Su Wantang's heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, both cold and aching. She could understand Liu Fen's pain and despair, but she was even more afraid that this despair would push Liu Fen herself into an abyss of no return.
"Sister-in-law Fen, calm down!" Su Wantang forced herself to calm down. She grabbed Liu Fen's cold hand and squeezed it tightly, trying to transfer her strength to her. "Listen to me, murder is illegal, it's a capital offense! You can't ruin your whole life for a beast! You have to live, live well, your little girl still needs you!"
"Alive?" Liu Fen gave a bitter smile, tears mingling with blood at the corner of her mouth, a horrifying sight. "What difference is there between me and being dead? I live in fear every day, not knowing when she'll go crazy, not knowing whether the next thing that falls on me will be a feather duster or a fire poker... I'm scared, I'm really scared, I'm scared that one day she'll beat me to death, what will happen to my little girl? She'll sell my little girl to buy alcohol and money..."
She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her whole body trembling violently, and her high fever gave her cheeks a sickly flush.
Su Wantang knew that no amount of empty words of comfort would be of any use at this moment. She had to give Liu Fen hope for a solution, a foothold to keep her alive.
She helped Liu Fen sit down on a stool, poured her a cup of hot water, looked into her eyes, and said clearly and forcefully, word by word, "Sister-in-law, this matter can no longer be tolerated. You can't expect her to have a change of heart. You must rely on yourself, and you must have someone stand up for you."
"Make the decision? Who can make the decision for me?" Liu Fen muttered to herself, her eyes vacant.
“Your man!” Su Wantang said, pointing out the most crucial person. “Isn’t Brother Liu the squad leader of the Third Company? When he comes back from the army, tell him everything, down to the last detail! Show him your injuries, and tell him everything about how your mother-in-law sold the children and abused you! He is your husband and the father of your child; he has a responsibility to protect you and your daughter!”
This is the most direct and reasonable solution. In a family, the husband's attitude determines the wife's status. If Liu Fen's husband were willing to stand up, even just say a word, Granny Li wouldn't dare to be so arrogant.
Su Wantang thought that these words would be like a shot in the arm, rekindling Liu Fen's hope.
However, she was wrong.
Upon hearing the words "your man," the last trace of color drained from Liu Fen's face. She slowly lowered her head, and the flame of hatred that had just ignited was extinguished instantly, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her head, leaving only a deathly despair.
Her shoulders slumped, and she curled up into a ball. After a long while, she let out a laugh that sounded worse than crying.
"It's no use... Tang sister, it's no use."
Her voice was as light as a breeze, yet it carried a weight that could crush a person.
"Why didn't it work?" Su Wantang asked, puzzled. "He's a soldier, a squad leader. The military emphasizes discipline and justice. How could he tolerate his mother doing such a thing?"
Liu Fen slowly raised her head, her empty eyes reflecting Su Wantang's anxious face. She forced a smile, a smile more desolate than the scars covering her body.
“Dr. Su, you don’t know… in his heart, what his mother says is like a royal decree.”
“In the first year of my marriage, his mother complained that I couldn’t have children and would point her finger at me and call me a ‘barren hen’ every day. When he heard this, he just said to me, ‘My mother is old, you should be more considerate of her.’”
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