, we’ll go buy something to eat.”

Upon hearing her daughter’s hunger, Liu Yulan immediately couldn’t sit still, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, standing up, saying, “Since you’re hungry, let’s go to a restaurant and eat first.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep