When the family met again, they were paraded through the streets with placards and subjected to public criticism.
Her husband, Chen Fangyang, was such a proud man, but in just a few days, his spine seemed to have broken, and he became lifeless.
The couple exchanged a glance across the crowd, their eyes filled with bewilderment and panic.
Her once spirited son had also become haggard, and when he went out on the street, he tried to look for something among the onlookers who were pointing and whispering.
The lively and cheerful little girl, barely ten years old, was filled with fear. She broke down in tears as soon as she saw her, but was quickly reprimanded by the guards.
"Why are you crying?"
She wanted to pull her daughter into her arms, but there were several people between them, so her daughter could only cover her mouth and sob softly.
Those days, their family suffered things they had never imagined before. Familiar colleagues and neighbors distanced themselves from them on trumped-up charges, and some even came forward to accuse them.
All sorts of accusations and overwhelming insults followed. Uninformed people said that their family was on the other side and were traitors.
"I used to wonder, how could someone remain silent and not utter a word in defense of themselves after being wronged?"
Lin Yueyu glared at Lin Yingyu, "Because we have absolutely no strength left, and we know that no matter what we say, it's useless. It's all because of you, all because of the Lin family."
Her childhood memories consisted of nothing but the image of her mother kneeling in front of the Lin family mansion, weeping, and those condescending, seemingly condescending gazes.
The Lin family's grand mansion, like a gaping abyss, swallowed her parents.
She was driven out by them and started a new life, but the abyss still came to devour them.
"I've already arrived in Xin'an, far enough away from your Lin family, but I never expected you would still try to harm me!"
She had occasionally felt that Chen Hongxia looked somewhat familiar, but she hadn't paid any attention to it. The two hadn't spoken more than a few words to each other in over twenty years.
Those few days in Xin'an were like a nightmare; she became completely lifeless, and only struggled to live on when she thought of her children.
The husband's health had completely collapsed, the son was in a daze, and the daughter was like an empty shell, blankly staring for a long time without reacting.
Soon her family was sent to the countryside, and she was forced to separate from her children. She cried until she had almost run out of tears before leaving.
Both children are so young, how can they possibly survive?
Even with all her worries, she could only watch them leave.
She and her husband went to an extremely harsh rural area, where they lived in livestock sheds and had to farm and take care of the livestock.
Yellow mud mixed with grass roots was pasted onto bamboo strips. After years of wind and sand erosion, the walls made of yellow mud gradually crumbled, and when the north wind blew, the inside became as cold as an ice cellar.
The roof was made of various kinds of grass tied together. Over time, rotten branches and leaves gradually fell down, and you could clearly see the night sky from the ground.
They were like wild beasts being driven away; the villagers avoided them like the plague, while the children shouted slogans from the loudspeaker, threw stones at them, and spat on them.
The livestock belong to the team. If they are raised well, it has little to do with them. But if they are not raised well, everyone can hold them accountable.
At first, Lin Yueyu could hardly bear the malice and harsh conditions. Every time, she thought that if things really didn't work out, she should just die and treat death as a relief.
The cattle and mules they were responsible for were the main labor force of the production team. During busy farming seasons, there was simply not enough fodder to eat. They cut grass during the day and night, and only slept a few hours each day.
Such days were terrifying. The meaningless, repetitive, and arduous labor kept them busy like spinning tops, and they became increasingly lifeless.
The husband developed back and leg problems that flared up whenever it rained, but their place was drafty and leaky, so they had to find a way to climb up and fix it.
But when they laid the freshly dried grass on the roof, the laughing children shouted "Black Five Categories" and threw stones at the roof, creating one pit after another.
Each time I replace it, I lose it again; each time I lose it, I replace it again, and the cycle repeats itself.
Living one more day in such a life is extremely difficult. You can get through the summer, but in the winter, the north wind howls and the wind blows from all sides, which can freeze you to death.
Their rooms were separated from the livestock by a thin earthen wall. It was as cold as an ice cellar on one side, while on the other side, because of the various animals huddled together and the fermentation of their excrement, even touching the wall felt warm.
Later, they couldn't bear it any longer and moved their beds over there, squeezing in with the livestock.
Every night, accompanied by the breathing of cows and mules, and filled with the smell of fermenting animal dung, they still survived.
They wanted to see the child one more time, and Lin Yueyu wanted to know why.
She worked tirelessly every day, using this to numb herself, and only had a very short break to recall everything in Xin'an.
Lin Yueyu had thought that one day her identity as a member of the Lin family might be exposed, but she never imagined it would be this serious.
"I later found out it was because of those letters, just because my surname is Lin, that you wanted to smear me?"
There were only the two of them in the interrogation room. Lin Yingyu sat there without looking into her eyes, and Lin Yueyu's accusations seemed to have no effect on her.
In just six short years, Lin Yueyu had witnessed far too much malice in the world, but the only enemy she felt a deep grudge against and wished to kill was Lin Yingyu, the mastermind behind it all.
Everyone else could more or less know where their malice towards her came from, whether it was jealousy or resentment, but only Lin Yingyu's hatred came inexplicably and suddenly.
Lin Yueyu had thought about it for so many years but still couldn't figure it out.
She finally got tired after cursing for a long time. The long hours of overwork had taken a toll on her health. She sighed and silently stared at Lin Yingyu, who seemed to have melted into the corner of the wall.
"If you had just burned those letters back then, no one would have known that you were capable of burning them."
No one knew about those letters, and no one knew she was from the Lin family. As long as she destroyed them quietly, who in the world would know?
"Why?"
Just moments ago I was filled with rage, wanting nothing more than to pounce on her and tear her apart, but after venting my anger, all that remained was utter exhaustion.
"Why exactly?"
She had been pondering this question for years without finding a solution, and she thought she would never be able to return to Xin'an or get an answer in her lifetime.
Unexpectedly, life is unpredictable. Just like when their family had their accident, this time they suddenly received news that they had to come back.
Things may take a turn for the better, and the filth surrounding their family may be washed away.
"...There's no reason why. We all have the surname Lin, so why am I the only one being punished because of this surname, while you get to live such a peaceful life?"
Lin Yingyu believes that the only wrong thing she has ever done in her life was killing Chen Hongxia, but that was not her intention.
However, she did not regret framing Lin Yueyu. Under those circumstances, she could not allow herself to be threatened by two more people.
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