From Broken Family to Life Winner: A Reborn Mother's Journey

Mrs. Tang and Qin Shanshan heard from others that Tang Yuanxiao had gone to the Imperial City on business.

They instantly lost their appetites.

At the mention of the Imperial City, they both immediately thought of Su Li.

’Tang Yuanxiao must have gone to find Su Li again!’

That was what they both thought.

And the resentment in their hearts was identical.

”That Tangyuan!” Mrs. Tang was furious, her anger mixed with bitter disappointment.

”This can’t go on. I can’t let Tangyuan go see that slut again. If this keeps up, when will I ever get to hold my grandchild?”

Mrs. Tang suddenly grabbed the hand Qin Shanshan was using to feed her, her eyes gleaming with a startling intensity.

”Shanshan, I’ve set my heart on you as my daughter-in-law. Do you have the guts?”

Qin Shanshan looked into Mrs. Tang’s eyes, her heart skipping a beat. ”Guts for what?”

”Just tell me if you have the guts or not! If you do, I’ll take care of the arrangements!”

Mrs. Tang’s eyes blazed with a frightening light, her expression one of grim resolve. ”Once the deed is done, you think he can still wriggle out of it?”

’I know my own son. If the deed is really done, no matter how he feels about it, he’ll acknowledge it and take responsibility.’

Qin Shanshan’s heart pounded, and a blush instantly flooded her face. ”Aunty, please don’t.”

She was tempted. Of course she was tempted. After all, a years-long dream was on the verge of coming true.

It didn’t matter how it was achieved; all that mattered was that it was.

Yet, she hesitated. Of course she did. A forced relationship is never a happy one. If Tang Yuanxiao was adamant about not wanting her, or if he came to resent her for this scheme, she would be miserable all the same.

If the truth came out, she would be ridiculed. She’d be branded with all sorts of ugly labels—a woman who forced a marriage, and who knew what else.

”Aunty, we really can’t do this,” Qin Shanshan said, her heart hammering in her chest as she forced herself to dissuade Mrs. Tang.

Mrs. Tang could see that Qin Shanshan was tempted but hesitant, which wasn’t surprising.

Secretly resolving to convince Qin Shanshan, a series of plans flashed through Mrs. Tang’s mind.

Tang Yuanxiao was still completely unaware of the schemes his mother was plotting behind his back.

After bidding Su Li farewell, he returned to the family compound, feeling both content and heavy-hearted.

After being out all day, his first stop upon returning was, of course, to see his mother.

But when Tang Yuanxiao got home, the sight that met his eyes filled him with shock and fury.

The sweater he cherished so dearly—the one he could barely bring himself to wear, the only thing Su Li had ever left him—had been cut up and unraveled into a tangled heap of yarn.

Mrs. Tang was sitting in the living room, waiting for him.

When she saw him, she asked in a grim voice, ”Did you go see that slut again?”

Tang Yuanxiao didn’t have time to answer, his gaze fixed on the pile of green yarn at Mrs. Tang’s feet.

”What are you looking at? It’s just a worthless old sweater.”

With her good foot, Mrs. Tang clumsily stomped on the pile of yarn a couple of times.

Clinging to a sliver of hope, Tang Yuanxiao ignored his mother and rushed into his bedroom.

After he stopped living at home, he had bought a lock and put anything he didn’t want his mother touching inside, locking it up.

The photo with Mo Jianjun, the sweater Su Li had knitted for him, and a few other important possessions were all locked away.

His mother had never touched the lock before. But now, it had been forced open.

Tang Yuanxiao looked at the broken lock, then at the ransacked contents and the shredded photograph on the floor. There was nothing left to wonder about.

The photograph was torn to pieces. The sweater was now the heap of yarn out in the living room.

Veins bulged on the back of his hands, and a vein on his forehead throbbed.

He dropped to his knees, picking up the scattered pieces of the photograph from the floor.

”What are you doing in there? Tangyuan, come out here,” Mrs. Tang called from the living room, her own anger barely contained.

