“Are you planning to lie in bed and grow mold all day? Our family doesn’t support freeloaders! If you don’t want to work, then pack your things and get out!”
The icy water jolted all her senses, finally dragging Lu Mosheng back to reality.
The faded floral bedsheets and the enamel basin in her mother-in-law’s hands told her everything she needed to know.
She had returned to the 1980s!
Looking at her mother-in-law, who had just drenched her with cold water, and her sister-in-law, who stood nearby with her arms folded, enjoying the show, Lu Mosheng spoke calmly.
“Mom, I’m still pregnant. Aren’t you afraid something might happen to me after pouring an entire basin of cold water over me?”
Zhao Xiuli, her mother-in-law, spat in disgust.
“Oh, please! You think a little cold water is going to kill you?”
In her previous life, Lu Mosheng had been forced to divorce Song Jiayan because of her domineering mother-in-law and malicious sister-in-law. That wasn’t the end of it. Zhao Xiuli had even accepted money to arrange for Lu Mosheng to marry a man from another province, more than ten years older than her. After the wedding, he did nothing but beat and verbally abuse her.
Meanwhile, after divorcing Lu Mosheng, Song Jiayan went from being a poor country boy to a successful entrepreneur worth over a hundred million.
Riding on Song Jiayan’s success and influence, Zhao Xiuli and her daughter lived comfortable, prosperous lives. Lu Mosheng, on the other hand, suffered domestic abuse and eventually died a tragic death in a bathtub.
Lu Mosheng stared coldly at Zhao Xiuli.
“I only just recovered from a fever a couple of days ago. If I get sick again and something happens to me, will you take responsibility?”
“Oh, listen to yourself! What a joke! Nothing has even happened, and you’re already throwing your weight around!”
Her sister-in-law chimed in from the side.
“Exactly! You spend every day cooped up in this room, never going out, so what on earth are you being so precious about? You don’t have the life of a pampered princess, yet you act like you have some delicate, untouchable condition. How did our Song family end up with a daughter-in-law like you? Mom, you really made a terrible mistake choosing her!”
Zhao Xiuli gritted her teeth and glared at Lu Mosheng.
“Your mother was blind to begin with!”
Lu Mosheng’s lips curled into a faint smile.
She had never seen anyone insult herself so enthusiastically.
Seeing Lu Mosheng smile only made Zhao Xiuli angrier. She pointed a finger straight at her nose.
“Get out there and work! If you refuse to work, then get out! My Song family doesn’t feed freeloaders!”
“Fine,” Lu Mosheng replied. “You said it yourself.”
Zhao Xiuli froze for a moment.
“What do you mean by that?”
“You told me to pack my things and leave, didn’t you?” Lu Mosheng said. “Honestly, I can’t stand living here anymore either. This works out perfectly for everyone.”
Zhao Xiuli burst out laughing.
“And where do you think you’ll go if you leave the Song family?”
In her mind, Lu Mosheng had nowhere else to turn.
Lu Mosheng had been raised by her grandmother since childhood. Her parents had died early, and she had barely any relatives left. Less than six months after she married into the Song family, her grandmother had passed away.
“I’ll go find Song Jiayan,” Lu Mosheng replied.
In her previous life, she had been forced to divorce him. In this life, she would protect their marriage at all costs.
At that, Zhao Xiuli burst into laughter. Her sister-in-law laughed so hard she could barely stand upright.
“Song Jiayan? He’s gone off to some godforsaken place and rented a worthless patch of land, treating it like some priceless treasure! Are you planning to go there and help him tend those miserable few acres of dirt?”
After laughing to her heart’s content, Zhao Xiuli straightened her expression.
“Enough! There’s a mountain of laundry waiting to be washed, and the pots and dishes in the kitchen aren’t going to clean themselves. Stop wasting my time with all this nonsense! If you don’t work, you can forget about lunch and dinner today. My family doesn’t feed freeloaders!”
Lu Mosheng had heard that phrase so many times that she was practically sick of it.
“Perfect. At least you’ll save yourself the cost of feeding one more person after I leave.”
Zhao Xiuli sneered.
“Stop pretending! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. You’re threatening to leave just to avoid doing your chores, aren’t you?”
“Believe whatever you want.”
“Don’t say I never gave you a chance. If you insist on going off to suffer alongside Song Jiayan, then go ahead! But don’t come crawling back, crying and begging me to let you return!”
“Don’t worry.”
Zhao Xiuli was about to say more when her daughter grabbed her arm.
“Mom, there’s no point getting worked up over her. If she doesn’t appreciate what we do for her, then let her go! The neighboring village isn’t exactly far, but it’s not right next door either. With that delicate constitution of hers, let’s see how far she gets. I bet she won’t make it very far before she starts crying and comes running back!”
As she spoke, her sister-in-law lifted her chin and shot Lu Mosheng a mocking glance.
Lu Mosheng couldn’t be bothered to waste another word on them.
She began packing.
She didn’t own much to begin with. She gathered her few important belongings and some changes of clothes, stuffed them into a bag, and walked straight out of the house.
Lu Mosheng wanted to borrow a cart from someone in the village to get to the neighboring village, but after asking around, she found that nobody seemed willing to give her a ride.
She knew Zhao Xiuli was behind it all.
Pressing her lips together, Lu Mosheng decided to make the journey on foot.
Blisters formed on the soles of her feet, and her lips grew painfully dry. Along the way, she vomited several times, but none of it made her consider turning back.
She stopped to rest whenever she could, then forced herself to keep walking.
Eventually, she reached the neighboring village.
The first thing she did was ask for water. Grabbing a gourd dipper, she gulped down half a ladle in one go, finally feeling human again.
After being discharged from the military, Song Jiayan had used the money he saved during his service to lease a large plot of land in the neighboring village, where he planned to grow medicinal herbs.
Zhao Xiuli and the rest of the Song family had always thought he was out of his mind.
Who could make any real money growing medicinal herbs?
But Lu Mosheng, having been reborn, knew better.
Those herbs were going to be worth far more than they could ever imagine.
Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she looked up at the lush, green mountains stretching before her and took a deep breath. The air was wonderfully fresh and sweet.
Just as she was admiring the scenery, a stray dog suddenly darted out of nowhere and brushed past her, nearly knocking her to the ground.
Clutching her belly, she steadied herself and tried to calm her racing heart.
Then she heard a familiar voice behind her.
“Are you all right?”
She turned around.
It was Song Jiayan.
The tall man stood with the sunlight behind him. He had grown much thinner, his facial features now sharper and more defined. His deep-set eyes were fixed intently on her as he spoke in a low, pleasant voice.
“Mosheng…”