Rebirth of a Village Girl

Chapter 945: 230: The Truth Emerging from the Surface_5

But she had never lived for herself.

By the time she learned the truth, she already had one foot in the King Yama Hall.

How did it come to this?

Seeing Zhao Shuyue like this, Liu Qinian panicked, "Shuyue, don’t be like this! I’m not dead, I haven’t died! I’m still alive, I know I’ve wronged you all these years! But I couldn’t help it, it was all due to the circumstances!"

Zhao Shuyue looked at Liu Qinian with a desolate gaze, "So, what have you come here for today? Are you here to boast that you now have a son and a daughter, while I’ve lived like a joke? Liu Qinian, ask yourself, has the Zhao Family ever mistreated you? What did you promise my father? Since you’re still alive, why didn’t you come looking for me? Looking at your clothes, it doesn’t seem like it’s because you couldn’t afford to, right?"

Some people would be better off dead.

All these years, if Liu Qinian had truly wanted to find her, he would not have failed to do so.

But Liu Qinian hadn’t.

Not only had he not, but he had also remarried.

How ironic all of this was!

Back then, Liu Qinian was just a destitute beggar too poor to eat, fainting at the doorstep of the Zhao Family. It was Old Master Zhao who took pity on him, picked up the half-dead Liu Qinian, and later took him in as a son-in-law.

Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long.

The couple had been married for hardly half a year before war broke out.

The entire Zhao Family, over two hundred people, were either killed or fled, in the end leaving only Zhao Shuyue alone.

"Shuyue, I’ve wronged you! I apologize to you!" Liu Qinian immediately knelt on the ground, "Shuyue, please forgive me! From now on, my children with Wentang will be your children, they will take good care of you, and moreover, Wentang said, she wants to give Xiaoru to you as an adopted child!"

Liu Ru also knelt down, "Auntie! Please forgive my father! He had no other choice, I assure you, from now on, you’ll be my own mother, and when you pass on, I will carry the funeral banner and smash the bowls for you!"

Carrying the funeral banner and smashing the bowls is a custom after an elder’s death, generally performed by the eldest son. However, in the absence of a son, a daughter can also do it, and it is usually the person who performs these rites who inherits all of the elder’s wealth.

This old woman was so rich, of course, she wanted to inherit her wealth.

Jiu Wentang too knelt down, dragging Liu Qi with her.

"Big sister, I know all of this is my fault, it was me who pitied Haoshan, it was me who shamelessly wanted to marry him, if you mind my existence, I can divorce Haoshan! Big sister, as long as you’re willing to forgive Haoshan, I’m willing to do anything!"

The whole family was kneeling neatly in front of Zhao Shuyue, their sincerity evident.

Grandma Liu turned away, "My husband Liu Qinian died sixty years ago, I do not know any of you, please leave."

Sixty years!

She would have preferred it if Liu Qinian had never lived at all.

"Shuyue, you can’t be so heartless," Liu Qinian pleaded, holding onto Zhao Shuyue’s legs, "I know I’ve wronged you, but who in this life doesn’t make a single mistake?"

Liu Qinian continued, "Shuyue, I know these years have been hard for you, but I hope you can also understand me, think about it, in our parents’ generation, who didn’t have multiple wives and concubines? Without you by my side, I couldn’t just watch the Liu Family lineage die out! And I truly didn’t know you were alive, if I had known, I certainly wouldn’t have done this, Shuyue, please give me a chance to make it up to you, I really know I was wrong!"

In that era, not to mention Zhao Shuyue’s parents, even her brothers had multiple wives and concubines.

He might have been guilty, but his crime was not worthy of death.

"Auntie," Liu Ru tugged at Zhao Shuyue’s sleeve, "They say a man’s knees are gold, and now my father and brother have both knelt before you! Come back with us! From now on, I’ll make sure you live in a big house, eat the best foods!"

Zhao Shuyue closed her eyes, "Go back, I don’t know you."

"Auntie!" Liu Ru grasped Zhao Shuyue tightly.

"I’m not your auntie!" Zhao Shuyue’s voice trembled slightly.

Liu Qinian went on, "Shuyue, we’re both of advanced age now, what’s there that we can’t forgive? There is only this one life, no afterlife, I hope you can understand that. I believe if our parents were still alive, they too would understand me! They wouldn’t want to see the Liu Family’s line end!"