Chapter 2 The Cold-Heartedness of the Wang Family
She was constantly worried that the Wang family would come to propose marriage, and she dreamed about it every night.
She had been worried for over a decade, and when her daughter reached marriageable age, she still thought the Wang family was a good family. Little did she know, this was undoubtedly a devastating blow for Wang.
The Wang family is so heartless; they're practically cutting off her daughter's path to survival.
You have to understand the ways of the world. If a woman is rejected by her fiancé, she can forget about ever getting married again. She'll be gossiped about wherever she goes.
Her daughter has no chance of survival; she'll probably be drowned in their spittle.
She quickly knelt down, tears welling up in her eyes before she could speak. Not knowing how to begin, she simply kowtowed several times to the matchmaker.
"Matchmaker Zhang, Aunt Zhang, please have pity on me! Look how pitiful my daughter is! Please go and plead with the Wang family for her, otherwise my daughter will never be able to live her life..."
When Lin Dayou saw his wife's humble and pleading attitude, his eyes immediately welled up with tears.
If it weren't for Zhang the matchmaker, he would have slapped himself in dismay. He was so incompetent and useless that he couldn't even protect his own wife and daughter, which is why his wife had to kneel down and beg others like this.
However, no matter how guilty he felt about his lack of ability, Lin Dayou couldn't do anything about it; he really couldn't let the Wang family break off their daughter's engagement.
The Lin family's youngest son and daughter, who were outside the hall, rushed in when they saw their mother kneeling.
Upon hearing their mother's words and knowing the consequences of being jilted, they all panicked.
The eldest son of the Lin family helped the kneeling Wang Shi to her feet while bowing to Zhang the matchmaker, hoping that she would help him plead with the Wang family.
The younger children knew that the only person who could speak up for them was the matchmaker in front of them, so they all ran over and begged Zhang in a pleading tone, hoping that Zhang, the matchmaker, would put in a good word for their eldest sister.
Looking at this family, Zhang the matchmaker's heart almost softened, but when her hand touched the one or two taels of silver in her pocket, she gritted her teeth and stood up. "Lin Dayou, Lin's wife, Lin's children, aren't you deliberately making things difficult for me?"
"Besides, this isn't something I can just take back. Wang Xiucai's mother has already said so."
“Their family is now a family of scholars, and they might even become the top scholar in the imperial examinations in the future. So the wife they marry can’t be too poor. Even if they can’t be a good match, she should at least be someone who can help Scholar Wang.”
"Look at your family... well, I won't say too much, you can figure out the rest yourselves."
Matchmaker Zhang placed a jade pendant that Lin Dayou had given to the Wang family as an engagement token on the table, stood up, and quickly ran out, giving Lin Dayou no chance to refuse.
Lin Dayou watched Zhang the matchmaker flee in disarray, his eyes red with anger. He slammed his fist on the square table and cursed through gritted teeth.
"The Wang family is really something. They used to be eager to form a marriage alliance with us because they saw we were wealthy, but now that they see we're down on our luck and our daughter has become mentally challenged, they're even bullying us."
I thought he was a loyal and devoted person who hadn't come to break off the engagement all these years, but I never expected that the boy would be so eager to get rid of Da Ya so soon after passing the imperial examination.
Lin Dayou sat in the hall, staring blankly at the torrential rain outside for a long time, his mind filled with all sorts of thoughts.
It seemed he had made a decision, steeled his resolve, and stood up.
"No, I have to go and confront them. Honey, you stay home and watch the child. I'm going to get justice from them."
Madam Wang quickly grabbed Lin Dayou's clothes, "Dayou, if you really go, then our daughter will really have no way to survive. Are you planning to make a huge fuss and let everyone know all day long?"
Being rejected by a potential bride is no honorable thing, and she didn't want everyone to look at her daughter with strange eyes.
Her daughter had already suffered enough; she didn't want her daughter to bear the same burden.
The woman's thinking was simple: since there was no way to salvage the marriage, she would let it go and avoid her daughter being drowned in gossip.