She had been in a foul mood all day. When she went back to her room to rest, her eyes had fallen on the locked drawer.

She’d always hated the sight of that lock but had managed to restrain herself.

Today, however, she couldn’t hold back any longer. She’d had Qin Shanshan break the lock.

When she saw what was inside, Mrs. Tang’s fury had erupted.

”And here I thought you were hiding something important! I thought you’d locked up money, but it was just this junk!”

Mrs. Tang had almost forgotten about the sweater, but the sight of it brought the memory rushing back.

”Locking up a worthless old sweater like it’s some kind of treasure... It’s enough to kill me!”

Mrs. Tang was sick with regret. If she’d known it would come to this, she never would have secretly taken the sweater and mailed it to Tang Yuanxiao in the first place.

Mrs. Tang had struggled to pull the sweater out, and in doing so, had dragged out the photograph of Tang Yuanxiao and Mo Jianjun as well.

Seeing Mo Jianjun, Mrs. Tang had paused. She remembered he was the man who had saved Tang Yuanxiao’s life. Her expression softened, and she was about to ask Qin Shanshan to put it back when her eyes landed on Cui Yun.

Mrs. Tang had once been very fond of Cui Yun, but that fondness had since curdled into hatred.

”Wicked woman!”

Mrs. Tang lost control. Using her teeth and her one good hand, she tore the photograph to shreds.

Then, she destroyed the sweater as well.

Qin Shanshan hadn’t said a word to stop her. She had even been clever enough to make herself scarce before Tang Yuanxiao returned.

”Tang Yuanxiao, get out here! Do you hear me?”

Mrs. Tang’s anger was mounting.

”Let me tell you, Tangyuan, if you dare go see that ugly woman again, your mother will hang herself right in front of you!”

”Give up any hope you have for her! If you want to be with her, you’ll have to do it over my dead body!”

Mrs. Tang rambled on, but Tang Yuanxiao, after silently gathering the pieces of the photo, finally rose and walked out of the room.

Mrs. Tang’s tirade cut off abruptly. ”You...”

She had just opened her mouth to speak when she saw Tang Yuanxiao stoop and gather the pile of yarn at her feet into his hands.

”What are you doing? You still want this pile of worthless yarn?”

Filled with a mixture of shock and rage, Mrs. Tang grabbed at him with her good hand and stomped at his hands and the yarn with her good foot.

Tang Yuanxiao remained half-kneeling on the floor, letting her pull and stomp on him as he meticulously gathered every last strand of yarn.

”You should rest now.”

Once he had collected all the yarn and placed it in a bag, Tang Yuanxiao, as if living in another world entirely, gave his mother a deep bow and turned to leave.

Mrs. Tang collapsed onto the sofa, her chest heaving. She clutched at it, crying out, ”Tangyuan, you get back here!”

His only reply was the decisive click of the closing door.

Qin Shanshan, who had been hiding nearby, saw Tang Yuanxiao leave. Sensing something was wrong, she rushed back inside to find Mrs. Tang on the floor, sobbing and cursing.

”Ungrateful son! Ungrateful son! What’s the point of me even living!”

”Ungrateful son! I should just die! I gave birth to him, I raised him all these years, and it’s all worth less than a single hair on that slut’s head!”

Mrs. Tang sobbed and cursed, all while desperately trying to muffle her voice, terrified the neighbors would hear.

But no matter how she tried, those nearby could still hear everything.

And what could they say? Nothing, but shake their heads in resignation.

Tang Yuanxiao returned to his quiet office. He looked at the pile of yarn and the photo fragments before him and gave a wretched smile.

Piece by piece, he began to tape the photograph back together.

Despite his best efforts, the picture was a wreck. The piece with his own head on it was missing, nowhere to be found.

If the photo was like this, the sweater was a lost cause.

The sweater had been completely reduced to a tangled mess of yarn... It could never be a sweater again.

There was no going back.