Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Toughening Up Auntie
202 Aunt Apologizes
Zhao Zhitong was also worried sick about her aunt. When she was buying hairpins for her mother in the county town, she had witnessed the ugly behavior of her aunt’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Based on their public attitude towards her aunt, Zhao Zhitong knew her aunt must be enduring a difficult life at their home.
She wanted to speak up and urge her aunt to say something quickly, but Grandpa Bai stopped her. "Young girl, this depends on your aunt herself. If she doesn’t strive to be strong and is content to be a puddle of mud, then no matter how much you help her, you’ll never be able to prop her up!"
Zhao Zhitong blinked, then blinked again, a sudden realization dawning on her. "So, Grandpa Bai," she asked, "are you saying that my aunt is like mud that can’t be propped up on a wall?"
Grandpa Bai: "..."
Grandpa Bai fell silent. Zhao Zhitong didn’t dwell on it further but turned her gaze to Sun Lan, thinking silently, Auntie, you must learn to fight back!
Sun Lan lowered her head, her fingers gripping her sleeves tightly, a fierce internal struggle evident.
Seeing Sun Lan’s indeed weak demeanor, daring not to speak, Wang Fugui sneered inwardly and immediately grew arrogant.
However, just then, Sun Lan suddenly moved. She released Sun Mei’s hand, walked over to Zhao Guifen, and promptly knelt, kowtowing three times forcefully.
Then she turned to Sun Kang and kowtowed forcefully three more times.
"Father, Mother, your daughter has been unfilial! Your daughter was stupid! It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have disobeyed you and insisted on marrying that rotten man!"
"Mother, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I know I was wrong, I was truly wrong... BOO HOO HOO..."
At that moment, Sun Lan seemed to pour out all the words suppressed in her heart for years. She kept kowtowing before Zhao Guifen, admitting she was wrong, truly wrong.
At this, Zhao Guifen’s heart instantly softened, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
Even Sun Kang turned away, wiping his eyes.
Zhao Guifen bent down and helped Sun Lan up. "My child, how could your father and I truly blame you? Tell Mother, how did you get these injuries? Was it that bastard?"
Sun Lan hugged Zhao Guifen and cried for a while before pushing up the sleeves on both her arms. Instantly, arms covered in sickening black and purple bruises were revealed to everyone.
Sun Kang and the three uncles stared, their eyes wide. These marks were clearly from a whip or a stick; how could they possibly be from accidental bumps?
Sun Lan finally spoke, "Mother, it’s not just my arms; my whole body is covered in injuries. The Wang Family inflicted all of them..."
Listening to Sun Lan’s account, Zhao Guifen felt as if her heart were bleeding.
The Wang Family—none of them are human!
Her mother-in-law was malicious and deliberately made things difficult. Her sister-in-law was also overbearing and tyrannical, tormenting Sun Lan daily by forcing her to stand and observe strict, demeaning rules. If they were the slightest bit unhappy, they would beat her with sticks.
Wang Fugui was no good either. He had initially coveted Sun Lan’s beauty, but after they married, he began to find her dull and uninteresting.
Whenever he was displeased, he would grab Sun Lan by the hair and beat her. Such abuse was a common occurrence.
When Zhao Guifen was bedridden with illness, Sun Youcai sent a message to Sun Lan, asking her to come back and visit.
Sun Lan had been eager to return at the time, but her wicked mother-in-law made things difficult for her and refused to let her go.
Ultimately, her wicked mother-in-law’s torment led to Sun Lan suffering a miscarriage and severe hemorrhaging, preventing her from visiting Zhao Guifen.
After that miscarriage, Sun Lan’s health was damaged. With proper care, she might still have been able to bear children. However, her vicious mother-in-law tormented her daily, which eventually led to her infertility.
This was entirely the Wang Family’s fault, yet in the end, her inability to bear children became yet another excuse for them to enslave, beat, and berate her.
It could be said that Sun Lan’s life in the Wang household was less dignified than even that of a maidservant.
Listening to her daughter recount these events bit by bit, Zhao Guifen held her tightly, crying her heart out. What Sun Lan had just described was merely a fraction of her suffering; it was hard to imagine what Sun Lan had truly endured all these years.
Zhao Guifen hugged Sun Lan. "My child, how could you be so foolish? Such terrible things happened, and you didn’t tell your mother a single one! Are you truly that silly?"
Sun Lan cried until she was gasping for breath, her voice thick with guilt. "It’s because I’m unfilial. I was too ashamed to face Father and Mother, so how could I burden you with these matters?"
Zhao Guifen was so angry she smacked her own thigh. "Foolish child, so foolish! How could I have such a foolish daughter!"
By now, the three uncles were gnashing their teeth in anger, their eyes fixed on Wang Fugui with murderous intent.
Wang Fugui swallowed unconsciously. "Wh-what do you want? Don’t listen to Sun Lan’s nonsense! She was the one who erred first, by not being filial to her parents-in-law. That’s why my mother punished her by making her stand and observe the rules..."
Before he could finish, Uncle’s fiery temper finally erupted. He roared, "To hell with the ’no fighting during the New Year’ rule! I’m making an exception today, and I swear I’ll beat the daylights out of you!"
With that, he strode forward and swung a fist, knocking Wang Fugui flat on the ground.
Sun Youcai charged forward right after him, yelling, "You dare treat my sister like this? You’re courting death!"
Eldest Uncle, who was usually the calmest, couldn’t help but join in beating him up as well.
The three strong men surrounded Wang Fugui and gave him a savage beating, making him scream in pain.
"I am a guest! How dare you hit me? You’re all crude and vulgar!"
The more he shouted, the harder they hit him.
Finally, he changed tactics, yelling at Sun Lan, "Sun Lan, are you dead? How can you let your family beat your husband like this? This is outrageous! Believe it or not, I’ll divorce you!"
Zhao Guifen was so furious she actually laughed. Taking Sun Lan’s hand, she said coldly, "Youli, that’s enough. Don’t actually kill him."
Then, facing the screaming Wang Fugui, she declared, "We don’t need you to divorce my daughter. I’m going to have my daughter divorce you!"
Wang Fugui instantly exploded. "Mutual divorce? Impossible! Sun Lan has committed offenses under the Seven Grounds for Divorce! First, she failed to bear children. Second, she condoned her family members in beating her husband. There can be no mutual divorce; I am divorcing her!"
Sun Youli, seething, cracked his knuckles. "Hah! With my temper, you just try divorcing her! See if I don’t beat you to death today!"
Saying this, he moved to hit him again.
Wang Fugui, thoroughly frightened by the beatings, stumbled backward, yelling, "Barbarians! A whole family of crude barbarians! No mutual divorce! My decision to write the letter of divorce is final!"
Hearing this, Zhao Guifen picked up a nearby broom and swung it at Wang Fugui.
The three uncles also grabbed makeshift weapons. Even Zhao Zhitong and Sun Daqing scrambled to find sticks.
The entire family mobilized, terrifying Wang Fugui so much that he bolted for the door, tripped in his haste, and fell flat on his face in the mud.
Aunt and Eldest Aunt each grabbed a basin of slops and dumped it directly onto Wang Fugui.
Wang Fugui shrieked in fury, but sticks and clubs were already raining down on him. He had no time to worry about the vegetable scraps and eggshells clinging to his clothes and hair. He scrambled up from the ground and clambered onto his horse carriage.
With the sound of a horse’s neigh, Wang Fugui fled in utter disarray.