"Then what are you talking about?" The eldest daughter-in-law was also unhappy. Who did the second daughter-in-law think she was, daring to call her stupid?
"General Lu was ostensibly taking inventory of the dowry, but in reality, he was searching for evidence of his father-in-law's crimes."
"In this world, which official can withstand a search?"
“Once General Lu submits the evidence of his crimes to the Emperor, the Li family will be finished.”
"It's unlikely that the entire family would be executed. My father-in-law wouldn't dare to embezzle such a huge sum of money, nor has he committed any heinous crimes."
"But exile and confiscation of property are inevitable."
Do you know what exile means for women?
The eldest daughter-in-law turned pale with fright: "Does that mean I'll have to suffer?"
"Suffering and hardship are minor; the most terrible thing is being humiliated."
"Once we become prisoners, those officials can humiliate us however they want."
"Even if we aren't humiliated, once the Li family loses its servants, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law are used to being pampered. Won't they make us work like slaves from now on?"
"If you are sent to a cold and harsh place to farm, you are considered lucky. If you are sent to do hard labor and forced to work with a whip, that is worse than death."
The eldest daughter-in-law trembled with fear: "What should we do?"
“Send someone back to my wife’s family to stand up for us. While the Li family is still not finished, force them to write a letter of divorce.”
"A divorce...a letter of divorce?"
"That won't do. It would be bad for our reputation if word got out."
"Besides, the bride's family may not help with this kind of thing. We are all married daughters who have left home. Our lives are in the hands of fate, and our families may not care."
"Divorcing as soon as something happens, and not being able to share hardships, is bad for the reputation of the bride's family. How will the bride's family get married in the future?"
The second daughter-in-law pouted; her sister-in-law's mind was working perfectly now, and she wasn't so easily fooled.
She originally thought that if both families put pressure on the Li family together, the success rate would be higher.
"Whether you want to protect your family's reputation or escape this fate, the choice is yours."
"Besides, if your family doesn't care about your life or death for the sake of their reputation, what's the point of protecting them?"
"When you are raped, enslaved, and suffer a fate worse than death, I hope the family members you so desperately tried to protect will come to collect your corpse!"
The second daughter-in-law left with a stern face. She had wanted to save her life, but the girl insisted on courting death and was beyond redemption.
Reputation and face are nothing; living is the most important thing.
When dealing with these matters, neither Zhou and her daughter nor Su Yujiao showed up; otherwise, they would have become the subject of gossip.
Ah, there's nothing we can do about it, that's just how the world is!
Even if the woman is the victim, there will still be people who will find fault with her.
Lu Ziwei listened to the recording inside the pearl hairpin and sobbed uncontrollably while burying her face in her hands on the table.
So this is what it feels like to have your sincerity trampled on.
She knelt down to serve her mother-in-law, who laughed at her, calling her a fool, obedient, and easy to manipulate.
She gave all the good things to her sister-in-law, but she was still ridiculed for being stupid and even complained that it wasn't enough.
She respected her two sisters-in-law, but they coveted her dowry and mocked her for being foolish and rich.
If it weren't for these hairpins, she would never have known how wicked people can be!
"Alright, stop listening. Everything's been resolved, so why make yourself sick with all this?"
Lu Ziwei insisted, "Jiaojiao, let me hear it all. These words are a lesson to my foolishness."
"I will not only listen to it now, but I will listen to it every day from now on, so that I will no longer be a fool."
She cried as she spoke, and Zhou cried along with her, feeling sorry for her.
Not wanting to disturb the tender moment between the mother and daughter, Su Yujiao went to rest in the next room.
She's been exhausted these past few days and is very sleepy now.
Mrs. Zhou was still comforting her daughter: "Weiwei, this is not your fault, don't torture yourself anymore."
"The ones who are wrong are the wicked people; they are blind and don't know how good you are."
Lu Ziwei threw herself into her mother's arms and cried uncontrollably: "Mom, I was so stupid."
"If it weren't for Jiaojiao saving me this time, I would have been played by that beast for the rest of my life."
"I will feel guilty and he will train me to be an obedient dog."
"I would beg that bitch to come into the house and have his children."
"I would even humble myself to serve that bitch and her bastards."
“I would even turn against my own family to protect Li Rongheng.”
"When they were happy, they treated me like a maid; when they were unhappy, they would poison me with a bowl of medicine."
"Waaaaah... I was destined for this miserable end. I was destined to live a confused and tragic life."
"It was Jiaojiao who saved me, which is why I have the chance to sit here and talk to you. Otherwise, I don't even want to think about what would have happened to me..."
Hearing her daughter's words, Zhou felt heartbroken; it was utterly cruel.
She wished she could tear that beast Li Rongheng to pieces.
"Mother knows Jiaojiao is good. She not only saved you, but she also saved our whole family's lives."
"She is our family's savior."
"If she hadn't discovered the dragon robe beforehand and stopped Chen Yunniang's dowry from being brought in, hundreds of lives in our Lu family would have been lost long ago."
"It's a pity that our family wasn't fortunate enough to keep her..." Zhou said with a regretful expression.
Hearing her mother's sigh, Lu Ziwei suddenly stopped crying and asked with red and swollen eyes, "Mother, what do you mean by that?"
What do you mean our family wasn't lucky enough to keep her?
Zhou wiped away her tears: "Didn't Jiaojiao tell you that she and Lao Qi have already divorced?"
"What? Divorce? How could this be?? Did that bastard Ziqian insist on divorcing Jiaojiao?"
In her memory, Su Yujiao loved her younger brother terribly, so her first reaction was that Lu Ziqian insisted on divorce, which was why they had come to this point.
Mrs. Zhou shook her head: "It's Jiao Jiao who insists on divorce. Seventh Brother has done too many outrageous things, and Jiao Jiao can't forgive him."
What did he do?
"We can't be any worse than that beast Li Rongheng, can we?"
Mrs. Zhou was stunned and speechless. She really didn't want to compare her son to that beast, but after thinking about it carefully, what the seventh son did was indeed unforgivable for a wife.
Seeing her mother remain silent, Lu Ziwei stared wide-eyed in disbelief, her red and swollen eyes widening: "No way?"
"Seventh Brother isn't that kind of person. Even if he doesn't like Jiaojiao, he wouldn't be so vicious."
Suddenly, Zhou felt a lump in her throat: "Retribution, this is all retribution."
“We bullied other people’s daughters, so they bullied my daughters in return. This is karma.”
"Mother, please explain yourself clearly."
So Zhou recounted everything that had happened in the past two years.
After hearing this, Lu Ziwei was so angry that she wanted to kill him!
This was the second time she had murderous intent; the first time was the night she stood on the wall eavesdropping!
"Why didn't Jiaojiao kill him? You beast!"
“When I’m wronged, my family still supports me.”
"She suffered injustice but no one stood up for her. Jiaojiao was much more miserable than I was."
Lu Ziwei's chest ached with anger: "Such a good woman, and he doesn't know how to cherish her. He'll regret it one day."
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