Following that, the original owner tirelessly cared for the stepson, but what she received in return were repeated beatings by him.

Every time she was beaten, Guo Jingling and her in-laws would coax her into forgiving.

However, as the stepson grew older, his strength increased, and the injuries the original owner sustained became more severe. Once, she was beaten unconscious, yet the Guo Family just carried her to bed and didn’t take her to the hospital.

Moreover, after several years of marriage, she had not fallen pregnant. The neighbors gossiped about her being a barren hen, and whenever they saw her, they’d sneer and ridicule her.

Because of this, she particularly disliked going out.

Her in-laws and Guo Jingling would always comfort her, saying that the Guo Family had sons and grandsons and didn’t mind whether she could have children or not.

But despite that, the original owner still believed that she was a sinner for not expanding the Guo family tree, feeling inferior.

Therefore, the original owner put even more effort into caring for her stepson.

The original owner thought that her inability to get pregnant was because she had spent years digging river mud in the freezing winter to earn more work points, leading to coldness in her body, preventing conception.

It wasn’t until her stepson was twelve that the original owner accidentally learned that when Guo Jingling was young, he had been injured during a mission and couldn’t have children in the first place,

So, it was clearly Guo Jingling who couldn’t have children, yet the Guo Family mentioned nothing about it, instead placing the blame on her, making her face ridicule wherever she went.

The original owner was furious and went to confront Guo Jingling.

However, it only provoked the stepson, who then beat her mercilessly. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The original owner was beaten to death by her stepson.

And Guo Jingling, along with her in-laws, just stood by, watched, and did nothing to stop it, nor did they attempt to save her.

As she lay dying, the original owner finally regretted it.

She should never have married into the Guo Family.

...

"After Yuan Chun finished absorbing the plot, Guo Jingling rescued her from the water, and just as he bent down to give her mouth-to-mouth, Yuan Chun kicked him away.

"Cough cough cough..."

Yuan Chun burst into a fit of coughing.

Li Cuixia exclaimed with joy, "Oh, Shen Zhiqing has woken up."

"It’s good she’s awake, as long as she’s awake, everything will be fine."

A crowd of villagers swarmed over, chirping non-stop, "Shen Zhiqing, why are you so distraught? It’s just that you didn’t pass the university exam. Try harder for another year, and take it again next year."

"Exactly, if you’re dead, there’s no hope left. Only the living have hope."

"Previously, when the college entrance exams weren’t reinstated, there was no hope, and you educated youths still had to live. Now that they are reinstated, at least you have hope. Why would you go seeking death?"

"Better to live poorly than to die satisfactorily. Shen Zhiqing, you need to think positively."

"Shen Zhiqing, is it that your family is pressuring you in letters to send money and supplies home?"

"Oh, I’ve never seen such cold-hearted parents as Shen Zhiqing’s, with their daughter toiling hard all year in the countryside to earn a bit of money and food, yet they still expect her to send it to feed and clothe them when they already have salaries and rations."

"It’s also because Shen Zhiqing is too honest. If she refused, could they still come to rob it?"

"I’ve heard that Shen Zhiqing’s family is just in the neighboring county, so maybe they really could come and take it."

A group of elderly women were all sympathizing with Yuan Chun, looking at her with disappointment, though some were genuinely trying to comfort her.

Yuan Chun gave a weak smile and explained, "I didn’t jump into the river. With the year-end approaching, I came to see when our brigade would be catching fish. I’m craving fish."