Chapter 013 Never Divorce
"Mom—" Lian Qiuzhi's three daughters all came over, and the four of them cried together.
Miao also wiped her tears and sighed, "Second brother's actions were not righteous...but...the Xu family must at least have a root..."
Xu Zhenying raised his eyebrows and said nothing.
Even modern people still favor boys over girls, let alone in an agricultural society where young and middle-aged men are the main labor force?
Only by changing the structure of the social labor force and leading to a change in thinking can the status of men and women be truly transformed.
Otherwise, gender equality is just empty talk of idealists.
Grandmother Huang also kept wiping away tears, and then she knelt down in front of Lian with a "thump", "Second brother's family, it is our Xu family who has let you down. I know that since you married into the family, you have treated the second brother wholeheartedly, and I have seen it all over the years. You should know what life is like in exile. It is a question whether our whole family can make it out alive. I also know that I am putting you in a difficult position. Can you please take it as an old woman's plea to leave a descendant for the Xu family? Our Xu family cannot be cut off from the incense!! Otherwise, how can I face your father-in-law in the underworld! Don't worry, as long as I am alive, I will definitely take good care of the three girls——"
Lian's eyes were red, as if she had been drained of her breath in an instant. At this moment, she said with a weak breath, "Mother... Lian, you are forcing me. You are also a parent. How can you force me to give up my own daughter to raise another woman's child?"
"But...but they also call you mother."
"But I never wanted them to call me mother! I have no relatives or friends with them. I didn't give birth to them, and I didn't raise them. Why do you force me to be their mother? Do you think they really want to call a strange woman their mother?!"
Lian was in tears by the end of her story. Years of childlessness had made her feel ashamed in both her natal and in-laws' homes. Her heart was filled with resentment, like a tangled thread that was choking her. Her voice was hoarse as she kept yelling, "Why, why should I raise someone else's son while I watch my own daughter die? My Fu Wei is only ten years old. Without me, she wouldn't have made it to Qianzhou—"
Xu Yinxi cried so hard that she almost choked. Her heart was broken. She hugged Lian Qiuzhi and cried, "Mom, it's all my fault, it's all my fault. I wish I had a son!! Why am I not a son?!"
Xu Lezhi also cried out, "Mom, I hate Dad. He wanted us to die... Why didn't he just stab us... Why did he trample on us like this... Is it true that only our son is his biological son? Are we three sisters not his biological children?!"
Grandma also kept wiping away tears, and the whole family cried together.
Xu Zhenying also felt a little reluctant. Although her second aunt sometimes did things without taking their third wife seriously, she had the memories of living together day and night for so many years in her mind, and she couldn't bear to separate a mother from her own flesh and blood.
"Second Aunt, if you don't want to take the bastard with you and you're not afraid of hardship, divorce isn't the only option. The final decision, whether to stay or leave, is yours."
Concubine Mei, with a look of resentment on her face, stared at Xu Zhenying intently, as if Xu Zhenying had ruined her great fortune. "Sixth Miss, you say it so lightly. Do you really want us all to die together? As long as Madam can live, Huirong can live, and our Xu family will at least have a root left—"
"Stop." Xu Zhenying frowned, a little impatient. "First of all, Second Uncle wants Second Aunt to choose a bastard son to take away. Huirong might not even be the one to take away. Have you forgotten that Second Uncle has a son? You're being so aggressive right now. Aren't you afraid it will backfire?"
As expected, after Xu Zhenying finished speaking, Second Aunt glared at Aunt Mei viciously. Aunt Mei felt cold, as if she was also feeling guilty, and almost didn't dare to look at Lian.
"Secondly, your motherly love is truly admirable, but since you're willing to consider your own children, why can't you be more considerate? Instead, you're forcing Second Aunt to abandon her own daughter and take away her illegitimate son, who has no blood relationship with her? Moral shackles are devastating. We're both women, and we're both helpless. Yet, you're using feudal ethics to oppress another woman. Don't you feel despicable?"
"I am despicable—I know I deserve to die—" Aunt Mei covered her face and cried bitterly, her shoulders shaking, "But what can I do? I just want Huirong to live well..."
Xu Zhenying interrupted her sobbing, "Finally, you know what Second Aunt's situation will be like after she returns to the Lian family. She's an unloved concubine's daughter, and she'll have to make a living under her mother's care. She's divorced and has a son who isn't her biological son. Have you ever thought about what kind of life she'll have when she returns? She can't even protect herself in the Lian family, so what kind of life do you think Xiaojiu will have?"
Aunt Mei was stunned. With her brain, she had never thought about such a long-term thing.
Everyone felt that even becoming a slave in the Lian family was better than dying in exile.
Lian Qiuzhi was sobbing by the end. She looked at Xu Zhenying with tearful eyes, her lips trembling, unable to speak.
Miao also said, "Second sister-in-law, don't be too sad. If you really can't, just come with us. Exile is hard, but at least the family is together. The three girls are still young, and they say the eldest sister is like a mother. If you leave, Yinxi will suffer. Don't listen to second brother... To be frank... he is not a caring person. Although wealth and glory are rare, nothing can compare to being a family together."
She never thought that the person who would speak for her in the end was the third wife whom she had always looked down upon.
For a moment, she didn't know whether she was moved or ashamed, but after all, she was used to being the mistress of the Xu family, and she was not willing to say a word of submission easily.
Fourth Aunt's eyes also reddened slightly. She patted Second Aunt's back and comforted her, "Don't be so anxious that you faint. The whole family is counting on you. If you really don't want to go back, just stay. You can make your own decision anyway. What's wrong with not having a son? Do we sonless people deserve to be bullied like this? The daughters we gave birth to are more promising than the other. Maybe they will be even more filial than our sons in the future. Look at your Lezhi. She has a sharp tongue. Whoever dares to provoke her, and whoever dares to force you to accept someone else's son next time, you will let her beat him out with a big stick!"
Xu Lezhi finally felt ashamed this time. Her face flushed red as she said, "Fourth Aunt, I'm not as powerful as you say."
Fourth Aunt said, "For us women, it's better to be strong than to be docile. As long as we can protect our own family, we can be strong. It's not about talking to others and why should we care about what they do."
Grandmother sighed. Seeing that, aside from the two concubines with sons, no one else stood by her side, she couldn't help but burst into tears. She said angrily, "Okay, okay...you're all right...I'm the only one who's the bad guy...Who am I doing this for? I'm just worried that our Xu family's lineage will be cut off. Fine, since you won't listen to me, then you can think about it. In the underworld, you'll have to apologize to your ancestors."
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