Mu Jingzhe hadn’t expected to hear such a question about protecting the mother or the baby. This question was a cliché in movies and novels. Mu Jingzhe didn’t know how it had started. Anyway, later on, for some reason, it became the same sort of question as “Who will you save—your mother or me?”.
In the past, Mu Jingzhe had always felt awkward upon hearing this question. She had even specifically tried to understand that this question was actually a joke, especially in modern hospitals. That would be up to the doctor’s own judgment.
The doctor wouldn’t ask a family member such a question. After all, they were the experts.
After Mu Jingzhe understood it, she was relieved. However, in joke segments, movies, television dramas, and novels, they still used this lousy joke. In fact, this question had even inexplicably become a test of love. For example, if the husband chose to protect the mother, it meant he loved her or something. Mu Jingzhe didn’t know why this thing could even become evidence of love. Anyway, it was just like the question of whether the guy would save his wife or mother. It was very baffling.
Initially, she had thought that it would be fine even though she hadn’t encountered such a thing before. She hadn’t expected such a thing to happen in reality and in such a manner.
This era couldn’t compare to modern medicine. Children were born in their own homes and were delivered by midwives. It might be barely acceptable to ask such a question. What made Mu Jingzhe furious was that this question was so absurd.
Just because she hadn’t made the same choice as many others and sacrificed herself for her child, the child kept insulting his mother like this. He felt that his mother had let him down and even hated her? What kind of retard was this?
Everything had gone quite smoothly on set, so there was nothing to argue about. Thus, Mu Jingzhe had always been cheerful and easy to talk to. This was the first time she was so sharp.
Cao Yang was stunned. He was used to everyone standing on his side, pitying him, and criticizing Sister Wei. This was the first time he had met someone as unpredictable as Mu Jingzhe.
Unfilial son of a gun? Was she talking about him? He had an impulsive personality to begin with, so Cao Yang’s face turned red. “You… You actually spoke up for her. Have you been pretending? You’re not a good stepmother at all, are you?”
Mu Jingzhe found a very accurate way to describe him. “You’re crazy. Why do you care if I’m a good stepmother? It’s none of your business.”
“You’re the crazy one. How is it none of my business? Do you really think that woman is worthy of being a mother?”
“I don’t know if she’s worthy of being a mother, but I know that you are taking this too far. You have no right to criticize her.” Mu Jingzhe’s words were powerful and resonating.
“Why don’t I have the right to do so? She is indeed unworthy…”
“Why am I unworthy? Is it wrong for me to want to live?” A trembling voice suddenly interrupted Cao Yang.
Sister Wei gritted her teeth and walked closer step by step. For the first time, she straightened her back, looked her extremely unfamiliar son in the eye, and retorted.
“For more than twenty years, I’ve always been indignant. I was the one giving birth back then and I was the one in danger. Why should they make a decision about my own life? Why should they ask my mother-in-law, who’s nothing to me? Why should I listen to her all the time?
“I was the one giving birth. Why didn’t they ask me? I just wanted them to save the adult. Is it wrong for me to want to live? I could continue giving birth if I lived, but if I died, there’d be nothing left!”
Sister Wei finally shouted out the heartfelt words she had held in her heart for more than twenty years. She’d wanted to say these words in the past, but no one had ever given her the time to finish saying them. They didn’t want to hear her say these words.
They would only criticize and reprimand her, belittling her to the ground. She’d only wanted to live and made a natural decision, but it was as if she had committed a capital offense.
She’d also liked the child in her stomach very much. She had risked her life to give birth to him and wanted him to be well more than anyone else. She loved the child very much, but she had never seen it before, so what was wrong with choosing to protect herself? Besides, if she really gave birth to the child, who knew how long he would live without his biological mother?
She had still been so young back then. What was wrong with her not wanting to die? What reason did she have to be scolded? All she’d wanted was to live.
After walking through the gates of hell, she had finally given birth to the child safely. It should have been something to be happy about, something that called for a celebration. The child hadn’t died, and she had still lived. However, all that had awaited her were countless curses.
Everyone had kept criticizing her as if she had done something wicked. As if women should make way for their children. Only then would they be qualified to be good mothers.
No one was on her side, and no one had ever spoken up for her. Even if some people said that they understood her, when no one else was around, they would try to persuade her to take things easy and treat the child better. They would never support her in public.
They didn’t dare to. They were afraid of becoming a second Sister Wei.
Sister Wei had waited for more than twenty years before finally hearing a different voice. She actually didn’t want anything. She only wanted one person to stand up for her. As long as there was one person, she would muster up all her courage.
“Cao Yang, you keep asking me if I’ve regretted it. I really regretted it in the past. Not only because I was forced to but also because I genuinely regretted it. After hearing everyone repeat this over and over again, I began to suspect that I’d really done something wrong. There was a period of time when I strongly felt that I’d let you down. I wished I could apologize by dying.
“I washed my face with tears every day. No matter how much that old woman scolded or hit me, I endured it. I only asked her to forgive me, but that old woman refused and insisted that I had no right.”
Sister Wei wanted to laugh as she thought of the past. “At the time, I thought it was all my fault. Later on, I found out that she was actually afraid that I would snatch you away.
“She hated me and felt that I had snatched her son. Therefore, after you were born, she stole you and turned you into another son.”
Sister Wei used to miss her son very much, and because of her increased milk supply, she had once secretly tried to take a look at him in the middle of the night. In the end, she had seen her mother-in-law put her shriveled, milkless breast in her son’s mouth.
At that moment, Sister Wei had been disgusted. She had suddenly understood why the old woman found her an eyesore.
Sister Wei didn’t finish her sentence, but even her first words were unbearable for Cao Yang. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Grandma is the best and most benevolent grandmother in the world. What right do you have to criticize her? She’s the one who raised me. As for you, you’ve never even fed me a mouthful of milk or washed a diaper of mine.”
“You’re right. I’ve never fed you before, but why haven’t you wondered why I didn’t? Was I unwilling to do it? No, I wanted to! It’s your grandmother who forbade me from touching you. Do you know how many times I begged her and knelt before her just to feed you a mouthful of milk and take a look at you? Later on, even though you were about to starve to death, she didn’t change her mind.”
Sister Wei felt that the past was absurd. At the time, she had felt that her mother-in-law was wrong. She didn’t want her son to become a plaything in the hands of an old woman and didn’t want him to hate her either. She had tried her best, but no one had been on her side.
