Free Web NovelChapter 56: Chapter 56: Unwavering
"I’ve made up my mind. No matter how hard things get in the future, I won’t regret today’s decision." Zhang Minzhen still shook her head.
"...Minzhen..."
Wen Xiu watched her daughter from the side, wanting to speak but holding back. ’If things could really be as Gu Wu described, it wouldn’t be so bad. Plenty of married couples don’t get along, but don’t they all manage to muddle through life together? In her view, whether a husband and wife had feelings for each other wasn’t the most important thing. As long as her daughter controlled the family’s finances, Gu Lihui wouldn’t be able to get out from under her thumb...’
’After all, divorced women are never accepted by the majority in society. That path is just too difficult. So, even if there was just a sliver of hope, she didn’t want her daughter to go down that road of no return and become the subject of town gossip.’
"Mom, let’s just respect Sis’s choice. She’s right—you can’t force a melon to be sweet. His heart isn’t in it anymore. How can you force happiness?" ’His sister wasn’t that old; she didn’t have to hang all her hopes on this one man.’
Zhang Wei Qiang glanced at Gu Wu. Seeing that he was being somewhat reasonable, he didn’t say what he was really thinking.
Lin Qin looked at the mother and son. ’Like my mother-in-law, I don’t want my sister-in-law to get a divorce either. I just feel that if she does, she’ll have no means of support and will end up relying on our family for help. My husband is only so-so with his own two brothers, but he’s so good to his sister and niece that it even makes me a little jealous. I’m really afraid he’ll never be able to shake off these two burdens.’
’But when I saw my husband trying to persuade his mother, I knew where he stood. I opened my mouth to speak, but hesitated. I didn’t want to go against him so openly. In the end, I decided to keep my mouth shut and see what my father-in-law thought first. No point in making myself the villain for nothing.’
"She’s a grown woman. Let her decide something this important for herself. If you really convince them to stay together, what happens the next time they run into a dangerous situation like yesterday, and our son-in-law tries to use Minzhen as a shield again? It’ll be too late for tears then."
Zhang Dazhuang was a man himself; he knew just how ruthless a man could be. His son-in-law’s actions had crossed a line for him. ’From my perspective, my daughter’s fears are completely justified. It’s better to make a clean break now than to wait until her in-laws pass away or are too old to keep their son in check, only for him to cause even more trouble later.’
’Of course, if my daughter wanted to stay with him, I wouldn’t say a word. But since she doesn’t, I can’t let my wife pressure her into just settling for it...’
"..."
Wen Xiu shuddered. A wave of fear washed over her as she looked from her husband and son to her daughter, who was watching her with pleading eyes. ’How could I have been so blinded that I completely forgot about that?’
She patted her chest in fright, saying with relief, "I really am something, forgetting the pain before the scar has even healed."
She took Zhang Minzhen’s hand and sighed, finally giving up completely on the tempting offer Gu Wu had made. "It’s all my fault. How could I have been so dazzled for a moment? Thank goodness you all kept your heads."
"Thank you, Mom." Zhang Minzhen looked at Wen Xiu with gratitude, tears streaming down her face. ’With parents and a big brother who are willing to support my decision like this, what is there to fear about the future?’
Seeing this, Lin Qin silently lowered her head, grateful that her decision not to speak up earlier had been the right one.
"What’s going on?" Gu Wu asked, confused. ’It seems there’s something I don’t know about.’
"It’s all thanks to that ’good’ son of yours, my ’good’ son-in-law..." Seeing Gu Wu’s expression, Wen Xiu knew he didn’t have the full story about yesterday and probably only had a vague idea about what happened early this morning. Suppressing her anger, she explained in detail everything that had happened over the past two days.
Gu Wu was silent for a long time after she finished, so ashamed he didn’t know what to say. ’I really shouldn’t have listened to everything that old woman said.’ He knew things were now beyond repair and sighed. "It seems our Gu Family just isn’t blessed."
He thought to himself, ’Hesitation only leads to trouble. Plenty of people understand that principle, but very few can actually follow through. And even fewer can resist temptation and hold firm to their convictions.’
’How did I not see it sooner? My eldest daughter-in-law is a woman with both a strong will and a gentle heart. If I had realized it earlier, I could have stood by her side from the beginning. I wouldn’t have let my wife and eldest son push things to such an extreme. If I had, maybe the next generation of the Gu family would have had a chance at a better future...’
What a pity. The Gu Family didn’t have the good fortune to keep such a fine daughter-in-law—
’Then again, it all started the moment I carelessly married a short-sighted, opportunistic woman like Chen Suxiang. That’s when the good fortune for my line of the Gu family was all but exhausted.’
’When I was young, I met a fortune-teller who told me that with every gain comes a loss. He said I was fated for great opportunities, that I could always turn disaster into fortune. But the price was an unhappy marriage; I would never find a virtuous wife. This would, in turn, affect my descendants, and it would be difficult for any of my children or grandchildren to achieve greatness. He said only one granddaughter would be an exception—she, too, would be blessed with a great destiny. But fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same coin. Her great destiny would be accompanied by great tribulations. If only she could rise from the ashes like a phoenix...’
Gu Wu’s heart skipped a beat. After everything he had been through over the years, he was about ninety percent convinced the fortune-teller had been right.
’This daughter-in-law of mine only had one child, a girl. With a mother like her, the child is sure to turn out well.’ He thought of his granddaughter—quiet, as he remembered, but with a pair of bright, lively eyes. ’To face her parents’ divorce at such a young age... if that isn’t a tribulation, what is? But what does "rise from the ashes like a phoenix" mean?’
Gu Wu was once again filled with immense regret for his youthful arrogance. ’Back then, not only had I dismissed the fortune-teller’s words, but I’d been so offended by the unpleasant prediction that I’d smashed the man’s stall. I never asked for more details, let alone a way to avert the fate... And hadn’t the events of the past several decades proven the man right, one by one? In my heart, I had long since concluded that the fortune-teller was the real deal.’
"After what my eldest son has done, I’m too ashamed to say another word about them making up. Look, whatever you ask for, as long as it’s within my power to do, I’ll agree without hesitation," Gu Wu said, his voice heavy with resignation.
"Since you’ve put it that way, then we won’t be polite." Wen Xiu’s heart settled as she heard his words. ’It seems my little bit of scheming at the start wasn’t for nothing,’ she thought. "Actually, our family’s demands aren’t unreasonable. We just want what we’re entitled to."
She didn’t hold back, laying out her demands one by one. "First, once they’re divorced, I’m sure your eldest son will remarry quickly. After all, the Lin family is bound to ’return the merchandise’—that other woman and her two children. When that happens, who else will the three of them turn to but your son? So, it’s not like he’ll be lacking for children. In that case, it’s best if our Minzhen takes Nuannuan. That way, Nuannuan won’t be an eyesore to a certain someone. Besides, how many children raised by a stepmother ever come to a good end?"
