Chapter 96: Selling a Sister for Glory

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Selling a Sister for Glory

"Since those two children aren’t even of our family’s bloodline, what are we still here for?"

After savoring their discomfort and misery for a long moment, Lin Kangshun finally spoke in a leisurely tone. "In any case, my Lin Dong isn’t that old. When he gets out, he can still find a young, unmarried woman to bear him a son. Mrs. Tao, since our children haven’t officially divorced yet, I’ll call you mother-in-law one last time. Speaking of which, since your daughter is so fond of that man from the Gu family, we might as well do a good deed and let her have her way. You probably don’t know yet, but that man from the Gu family is also getting a divorce in the next couple of days, isn’t he? So it’s perfect. Once your daughter and my son have finalized their divorce, we can just let that family of four be together instead of pining for each other from afar. What do you say?"

For the first time, Mrs. Tao felt the true terror of her in-laws. She could barely speak at first, stammering, "M-my... my in-laws... My... my worthless daughter... I’m not asking for your forgiveness. S-since you don’t want the children, we’ll send them to the Gu family tomorrow. As for that disgrace of ours, we’ll find a family deep in the mountains and marry her off far, far away. We’ll make sure she never has another chance to appear before you and upset you. Just... just spare my son. That’s all."

"Spare your son? What has your son done that requires our forgiveness?" Lin Kangshun’s eyes flickered. ’This mother-son duo from the Tao family is even more ruthless than I imagined,’ he thought. ’To proactively suggest marrying their daughter off to a family in the mountains?’ He knew "the mountains" meant a particularly remote and impoverished place, the kind of place no one would willingly marry their daughter into. It was full of old bachelors, very few of whom could find a wife through normal means. Any woman who "married" into such a village would be completely cut off from her family. The entire village would instinctively watch her to make sure she never escaped... ’As for my "dear" daughter-in-law, a place like that suits her far better than the Gu family’s home. It’s a good idea...’

While he was still stroking his chin and considering it, Tao Junhao suddenly dropped to his knees with a THUD. He even crawled a few steps forward on his knees, weeping bitterly before him. "Mr. Lin, I know you and your whole family hate my sister. What she did was truly hateful. So my mom and I have decided, just to let you vent your anger, to marry her off into the mountains. We’ll find a man for her and make her live out the rest of her life there quietly."

Tao Junhao had actually been observing Lin Kangshun’s expression when his mother first said that. Seeing that he seemed faintly tempted, Tao Junhao repeated the offer to cater to his desires, then emphasized, "We’ll definitely find her a family that will watch her strictly. We won’t let her run away... Our family has no other demands. Even the jobs my wife and I have now, we can give them up. If you still find our family to be an eyesore, we’ll move back to our hometown and never appear before you again for the rest of our lives. How does that sound?"

"What do you think?" Lin Kangshun glanced at Yu Xiuying, asking for her opinion. A look of glee was on Yu Xiuying’s face. She smiled cruelly at the Tao mother and son, her grin slowly widening with mockery. "You two are really willing to part with her, aren’t you?"

"We are, we are! There’s nothing we’re not willing to give up." Tao Junhao nodded vigorously, like a chicken pecking at rice. He then tugged at his mother’s pant leg. Mrs. Tao also nodded hurriedly, her face full of expectation. "We’re willing, as long as Mr. Lin doesn’t go after my Jun Hao."

"Heh heh. Alright, get up first. After all, we’ve been in-laws for so many years. There’s no need to make such a scene over things. It’s better if we all sit down and talk it over properly." Lin Kangshun relaxed his imposing aura. He gestured for the Tao mother and son to return to the sofa they had just been sitting on, his expression softening considerably.

Seeing this, Tao Junhao felt a glimmer of hope. He knew Lin Kangshun’s temper and that he disliked disobedience, so he didn’t dare defy him in the slightest. He quickly stood up and pulled his mother over to sit down. However, he only dared to perch on the edge of the sofa, his eyes fixed on Lin Kangshun, full of hope, looking like he was obediently waiting to be lectured. When Mrs. Tao saw her son’s posture, she didn’t dare to sit casually either. She immediately straightened up and placed her hands on her lap.

"Hmph—"

Their postures earned a sneer from Yu Xiuying. She couldn’t help but think scornfully, ’Such spineless wretches. In the past, when we were polite to them, they all took it for granted and sometimes even looked dissatisfied. But now they’re putting on this cautious act. Who are they trying to get pity from?’

Lin Kangshun also found it rather amusing. He cleared his throat and said with false sincerity, "Mrs. Tao, she is still your daughter, after all. And she’s been the Lin family’s daughter-in-law for over a decade. Although she’s done wrong, what can we do? My son still has some feelings for her. And then there are those two children. Even though they’re not of our blood, if you raise even a cat or a dog for over ten years, you grow attached. So, for the time being, we don’t want to be too ruthless. We should give people a chance to correct their mistakes, shouldn’t we?"

He stopped there and said no more. Seeing that Yu Xiuying was anxious to speak, he shot her a look to stop her. Yu Xiuying had long since placed her complete faith in his judgment. So, although she had no idea what trick he had up his sleeve, she managed to hold back. With her heart full of confusion, she put on a stern face and kept her mouth shut.

"..."

Tao Junhao and his mother were bewildered by his words. They exchanged a look, glancing from Lin Kangshun to Yu Xiuying. The couple’s inscrutable expressions left them completely baffled and even more confused. Tao Junhao, in particular, felt that something was increasingly off the more he thought about it. ’After something like this, shouldn’t the Lin family want my sister to suffer as much as possible? Why are they talking about having feelings for her? Could we have guessed wrong from the start... But that doesn’t seem right either. Just a moment ago, they were clearly...’

After a long, conflicted hesitation, Tao Junhao couldn’t hold back any longer. He had no choice but to ask, "Mr. Lin, what do you mean by this? Please, speak plainly. We’ll do whatever you say."

Her son had spoken. Although Mrs. Tao said nothing, she quickly nodded along nervously.

"I mean you should let your sister take her two children with the surname Gu and just marry into the Gu family. Although that Gu fellow’s face was ruined by the acid my Lin Dong threw on him, he’s still the biological father of those two kids. Isn’t it wonderful that I’m helping her achieve a true family reunion?" Lin Kangshun was speechless at the stupidity of the mother and son before him. ’Didn’t I make myself perfectly clear earlier? How can they still not understand?’

"So, does this mean you forgive me—our family—and you won’t come after me?" Tao Junhao didn’t know why Lin Kangshun was being so kind, but at this moment, he couldn’t be bothered to think too much or care about anything else. He was fixated on this one point about himself and had to get a clear answer. This was the entire reason he and his mother had come today, even at the cost of selling out his own sister.

How could Lin Kangshun not know what he was thinking? He sneered inwardly. He wasn’t about to give him a definitive answer. He just glanced at him. "The incident has already happened. My son is still sitting in prison, and we’re counting on that Gu fellow to write a letter of forgiveness to get his sentence reduced."