Looking at his timid wife, Lin Dayou suppressed his temper and patiently explained, "You don't understand. If we don't make a big fuss about this, and Wang Xiucai remarries later, he will blame everything on our daughter..."
“Now that Wang Xiucai has passed the imperial examination, he has left our daughter behind. We want the world to know that Wang Guangrong is a heartless man, and the world will not think that it is our daughter’s fault.”
"If we don't stand up for our daughter, then next time, if someone uses marriage as an excuse, I believe they will definitely ruin her reputation."
"Besides, if our daughter really can't get married in the future, we'll support her." Lin Dayou had already figured it out. His daughter was also his precious treasure. If no one came to propose to him because of this, he could support her for the rest of his life.
The fifteen-year-old eldest son, overhearing his parents' conversation, also stood up and said, "Mom and Dad, I will work hard to earn money to support my younger sister."
The second son, who was twelve or thirteen years old, heard that his older brother had spoken up, so he stood up and patted his chest to assure him, "Father and Mother, don't worry, we will protect our eldest sister from now on, and no one will be able to bully her."
"Me too, me too, let's protect the big sister!" The youngest daughter also raised her hand to speak.
Seeing how sensible their children were, Lin Dayou and Lin Wangshi could no longer hold back their tears, which welled up in their eyes and streamed down their faces.
Lin Dayou said, "It's all my fault, Dad. He's incompetent. If he were, no one in our family would dare to bully us."
Looking at her two sons and her youngest daughter, she lamented how unfortunate her eldest daughter's life was.
His eldest daughter was cute and beautiful from a young age, but why was she missing her soul?
His daughter started acting differently from other children when she was three years old. Even at fourteen or fifteen, she still had the mental capacity of a three or four-year-old. She didn't speak all day long and was immersed in her own world.
A Taoist priest traveling to Wutong Village encountered Lin Luoxi sitting at her doorstep. He noticed that Lin Luoxi's face indicated a life of wealth and nobility, but this was obscured by a layer of dark energy. The priest then performed a divination for her.
The Taoist priest said that when she turned fifteen, she would face a great tribulation. If she survived it, her daughter would regain the mind of a normal child; if she failed to survive it, her daughter would disappear from this world forever.
Fifteen years old, that's this year, and their daughter didn't face a major calamity, but instead faced the annulment of her engagement. Isn't this pushing their daughter to her death?
Lin Dayou knelt down and gently hugged the children. "Children, you must unite and protect your big sister. Don't despise her just because she's sick..."
"The Wang family dared to break off your eldest sister's engagement. I will seek justice for your eldest sister." Thinking of this, he immediately stood up and was about to walk outside.
Two boys, around fifteen or sixteen years old, saw their father run out angrily and shouted, "Dad, wait for me, I'll go with you. I'm afraid you can't argue with them all by yourself."
"Dad, I'm going too. Many hands make light work; we can't let the Wang family look down on us." The son followed.
Hearing his two sons' words, Lin Dayou stopped and looked at them as they ran towards him. "Wenqian, Wentao, I'm going to seek justice for your sister. You should stay with the children. It's not really appropriate for you to come with me."
Lin Jiangqian shook his head. "Dad, what's wrong with this? My sister has been bullied like this by the Wang family. If we don't step in, people will think that no one in our Lin family is going to stand up for her."
Lin Dayou was surprised that his two sons would say such things. He nodded with relief, "Okay, then follow Dad. When we get to their house, first of all, don't be afraid, take out..." and walked further and further away.
Lin Dayou's wife, Lin Wangshi, saw her husband trying to take their son out and collapsed to the ground, feeling utterly powerless.
When the youngest daughter, Lin Luoning, saw her mother sitting on the ground, she walked over with a heartwarming gesture and pulled Lin Wangshi tightly.
"Mother, the ground is cold, get up quickly."
Only she and Lin Luoning were at home. Lin Wangshi held her little daughter and burst into tears, repeatedly muttering, "What to do? What to do about your older sister? Waaah..."
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