Chapter 12: Kneeling Before My Father‑in‑Law in Ice and Snow, Only for My Wife and Daughter

Lin Huainian's weather‑worn face twisted with extreme anger, like land cracked by cold wind.

Every deep wrinkle seemed packed with gunpowder, ready to explode at any moment.

The black, heavy fire‑brand in his hand still seemed to emit a scorching heat.

As if it would tear the air apart the next second, wrapped in wind and smashing down.

Lu Qingshan knelt on the ground; the icy chill instantly seeped through his thin trousers, ravenously biting his kneecap, pain piercing his heart.

Yet he straightened his back, as if to use his flesh‑and‑blood body to defy the whole winter.

He first placed the Roe Deer meat he had carefully wrapped in oil paper, cupped in both hands, reverently onto the clean snow before him.

The posture was like offering the most devout sacrifice in a temple, each movement clumsy and cautious.

Then he deeply lowered his head, once unruly now filled with guilt and remorse.

Facing Lin Huainian, facing the wooden door he had tried countless times to kick open, now feeling heavier than Mount Tai, he hammered a loud thud with his head!

"Dong!"

His forehead struck the cold, rough ground littered with shards of ice.

It emitted a dull sound and raised a spray of fine snow foam.

A searing pain shot through his brow, and he could even feel a thin stream of warm, viscous fluid slowly seeping out.

Yet this flesh‑and‑blood agony was less than one ten‑thousandth of the remorse in his heart.

The icy, hard sensation instantly cleared his mind.

"Father!"

Lu Qingshan's voice was hoarse, as if sandpaper had repeatedly rubbed it, heavy with nasal tone and unmistakable choking.

Every word seemed forced out from the deepest part of his chest, using all his strength.

As if each carried blood and tears.

"Father! I was wrong!!"

"Before… before it was all my fault! I'm the scoundrel! I'm the bastard! I'm not even human!!"

He hammered his head again heavily, leaving a clear, blood‑stained mark on the snow.

His voice was filled with heart‑rending pain, remorse and despair.

"You beat me, scolded me, even if you kill me with that stick today, I'll accept it! I will never fight back!"

"I know you won't believe anything I say now, and I don't expect you to forgive this worthless thing I am…"

"I only want… I only want from now on to be an upright person, to use these hands to feed and clothe Yue E and Xiao Xue, so they never suffer a grievance again!"

"I truly want to change! I swear!!"

"Please… please let me see Yue E, let me see Xiao Xue…"

"Please… let me… let me bring their mother and daughter back home…"

By the time he reached the last few words, his voice was completely choked, the sentence unfinished.

His shoulders began to tremble violently beyond his control.

A seven‑foot, robust man knelt upright in the ice‑cold snow, forehead bleeding, sobbing uncontrollably.

He shed all dignity, shattered every face, like a child who had hit a dead end and committed a grave mistake, pleading painfully to his elders.

This sudden, unannounced kneel!

This tearful, blood‑stained confession!

Made Lin Huainian, whose anger had flared and who was ready to act, freeze completely.

He held the fire‑brand aloft, frozen mid‑air, forgetting to lower it, forgetting to strike down.

The angry expression on his face solidified for an instant, his eyes looking at the kneeling, tear‑soaked Lu Qingshan with extreme complexity.

In that gaze flickered a flash of shock and disbelief.

In his memory, Lu Qingshan was that slick‑tongued, lazy, quick‑to‑glare troublemaker!

When had he ever seen Lu Qingshan bow his head so low?

When had he ever seen Lu Qingshan so… disheveled yet… resolutely admit his cowardice?

The big yellow dog that had been barking wildly in the yard seemed to sense the odd atmosphere.

It whined twice, tucked its tail and retreated to the corner, silent.

For a moment, the entire Lin family courtyard, inside and out, was left only with the howling wind.

The wind hurled the fine snowflakes on the roof onto Lu Qingshan's thin old cotton coat, striking his slightly trembling yet still upright back.

At that moment, the main hall's curtain was ripped open violently.

Lin Yue'e's pale, haggard face appeared.

