"Just leave it at that. Wait until your father-in-law and mother-in-law bring your brother-in-law to our house, then let's see what you'll do."
Shaking her head, Zhao's mother sighed and returned to the living room. She looked at Zhao's father and said, "I can't persuade you."
"Just leave it at that. If they really can't make it work, they can just get a divorce. That will save the house from constant chaos!"
Mr. Zhao glanced at the white paper in his hand and casually replied.
"Xiao Jing said Bai Lan would come back on her own, but I don't think she'll give in easily today. If she impulsively runs back to her parents' home, her in-laws will probably come to us demanding an explanation."
Zhao's mother expressed her worries.
"Our daughter-in-law... every time she runs away, she always comes back on her own?"
Looking at Zhao's mother, Zhao's father said, "If she really goes back to her parents' home today, and her in-laws come to us demanding an explanation, and we can't reach an agreement, then we'll just do what I said before and go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to complete the formalities!"
"If we really get divorced, don't you feel ashamed?"
Zhao's mother asked.
"I'd rather have a few more days of peace and quiet than be embarrassed!"
Divorce is shameful, but if you know that the couple is arguing all the time and their life is really difficult, then divorce might not be a bad thing, rather than continuing to live like this!
-
Han Bailan took the bus to town. She had no idea what Zhao Jing was thinking. After getting off the bus, she stood there for a while before walking towards her parents' home.
Snowflakes began to fall from the sky at an inopportune moment. As Han Bailan walked, tears welled up in her eyes. She felt incredibly stupid for not going home to ask her parents and brothers for help when Zhao Jing first hit her. As a result, after that beating, she would forgive Zhao Jing as long as he coaxed her with kind words or promised her something.
Sometimes, when she was beaten badly, she would simply run out of the house, find a quiet place to heal herself, and once she had calmed down, she would forget the beating and return to the Zhao family.
She's an idiot! She's a complete idiot!
Who is it?
Reaching her front door, Han Bailan didn't push open the gate. Instead, she raised her hand to knock on the latch. Hearing her sister-in-law Yao Qinghe's voice from inside the yard, she momentarily wanted to turn around and walk away. But where could she go? She didn't want to go back to her parents' home, nor did she want to go back to the Zhao family. So where could she go?
Knowing she had no other choice, Han Bailan suppressed her embarrassment, sniffed, and replied, "Sister-in-law, it's me." To avoid the other party making wild guesses, she tried her best to make her voice sound normal.
With a creak, the courtyard gate was opened from the inside by Yao Qinghe: "Are you Bai Lan?"
Faced with a figure whose only visible feature was a pair of eyes, Yao Qinghe was taken aback at first, then tentatively asked.
She recognized the voice as that of her sister-in-law, Han Bailan, but ever since Han Bailan married into the city, she had only returned home a handful of times, especially in winter when she would hardly ever come back.
It's said they were too cold and didn't want the hassle of traveling.
"It's me."
Han Bailan responded.
"You're the only one who came back?"
Yao Qinghe couldn't see Zhao Jing and his nephew Zhao Peng, and couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Um."
Han Bailan nodded, not intending to say anything more.
Watching her retreating figure, Yao Qinghe's eyes were filled with thoughtful expression.
On this snowy day, she suddenly ran back to her parents' home alone. I'm afraid something must have happened.
After closing the courtyard gate, Yao Qinghe planned to go to her in-laws' house to satisfy her curiosity.
"Dad, Mom!"
Upon seeing her parents, Han Bailan's eyes and nose stung, and she immediately burst into tears.
Mr. and Mrs. Han were sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed). As they watched the figure enter the room, they guessed that it was their daughter. However, they never expected that she would start crying as soon as she opened her mouth, and tears would flow from her eyes as if they were free.
In the main room, before Yao Qinghe could reach the door of Han's parents' bedroom, she was stopped by a voice behind her: "What are you doing sneaking around like that?" The voice belonged to Yao Qinghe's husband, Han Bailan's elder brother.
"Can't you make a little noise when you walk? Are you trying to scare me to death?!"
Yao Qinghe turned around, patted her chest, and glared at her husband.
"Why do I walk so quietly?!"
Han Sen looked completely innocent and said, "You can only blame yourself for focusing all your attention on sneaky things."
"Can't you talk properly? How am I being sneaky?"
Yao Qinghe was dissatisfied. She glared at the man and walked towards the couple's house.
Han Sen felt confused, but still followed closely.
Because the two were not speaking loudly, Han's father, mother, and Han Bailan did not hear anything.
"You came back alone?"
When Han's mother asked Han Bailan, she had a bad feeling. But the next moment, she saw Han Bailan take off her scarf, revealing a pig's face.
What's going on?
Han's mother unconsciously raised her voice.
Mr. Han's face darkened: "Was it your son-in-law who did it?"
Han Bailan didn't say anything. She took off her cotton coat and then rolled up her sweater sleeves in front of her parents.
The sight of the mixed old and new bruises made Han's parents' hearts tighten, and then anger flashed in their eyes.
Han Bailan just kept crying and didn't answer for a long time.
"Cry, cry, cry! What else can you do besides cry?" Han's mother exclaimed angrily, "Say something! Are you trying to drive your father and me crazy?!"
"It was him, Zhao Jing, who hit me... Less than half a year after we got married, he started hitting me. Afterwards, he tried to coax me with sweet words, saying he was wrong and that he would never hit me again, but his words were just empty talk..."
If he can't win an argument with me, he'll hit me, even whip me with a belt... All the injuries on my body are from him whipping me..."
Han Bailan wept bitterly.
Are you dead?
Han's mother's face was grim: "He hit you, and you didn't know how to fight back? Even if you didn't know how to fight back, you should have asked your in-laws to stand up for you, or called your father, or even just come back and tell us yourself. Can't you do any of these things? Just let your husband beat you to death?"
"I, I..."
Han Bailan didn't know what to say.
reason?
She likes Zhao Jing but doesn't want her family to know she was beaten up, which would cause trouble for Zhao Jing and create discord between her and her husband... What if the Zhao family gets angry and forces her to divorce them?
Being able to marry into the county town made her the envy of many girls her age in the town. Moreover, the Zhao family was wealthy, and she stopped working after marrying into the family. She spent her days either shopping or resting at home. If she lost such a good life, she would regret it to death.
Without a doubt, this was Han Bailan's true thought. Even though she ran back to her parents' home in a fit of anger today, wanting her parents and brothers to stand up for her and make Zhao Jing bow down and kneel in front of her to repent, she never thought of giving up the good life in the Zhao family and going to the Civil Affairs Bureau with Zhao Jing to get a divorce certificate.
Where are you going?
Seeing Han's father get off the kang (a heated brick bed) and put on his shoes, Han's mother quickly asked him what was wrong.
"I have to go to the Zhao family and ask them. I married my daughter to them, not so they would mistreat her. Why are they doing this to my daughter?"
After putting on his cotton shoes, Han's father picked up the half-worn military overcoat lying by the kang (a heated brick bed) and draped it over his shoulders: "You don't need to go, I'll call the eldest son to come along." Just in case, if a fight really broke out at the Zhao family's house, his old arms and legs might not be able to guarantee that he wouldn't suffer a loss.
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