Watching the man’s face suddenly change color, Lin Qingyue once again felt it was all so unworthy for her past self.
Poor her in her previous life—she had been married to Gu Niancheng for twenty-one years, taking care of their home for twenty-one years, only to find out at the very end that the two of them had never even obtained a marriage certificate!
How laughable that her past self refused to believe it even at the moment of death.
“You… what nonsense are you spouting?”
Gu Niancheng hurriedly walked away. Lin Qingyue watched his somewhat disheveled retreating figure and couldn’t help but curl her lips. A forged marriage certificate? If such a thing were reported, she wondered how many years he could get.
Early the next morning, Lin Qingyue ate a quick meal and headed over to Old Sun’s place.
“Wife of Niancheng’s, you’re going to town again?”
Old Sun’s cart usually made a trip to town in the morning, with the earnings handed over to the village.
If she went in the afternoon on her own, the fare would go to Old Sun himself.
“Yeah, I want to ask about the marriage certificate.”
“Lin Qingyue, what are you trying to stir up now?”
Gu Niancheng suddenly rushed out and grabbed Lin Qingyue’s arm.
Fortunately, he had been feeling uneasy all along and had been keeping an eye on Lin Qingyue’s movements. When he saw her about to board the ox cart, his heart screamed that something was wrong.
“I’m just asking how to get a divorce if we can’t find the marriage certificate.”
Lin Qingyue’s expression turned cold: “Didn’t I tell you yesterday? I want a divorce. Since you won’t give me the certificate, I’ll just have to go ask myself.”
“You… come back with me first.” Gu Niancheng was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead.
“Wife of Niancheng’s, what married couple doesn’t quarrel? Whatever it is, talk it over properly—don’t go throwing around the word ‘divorce’ at every turn.”
“Niancheng here is a boy I’ve watched grow up. He’s an honest lad. The two of you should talk things through.”
Old Sun tried to mediate as well, while Gu Niancheng gripped Lin Qingyue’s arm tightly and dragged her back toward home.
Lin Qingyue stood her ground, staring at him with suspicion:
“Gu Niancheng, why are you in such a hurry? Don’t tell me… the two of us never even had a marriage certificate to begin with?”
“You… don’t talk nonsense!”
Lin Qingyue still followed Gu Niancheng out. By this time, most people had gone to work in the fields, and there was no one to be seen on the road.
The two stood under the old elm tree at the village entrance.
“Alright, Gu Niancheng, tell me the truth. Do the two of us have a certificate or not?”
Lin Qingyue’s gaze was sharp, her eyes cold.
“Qingyue, we were busy when we got married. Don’t worry—once the child is born, the two of us will go make it up—”
Smack, smack! Two heavy slaps landed across his face, leaving a salty taste in Gu Niancheng’s mouth as blood trickled out.
“Gu Niancheng, you really are a piece of garbage!”
“When we got married, you said your family wasn’t well-off, so we wouldn’t have a big ceremony—just two tables of guests. I was understanding and agreed. But the two of us clearly went to town to register for the certificate, and now you’re telling me we never did? Ha! Gu Niancheng, is there a single honest word that comes out of your mouth?”
“This is a fake marriage—you deceived me!”
“I’m going to town right now to report you for hooliganism and rape.”
Lin Qingyue made to leave, and though Gu Niancheng had been furious at being slapped at first, those last two words terrified him so much that he clung desperately to her arm:
“No, Qingyue, it’s not what you think!”
“I didn’t!”
Hooliganism. Rape. If that got out, the rest of his life would be ruined—he might even end up facing a firing squad.
“Get lost.”
Lin Qingyue had been working in the fields for years, and her strength was considerable. Seeing that she was about to break free, Gu Niancheng could no longer hold back—he dropped to his knees with a thud!
“Qingyue, don’t go.”
“You’re going to ruin me.”
“I’ll get the marriage certificate with you right now. I’m about to start university, and once I graduate, I’ll take you to the city and give you a good life…”
As he spoke, Gu Niancheng slammed his head against the ground with a loud thud. On the dirt road, that sound carried—he had put real force into it.
“Get the certificate with you?”
Lin Qingyue gave a bitter smile. “Gu Niancheng, after everything you’ve done to wrong me, what makes you think I’d still marry you?”
“If you don’t want me to go to town and report you, fine—give me a hundred yuan and write a letter severing ties. From now on, you’ll have nothing to do with me or the child in my belly, and this matter is over.”
