Chapter 142: Altering the Original Plot

Sighing, Mrs. Fang held Tang Xin's small hand gently and said, “Silly girl, why say such things? It’s really us who are unworthy to be associated with your family.”

Tang Xin shook her head repeatedly. “No, no, it’s not like that, Mother. Please listen to me.”

Only sincerity can be exchanged for sincerity. During this time, Tang Xin had found her interactions with her mother-in-law and the rest of the Li family to be genuinely pleasant.

To her, this was what family truly meant, while the provincial city side was merely a symbol, a facade.

To avoid future troubles, she had decided to clarify everything from the start.

Of course, Tang Xin was aware of the gravity and urgency of certain matters.

For example, her secret space farm was likely something she’d have to keep buried deep inside forever.

But when it came to her parents and especially the matter of Meng Jia and her mother, she would tell her mother-in-law everything, truthfully and without embellishment.

In fact, even Tang Xin herself was somewhat confused, because the book she had seen mainly depicted events after Meng Jia’s rebirth.

The heroine of that book was Meng Jia, and naturally, the heroine was described in almost divine and flawless terms.

According to the story, Meng Jia was perfect in every way, while the original Tang Xin was merely a pitiful and detestable supporting character.

But ever since Tang Xin had entered the story, her presence had altered the original plot.

Moreover, because her personality was quite different from the original’s, and crucially, as a reader she had once observed the story from a detached perspective, when she found herself immersed within it, she could handle situations more calmly and perfectly than the original character, thereby changing the fates of many in the narrative.

Therefore, Tang Xin knew that when recounting these events, she must remain objective, free from subjective emotions; otherwise, the story she told might not match the true facts.

With that said, Tang Xin spoke at length about the changes in family life since her father had brought Meng Jia and her mother into the Tang household.

“Perhaps in my father’s heart, Meng Jia is the better daughter; my mother and I have to yield to Aunt Meng in the house.”

Yield they must; not only Meng Jia’s mother, but even the unscrupulous Tang father often said, “It was Meng Jia’s father who saved me—so he saved you all as well. Without him, how could you enjoy the good life you have now?”

And Meng Jia’s mother would say, “Tang Xin, from now on, you must help Meng Jia like true sisters.”

Meng Jia’s mother often played the innocent martyr in front of Tang Xin’s parents and even outsiders, saying, “Oh, I think Tang Xin is just too spoiled and bossy, spoiled by her parents.”

In reality, it was all envy of Tang Xin’s family background and status; she wished her own daughter could replace her in the Tang family.

Meng Jia’s mother constantly exploited her husband’s lifesaving debt like a broken record in the Tang household, all to gain more advantages.

Mrs. Tang, of course, endured in silence. Unfortunately, the original Tang Xin had been too naive and truly brainwashed, sincerely believing Meng Jia’s mother was a good person and that she and Meng Jia were like real sisters.

But the reborn Meng Jia was no ordinary person; she had poisoned the original Tang Xin deeply.

Yet, Tang Xin had to admit she had been foolish in her former life to treat Meng Jia so kindly—what was the point? Had she not only nurtured someone’s ambition and selfishness, raising a thankless wretch?

That tangled mess, originally unrelated to Tang Xin, still left her deeply saddened when she spoke of it.

“My mother’s health was poor; after giving birth to me, she couldn’t have any more children. Since then, my father had been unhappy.”

“These past years have been like this. Originally, I shouldn’t have been sent to the countryside. It was my father who, listening to Meng Jia’s mother, sent me there to be ‘reformed.’ But it doesn’t matter; if not for that, I wouldn’t have married Brother Li Sheng and met you all. I’m very happy.”

Seeing her like this, Mrs. Fang felt immense sympathy.

After all, in Mrs. Fang’s heart, Tang Xin was no less than her other two foolish daughters.

Just then, Li Kai led Li Jiang and Li Hai inside. Mrs. Fang pointed at them and scolded, “Always running outside, playing wildly, never coming home. Look at my sons—aren’t they inferior to my daughter?”

Li Kai, Li Jiang, and Li Hai exchanged glances, wondering what mistake they had made to anger their mother.

After hearing the whole story, Li Xihua and Li Xiyue looked at Tang Xin with more complicated expressions.

Especially Li Xiyue, who felt sympathy for her sister-in-law.

She had once thought her sister-in-law, coming from the city with a good family background, would live a happy life.

She never expected that her sister-in-law’s family was also tangled in such messy affairs. Compared to this, though their own family was poorer, their parents were good people.

People fear comparisons. After this realization, all the faint negative feelings Li Xiyue had toward Tang Xin vanished.

The eldest sister was more direct; she patted Tang Xin’s shoulder and said, “From now on, you are one of the Li family. Don’t worry, we won’t bully you.”

“I appreciate that—”

Tang Xin sneered inwardly, thinking, With your intelligence, just watch how I utterly outmatch you all!

Tang Xin’s motivation for such thoughts was stirred by a letter from her mother, which disgusted her.

Her mother told her that Lu Liqin had suddenly married Meng Jia, despite the elder family members on the Lu side being opposed.

Originally, Lu’s parents had favored Tang Xin as their daughter-in-law, but Tang’s father had been blinded by Meng Jia.

They did not know from the start that Meng Jia and her mother were not as delicate and gentle as they appeared.

What angered Lu’s father most was that his proud son Lu Liqin was also a fool, blinded by Meng Jia.

Because Meng Jia’s mother had begged and pleaded from the beginning, saying her daughter had suddenly lost her father and was fragile, asking the older siblings to take care of her.

So Lu Liqin, that fool, took on the role of an elder brother and even asked Tang Xin to act as a good “sister.”

Lu’s parents had a good relationship, but they had fought their own battles in youth.

Especially Lu’s mother, who was adept at dealing with the endless string of flirtations around her husband.

At times, she was overly strict with the original Tang Xin, partly out of pity for her misfortune and anger at her complacency.

She could not stand seeing Tang Xin endlessly charmed and manipulated by Meng Jia.

But Mrs. Tang said nothing, and as an outsider and elder, Lu’s mother felt it was inappropriate to interfere.

She never expected, though, that Tang Xin had quietly married in the countryside.

By then, Lu’s mother sensed something was wrong. She knew her son had willingly gone to the countryside for Tang Xin, so why hadn’t she stopped it?

Before they could react, an even more shocking piece of news arrived:

Lu Liqin and Meng Jia had registered their marriage in the countryside.

Meng Jia’s mother, of course, was delighted, running to Tang’s father with tears, claiming her daughter was alone in the countryside and would be mistreated if not married off.

In the end, Tang’s father was swayed and agreed to prepare a dowry for Meng Jia, treating it as a belated wedding gift since the young couple was already married.