Crossing Over to Yamada Love

"Mother, please agree. My husband and I haven't had a son or daughter all these years, and I feel so guilty. As long as she's a good girl, as long as she can be filial to our parents and treat Changhai well, I have no objections." Liu knelt before Wang, tears streaming down her face as she finished speaking, her eyes filled with deep sorrow.

She didn't want to agree, she didn't want to agree, but she had no choice. She felt guilty towards the Mo family, and she couldn't let Changhai be without anyone to wear mourning clothes a hundred years later.

"Sister-in-law, please don't be like this, Mother, please say something." Qiu stepped forward to help Liu up and knelt down as well. She felt heartbroken seeing her sister-in-law like this.

"Auntie, your eldest son's wife is a sensible woman. She will definitely treat her daughter well when she marries into the family. Your wife has already agreed, so there shouldn't be any problem for you, Auntie, right?"

The matchmaker felt no sympathy for the pitiful Liu. All she cared about was getting the match and receiving her commission; nothing else mattered. In her heart, she secretly hoped Liu would do something rash, so the girl from the other side could become a proper wife, and she could receive even more betrothal money.

"What are you doing? Get up. Get up and talk." Madam Wang's face darkened, and she told her two daughters-in-law to get up.

Seeing their mother-in-law's sullen face, Liu and Qiu decided not to kneel any longer. With Qiu's help, Liu slowly got up, but her expression was so sorrowful that it was heartbreaking to see.

Wang smiled and said to the matchmaker, "We are truly grateful for your trouble. Please tell the matchmaker that we appreciate our daughter's kindness, but our Mo family has no tradition of divorcing wives or taking concubines. Whether it's Changhai or Changhe, if anyone dares to divorce their wife and take a concubine, I will not tolerate it! My two wives have suffered a lot since they married into the family, and I will never make things difficult for them in this regard."

As soon as Wang finished speaking, Liu's eyes lit up again, and she regained her vitality. Qiu also looked at her mother-in-law with tears in her eyes. Her mother-in-law had made a decision for them. From now on, neither her sister-in-law nor she herself needed to worry.

The matchmaker stared wide-eyed, looking utterly incredulous. This perfect opportunity had been delivered right to their door, and they were turning it down? Was it really true? Wasn't having offspring the most important thing? Why didn't this family value their lineage? Weren't they afraid that no one would be there to break the mourning basin after they passed away?

"Auntie, your mother-in-law is truly exceptional, unmatched in the surrounding area. She treats her daughter-in-law with unparalleled kindness. As a daughter-in-law, you should be even more considerate of her. You have no children, and after you pass away, there will be no one to mourn you, and the family line will end. How can you face your ancestors like that!" The matchmaker began to pressure Liu Shi with the issue of offspring, and she could tell that Liu Shi was deeply ashamed in this regard.

Before anyone could react to the matchmaker's words, a man walked in from outside. After standing still, he said loudly:

“I, Mo Changhai, am destined to have no children. I do not blame heaven and earth. In this life, apart from my wife Liu, I will never marry another. After my death, I will go to my ancestors to apologize. Sister-in-law, please go back. Let’s never mention this matter again.”

Mo Lan smiled slightly. The person who came was Mo Changhai. After he finished speaking, he looked at Liu Shi with a gentle and reassuring gaze.

Liu's tears flowed again. Her mother-in-law, husband, and family all supported her without ever looking down on her. What more could she ask for in this life? So what if she had no children? Her second brother's children were like her own. She would live her life well.

After seeing off the disgruntled matchmaker, Mo Changhai approached Mo Quan and Madam Wang, kneeling on both knees. He said, "Father, Mother, your son is unfilial, causing you worry. Madam Liu has suffered a lot with me over the years. Regardless of whether she has children or not, I will never have anyone else by my side in this life, and I cannot give the Mo family any offspring. It is my unfilial act, and I kowtow to you here to beg for forgiveness."

Liu hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down before her parents-in-law with a thud. This time, her kneeling was sincere.

With tears streaming down her face, she said, "Father, Mother, it is your daughter-in-law who is unfilial and cannot give the Mo family an heir. Your daughter-in-law is guilty, please do not blame the husband. Father, Mother, and the husband have been so kind to your daughter-in-law, your daughter-in-law could never repay you even if she worked like a cow or a horse. Your daughter-in-law kowtows to you."

"Get up, you two silly children! What are you doing? We've had such a hard time these past few years, I know how much you and your sister-in-law suffered. How could we do something like that just when things are getting a little better? I believe neither Changhai nor Changhe are the kind of people who would do such a thing. Don't overthink it; our family should just focus on living a good life. Changhai, help your wife up!" Madam Wang gestured for them to get up. She wasn't stupid; how could she let Mo Changhai take a concubine and cause trouble for the family?

Mo Changhai helped Liu up, gently smoothed her hair, and took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. Mo Lan was deeply moved by this scene.

