Divorced by her husband's family and rejected by her own! She defiantly turned her life around

On New Year's Eve, Lu Yunzhou wrote Spring Festival couplets for his family. Some villagers also came to their house with red paper to write their own. Granny Liu gave the villagers a good scolding, which made them all leave in anger.

"Mom, what are you doing? They come to our house to ask me to write Spring Festival couplets, which can help ease tensions with the villagers. If you offend everyone like this, no one will help us if anything happens in the future."

"Those people are all greedy. They come to you when they need you, and then they talk behind your back when they don't. Why bother with them and waste your breath?"

Lu Yunzhou was helpless. Her mother was just like that, there was really nothing she could do. During the New Year's Eve dinner, Lu Yunzhou saw the two children left behind by her former sister-in-law. The two siblings were much thinner than before, and their clothes were very thin. Their faces were even a little blue from the cold.

"Wenxuan, Xinning, aren't you two cold?"

The two children looked at Granny Liu, then at Widow Wang, and said, "Second Uncle, we're not cold."

"Zhou'er, don't worry about them, hurry up and eat. They're perfectly healthy."

Lu Yunzhou thought of Zhou Xiangxing, then looked at the two children, "Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Wenxuan and Xinning are your own grandchildren, your own son and daughter. How can you treat them like this? Look at what the children are wearing!"

"Second brother, you don't need to concern yourself with this matter. They are atoning for their mother's sins."

"Zhou'er, your elder brother is right. That bitch Zhou not only cheated our family out of money, but also made us lose face in the village. I wonder where she is now."

She might have already been sold into prostitution.

"Mother, what do you mean by that?"

"After Zhou left our house, she did not go back to her parents' home. Some time ago, her family came to our door, and that's how we found out."

Lu Yunzhou wondered where she, a frail woman, could go, and whether she might do something rash... He dared not think too deeply about it.

The two children sat at the table, neither daring to pick up any of the food. Lu Yunzhou put a piece of meat in each of their bowls, and the two children had tears in their eyes, but they dared not cry.

"Eat up, then your second uncle will take you to play."

After the New Year's Eve dinner, Lu Yunzhou took the two children to his study.

"Wenxuan, Xinning, tell your second uncle, when he's not home, is your stepmother good to you?"

The two children looked towards the door. Lu Wenxuan peeked through the crack in the door to make sure no one was outside before returning.

He pulled his sister down to kneel with him. "Second Uncle, can you take us away? We don't want to stay here anymore. If we stay here, we'll be tortured to death."

Lu Wenxuan rolled up his sleeves and lifted his clothes, and Lu Yunzhou saw that he was covered in wounds, both new and old.

"Were all these done by Widow Wang?"

"Some of the beatings were from the second aunt, and some were from the grandmother."

Second Uncle, why is that? Before, Grandma and Second Aunt loved my sister and me. But since Mother passed away, why is everything different?

My sister and I have endless chores to do every day, and we are constantly scolded and beaten. We have done nothing wrong and obediently listen to them, so why do they still beat and scold us?

Grandma and Second Aunt said that our mother made a mistake and that we should make amends.

But Mother is gone, and we have nothing to do with him anymore, so why are they still treating us like this?

Now, no one in this family likes us. Although Grandpa doesn't hit or scold us, he doesn't care about us either.

Second Uncle, we miss Mother. Can you take us to find her?

Lu Yunzhou never expected that his mother, Widow Wang, and his elder brother could be so cruel to the two children and treat them so severely.

"As you just heard, your mother didn't go back to your maternal grandmother's house, and your second uncle doesn't know where she went either, so he can't help you look for her."

However, when your second uncle goes away to study, he can help you inquire about it gradually.

"Your second uncle is going away to study and won't be able to take you with him, but don't worry, before I leave I'll have a good talk with your grandparents and your father and ask them not to make things difficult for you anymore."

"Second Uncle, we're scared."

Lu Yunzhou looked at the two pitiful children. They used to be fair-skinned and tender, but now they looked like little beggars.

Thinking of his past with Zhou Xiangxing, he also felt he had to take care of these two children.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Lu Yunlan took her family back to her parents' home. "Little brother, you must pass the imperial examination this year and make your sister proud. You have no idea how well that bitch Liu is doing, just because I am your sister. You have no idea how the villagers talk about me."

"Once you pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, you must teach Liu a lesson for her arrogance. She thinks she's something just because she has a little money. She should also help you vent your anger."

"Sister, we're divorced now, we have nothing to do with each other anymore. Her affairs are none of our business, we should just live our own lives."

"How can it be unrelated? You don't know what the villagers are saying about me. They're saying that our Lu family is blind and has mistaken fish eyes for pearls. Both of our good daughters-in-law have been driven away. They're saying that we bring all sorts of junk into our house. It's obvious that our family has bad morals. Isn't this clearly saying that I have bad character and no manners?"

If it weren't for that vile woman, Liu, would the villagers be so hostile towards the Lu family? All this trouble is caused by that vile woman, Liu.

Widow Wang felt uneasy listening to her sister-in-law Lu Yunlan's words. Wasn't Lu Yunlan subtly mocking her as a worthless piece of trash?

Widow Wang was not someone to be trifled with. "Little sister, I don't like hearing you say that. You come back during the New Year and say these things. Aren't you just making things difficult for me?"

Besides, my second brother is also going to take the imperial examination. If you say this, it might affect his mood and make him unable to concentrate on his studies.

If someone makes you unhappy, go find them!

What's the point of yelling so loudly at home? Nobody can hear you anyway.

My second brother is destined to be an official. If you make him do these things, aren't you going to ruin his reputation and his future?

You can't just think of yourself; you also need to think about your younger brother.

Although Lu Yunzhou disliked Widow Wang, there was some truth to what she said.

"Sister, let's not talk about these upsetting things during the New Year. Let's talk about something happy so that the whole year will go smoothly."

"Little brother, it's not that I'm nagging, but I'm really frustrated because my in-laws have a problem with me because of this."

If it weren't for the fact that my younger brother is a scholar, his family would probably have divorced me.

Lu Yunzhou would cough occasionally while speaking, but no one paid any attention; after all, everyone coughs!

"Zhou'er, I've noticed you've been coughing a lot. This won't do. I'll go with you to see the doctor when the clinic in town reopens."

"Mother, it's really nothing serious. I'll go to the county town and have a doctor there take a good look at me. A couple of doses of medicine will do the trick."

After dinner, Lu Yunlan went to her mother's room for a private talk. "Mother," she said, "is that Liu Shi really as powerful as people say? Rich, powerful, and connected with influential people in the city?"

"That's what they say, but we've never met him. However, it's true that he's rich. I heard that the noblemen in the city gave him a lot of money. He also led the people of Liujia Village to make charcoal and received several hundred taels of silver. He made a lot of money selling food."

"I find this strange. This Liu used to be so timid and submissive when she lived with us, and she didn't seem to have any special skills. How come she's become so capable after we kicked her out?"

"Mother, I'm afraid Liu was just pretending all along. She had all those skills but just didn't want to share them with our family. She must have harbored resentment after being sold to us."

"You're right, that bitch is really vicious. Not only did she swindle dozens of taels of silver from our family, but she also humiliated Mother. I will never let her go in this lifetime."