She kneeled before the elders, sincerely swearing an oath, just as when her husband vowed to never leave her.

Her actions now come from the heart, without resentment or hatred.

There likely won’t be another man like Yin Shixiu in this world, who can treat her so well.

No matter the chances of him being alive, whether he lives or dies, she will not betray him.

If she guessed wrong, if things don’t turn out as she hoped, if all that’s found is just his corpse, then she’ll spend the rest of her life guarding this lifeless body.

Being a widow for him is the greatest fulfillment for her.

But as Bai Sixian watched her young daughter kneeling and swearing such harsh oaths, her heart surged with unbearable sorrow.

She reached out to help Su Xiaomeng up silently.

Xiao Meng looked at her mother,

"I’m sorry for making you anxious and worried."

Xiao Meng’s apology was helpless, making the elders present feel upset.

"I know about the rumors spread by the Rong Family, but I was previously busy with a real estate project, so I couldn’t deal with them. However, I’ve had people clarifying the rumors online, though it might have little effect."

She explained,

"The blog post Rong Jing made today was his unilateral decision. I didn’t respond because I have my own considerations and plans, for now... it’s not convenient for me to disclose them to you, Mom and Dad."

Su Xiaomeng held her mother’s hand and looked at the elders of the Yin Family,

"Dad, Mom, every word I said earlier came from the heart. The relationship between the Rong Family and the Yin Family is clear. Even if I die, I cannot let this marriage happen, nor can I allow you both to be criticized because of your daughter-in-law’s actions at your age."

"I will not remarry, not today, not tomorrow, never."

Su Xiaomeng spoke earnestly.

The elders of the Yin Family wished they could dig a hole and hide from embarrassment.

More upset than the elders of the Yin Family was Bai Fengmao...

He looked at his granddaughter, who had become so thin she hardly had a human shape anymore, her once cherubic cheeks now emaciated as if chiseled away.

"We old folks really are useless now... ha ha..."

"Grandfather..."

"It’s us old folks, it’s me as a grandfather who’s at fault..."

Bai Fengmao said, his old eyes clouded with tears, as he covered his face,

"I made my granddaughter sad; I should have trusted my precious granddaughter... How could I be so confused at my age?"

"Grandfather, I’m not sad..."

Su Xiaomeng hurriedly said.

Bai Fengmao’s tears flowed out from the corner of his eyes...

"You’ve suffered enough outside; when you came home, the elders still questioned and doubted you alongside outsiders... Meng Meng..."

Su Xiaomeng hurriedly embraced her grandfather.

She admitted that earlier when she heard her parents, her in-laws, and even her grandfather doubting her, denying her actions, she did feel wronged in her heart.

This grievance... was very helpless.

Her thoughts and considerations weren’t conveyed to the elders, yet she hoped that these people would believe her unconditionally.

She just hoped... regardless of what happens, that they would believe her...

Just like Shixiu did.

But after all, these people aren’t Shixiu.

If things aren’t clearly explained, they will have doubts; if not thoroughly said, they will be influenced by public opinion...

How could Su Xiaomeng demand too much from them?

But knowing this, she still held onto the hope and expectation that these elders who cared for her would give her unconditional trust, trusting her judgment rather than questioning her because they couldn’t bear the pressure of rumors.

The elders of the Yin Family were stiff-faced.

They were genuinely embarrassed.

It wasn’t that they distrusted Su Xiaomeng; it was because Shan Minglang came home anxiously relaying two things Su Xiaomeng said.

Those were remarks Su Xiaomeng casually mentioned to Shan Minglang after seeing analytical posts online.

Unexpectedly, Shan Minglang took them to heart, and when he spoke to the elders of the Yin Family, he purely didn’t want Su Xiaomeng to leave the Yin Family.

But to the elders of the Yin Family, it was genuinely overthinking.

While Xiao Meng had certainly done much for the Yin Family...

At that time Xiao Meng mentioned she would reclaim the Yin Mansion one day, and currently, the mansion was auctioned off to an unknown buyer.

The loss of the Yin Mansion was a hurdle of distress in the elders’ hearts.

Old Fourth is gone, the daughter-in-law after all, is a widow; if one day she wants to remarry, in sentiment or reason, they have no ground to stop her.

The elders of the Yin Family indeed valued Su Xiaomeng highly, to the extent that before this storm of public opinion brewed, they never considered the possibility of Su Xiaomeng leaving the Yin Family one day.

So much so that when they did consider this possibility... the heartache, anxiety, and reluctance became mixes of complex emotions, difficult to distinguish.

The mixed emotions erupted with the blog post Rong Jing made today.

The elders were impulsive, impulsiveness derived from their concern for Xiao Meng...

They even feared slightly, realizing the possibility of Xiao Meng leaving the Yin Family.

This young girl, after Yin Shixiu left, became the spiritual support for these two elderly individuals.

More than their own children, she made them feel warmth and strength.

So...

Reluctance, sadness, even... inability to accept.

Binding this young woman with their deceased brother-in-law for a lifetime? Such thoughts weren’t absent from their minds...

Xiao Meng blamed herself, thinking it was her oversight of the family’s feelings, her failure to communicate her thoughts to the elders in time that caused their anxiety.

Yet among the people present, who would nod and believe Xiao Meng indeed should be blamed?

Outside is a chaotic battleground, she carries the entire Yin Family on her shoulders, the burden of work almost crushing this fragile woman.

They are her family, yet still occupy a place in her overwhelmed thoughts.

She must consider work, societal pressure, her two children, and also these elders...

Su Xiaomeng is ultimately just one person without three heads and six arms, how could she attend to everything?

Her notion of omission... where is the real omission?

It’s their distrust, it’s these elders not providing her sufficient support that led to such an omission.

Reflecting now, what they said earlier, if the girl heard every word, how upset would she be?

How much sadness did the girl suppress before showing a gentle understanding face, patiently explaining to them?

The elders could say no more, ultimately all they could offer was... an apology.

Ming Lang knew his concern turned chaotic, misunderstanding the little aunt’s words, causing grandparents to worry.

He sadly apologized to Su Xiaomeng.

Xiao Meng hadn’t expected they understood with just her vague words.

This made her, feeling somewhat aggrieved, feel pleasantly surprised.

"Dad, Mom... Ming Lang..."

Standing aside, Bai Sixian wiped her tears.

She knew her daughter had an exceptionally strong heart, yet whenever witnessing her actions, she still felt shaken.

Su Chengji raised his hand to applaud,

"No one is wrong here, family doesn’t need apologies, if there’s an issue, talk it out and it’ll be fine, right?"

Bai Fengmao held Su Xiaomeng tightly, unable to let go.

Xiao Meng indulged in her grandfather’s embrace, even if in this hot summer, holding on slightly makes one sweat.

Once words were exchanged, no one pursued what exactly Su Xiaomeng planned.

No one cared anymore if Xiao Meng would clarify to the public.

The elders of the Yin Family said they were most concerned about the Yin Family’s reputation, but truly what they cared about was Xiao Meng’s decision.

Terrified... truly terrified this young girl won’t call them Dad and Mom anymore, scared this little girl might become someone else’s daughter-in-law...

Ah Su brought Shuangshuang and Huang Huang for a bath, once out, they began bouncing around in the living room.

The negativity in the hearts of the people in the hall dissipated away due to the siblings’ antics.

Gloom will eventually pass, and sunlight will always appear.