Mu Ru had always lived a humble life. Her parents had never felt sorry for her. Only Mother Wang, the Xi family servant who took her in, had treated her sincerely. Perhaps it was because they depended on each other for survival.
Whenever she was insulted by Xi Yuancheng, bullied by Xi Muxue, or when she felt lonely and helpless, Mother Wang would hug her and gently comfort her.
"Mu Ru, you'll be fine when you grow up. You'll have a warm home that you can call your own when you get married in the future," Mother Wang would say.
Therefore, ever since she was a young girl, she had been looking forward to growing up and getting married. In fact, she had been looking forward to having a family of her own.
When she turned thirteen, the Qin family from Binhai proposed marriage to the Xi family. At that time, they probably also proposed marriage to Xi Muxue. However, Xi Muxue had already been engaged to Dongfang Mo a year before that. Xi Yuancheng thought rashly. He actually dressed Mu Ru up beautifully and dragged her to the Qin family. Of course, he had her cover her forehead with thick bangs, and he told them that she was Xi Muxue. He used this to deceive the Qin family and give her to them.
Even though Mother Wang later told her that she might marry into the Qin family when she grew up, she knew that it was her father's way of deceiving her. She was worried that the Qin family would reject her if they found out about the birthmark on her forehead.
A few years after that, they had heard that the Qin family had declared bankruptcy. After that, they had not heard from the Qin family. Therefore, the engagement that the two families had previously agreed on was considered null and void.
She returned to her room, which she had lived in for less than three months only. She quietly lowered her head to pack her luggage. After a week, she would be dragged to Dongfang Mo. She felt that packing early or later would make no difference.
She wanted to spend the next few days to buy a set of clothes for Mother Wang. She had earned a few hundred yuan from doing odd jobs during the summer vacation, so she thought of buying a winter down jacket for Mother Wang. Mother Wang was already fifty years old, but she had never worn a down jacket before.
She had moved into that room in July that year. It was next to Mu Xue's room. She used to sleep in the servant's room outside the Xi family's home, next to Mother Wang's room.
She was given a room inside the house that July because she had graduated from high school and was admitted to Binhai University. The beautiful and proud Princess Mu Xue had also passed, but Mu Ru's score was much higher than Mu Xue's. Mu Ru was the top scorer in the city.
It was precisely because of those achievements that Xi Yuancheng noticed his other daughter. He was surprised to find that Mu Ru, whom he had always regarded as an evil creature, had actually grown up. He felt like she could even bring honor to him.
Mother Wang walked in and quietly helped Mu Ru pack her things. Then, she comforted Mu Ru in a low voice.
"Child, I originally thought that since the engagement with the Qin family is no longer valid, you would be able to meet a good boy once you entered university. With your intelligence and talent, I strongly believed that you would be able to marry into a good family. I didn't expect that you, who had been in university for barely a month, would actually—"
Mother Wang stopped speaking when Mu Ru lowered her head and bit her lips without saying a word. Tears welled up in Mu Ru's eyes. Perhaps that was her fate. From the day she was born, she had been abandoned by her parents. Therefore, it was not surprising that she would end up in such a situation.
"Mu Ru, women's lives are like this. There are times when we just have to accept what fate hands us because it would be useless to resist," Mother Wang said.
Mu Ru was silent. Mother Wang wiped Mu Ru's tears with her hand.
Mother Wang then said, "You should love your husband after you've married him. It's not his fault that he's completely disfigured. Besides, you grew up being discriminated because you have a scar on your forehead. You know how it feels, so you can't discriminate against or look down on your own husband."