Chapter 434 - 426: Sacrifice
Mrs. Dong did not speak; she stood up, stepped down from the couch, and knelt directly in front of her daughter.
Sister Hui was startled by her mother’s actions, quickly stood up, and reached out to support her, saying, "Mother, what are you doing? You’re overwhelming your daughter. If you have something to say, just speak."
No matter how Sister Hui tried to help, Mrs. Dong did not stand up, so Sister Hui had no choice but to kneel down as well.
"Sister Hui, your mother has no choice but to seek your help. I truly don’t know how to explain these things to you. But now, it’s come to this point, and your grandmother has been pressing me continuously. I’m utterly helpless and have no other recourse but to come to you." Mrs. Dong said while wiping away her tears, "Back then, I was still young and made some mistakes. At that time, I had not yet married into the Marquis Mansion, and I fell in love with a man outside. I won’t go into details with you now, but I was very young then and did some foolish things. When your grandmother found out, I initially told her that I didn’t want to marry into the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion, considering what had happened. However, your grandmother disagreed, saying she had a way to keep it a secret. Eventually, I did marry into the Marquis Mansion. All these years, I thought the issue was long gone, but now it’s resurfaced."
Seeing her daughter’s shocked face, Mrs. Dong lowered her head in difficulty, "Years have passed, and I thought this matter was over. But now, since your older cousin had an accident, your grandmother has gone mad with her demands. She insists on bringing Sister Jian into their mansion, claiming she should marry him at the ancestral hall."
"The ancestral hall? Hasn’t older cousin already passed away? Does grandmother intend for Sister Jian to offer a marriage ceremony to his memorial tablet?" Sister Hui was visibly shaken by the news.
She hadn’t recovered from the revelations about her mother’s past, and now faced another bombshell. It felt like shock after shock, and though her mother hadn’t spelled it out, Sister Hui already guessed what was coming.
Father and grandmother had already sent Sister Jian away. As to where, mother did not know, and even if she did, she had no say in the matter. Now, with her mother suddenly revealing this, it’s clear she wants Sister Hui to take Sister Jian’s place and offer the marriage ceremony to older cousin’s memorial tablet.
"I’ve tried to persuade your grandmother, but she’s adamant, even using that past incident to threaten me. I have no choice but to turn to you for help. I understand that this places you in a difficult position, and I’m wronging you. But if people find out about my past mistakes, it won’t be good for your reputation either. Rather than facing disgrace together, perhaps you should marry into the Dong Mansion. If you voluntarily propose the ceremony with your older cousin’s tablet, it might earn you a good name, and the Dong Mansion would treat you well. Your grandmother promised to adopt a child under your name in the future."
Mrs. Dong clutched her daughter’s hand tightly, "I know it’s hard to speak of these things, but it took reaching this desperation point to bring it up with you. I regret putting you in this position, forcing you to sacrifice, but there’s no way out now."
Sister Hui lowered her head, unable to recover from the news. Though she usually handled matters with understanding and composure, she’s still a young girl confronting such matters. Particularly when asked to perform a marriage ritual with her deceased cousin’s tablet, it was beyond her imagination, and the person begging her is her own mother.
If she hadn’t heard her mother’s story, Sister Hui might have interrupted, preventing her from going further. But knowing the past incident, and her grandmother’s threats, she realized her mother’s reasoning was correct. With her cousin gone, anything is possible in grandmother’s mind.
There’s no way that Sister Jian will be sent to the Dong Mansion; her father and grandmother wouldn’t allow that.
If grandmother gets angry, these events might be exposed, but considering marrying into the situation, Sister Hui couldn’t accept it.
However, if she didn’t marry, she knew clearly what kind of fate awaited her. When her mother married into the Marquis Mansion, she wasn’t a virgin. If that news broke, she’d never live it down, facing whispers everywhere. Even a lesser household wouldn’t accept her.
Though she thought everything ended, this unexpected turn left Sister Hui feeling like her world was collapsing. She stumbled, stood up, and walked out in a daze, not looking at her kneeling mother.
Seeing her daughter’s silence, Mrs. Dong panicked and quickly rose, trying to stop her, "Sister Hui, I know I’ve wronged you. Please, just fulfill this request. All my life, I’ve never asked anything of you. Even when you wanted to break your engagement with your older cousin, I didn’t stop you. If I had, your betrothal would still be intact, and even without grandmother’s demands, you should fulfill this duty to the tablet."
Sister Hui suddenly turned back, her gaze cold, "I can’t believe this is real. If you’re my mother, how can you say such things?"
"Are not all mothers supposed to protect their children? Why push them away at the first sign of trouble? Is this person my real mother? Many times, I believed I had been adopted from elsewhere."
"Mother, stop talking. No matter what, even if it means becoming a nun, I will not agree to this. I’ve only done one thing in my life that makes me feel guilty, but after repaying that debt, I’ve sworn never to do anything against my conscience. From that moment on, I promised myself that I wouldn’t repeat such deeds." Sister Hui’s eyes reddened, "I understand you’re desperate, but I refuse to be unfilial. Even if you ask me to die, I won’t do it, nor agree to your request."