Before Liu could finish wiping away the old tears, new ones started falling again. These tears weren't from sadness, but from emotion and joy.

When it was lunchtime, Wang Shi thought for a moment and then spoke to everyone: "I've been thinking about this matter, and I'm afraid there will be more to come. Our family's life is probably better than most in the surrounding villages. We can't compare to those lords and landlords, but among farmers, we are among the best. It's inevitable that some people will have designs on us. Changhai, Changhe, you two need to be more careful in the future and not do anything that will make people jealous."

"Mother, don't worry. Life has just gotten a little better, how can I not live it well? Neither my brother nor I would do those frivolous things. Erlang is already so grown up, how could I still have such thoughts? Besides, having such thoughts would be unfair to my wife at home." Mo Changhe said cheerfully, and he was very sincere when he said these words. However, he did not expect that not long after, he would actually get himself into trouble.

After hearing Mo Changhe's words, Qiu smiled secretly. She was happy that her husband cared about her.

Mo Lan smiled slightly. Her father and uncle weren't that kind of men, unlike some who, once their lives improved a little, would think about taking concubines or mistresses. But could her aunt even have children? She was already over thirty; it would be dangerous for her to give birth. Giving birth here was like walking through the gates of hell—very dangerous. But a woman who didn't have children always felt incomplete. What was wrong with her aunt? Before, when they tried to find a doctor for her in town, he said it was useless. Why couldn't she have children?

When no one was around, Mo Lan secretly asked Wang Shi what exactly was wrong with her aunt. She wanted to find out the truth and see if there was any way to treat it.

Wang sighed and told Mo Lan the inside story.

It turns out that Liu's family was quite well-off and lived very close to the town. Liu got engaged when she was thirteen. Her husband was from a small family in the town. Although they were a small family, they had a good reputation. He was a scholar who liked Liu because her ancestors had been officials and her family had a good tradition.

They were just waiting for Liu to turn sixteen so she could marry into the family. If the man achieved some kind of official rank by then, their life would be harmonious and happy.

When Liu was fifteen, she went to visit relatives in town with her sister. On their way back, they waited by the roadside for their village's oxcart. Unexpectedly, they encountered a bully who took a liking to Liu's looks and started harassing her. Liu was furious and threw something at the bully from a roadside stall before running away.

Out of fear, the two fled without knowing which way to go, and the bully chased them closely, all the way to the riverbank.

Looking at the river in front of her, Liu was dumbfounded. There was no way to escape. She was unwilling to be caught and humiliated, but she couldn't fight against the bully. In a moment of desperation, she decided to pull her sister into the river with her.

Her younger sister refused and broke free from her grasp. She felt that her older sister had implicated her, and she also felt that she was young at the time and the bully would not do anything to her, so she stood by the river and let Liu jump in by herself.

When the bully caught up with her, Liu closed her eyes and jumped in. It was already October, and the riverbank was almost frozen over. The river water was icy cold.

When the bully saw someone jump into the river, he cursed his bad luck, glanced at Liu's sister who was standing dumbfounded on the riverbank, and fearing that he would have trouble explaining if someone died, he let Liu's sister go and left with his men.

Liu's younger sister watched her sister struggling in the river, but she remained silent, whether out of sheer terror or something else, and didn't call for help. Several onlookers, afraid of getting involved, only pointed and whispered from the riverbank; none of them went in to rescue her.

At that time, Mo Changhai was still doing odd jobs in the town. He went to the river to find a fisherman to buy two fish to take back to his mother, but he happened to see Liu struggling by the river.

Without saying a word, he jumped into the water and rescued Liu, whose face had already turned blue.

Mo Changhai wrapped his clothes around her and then carried her to find a doctor. Liu's sister saw the whole process, but she didn't follow or say anything.

Liu was saved by the doctor, but because she was menstruating when she jumped into the river and her body had been soaked in the river for so long, she caught a chill and fell ill.

Before Liu's illness had even fully healed, the family she was betrothed to came to her door demanding the annulment of the engagement. They accused Liu of being shameless, of being impure, and of having affairs with men. No matter how Liu's parents explained, the other party insisted on breaking off the engagement.

Liu's younger sister even offered to marry in place of Liu, but the other party refused, citing their family's bad reputation. From then on, Liu's younger sister hated Liu even more.

After recovering from her illness, Liu heard about the broken engagement and was filled with despair. Just then, Mo Changhai came to the door, saying that he was willing to marry Liu, but his family was not well-off, so he came to ask Liu's opinion first to see if she was willing to marry him. If she was willing, he would send someone to propose marriage; if she was not willing, he would pretend that she had never come. If Liu were to ask for marriage in the future and needed him to clarify things, he would definitely step forward to do so.

Ms. Liu was deeply moved. He had saved her life without expecting anything in return, and now that her engagement had been broken off, he was still willing to marry her without looking down on her. He was truly a responsible man.