Her eye sockets were swollen red like ripe peaches, clearly having just wept heart‑breakingly.

She clutched Xiao Xue tightly in her arms.

The little girl buried her face deep in her mother's bosom, her small body still shivering from the earlier argument and fright.

When Xiao Xue timidly lifted her head from her mother's embrace.

She saw the yard's doorway, where the usually stern grandfather, angry and brandishing a stick, pointed at the familiar yet strange figure kneeling in the snow…

Especially when she saw blood still on his forehead… those already‑teary eyes were instantly filled with overwhelming terror!

"Wa—!"

A sharp, mournful wail tore through the courtyard's silence!

Xiao Xue clutched the lapel of Lin Yue'e's chest, her tiny hand gripping tightly.

She sobbed heart‑breakingly, her small body convulsing and trembling.

That cry was like a red‑hot blunt blade, each slash carving deep into Lu Qingshan's heart.

It hurts a thousand‑ten‑thousand times more than the wound on his forehead, more than the pain in his knee!

The pain makes his five organs feel as if they were being crushed!

He closed his eyes in agony.

His teeth clenched his lips, tasting a hint of salty, fishy blood.

His body trembled uncontrollably, just slightly.

It wasn't because of cold, but because of the bone‑deep despair and self‑blame.

This is the sin he sowed in the past!

He forced a weak, immature child to experience a tense, sword‑drawn situation among close relatives.

He forced himself to endure the knife‑like pain in his heart and slowly opened his eyes.

He strained to lift the corner of his mouth, trying to show his daughter the gentlest, most benevolent smile he thought he could give.

But that smile was probably uglier than crying, filled with bitterness and pleading.

Xiao Xue's cry was as sharp as an ice spear, instantly piercing the stagnant air in the courtyard and piercing Lu Qingshan's heart.

Lin Yue'e held her daughter tightly, her face deathly pale, lips trembling, wanting to speak but not daring to.

She looked at her husband, kneeling on the ground with blood on his forehead, then at his furious, hair‑standing father, her eyes full of helplessness, panic, and deep conflict.

Lin Huainian, holding the burning torch, paused briefly because of Xiao Xue's cry.

The fury in his eyes grew stronger, yet a barely perceptible strand of complexity and compassion also appeared.

He lowered his head, glared viciously at Lu Qingshan: "Look! Look at the mess you've caused!"

"You've scared my granddaughter into what?"

"How dare you show up? You're nothing but a disaster!"

"Father…" Lu Qingshan's throat was extremely dry, his forehead pressed against the icy snow, unwilling to lift his head to see his daughter's terrified little face.

"I… I'm not human… I'm sorry for you all…"

"Now you realize you're wrong? Too late!" Lin Huainian tightened his stick again, his anger regaining the upper hand.

"I tell you, Lu Qingshan, as long as I, Lin Huainian, have a breath left, you'll never set foot in the Lin household again! Never get near Yue E and Xiao Xue!"

"Father of the child, what are you doing…?"

At that moment, the inner door curtain was lifted, and a middle‑aged woman in an apron hurried out—it was Lu Qingshan's mother‑in‑law, Li Cuilian.

She saw the scene in the courtyard, jumped in fright, and rushed forward to grab Lin Huainian's arm.

"If you have something to say, speak properly; it's freezing outside. Look, Qing Shan's forehead is already bruised—let the child get up quickly, don't ruin his knees by kneeling!"

Li Cuilian felt pain for her daughter, and also feared that this stubborn, donkey‑like old man might truly beat someone to death.

"Qing Shan, back then you and Yue E were such a perfect match of talent and beauty; it's fine you're not returning to the city—just living well here would be wonderful."

"Look at what's happening now; this place no longer feels like a home."

"Don't blame your father; he's also watching how you two live… He truly feels sorry for both mothers…"

She saw Lu Qingshan kneeling in the snow, looking genuinely pitiful, and felt a mixture of emotions.

"Stop the nonsense! Move aside!" Lin Huainian flung his old partner's arm away.

"If this brute doesn't break his leg today, he won't know how many eyes the Prince has!"