Chapter 807: Chapter 545: Accountability
The first watch has come.
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“I…” Lin Yanqiu stared at Chuxia in a daze for a while, then suddenly seemed to comprehend as she nodded, “Xia, thanks for reminding mom.” She forced a smile, “Does this work?”
“Mom…” Chuxia sighed, “At this time, smiling doesn’t seem very appropriate, does it?”
“Then what should I do?” Lin Yanqiu was at a loss, gazing at Chuxia with a bewildered expression.
“Well…” Chuxia scratched her head in distress, not knowing how to respond.
“Sigh!” Lin Yanqiu sighed, looking at Chuxia with a bitter smile, “I know what to do now, I just got panicked for a moment and lost my ability to think. Don’t worry, mom knows what to do.”
Normally, the journey that would take half an hour only took a quarter of an hour. The moment the car stopped, Lin Yanqiu had already pushed the door open and ran out.
When her son used to drive, she always reminded him to slow down. But today, even if the car seemed to fly, she still felt it was too slow.
Chuxia and Zhou Mikang followed behind her, their expressions extremely somber. For Zhou Jiping, having a child was as important as life.
If she knew about the pregnancy beforehand, it would have been impossible to hide it from the Zhou family members. Now, there’s only one possibility: she didn’t know herself and it happened unexpectedly!
Such a blow, for Zhou Jiping who longed for a child like life depended on it, whether she could accept it, and whether she could get through it, remains unknown.
“Mom?” Yu Mingtao, who was sitting by the bed in a daze, was surprised to see Lin Yanqiu barging in, “Why are you here?”
Lin Yanqiu didn’t even look at him and went straight to the bedside. Zhou Jiping was still in a state of slumber, her complexion pale to the point of being almost transparent. Even after mentally preparing herself throughout the journey, Lin Yanqiu couldn’t control her emotions upon seeing her daughter. Tears rolled down like beads from a broken string…
“What’s going on?” Zhou Xikang asked Yu Mingtao, as the eldest, it was, of course, up to him to start the questioning.
“Big brother, Laosan, sister-in-law…” Yu Mingtao stared blankly at the three, “How… how did you find out?”
“Big brother is asking you, what exactly happened.” Zhou Mikang grabbed his collar, “When you married my second sister, what did you say? And now, what have you done?
Something so big happened, and you didn’t even think to notify us, Yu Mingtao, how much more is there that you’re hiding from us? How much grievance has my second sister suffered in your family?”
“I… I didn’t mean to…” Yu Mingtao mumbled in a daze, “For me and Jiping, having a baby of our own was a huge joy, but why did this joyful event have to be announced to us in such a manner?”
“Tell us the specifics.” Zhou Mikang said.
“Originally, we were planning to return tomorrow, but when we got off work in the evening, my mom called us and said it’s not a good day to travel tomorrow, she advised us to rush back tonight.
Coincidentally, Jiping also missed home, so we discussed it and decided to return overnight. The road was hard to travel, very bumpy. Jiping said the bumps made her stomach uncomfortable, so I drove a bit slower.
But the road was really bad, even in second gear, the car was terribly bumpy, and Jiping’s stomach began to hurt more and more.
Since she always had severe pain every time her period came, and it was already several days late, we assumed it was just her period coming. When we reached a village near the city, I got Jiping a cup of hot water.
But she had only taken a few sips when she curled up in pain, unable to even speak. Seeing her like that, I knew something was wrong and hurriedly drove to the nearest hospital, but it was too late…”
At this point, Yu Mingtao broke down in tears, having been in a state of shock ever since receiving the news. He desperately wished it was a dream and that he’d wake up to find it was all false.
All sensory stimuli confirmed it was real. He almost had a son or daughter, who was lost due to his own doing.
The doctor said his wife had a body type that was particularly difficult to conceive and keep a pregnancy, especially in the first two months of pregnancy when extreme caution was necessary.
Reflecting, before returning home, his father called saying his second uncle wanted some of thatched grass from the county where he was stationed, and asked him to gather some. He had no time, so Zhou Jiping went up the mountain in the cold to gather it.
His mother urged them to return tonight. His wife, exhausted from collecting grass all day, combined with the bumpy ride, led to a collapse her body couldn’t withstand.
But ultimately, who is to be blamed for all these?
Blame the parents?
Haha…
He could only chuckle bitterly. If only he had cared a bit more about his wife and prioritized her health, would things have turned out like this?
When he married her, he said things sweeter than anything, but how has he acted over the years?
