Chapter 564 - 563: Home
To understand why Wu Dong brought Wu Xia here, we have to go back to when he returned home for summer vacation.
Grandma Wu had hosted two weddings in quick succession over the end of last year and the beginning of this one.
Wu Xia was married off at the end of last year, right when Wu Sheng was injured.
Then, after the New Year, a wife was found for Wu Qiu.
When Wu Dong returned for summer vacation, his second sister, Wu Xia, was gone from the house, but he had gained a new sister-in-law.
His new sister-in-law was good-natured and hardworking. There was no friction with the family, and everyone got along quite well.
The only thing amiss was that Wu Xia had never returned to visit her family.
Wu Chun, on the other hand, visited home frequently after she got married. It was common for her to come and stay for a couple of days, especially when Wu Dong was back for the summer.
Wu Xia, however, never came back. She always said she was too busy at home.
As a new bride, it was understandable that she couldn’t visit her family too often, and after some convincing from Grandma Wu, Wu Dong accepted this.
But when it was time for Wu Dong to return to school, his second sister, Wu Xia, still hadn’t come home. Left with no other choice, Wu Dong took his luggage and went to the Zou family’s house to say goodbye before he left.
But that visit left Wu Dong so furious he nearly exploded.
This was Wu Dong’s second visit to the Zou family home. He was a little hesitant as he approached. As he paused at the gate, about to call out, he heard the sounds of hitting and cursing from within, followed by Wu Xia’s muffled cries.
Forgetting everything else, Wu Dong burst into the Zou family’s home and saw the scene unfold: Zou Liping was hitting Wu Xia.
"Stop!" Wu Dong rushed in the moment he saw it, shoving Zou Liping aside to shield Wu Xia.
Wu Xia was horrified to see him. She insisted she was fine and urged him to leave immediately.
Zou Liping was startled at first, but he quickly regained his composure. Acting as if nothing had happened, he casually greeted Wu Dong, his brother-in-law.
Zou Liping could manage a smile, but Wu Dong couldn’t. Ignoring the man, he repeatedly asked Wu Xia if she was okay.
As he asked, he saw them—a mix of old and new bruises, purple and blue, covering Wu Xia’s arms.
After that, things quickly spiraled out of control.
The four Wu siblings—Chun, Xia, Qiu, and Dong—had always been close. Wu Dong already felt for his second sister, who had been so unhappy about the marriage to begin with. Seeing her being beaten, how could he possibly remain calm?
Without a second thought, Wu Dong threw a punch at Zou Liping.
Seeing her son get hit, Mrs. Zou wouldn’t just stand by. She immediately went after Wu Dong, scratching and clawing at him, which in turn made Wu Xia jump in to protect her brother.
In an instant, the four of them were a tangled mess of flailing limbs, a brawl that alerted the entire village.
In the end, Wu Dong managed to drag Wu Xia out of there, declaring that she was done with Zou Liping and that she was going to divorce him.
"What kind of man hits his own wife? Second Sister, divorce him! Don’t stay in their house and suffer. Come home! I’ll take care of you. I’ll support you for the rest of your life."
Wu Xia didn’t want her younger brother meddling in grown-up matters and worried it would affect his future, so she refused to go with him. At her refusal, Wu Dong, this young man trying so hard to be strong, actually burst into tears.
Eventually, Grandma Wu and their aunt were brought into it. But they handled it the traditional way, meaning that after Zou Liping promised to change, everything would have just gone back to how it was.
So in the end, Wu Dong took matters into his own hands. He pulled Wu Xia onto a train and brought her all the way to the Imperial City to find Wu Sheng and Wu Qihua.
"...When they came to arrange the marriage, they promised they would treat Second Sister well. And now look how they treat her! She would have been better off not marrying him at all."
"That Zou Liping looks like a decent person, but he’s a total bastard! If he hit her once, he’ll definitely do it again. How can Second Sister stay in a home like that?!"
"Auntie, Cousin, you have to stand up for Second Sister. I will not let her go back."
Wu Dong’s clothes were still disheveled from the journey, but he pushed through his exhaustion to tell them everything.
He was already unable to accept his sister being abused. But now, as a law student who had his worldview expanded by living in the Imperial City, it was completely intolerable.
