Pan Wenfang was no different from anyone else; after being reminded by her good son and daughter-in-law, she naturally understood.
"You slut, I'll teach you a lesson when I get back!" Pan Wenfang said viciously, harboring a great deal of resentment towards Meng Yingxin.
They felt that Meng Yingxin was just making a fuss over nothing; otherwise, she would have already received the betrothal money, so why waste so much time?
"I won't go back, I won't go back with you—" Meng Yingxin struggled desperately.
Unfortunately, no matter how much she resisted, she was no match for the entire Meng family and could only be taken back in despair.
"I won't marry him! I don't want to marry an old man!"
"Mom and Dad, older brother! I beg you, please don't marry me off to that old man... I'm your child too, I'm your sister, why... why are you doing this to me?"
"Let me go! Untie me! I won't get married!"
Meng Yingxin was bound hand and foot and thrown into the woodshed. She wasn't even given a sip of water, let alone food.
She screamed and cried out, but was trapped in the woodshed, unable to go anywhere or control her own destiny.
In another room, Meng Demao was counting the betrothal money he had received from Lao Liu.
That's a whopping 888 yuan!
Everyone in the Meng family was eyeing the money with gleaming greed.
“Dad, we’ve already gotten the bride price from Uncle Liu, but Meng Yingxin keeps saying she doesn’t want to get married. What if something goes wrong…” Meng Chengfu was worried. After all, Uncle Liu is getting on in years. What if the woman they bought at such a high price comes back to cause trouble for them?
Once you've got the money in your hands, there's absolutely no way you'll give it back.
"What are you afraid of? We've already got the money..." Meng Demao smugly touched the money, completely ignoring Meng Yingxin's cries, and said nonchalantly, "Whether she's willing or not, if she doesn't cooperate, just knock her out and send her to Lao Liu. If she dares to run away later... that's Lao Liu's fault for not keeping an eye on her, what does it have to do with us?"
“Yes, she’s already married, there’s no reason for her to come to our house demanding her back,” Pan Wenfang added.
“Okay, then we’ll do it your way!” Meng Chengfu nodded.
However, he was still a little worried, so he asked his wife to persuade Meng Yingxin again.
“Wife, you used to have a good relationship with Meng Yingxin, why don’t you go and persuade her again? Tell her to behave herself, there’s no use in making trouble, she has to marry this man!” Meng Chengfu said.
Wu Xiulan thought it was pointless to waste money, but then she thought that the bride price would eventually be spent on her son, so she decided to persuade Meng Yingxin. It wasn't a big deal, and she should at least give her a little something in return.
“Okay, I’ll try to persuade her later,” Wu Xiulan said thoughtfully.
After a while, the shouts from the woodshed subsided. It was clear that Meng Yingxin was already weak and powerless. After all, she hadn't had a drop of water or any food for a long time, so she was already physically weak.
At this moment, Wu Xiulan carried a bowl of thin, watery porridge into the demolished house.
"Sister-in-law!" Upon seeing Wu Xiulan, Meng Yingxin quickly knelt down and moved towards her. "Sister-in-law, please help me!"
After all, they were once good friends. When Wu Xiulan had just married Meng Chengfu, Meng Yingxin spent all her savings to buy her a bracelet, which is now on Wu Xiulan's wrist.
She hoped that this small act of kindness would soften Wu Xiulan's heart and allow her to save her this time.
"Sister-in-law, I don't want to marry Old Man Liu, I really don't want to marry him... You have to help me, sob sob..." Meng Yingxin cried pitifully.
"Silly girl, why are you crying? I'm here to help you," Wu Xiulan said, gently sitting down next to Meng Yingxin, as if she genuinely cared about her. "Mom and Dad said they can't untie you, Yingxin, don't blame me. Have some congee first; you haven't eaten in so long..."
Wu Xiulan considerately brought the rim of the bowl to Meng Yingxin's lips, coaxing her to drink a few sips.
She was indeed very hungry, so Meng Yingxin didn't care about anything else. She drank a few sips to satisfy her craving, and then nervously begged Wu Xiulan for help.
"Sister-in-law, please secretly let me go and let me leave home. I really can't marry Old Man Liu!" Meng Yingxin pleaded, this was her last hope.
“Yingxin, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but if I let you go, will your brother and your parents let me go? Actually, Old Man Liu is just a bit old, that’s not a bad thing. Marrying an older person can actually be more caring, you know?”
“A woman has to get married eventually. If she doesn’t marry Old Man Liu, she’ll marry someone else. Why are you making a fuss with your family? Marriages have always been arranged by parents and matchmakers. Your parents want you to marry Old Man Liu, so you have no choice…”
“Yingxin, I know you can’t accept it right now and feel that you have no feelings for Old Man Liu, but feelings can be cultivated. You are so beautiful and lovely. If you marry him, Old Man Liu will definitely pamper you. You will have a good life. Then you will know that your family is helping you, not harming you.”
Meng Yingxin: "..."
Wu Xiulan's words weighed heavily on her heart.
"So, you're not here to help me, you're here to persuade me." Meng Yingxin looked at Wu Xiulan and felt a sense of unfamiliarity towards her.
They went from being good friends to sisters-in-law, so they should have become even closer. Why did they drift apart instead?
"Alas, I have the will, but not the strength!" Wu Xiulan looked ashamed, first putting the bowl of porridge aside, then raising her hand and slowly taking off the bracelet on her wrist.
She was reluctant to part with it; although the bracelet wasn't worth much, it was still a piece of jewelry.
She felt it was too much of a loss to just return it to Meng Yingxin.
However, Meng Chengfu has already agreed, saying that he will ask his father for money tomorrow to buy her a new bracelet, which will definitely be prettier and more valuable than this one.
You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub; Wu Xiulan knows how to do business wisely.
"What are you doing?" Meng Yingxin stared at Wu Xiulan. Ever since she realized that Wu Xiulan wouldn't help her, she had become more wary.
"Would I harm you?" As she spoke, Wu Xiulan put the bracelet on Meng Yingxin's wrist, still saying things for her own good. "Tomorrow is your wedding day. Mom didn't prepare any dowry for you, but as your sister-in-law, I can't do nothing. You know I don't have much money. This bracelet was a wedding gift you gave me. Now, I'm giving it to you as your dowry."
Meng Yingxin looked at Wu Xiulan in disbelief. Dowry?
What a wonderful dowry!
This is something she gave to Wu Xiulan back then. Now she turns around and uses the gift she gave her as her dowry. It's ridiculous!
But this is not a dowry issue at all.
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