A word about divorce scared Wu Haipeng. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He looked at Dangdang in shock.

"Wife, are you serious?"

Dangdang nodded.

"I reflected a bit on it: previously, because my parents thought I was getting older and needed to get married, all I wanted was to find someone to spend my life with peacefully, as long as they didn’t disdain my looks, then let’s get married. When I was with you, I thought you were a decent person and believed that we would live well together!"

Dangdang looked at Wu Haipeng, her eyes full of pain, "But how could I have imagined that, on the big joyous day of our marriage, you turned me into a joke, and afterward, you just left me to face your family alone without any help from you!"

Perhaps too overwhelmed by grief, Dangdang’s tears began to fall.

"I thought that as long as you were dedicated to me, I wouldn’t mind the hardships, but how did you treat me?"

Dangdang wiped away her tears and glared at Wu Haipeng, "You want me to understand you, but who’s there to understand me?"

Wu Haipeng opened his mouth, but it took him a while to utter a sentence, "Isn’t it like this for everyone else who gets married?"

Dangdang was infuriated.

She stood up abruptly and shouted, "Who else’s marriage is like this? Not to look far, how is Xiaxia living after her marriage, can’t you see? Is it the same for my brother-in-law and my sister? Or what about Third Brother and third sister-in-law?"

Wu Haipeng fell silent.

He knew he was in the wrong.

But the words had been spoken; taking them back would be difficult.

The elder sister-in-law’s face was an iron blue as she warned Wu Haipeng, "We thought that since you made such nice promises at the beginning, our family wouldn’t mind your family’s situation. Even after the wedding debacle, we didn’t ask Dangdang to divorce you, but today I came to know that your family looks down on our Dangdang so much, it’s better to just get a divorce!"

Wu Haipeng’s face turned green, and he hurriedly admitted his mistakes.

But the elder sister-in-law was angry; she had to protect Dangdang.

Wu Haipeng had no choice but to seek help from Tang Chuxia, "Xiaxia, little sister, help me out here!"

Tang Chuxia disapproved of Wu Haipeng’s actions.

"What help can I offer you? Let’s set aside the two of you for a moment. It just so happens that the neighbors are here enjoying the cool evening, so let’s discuss what benefits marriage really has for a woman."

Tang Chuxia first asked Aunt Wang, who was watching the excitement nearby, and Aunt Wang laughed heartily, "The benefits of getting married are numerous!"

Tang Chuxia hummed, "Then, Auntie, please name one!"

Aunt Wang opened her mouth but, for a long time, couldn’t produce a single reason. She scratched her head, "That’s actually not so easy to say indeed!"

Tang Chuxia asked several married women, but it seemed none of them could articulate the benefits of marriage for themselves.

"Let’s switch it up, then. What benefits does marriage provide for a man?"

She swept her gaze around and looked toward Father Tang.

Father Tang dared not take up this topic; it was clearly a trap.

But he also knew that if he did not speak up, his daughter and daughter-in-law might very well chase him out.

"Getting married certainly has its benefits, it’s about establishing a family and a career, after all, marrying and having children, for human continuity and to contribute to the country, right? And after getting married, there’s someone to warm the bed, someone to care for you when you’re cold or unwell, and when you get home there’s a warm meal waiting for you, not to mention the joy of children’s company," said Father Tang.

After Father Tang finished, Tang Chuxia scoffed.

Someone in the crowd teased, asking Tang Chuxia, "Xiaxia, isn’t there a problem with your question itself? Marriage is about uniting two families, establishing a small household. Why must there be benefits?"

Tang Chuxia looked at the person who spoke, a neighbor uncle, someone quite capable. He had a virtuous wife and successful children, but all of this seemed to have little to do with him. After all, he was rarely home, and even when he was, he was the one being served.

So in his view, it was only prissy for women to want benefits.

"Uncle, you’re not wrong, but why is it that when a family is established, it’s the woman who contributes the most and still gets looked down upon as the daughter-in-law? Haven’t you ever wondered why?"

Tang Chuxia watched the uncle smile and waited for what he would say next.

"You little girl, who looks down on women? Don’t we all praise the great mothers? In the past years, wasn’t the title of ’heroic mother’ given to women? Why wasn’t there a title for ’heroic fathers’?"

After the uncle finished speaking, many men agreed with him.

Tang Chuxia snorted, "That’s because men know very well that without a fancy but empty title, how can they make some foolish women willingly give their all just to take care of a household!"

What Tang Chuxia detested the most was the superiority of men.

"Ask yourselves, after getting married, a woman has to look after her in-laws, but are they her own parents? Why is it that the parents who raised them don’t get to enjoy their daughter’s care, but instead, it’s the unrelated in-laws who get served? Does she owe the husband’s family anything?"

Tang Chuxia scanned the room, becoming more inflamed as she spoke.

"Serving in-laws with whom she shares no blood relation is not because they are contemptible, but because they married into the man’s family and are fulfilling their husband’s filial duties on his behalf. Yet the husband’s family considers this to be taken for granted. But why? What do women owe them?"

"If a woman doesn’t serve well, they say she’s heartless, yet clearly, they are the ones doing the laundry and cooking. And what do they get in return? Not allowed to eat at the table, or left to eat leftovers, and after the meal, it’s still the daughter-in-law who has to clean up, while men reap the rewards and even rebuke the women for not caring enough after having too much to drink!"

"Why?"

"Who gave these men the audacity to treat their wives with such defiance, are you scared to admit that recognizing women’s capabilities would make you lose control over everything?"

Tang Chuxia said a lot in one breath, and she even heard some young wives sobbing.

In fact, she didn’t want to say these things, since no one dared to speak out.

Everyone seemed to steer the family conflict towards mother-in-law and daughter-in-law issues, or towards the women’s lack of understanding, but is that really so?

Why should women make it tough for other women?

They weren’t born this way; it was the society around them that taught them to be like this.

A woman without talent is seen as virtuous, and women should be devoted to their husbands and educate their children.

Devoted to their husbands and educate their children!

How ridiculous.

On one hand, they’re expected to hide their talents so as not to embarrass the men, and on the other, they have to support their husbands and educate their children. Isn’t this a paradox?

What’s wrong with this society?

Why are the expectations placed on women so cruel?

"Everyone tells Dangdang to just endure it, because which daughter-in-law hasn’t been educated by her mother-in-law, but why? The one who should be sorry is Wu Haipeng, who promised her a wonderful life but failed to deliver. Instead, Dangdang has to bear the consequences. Who dictated this? And who’s indulging this?"

After Tang Chuxia finished, Dangdang broke down and wept.

At that moment, all her grievances and discontent were truly understood.

The elder sister-in-law held Dangdang and said to Wu Haipeng, "Divorce. My sister doesn’t deserve your family!"

Wu Haipeng wanted to roar at Tang Chuxia, but he gave up when he saw Gu Beihuai.