“You…”
Gu Niancheng thought that with him kneeling, Lin Qingyue would surely soften. But to his surprise, she was asking for an outrageous sum.
A hundred yuan—even his family didn’t have that much.
“Qingyue, I… I don’t have that much money.”
“Then sell the pig, sell the chickens, sell the house!”
“Sever ties or go to jail—you choose!”
Gu Niancheng clenched his fists tightly. He hadn’t expected Lin Qingyue to be so resolute this time.
“Lin Qingyue, you’re the only one I love. My feelings for you are real.”
Watching the woman turn and walk away without a trace of hesitation, hatred festered in his heart. Glancing at his wrist, red from her slap, a suffocating frustration welled up in his chest.
“Lin Qingyue, have you forgotten how we used to be together…”
“I haven’t forgotten how you took care of your Hongyan sister.”
“Gu Niancheng, give me a hundred yuan to sever ties—that’s the last shred of dignity I’m leaving you.”
Was Lin Qingyue softening? Of course not. She had no intention of sending Gu Niancheng to jail to enjoy an easy life.
Gu Niancheng was bound to Yao Hongyan. That sickly son of theirs—she wanted to see how the two of them would manage!
University? Hah. This time, without her playing the fool at home, slaving away for them, how would they go off and live it up?
“You…”
Gu Niancheng clenched his fists so hard his knuckles went white, biting his lip as his eyes fixed on Lin Qingyue’s retreating figure with murderous intent.
Suddenly, he moved!
He charged at Lin Qingyue like a bolt of lightning—so fast even a dog chasing him couldn’t keep up!
If he could knock her down and cause a miscarriage, the woman would be too distraught to think about divorcing him.
With her big belly, Lin Qingyue definitely couldn’t dodge.
Gu Niancheng lunged with savage determination. Just as he was about to collide, Lin Qingyue sensed the danger and turned around—only to see Gu Niancheng barreling toward her with a crazed, vicious expression.
The baby…
Lin Qingyue froze in terror, her eyes going blank.
In that moment, her mind was completely empty. Her only instinct was to clutch her belly with both hands.
The baby!
Her baby!
Yao Hongyan lay on the kang, her baby in a breech position. Even at the town hospital, the delivery couldn’t proceed naturally—fortunately, there was an experienced doctor there.
The doctor immediately decided on an episiotomy with manual intervention, forcibly turning the baby’s head around.
The method sounded simple, but the mother would have to endure far more suffering.
Anesthetics were scarce at the time, and the town hospital had long run out. Going to the city for medicine wasn’t realistic, so Yao Hongyan had to endure it all raw.
After the episiotomy, the doctor reached in and forcibly repositioned the baby. The pain involved was beyond what most people could imagine.
In the end, the baby was born—but unhealthy—and she had suffered terribly.
Moreover, due to the prolonged labor and severe hemorrhage, the doctor said she might never be able to have children again. Of course, she hadn’t told Gu Niancheng about that!
Now three days had passed, and she still couldn’t get out of bed. Every time she urinated, the wound hurt terribly.
On top of that, with no one to take care of her, she barely had any breast milk.
The baby had been born prematurely and was weak to begin with, and now there wasn’t enough milk either.
The poor little thing was as frail as a newborn kitten, and even its cries were pitifully soft.
When the Gu family learned she had given birth to a sickly child, Mother Gu couldn’t even be bothered to come and look after her.
Gu Niancheng didn’t know how to cook, and with no money in hand, he couldn’t prepare anything nutritious.
Add to that the gossip circulating in the village—Gu Niancheng only sneaked over in the dead of night when no one was around.
Yao Hongyan’s meals were irregular at best, sometimes with nothing to eat at all, and she wept from the misery of it all.
As for her reputation out there, she had long stopped caring. Lying awake in the middle of the night, she even dreamed of many strange scenes.
In her dreams, she attended university in Jing Shi and landed a respectable job after graduation.
Everything went smoothly for her, and during holidays, she often took her son out to play.
Her son was also very accomplished. Although he grew up in the countryside, his grades were outstanding, and in the end, he earned the title of Sheng Zhuangyuan.
She was the celebrated mother of a top scholar far and wide, while Lin Qingyue…
In her dreams, the child was always being cared for by Lin Qingyue, but when she woke up, all she heard was her son’s weak, kitten-like cries.