Chapter 12 I Swear Before Mother
Lan Qiao secretly came to see me.
I gave her one task and told her she must complete it well.
Pei Zhao was badly injured. He lay on the ground, curled into a ball.
I walked over, lifted his upper body, and let him rest his head on my lap.
I kept crying.
Pei Zhao frowned and opened his eyes. "You were so fierce earlier. How did you turn into a little crybaby again?"
His voice was very weak.
While wiping my tears, I said, "I've never seen anyone bully others like this!"
"I'm so angry!"
"I hate them!"
"I hate them to death!"
Pei Zhao chuckled softly, but the movement pulled at his wounds and he sucked in a sharp breath.
He reached out to wipe my tears. "Have you forgotten?"
"You used to bully me like this all the time."
When we were young, I liked to slander him.
I said he bullied me.
I said he broke my things.
I fought with him for food and toys.
I always gave him the cold shoulder.
Thinking of this, I cried even harder. "I'm sorry!"
"I hate myself so much too!"
Pei Zhao propped himself up with his arms, sat up, and cupped my face with both hands. He pressed his index finger to my lips in a shushing motion.
Then he pointed at the ancestral tablet behind me.
He said softly, "My mother is here."
"You wouldn't want to leave the impression of a crybaby in front of Mother, would you?"
I bit my lip.
I wiped away my tears.
I turned around, bowed sincerely three times to the tablet of Pei Zhao's mother, and raised my hand to swear. "Mother-in-law above, your daughter-in-law Xue swears here."
"In my youth I was ignorant and committed great wrongs. I will treat Suizhi well and never let him be bullied again."
"If I break this oath—"
Pei Zhao grabbed my arm and pulled me into his embrace. "Enough."
"If you keep talking, Mother will think I'm the one bullying you."
I leaned against his chest, looked up at him with hiccuping sobs, and asked, "Have you forgiven me?"
He smiled helplessly. "I was just teasing you."
"I never blamed you."
"Stop crying. I'm injured like this and still have to comfort you. Do you have the heart to do this?"
I blinked hard, trying my best to hold back the tears.
Pei Zhao gave in. "Never mind."
"You can keep crying."
Hearing that, I buried my face in his chest. "Wuuu..."
Pei Zhao: "..."