A Good Country Wife
Chapter 477 - 471 - 1

Chapter 477: Chapter 471 - 1

"My girl," Lin Fuan said, "I know you hold a grudge against us, your parents, for not following your wishes and marrying you to a widower. But you’re aware of our family’s situation; we had no other choice. Besides, the widower has been good to you, and your life has been getting better, hasn’t it? If it wasn’t for us marrying you off, you wouldn’t be living such a luxurious life now. Listen to your father and let bygones be bygones. Don’t bear a grudge. Your mother came all this way because she was thinking of you. Why harbor anger toward her? Help her up from the ground, quick."

Lin Fuan’s words, rich with emotion, seemed somewhat reasonable, but Lin Yue turned a deaf ear and showed no intention of doing as Lin Fuan had said. To everyone else, such behavior seemed a bit too much.

Had it been in the past, Lin Fuan would have slapped her already, but now, in front of everyone, and given that Lin Yue was a married woman, he dared not act rashly. He subdued his anger and spoke to her gently. Lin Fuan didn’t expect Lin Yue to be so resistant, completely disregarding him, and that made him angry.

"You unfilial girl," Lin Fuan shouted, "did you not hear what I said? Hurry up and apologize to your mother. Help her up. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being rude. I’ll have to teach you a proper lesson. Don’t think that just because you are married, I can’t discipline you. No matter what, I am still your father." As he spoke, Lin Fuan raised the smoking pipe in his hand as if he was about to strike Lin Yue.

Because Lin Yue had brought many things with her today, in addition to Liu Aniu, she had brought another young male servant, as well as her maid, Xixi. Not to mention Liu Aniu and the servant boy were expressly brought to ensure her safety; even her maid, Xixi, who was always fiercely protective of her, blocked Lin Fuan’s impending strike without hesitation and glared at him furiously, faster to react than even Liu Aniu.

"Who dares to lay a hand on our mistress Dongjia, I will fight them!" Xixi stood in front of them, hands on her hips, shouting defiantly, her fearless demeanor somewhat intimidating Lin Fuan, causing his raised smoking pipe to hesitate.

At this point, Liu Aniu came to his senses and stepped forward to stand in front of Lin Yue and Xixi. A tall and sturdy man with a solid build, Aniu had gained the Zhao Family’s appreciation for his work over these days; hence, Erhu had taught him some martial arts. Now, with an even more imposing presence, he stood in front of Lin Fuan without saying a word, his cold face alone enough to cow Lin Fuan.

Seeing that the time was about right, Lin Yue finally spoke, her gaze indifferent as she looked at Lin Fuan and Lin Zhou, "You don’t need to utter these lofty words. You say you are my parents, but I don’t recognize you."

"You heartless ingrate," Lin Zhou continued to scream. "You actually say you don’t recognize us. Folks, come judge this for us. What kind of world is this, when a daughter doesn’t even acknowledge her own parents? Could there be anything more absurd?"

"I say, Lin Fuan’s girl, you’ve gone too far," someone finally couldn’t help but speak up. "Although your parents were wrong, as their child, you can’t blame them to this extent, let alone disown them. You can’t do something as unfilial as forgetting your roots. If I may suggest, just soften a little and apologize to your parents. There’s no need to be too extreme."

Lin Yue looked at the person speaking, who was even older than her supposed parents, with a head full of white hair, seemingly in his sixties or seventies, his face rigid with righteousness as he lectured her, clearly still full of vigor.

"I truly don’t recognize them. It’s not just them—I don’t recognize anyone from before. Ever since I married into the Zhao family village last year, and then fell seriously ill right after, almost losing my life. The doctor said there was no cure, and they had already told people to prepare for the worst. But, somehow, I was fortunate enough to escape death at the Gate of Ghost and managed to cling to life, but it left me with memory issues. I can’t remember many things from before, so I truly don’t recognize them."

Most of the people were leaning towards Lin Fuan’s side, but after hearing Lin Yue’s explanation, they understood the true situation and couldn’t help but sigh, "So that’s the case. Sister Yue fell ill and lost her memory. But surviving is still a good thing, after all."

With that said, people started to recall Zhao Erhu’s reputation for jinxing his wives and immediately connected Lin Yue’s illness to that. Many thought Lin Yue had been hexed by Zhao Erhu, and felt that Lin Fuan and his wife were too callous. Even tigers don’t eat their own children, so who would send their daughter into the fire? Thankfully, Lin Fuan’s girl was lucky to survive, and now that she couldn’t remember anyone, who could blame her? It was all karma that Lin Fuan and his wife had brought upon themselves. How could they blame their daughter?

Lin Fuan and his wife vaguely heard about their daughter’s amnesia from their son but hadn’t taken it to heart. Now, hearing Lin Yue’s admission, they recalled the incident. Lin Fuan coughed awkwardly and turned to Lin Yue, "Since you lost your memory and can’t recognize us, I won’t blame you. It’s not your fault, just the play of fate. But let me tell you now—we are your true parents. Don’t be willful anymore. Help your mother up and properly apologize, and let’s put this all behind us."

Lin Yue’s lips lifted into a cold smile, "I’m sorry, but who do you think you are, assuming so much? Just because you say you are my parents doesn’t make it true. Why should I believe you? When I was on the brink of death, my husband was the one by my side, not a single person from my parental home. During my recovery, nobody came to see me either. If you were really my parents, how could you treat me like this, not even visiting when I was dying? Even strangers wouldn’t be so indifferent. Therefore, I figured I might as well act as if all my relatives died. Besides, my husband later showed me the contract. It clearly stated that for twenty taels of silver, all ties were severed. From then on, I was only a member of the Zhao family, no longer related to my birth family. So, even if you were my parents, once you signed that contract, you should have kept your word."

Lin Yue’s speech was moving and sensible, compelling even the staunch traditionalists on Lin Fuan’s side to lose their argument. Besides, it wasn’t their family matter, and they had no need to get unnecessarily involved, so they remained silent.

Seeing that the villagers were siding with Lin Yue, and considering the disapproving looks from the servants she had brought, Lin Fuan and Lin Zhou knew they couldn’t win today and left dejectedly. They continued to grumble and didn’t say a single kind word as they walked away.

Time passed quickly amid busy days. Zhao Erhu had been gone to the south for about a month. Lin Yue, calculating Erhu’s journey, thought he should be on his way back if all went well. But he returned even faster than she had anticipated.

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