For the sake of their family’s reputation, Li Qing’e and Lu Lin forcibly held back their anger and began lecturing Song Qinghuan nonstop.
“It’s understandable for young people to have a bit of a temper, but marriage is a matter that affects your entire life. You must never do something you’ll regret for the rest of your life out of impulse.”
“That’s right – you should go ask around. A man as good as Qiming is hard to find even with a lantern. A girl like you is lucky enough to marry him; you should be content!”
To make Song Qinghuan behave, Li Qing’e even reluctantly made a concession.
“The wedding is still just in the planning stages. If there’s anything you’re not satisfied with, we can discuss it.”
“We’re all family – there’s no need to make such a scene. At the very least, I won’t perform at the ceremony, alright?”
Li Qing’e and Lu Lin, concerned about saving face, spoke somewhat reservedly. But Song Shouyang and Zhao Yufang were even more agitated, cursing Song Qinghuan with never-repeating insults, almost jumping out of their seats in anxiety.
“I think you’ve gone crazy, talking all this nonsense. How can you just break off a perfectly good engagement like that? You’re so unruly – you’ve disgraced our entire family!”
“Get over there and shut your mouth! You have no right to sit at this table and speak. Just looking at you is annoying.”
Since Song Qinghuan had already made up her mind to “go crazy,” she wouldn’t be coaxed into submission by a few words from these people. So what if Li Qing’e was making concessions now to not disrupt the wedding? With her restless personality, she’d sooner or later cause trouble somewhere else. Any girl who married into this family would be truly cursed with eight lifetimes of bad luck!
Song Qinghuan lifted a chair as a weapon and stared coldly at the group.
“All of you, be quiet! What age is this, still forcing someone into marriage? If I’ve made up my mind to break off the engagement, what can you do about it!”
“Are you going to force me to death if I don’t marry?”
Zhao Yufang opened her mouth to say something, but before she could get the words out, Song Qinghuan’s glare made her stop.
“I’m in charge here now. None of you have the right to object.”
“You know the Lu family is a pit of fire, yet you’re pushing me into it. You call yourselves my parents? You’re more like enemies who want me dead.”
“Since you don’t treat me like a human being, I don’t need to respect you. If you don’t let me break off the engagement, then we’ll all die together – no one gets out of here alive today!”
As Song Qinghuan spoke, waving the chair in her hand, it was clear she meant business. Wang Siyu screamed in fright and immediately hid behind Lu Qiming, clutching his clothes and trembling.
“Qiming, I’m scared.”
Lu Qiming quickly protected her, though his eyes on Song Qinghuan were filled with uncertainty. None of them dared to confront the “crazy” Song Qinghuan head-on – even Lu Lin backed down. Only Li Qing’e started cursing loudly, no longer caring about saving face. She was determined to teach this “little bitch” Song Qinghuan a lesson and show her who was really in charge of the family.
“Speaking so viciously at such a young age – didn’t your family teach you to respect your elders?”
Li Qing’e rolled up her sleeves and charged at Song Qinghuan like an angry wild boar, raising her hand to slap her.
“Since you’re so uneducated, I’ll exercise my rights as your mother-in-law in advance and teach you some rules, so you don’t run wild after marrying in.”
“Do you think no one can control you, so you can do whatever you want!”
Song Qinghuan watched Li Qing’e charging at her and calmly grabbed her hand. In that moment, countless images flashed before her eyes – all the unfair treatment she’d endured in the Lu family after marrying them in her past life.
None of this family, including Wang Siyu, were good people. Not only did Li Qing’e work her like a donkey without any regard for her feelings, but she even made a huge scene at the wedding. After the wedding, Lu Qiming never consummated their marriage, avoiding her like she was a plague and insisting on remaining chaste for Wang Siyu.
That she could bear. Song Qinghuan wasn’t someone who cared much about physical intimacy – such a small matter was tolerable. What she couldn’t understand was that every night when she slept, Li Qing’e would come and eavesdrop outside her door. Even though she knew Lu Qiming hadn’t slept with her, Li Qing’e still criticized and blamed her, putting all the blame for not having children solely on Song Qinghuan, constantly lecturing her and brainwashing her.
After marrying into their family, Song Qinghuan lived a life worse than a servant’s. She received no respect at all, yet had to take care of all the household chores. Later, Song Huilan came to the door with Ye Juncai and Yang Chunhua, causing a huge scandal that spread all over the alley with all kinds of rumors.
Troubled by all these things, Song Qinghuan’s life became even harder – she even wished she could hit her head on a piece of tofu and die. But Li Qing’e and Lu Lin still weren’t satisfied. They wanted to completely crush Song Qinghuan’s spirit, so that from then on, she’d only dare to obey their orders and nothing else.
Having finally caught hold of something to use against Song Qinghuan, Li Qing’e took the opportunity to slander and humiliate her to no end. She joined the outsiders in pointing fingers at Song Qinghuan and making up false accusations about her.
“Flies don’t bite a seamless egg – why doesn’t Song Huilan go after someone else, only you? You must have done something wrong!”
“Everyone says she’s the Song family’s real daughter – you’re just an unregistered imposter. We’re being generous enough not to kick you out onto the streets; how dare you be so picky and ungrateful!”
“If you don’t want to be thrown out to wander the streets and become a beggar, you’d better be good from now on and not make us angry!”
Li Qing’e listened to these words and felt her heart full of misery. She already knew that Song Shouyang and Zhao Yufang weren’t her real parents – even if she went back to her parents’ home to complain, they wouldn’t help her. With no one to rely on, Song Qinghuan could only pin her hopes on her husband, only to learn that Lu Qiming had known all along how badly she was being treated at home. He’d just chosen to turn a blind eye to avoid trouble.
In this family, the only person he was willing to humiliate himself to protect unconditionally was always Wang Siyu. After experiencing too many such things, Song Qinghuan finally gave up on Lu Qiming. The feelings and emotions she’d once had for him had long since been worn away by the passage of day after day.
Song Qinghuan treated their relationship as just living together; she no longer saw him as her husband. After all, Lu Qiming was often away at the military camp and came home only a few times a month – out of sight, out of mind. The only one who made her feel disgusted was her terrible mother-in-law, Li Qing’e.