Ruan Jiaojiao hastily turned her head and called to the Ruanlin Family, "Nai, Nai." She was afraid that if Liao Zhaoji kept hugging so tightly for much longer, her second uncle’s legs would be ruined.
As the Ruanlin Family heard her and came out, the moment she saw the scene outside, her face darkened completely.
With Liao Zhaoji, this troublemaker, absent these past two months, life at home had been extremely harmonious, and she definitely did not want this terrible woman to return.
She stepped forward and quickly pried Liao Zhaoji’s hands apart, turning to Ruan Jiandang, she said, "You go inside first!" She always knew her son was sincere and soft-hearted, worried that a few cries from this woman would melt his resolve, so she urged him to go inside.
Ruan Jiandang, too, had no desire to stay outside, and upon hearing her, he limped his way into the courtyard.
Liao Zhaoji, seeing him leave, naturally refused to let it happen, and threw herself at him while wailing, "Jiandang, Jiandang, do you really not care about me anymore? I will die! I really will die! They will drive me to my death! Please save me, I’ll live well with you, I won’t make the mistakes I made before, please, help me..."
She tried to cling to Ruan Jiandang again, but before she could even touch his sleeve, the Ruanlin Family pushed her away with one move.
In two months’ time, she had become so thin she barely seemed human. The Ruanlin Family pushed her lightly, and she fell to the ground, as fragile as paper, even surprising the Ruanlin Family who furrowed her brow.
She had not expected that in just two months, Liao Zhaoji would become so weak—she had hardly exerted any force!
She looked at her with knitted brows, even suspecting she might be faking it, coming here specifically to garner sympathy.
But Liao Zhaoji was not pretending; she truly was that frail.
Perhaps people are like that, only realizing what they have lost after it’s gone, only then understanding what regret feels like.
After being forced by the Li Family to divorce, Liao Zhaoji spent the first few days out of sorts, unclear about the situation. Once she fully came to her senses, she realized what she had done.
But by then, it was already too late.
Perhaps to prove a point, she wanted to show the Ruan Family that even after the divorce, she could live well, wanting Ruan Jiandang to be the first to regret!
But as wonderful as she imagined it, reality was cruel.
Back in her natal home, she resumed the life she had before marriage. Before her marriage, she never felt that life was too miserable, but after being married into the Ruan Family and then returning, she realized how hard that life was to endure.
She couldn’t eat enough and still had to do chores for the whole family every day.
The Li Family also completely revealed their true colors, either beating or scolding her, even blaming her for Liao Laifu being detained, calling her a jinx, a disaster bringer, hurling every ugly word at her, and when really angry, would hit her. The bruise on her forehead was from a beating a few days ago.
This life was already hard enough, but what was even more frightening was that Liao Laifu was going to be released in a couple of days.
His marriage arrangement had not yet fallen through, but the bride’s family had added a condition, demanding an additional two hundred yuan in betrothal money—a considerable sum for the Liao Family, especially without the financial support from the Ruan Family. They set their sights on Liao Zhaoji.
They intended to sell her to a man in his sixties in a neighboring town as a secondary wife, with the other party offering three hundred yuan in betrothal money.
Naturally, Liao Zhaoji was unwilling. She was not blind—why would she not want a good man like Ruan Jiandang and instead marry an old coot? But the Liao Family had already accepted the money from the prospective groom, and they were planning to send her over in the next few days.