Old Lady Xie was advanced in years after all, and after chasing Xie Jinghu to beat him for a short while, she was already gasping for breath. Hou Zhixiu saw that the moment was right and quickly supported the old lady to sit down.
The old lady’s final few blows had landed on Xie Jinghu’s head, but only the very first slap had truly struck his face, leaving his cheek burning hot. The Xie family had no habit of hitting children, and Xie Jinghu, successful in his career, was the “President Xie” whom everyone respected and fawned over outside. Where had he ever received such a resounding slap from another person? This was getting beaten by his own mother, so he could not fight back. At this moment, President Xie had clearly forgotten the dark experience of being ambushed and knocked down by Song Foxiang without any martial honour.
Xie Jinghu could not blame his mother for the beating; the real culprit was Zou Weijun. He looked up at Zou Weijun, whose face showed no sorrow or joy, solemn and dignified like a statue of white jade Guanyin.
Which man would want to marry a Guanyin home? The emotionless Zou Weijun sent a chill through Xie Jinghu’s heart, making his words increasingly reckless. “Seeing me get beaten, are you satisfied now?”
Zou Weijun raised her eyelids slightly. “With all the things you have done, should you not be beaten? I am not satisfied at all. I still think Mum beat you too late and too lightly!”
As soon as these words were spoken, even Old Lady Xie’s face felt as if it had been slapped by an invisible hand.
Hou Zhixiu was surprised.
After two years apart, her sister-in-law Zou Weijun truly seemed like a different person.
The words were unpleasant to hear, yet they were facts. Third Brother Xie Jinghu did indeed seem like he had been beaten too little as a child, growing up to be such a scoundrel.
Such blunt truths, the old Zou Weijun would never have uttered. She had been very tolerant and well-mannered, willing to suffer grievances herself rather than embarrass others. Now she spoke without any taboos!
Actually, this was quite good.
Women either endured or struck hard. Being tolerant and well-mannered was not wrong, but it depended on whether the other party deserved it. Hou Zhixiu quite liked Zou Weijun’s change.
With this in mind, Hou Zhixiu became even more biased in her support. Helping the embarrassed Old Lady Xie to sit down, Hou Zhixiu advised the old lady not to be hasty. “If the abscess is never lanced, it will always hurt. We want Weijun and Old Third to live well, but that also means letting Weijun vent her dissatisfaction. The one who did wrong is Old Third. Taking advantage of today’s opportunity, let us hear Weijun’s thoughts.”
These words truly struck Old Lady Xie’s heart.
The old lady was actually not afraid of Zou Weijun and Xie Jinghu quarrelling.
For a married couple, quarrelling was also a form of communication. Quarrelling was lancing the abscess: the process was painful and disgusting, but if one avoided it out of fear of pain and disgust, the abscess would never heal!
That Zou Weijun was still willing to quarrel with Xie Jinghu meant, in the old lady’s view, that she was giving him a chance. When a woman was completely dead inside towards her husband, she would not even have the energy to quarrel.
“Weijun, just speak freely. Your eldest sister-in-law and I are listening. Tell us your thoughts, and we will stand up for you.”
Old Lady Xie’s assurance was something Zou Weijun took with a pinch of salt.
No matter how good a mother-in-law was to her daughter-in-law, she could not surpass her son. The old lady sought justice to keep Zou Weijun and Xie Jinghu’s marriage going, so their grandson Xie Qian could have a complete family. Once Zou Weijun bluntly stated her true desire for divorce, the old lady would be the first to shift her stance.
This was the Xie family, and she bore the surname Zou. Who would truly think of her from the heart?
Perhaps only her eldest sister-in-law Hou Zhixiu, who had also married into the Xie family, could empathise with her experiences and sympathise with her!
Zou Weijun was clearer-headed than ever before. This clarity suppressed her fear and anger, as well as the expectation of pinning hopes on others. She could only rely on herself; she had returned to the Xie family to fight.
Since it was a fight, strategy and tactics were essential.
Zou Weijun sat back down beside Old Lady Xie, her voice subdued. “Mum, I truly do not know how to continue this life. Living apart is already the best way I can think of. I can forgo this marriage, but I cannot be so selfish as to not consider Xie Qian. If I divorce and take him away, it would separate him from everyone in the Xie family. You truly love Xie Qian dearly, and everyone at home treats him well. Letting Xie Qian leave the Xie family would be an unbearable hurt for all.”
Tears glistened in the eyes of Old Lady Xie, who had been strong her whole life:
“We cannot bear to part with Xie Qian, nor with you. With you two, the Xie family is complete. Without either of you, the Xie family is incomplete.”
Xie Jinghu tried to interject several times, but Hou Zhixiu desperately signalled him with her eyes.
No ivory comes from a dog’s mouth. It was not Xie Jinghu’s turn to speak now; he would only ruin the atmosphere the moment he opened his mouth!
Once the old lady’s emotions had calmed a bit, Zou Weijun continued. “I could also choose to leave and leave Xie Qian in the Xie family, but I am not at ease. Unless absolutely necessary, which mother would bear to abandon her own child? I know everyone at home treats Xie Qian well, but whether it is Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law or you, no one can watch over Xie Qian every moment on my behalf. In the places where you cannot look after him, Xie Qian is bound to suffer grievances and bullying. I brought this child into the world not for him to endure hardship. I have the responsibility to care for him and protect him!”
Every word Zou Weijun said struck at the hearts of Old Lady Xie and Hou Zhixiu.
Few men could empathise with women on this point. Women endured ten months of pregnancy and the hardships of nurturing, so their bond with their children was utterly different.
Old Lady Xie could absolutely empathise.
A young widow, the organisation had repeatedly tried to introduce partners to Old Lady Xie, originally with good intentions to help share the burden of raising children. But the old lady thought that people’s hearts were separated by layers, fearing her four sons would suffer grievances, so she gritted her teeth and raised them all alone.
That was a mother’s responsibility.
A child with a mother is a treasure; a child without a mother is a weed.
Zou Weijun feared Xie Qian being bullied because she worried that after divorce, she would make way for another woman. Once that other woman became “Third Madam Xie” and brought her own biological children, Xie Qian would gradually be marginalised…
Old Lady Xie kept saying the Xie family had let Zou Weijun down, emphasising repeatedly that she only recognised Xie Qian as her true grandson. Xie Jinghu felt deeply stifled hearing this.
Who had let that disobedient son suffer bullying and grievances?
Xie Jinghu felt aggrieved too!
Clearly, it was that disobedient son who had been draining him, bullying him, and making him suffer grievances all along!
Zou Weijun went with the flow and gave Old Lady Xie a reassuring pill. “To give Xie Qian a complete family, to protect Xie Qian, I will not divorce.”
At least not right now.
Once Zou Weijun said this, not only was Old Lady Xie gratified, even Xie Jinghu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Do not mind his earlier tough talk about handling the procedures; if Zou Weijun truly raised divorce, Xie Jinghu would have a real headache!
As long as Zou Weijun did not divorce, Xie Jinghu held the initiative. But who knew his relief would last less than three seconds before Old Lady Xie asked Zou Weijun’s thoughts. “Weijun, not divorcing has its own way of not divorcing. You cannot stay in Chengdu forever.”
Xie Jinghu thought Zou Weijun would retort, but unexpectedly, she nodded along with the old lady’s words.
“You are right. I have already decided to resign from the publishing house and return to the capital. Jinhu is our family business, so there should be no problem with me going to work at Jinhu, right?”