Wu Qihua and Wu Sheng listened to Wu Dong in silence. After a moment, Wu Qihua was the first to get up. She took Wu Xia by the hand and led her into the bedroom.
Without a word, Wu Qihua began to remove Wu Xia’s clothes to check her for injuries.
Wu Xia tried to stop her, but Wu Qihua simply brushed her hand aside.
When she saw the wounds covering Wu Xia’s body, the color drained from Wu Qihua’s face.
When Su Li rushed over to the house, Wu Qihua had just gotten Wu Xia to take a bath and had applied medicine to her wounds.
Seeing that his aunt and cousin weren’t saying anything, Wu Dong was sulking by himself. When he saw Su Li arrive, his eyes lit up and he sidled up to her looking pitiful. "Sister-in-law."
"Oh, you’re here! Are you all right? Why haven’t you cleaned up? Have you eaten yet?"
Su Li asked in a rush, looking him up and down with concern.
Wu Dong looked so aggrieved he was on the verge of tears. "Sister-in-law, you’re the best. My cousin and aunt are ignoring me, and I was just trying to do what’s best for Second Sister."
Wu Sheng, who was standing nearby, reached out and rapped him on the head. "Go get yourself cleaned up. Stop clinging to your sister-in-law and whining."
Wu Dong didn’t dare protest and shuffled off reluctantly to his room to get cleaned up.
"What’s going on?" Su Li finally asked Wu Sheng.
Wu Sheng’s expression was grim. "We don’t have all the details yet. That Zou Liping hit Xiao Xia, but Xiao Xia won’t say a word about it."
With such a terrible thing happening, and the sweltering heat making everyone irritable, no one had any appetite.
Su Li and Wu Sheng went out to buy some cold noodles. They forced down a few bites before closing the door to discuss the situation.
Wu Dong once again launched into a tirade against Zou Liping, adding that Grandma Wu and their aunt were too soft. He insisted that Wu Xia should just come home, declaring he could support her for the rest of his life.
Wu Xia’s face was pale and drawn, but for some unknown reason, she still remained silent.
She had lost a lot of weight and was clearly weighed down by her troubles, looking as though there was something she wanted to say but couldn’t bring herself to.
Unlike Wu Dong, who was frantic with worry for his sister, Wu Qihua, Wu Sheng, and Su Li could see that she wasn’t ready to talk. They decided not to pressure her and to give her some time.
"Rest here tonight. Tomorrow, Wu Dong, you’ll go register at your school and focus on your studies. Leave the rest of this to us. You don’t need to be involved."
Wu Qihua laid down the law, ignoring Wu Dong’s dissatisfied muttering as she turned her gaze to Wu Xia.
"I’ll send a telegram to Grandma and your aunt to let them know you’re both here with me. Xiao Xia, you just stay here with us. No matter what, we’re here for you."
Only after hearing that last part did Wu Dong finally stop grumbling.
And so, Wu Xia settled in at the house. She was already introverted and shy by nature, and between the unhappy marriage and now this, she grew even more withdrawn.
Su Li didn’t leave until it was late, driving Wu Dong to his school on her way.
After all his earlier clamoring, Wu Dong grew quiet in the car. All he said was how much his heart ached for his sister.
"You’re a good brother... It’s all right. We’ll find a way to solve this. Don’t worry."
Su Li comforted him, but when she got home and lay in her own bed that night, she couldn’t sleep a wink.
’Domestic violence. It was the one thing Su Li could not tolerate.’
’A man who hits a woman... no matter how nice he is otherwise, no matter what the reason... If I were Wu Xia, I would divorce him without a second thought.’
’In Huaguo culture, there were sayings like "don’t air your dirty laundry in public" and "it’s not your place to meddle in another family’s affairs."’
’Many people felt that speaking out about domestic violence was too shameful. For the sake of the children or for other reasons, they would choose to "make it work" and endure the marriage rather than get a divorce.’
’While many people in modern times would choose divorce, in the past, women would just silently endure it—for decades, even, right up until the day they died.’
’Neighbors, relatives, and friends who witnessed the abuse would also stay out of it, believing it wasn’t their place to interfere. This allowed the tragedy to continue, often escalating, causing not only immense suffering for the wife but also deeply affecting the personalities of the children.’