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

Tang Yuanxiao was completely unaware of Mrs. Tang’s sorrow.

He was spending more and more time with Lin Huanzhu.

It couldn’t be helped. December had arrived, and time was running out.

The statute of limitations for the Lin Family massacre was set to expire on December 13th.

If the killer wasn’t arrested and brought to justice on the thirteenth, the 20-year statute of limitations would be over.

Prosecuting the case after 20 years would be far more difficult.

Besides, 20 years had passed. Lin Huanzhu had no idea what had become of the culprit. ’What if he’s grown old and died?’

Lin Huanzhu was desperate to see it all end before the deadline.

But the more she wanted it, the more unattainable it seemed.

With Tang Yuanxiao’s help, they finally identified a suspect, but they still couldn’t catch him.

By the time the thirteenth arrived, Lin Huanzhu was on the verge of a breakdown.

Fortunately, the heavens were watching. At the last possible moment, the man was caught.

Just when Lin Huanzhu had fallen into absolute despair, Tang Yuanxiao caught him.

After lying in wait for a day and a night in the frozen, snow-covered landscape, Tang Yuanxiao finally caught the man, sustaining injuries in the life-or-death struggle.

When Tang Yuanxiao subdued the suspect and dragged him before Lin Huanzhu, leaving a trail of bloodstains behind him, Lin Huanzhu felt a shock more profound than any she had ever known.

For the rest of her life, she would never forget that scene.

”Thank you, thank you...” Lin Huanzhu clutched Tang Yuanxiao’s still-bleeding arm, tears streaming down her face.

He had saved her life before, but this was something more.

”Don’t cry.” Tang Yuanxiao’s breath plumed in the cold air. ”It’s nothing, just a minor injury.”

The man who had committed such a brutal massacre twenty years ago could never have imagined he would be captured.

When he was interrogated about his motive for the massacre, the reason he gave nearly shattered Lin Huanzhu.

He had murdered her entire family of six simply because he was ”pissed off”—he’d killed them to vent his frustration.

The culprit had a disability in his lower leg and survived by begging, yet he possessed a fragile, powerful pride. Twenty years ago, as winter set in and the temperature plummeted, he was out begging, cold and starving, when he encountered Lin Huanzhu’s parents.

At that moment, Lin Huanzhu’s parents happened to have no money on them and couldn’t give him anything. This sent the man into a rage. On a sudden impulse, he followed them home and proceeded to murder them all.

The murderer was terrified after the killings, but when he realized he hadn’t been caught, he went on to commit other crimes, growing bolder each time.

Eventually, he even became a killer-for-hire, earning a large sum of money.

With that money, the man returned to his hometown, built a house, took a wife, and even had children. He lived a prosperous life, showing no trace of the murderer he was.

That was why Lin Huanzhu had never been able to track him down. Thankfully, with Tang Yuanxiao’s help, the killer was finally captured.

Hearing the motive for the murders, Lin Huanzhu was overwhelmed with anguish. She nearly stormed in to kill the man herself, breaking down into loud, desperate sobs.

After her fit of weeping, Lin Huanzhu was finally able to visit her family’s graves to pay her respects, laying down the heaviest burden on her heart.

A trial awaited the criminal. Having killed so many people and committed such atrocities, the ultimate punishment of a death sentence awaited him.

With the burden lifted from her shoulders, Lin Huanzhu fell gravely ill. While she was sick, her aunt, Liao Jin, nearly cried her eyes out with worry.

Fortunately, Lin Huanzhu slowly recovered and was well enough to reassure Liao Jin. ”It’s okay, Auntie. From now on, I can finally live like a human being.”

She could finally live like a proper person, like anyone else. She could be happy, laugh, and love, no longer feeling that every breath she took was an act of betrayal.

Lin Huanzhu was completely liberated.

And Mrs. Tang, too, was finally free.

Her freedom wasn’t metaphorical; her prison sentence was over.

The prison authorities contacted Tang Yuanxiao, and on her release date, he went with Mrs. Tang to pick up her certificate of release.

