Zhao Tianlei was still determined to see Lin Siya. He wanted to confirm with his own eyes whether she was truly alright before discussing anything else.
“I’m exhausted, but I still need to see her,” he thought. Only then would he feel at ease.
“Brother, let him come in.”
A hoarse, grating voice suddenly sounded.
Lin Jianshe turned around in shock and saw Lin Siya standing at the doorway of her room. Her gaze was cold, and her entire aura seemed to have undergone a drastic change, so much so that he felt she might disappear at any moment.
Zhao Tianlei also lifted his eyes and saw the woman standing there in her padded cotton jacket. She stood quietly in the doorway, no longer gentle, not even sparing him a glance, as if he did not exist at all. Was she truly so heartbroken?
“Xiao Ya, why are you up? Your throat hurts. How can you speak already? Go lie down, hurry and rest. Brother will send him away,” Lin Jianshe said anxiously as he stepped forward, intending to help Lin Siya back into the room.
Father Lin also witnessed this scene. Since Xiao Ya had already spoken, he decided to see how she wanted to handle the matter.
For some reason, looking at her now, he felt an inexplicable trust that she would manage this properly. The thought surprised even himself.
“Come in,” Lin Siya said calmly, still not looking at Zhao Tianlei.
Everyone in the courtyard understood that those words were meant for him.
Lin Jianshe shot Zhao Tianlei a fierce glare.
Zhao Tianlei moved his stiff body slightly. He was cold and hungry, both to the extreme.
Mother Lin also came out. She did not even want to look at Zhao Tianlei. Her heart was full of disgust. If not for the Zhao family, how could her daughter have suffered such an ordeal?
But thinking that her daughter was still weak and could not go hungry, she turned back toward the kitchen. With her husband and son present, her daughter would not be wronged.
What Mother Lin did not know was that, aside from Lin Siya choosing to suffer losses herself, no one could make her do so anymore.
Lin Siya sat down gracefully on a stool. Lin Jianshe immediately poured her some water. “Xiao Ya, drink some water. Your throat hurts, so speak as little as possible. It will heal faster.”
“Thank you, Brother,” Lin Siya said softly.
Lin Jianshe scratched his head in embarrassment. “You’re my sister. Of course I should pour you water.” As for outsiders, he would not even consider it.
Father Lin cleared his throat lightly. “Xiao Ya, what are you thinking? Zhao Tianlei is unwilling to divorce and also unwilling to separate from the Zhao family.”
Lin Siya fixed her gaze on Zhao Tianlei and said hoarsely, “Is that your answer? I remember that killing someone requires paying with one’s life.”
Zhao Tianlei stared at her in astonishment. In his memory, Lin Siya had always been a gentle and virtuous wife. Now she seemed sharp and pressing, which caught him completely off guard.
“Yes, killing someone does require paying with one’s life,” Lin Jianshe echoed. Even if Lin Siya said nonsense, he would still agree without hesitation.
“Divorce,” Lin Siya said coldly, uttering the words without the slightest hesitation. She never wronged herself.
Zhao Tianlei’s already bloodshot eyes, dulled by exhaustion, now brimmed with hostility as he stared at her.
Lin Siya’s pressure shot straight at Zhao Tianlei. In the next instant, he spat out another mouthful of blood, staring at her in horror. The distance between them seemed to widen suddenly and irreversibly.
Father Lin looked at Zhao Tianlei in surprise. Why was he coughing up blood again?
Lin Jianshe was equally stunned. Why had he spat blood again?
The same thought arose in both their minds. Playing the pity card.
Xiao Ya had not coughed up blood at all. Why was he doing so?
Yet in the next moment, Lin Siya’s body swayed backward and collapsed. All three men rushed forward to catch her, but in the end, it was Zhao Tianlei who supported her. Despite having vomited blood twice and freezing outside all night, he was still a soldier of many years and physically stronger.
“Xiao Ya.”
“Xiao Ya.”
Father Lin hurriedly took her pulse. His expression grew increasingly grave.
“Dad, how is Xiao Ya?” Lin Jianshe asked anxiously.
Zhao Tianlei was also shaken. Before this, he had remained outwardly calm, but now, holding his newly wedded wife in his arms, he could not help feeling tense.
“Her pulse is weak. It’s because of the poison she took earlier. She will need months to recuperate. And in the future, her chances of having children will be very slim,” Father Lin said with difficulty.
This was something he had been unwilling to accept. These past days, after finishing work, he had gone into the mountains to gather herbs, hoping to heal her.
But in the end, the medicine had damaged her body.
“Dad.” Lin Jianshe’s eyes reddened. If a woman could not bear children, how could she still marry into a good family?
Zhao Tianlei lowered his gaze to the woman in his arms. Her skin was pale, devoid of color, as if life itself were slipping away.
“Do not tell Xiao Ya about this,” Father Lin said heavily, patting his son’s shoulder. He had told no one else, hoping to find a cure.
“Dad, I will not divorce Xiao Ya,” Zhao Tianlei said solemnly.
If Lin Jianshe had not known this, he would have supported Xiao Ya’s decision to divorce. But now that he knew she might never have children, he hesitated. He was willing to support his sister, but she would surely feel regret in her heart.
His thoughts tangled into conflict and hesitation.
“Jianshe, take him to Xiao Ya’s room. Put her on the bed and let her rest,” Father Lin said. After voicing this burden, he seemed to have aged more than a decade.
If the Zhao family learned of this, they would surely push for divorce.
Yet if not for the Zhao family, Xiao Ya would never have suffered like this. They had to pay a price. But he also did not want his daughter to be lonely for the rest of her life, and the Zhao household truly was a wolf’s den.
“Alright.”
Zhao Tianlei carried Lin Siya, following Lin Jianshe toward her former bedroom. He suddenly felt how light she was, unbearably light, as if he could barely feel her weight, as if she might vanish at any moment. The thought tightened his grip unconsciously.
“Zhao Tianlei, if not for your Zhao family, Xiao Ya would never have ended up like this. If you cannot separate from them, then take her with you to follow the army,” Lin Jianshe said in a low, heavy voice. He had thought this through carefully.
Zhao Tianlei refused to divorce. But letting Xiao Ya return to the Zhao household was impossible. If there had been one false accusation and coercion, there would surely be a second. So the only path left was for her to follow the army.
Zhao Tianlei paused. “I’m not qualified yet to have family members follow me.”
His posting was remote. He did not want her to follow him and suffer that kind of hardship.
Lin Jianshe flared up immediately. “If you don’t agree, then divorce her. I would rather support Xiao Ya myself than let her stay in that wolf’s den again.”
Zhao Tianlei fell silent. He laid Lin Siya on the bed and pulled the quilt over her.
Looking at her unconscious face, he realized he had never truly studied her features before. All he had known came from others’ descriptions. Beautiful, educated, gentle, and virtuous.