His parents complained that his wife hadn’t given the Yu family a child, and although he was comforting them, deep down he agreed with their thoughts. Otherwise, why would he go to such lengths to make his wife perform well in front of them?
It’s not his wife’s fault that her health isn’t good, so how could he blame her? Plus, when they got married, she asked to get a health check-up, but he found it embarrassing and refused to go.
And he even swore to her that no matter what happened in the future, his love for her wouldn’t change.
Does it really not change?
Does he really dare to pat his chest and say this?
“Slap!”
A heavy slap snapped Yu Mingtao out of his daze, the one who hit him was, of course, Lin Yanqiu, with her face turned livid and her lips trembling: “Bastard, I entrusted my daughter to you, is this how you treat her?
When you married her, I told you that Jiping had experienced much hardship when she was young. After marrying her, you must love her, cherish her, give her warmth in the family and make her happy. You promised well, and I believed you.
I didn’t expect your promises to be like farts, dissipating the moment they were uttered, as if they never existed. If it weren’t for Jiping holding me back these years, I would have confronted you long ago.
Knowing she was about to have her period, you all went out without even bringing a hot water bottle. Why couldn’t your second uncle gather that what’s-it-called grass himself? You promised, so why didn’t you go gather it? How could you let a woman go up the mountain to gather wild herbs in such cold weather?
You should know how harsh your parents are to my daughter, right? Though our Jiping had suffered when she was young, she became the apple of our eye as she grew up. Was marrying into your family meant to let your family members bully her like this?”
“Mom, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry is useless!” Lin Yanqiu glared at him angrily, “Because of your family, even my grandchild is lost. What is the point of saying sorry?
How can Jiping accept it when she wakes up? You know how long she’s been yearning for a baby, and how important this was to her, don’t you? How can she bear it?”
“Mom, let’s not tell her first, okay?”
“What’s the use?” Lin Yanqiu stared at him resentfully, “After going through something like this, she can’t get pregnant for at least a year. Do you want her to take the blame as well?”
“I…” Yu Mingtao’s eyes were filled with pain. He even had the urge to kill himself now, but what use would it be?
Lin Yanqiu waved her hand at him: “Forget it, go back, we will take care of Jiping. When she gets better, let her decide for herself.”
“Mom…” Yu Mingtao anxiously grabbed Lin Yanqiu’s sleeve, “Mom, at this time I can’t leave her, I must personally take care of her. I can take good care of her in her postpartum recovery. Mom, please believe me, give me this chance, I promise I will never let Jiping suffer any grievances again. If my parents are like this again, I will take Jiping and move out, not staying in that house, how about that?”
“No!” Lin Yanqiu refused, “Now I don’t want to say anything to you, go back. Don’t worry, I won’t make decisions for Jiping, when she wakes up, I’ll follow her wishes.”
“Mom!” Yu Mingtao knelt down with a thud, “At this moment, I really cannot leave, I promise you, when Jiping wakes up, you can personally ask her decision, but let me stay to take care of her, I beg you.” Saying so he looked for help towards Zhou Xikang, Zhou Mikang and Chuxia, “Big brother, third brother, sister-in-law, please help, persuade mom, I really cannot leave Jiping like this, please, help me, help me…”
A grown man crying heart-wrenchingly, truly was something that tugged painfully at the heart… but for it to come to today’s situation, he bore the main responsibility!
Zhou Xikang and Zhou Mikang turned their heads to the side, ignoring him.
Left with no choice, Yu Mingtao looked towards Chuxia: “Sister-in-law…”
“Do you think I’m being stupid?” Chuxia said expressionlessly as she looked at him, “Brother-in-law, if it were any other matter, I would definitely help you, but this matter, I feel there’s no need to help you.
If you truly loved second sister as much as you say, such a thing would never have happened to her, nor would you allow your parents to treat her that way.
A woman’s status in her husband’s family mostly depends on how her husband treats her. If you usually treat second sister well, showing your family you can’t live without her, would they dare to bully her like that?”
“Yes, yes, it’s all my fault, I won’t ever give them such a chance again, I promise…” Yu Mingtao turned to look at Lin Yanqiu, “Mom, please trust me once more, I beg you!”
Lin Yanqiu looked at him expressionlessly, not saying a word.
Her heart was also conflicted, she knew her daughter’s feelings for this man, otherwise, she wouldn’t have endured the in-laws’ abuses over these years and adamantly refused her family to intervene.
However, she didn’t know if giving this opportunity would ultimately harm her daughter or save her… (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian () to give a recommendation or monthly vote. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please visit for reading.)