Mrs. Tang wept with joy.

Tang Yuanxiao also let out a huge sigh of relief.

Now that Mrs. Tang was released, she could leave the Imperial City and no longer had to remain there.

However, since Tang Yuanxiao was still in the Imperial City, Mrs. Tang was sent back to the sanatorium, and her life continued much as it had before.

Mrs. Tang yearned to return to Xinghua Village, but Tang Yuanxiao had no time to take her.

Having spent her entire life in Xinghua Village, her time in the Imperial City had been a form of confinement. She hadn’t dared to dream of leaving before, but now that it was possible, she began to long for Xinghua Village.

Once the thought took root, it was impossible to stop. She wished she could sprout wings and fly straight back home.

Mrs. Tang pestered and pleaded, crying time and again, until Tang Yuanxiao finally agreed. He would take some time off during winter break to take her back to Xinghua Village for a visit.

Naturally, Su Li also heard the news of Mrs. Tang’s release.

When she heard the news, her feelings were quite complicated.

Mrs. Tang had only been in prison for a few months before she became paralyzed and was granted medical parole. The fact that she had now been fully released without serving her time properly left a somewhat sour taste.

’But considering Mrs. Tang’s current condition,’ Su Li thought, ’it’s not much different from being imprisoned. And for the rest of her life, she’ll have to endure that living death. In a way, that’s its own form of atonement.’

Lost in these thoughts, Su Li found herself staring into space.

’Little Tang Mo... no, he’s not so ”little” anymore; I shouldn’t call him that. He’s a proper young lad now.’

The young lad, Tang Mo, looked at Su Li, who was chewing on her chopsticks instead of eating. ”Mom, is something bothering you again?”

”Oh, it’s nothing, nothing at all,” Su Li said, snapping out of it. ”Let’s eat. Keep eating.”

”You need to focus when you eat, or you’ll get indigestion,” Tang Mo advised, looking at his mother.

”Alright, I know.”

Su Li suppressed a smile as she replied. Looking at her son, she let out a breath and pushed all thoughts of Mrs. Tang from her mind.

”Mom, are you going to be busy again tomorrow?”

After dinner, Tang Mo helped Su Li with the dishes, asking his question as he washed.

”Yep, I’ll be busy. I have to chase down news stories. My internship at the newspaper office is about to end, and after that, I have my final exams. So of course I’ll be busy.”

Tang Mo smiled. ”That’s because you’re amazing, Mom.”

Su Li laughed heartily at that, feeling wonderfully flattered.

”Of course! With an amazing son like my Little Mo, how could I not be amazing too?” Su Li chuckled.

Her earlier report on domestic violence had caught the attention of leaders in the relevant government departments. After a recent period of investigation and discussion, corresponding measures had been developed.

A husband has no right to harm his wife through domestic violence. If significant injury is caused, he must be held legally responsible.

Neighborhood committees, women’s federations, and other organizations were now empowered to intervene. In serious cases, perpetrators could even be detained and fined.

It would still take a long time for the corresponding laws to be fully established, but it was a definitive end to the previous era where victims had nowhere to turn for help.

Su Li had been the first to report on the issue, so when the announcement of these new measures was made, she was chosen as the lead writer.

And so, Su Li’s name once again appeared in the *Imperial Capital Daily*.

What made her even more proud was that its reach went beyond the Imperial City to the entire nation. With the permission of the *Imperial Capital Daily* and Su Li, the *Huaguo Daily*—a newspaper read by people all across Huaguo—actually reprinted her article.

They reprinted it word for word.

What did that signify?

Historically, it was always the *Imperial Capital Daily* that reprinted articles from the *Huaguo Daily*. The *Huaguo Daily* rarely, if ever, reprinted articles from other newspapers. But this time, they had made a rare exception.

An honor like this was far more glorious than simply getting her byline in the paper as an intern.

It wasn’t just Su Li’s classmates who were thrilled; the entire staff at the *Imperial Capital Daily* was proud.