Chapter 1301: The Fool’s Daughter (End)

Whenever outsiders asked Yuan Shuo why he never planned on having children, he would always say, “Having Xiao Guo is enough. If there’s another child, I’m afraid I won’t be able to take proper care of her. Besides, I finally understand why my dad used to love beating me when I was little. Maybe I was just that unexpected trouble that shocked him.”

Those words alone were enough to show just how deeply Yuan Shuo loved his wife. He didn’t even want an extra child standing between the two of them.

Hand in hand, Yuan Shuo and Tang Guo strolled leisurely through the plaza. Smiling, she asked, “Brother Shuo, have we started living our retirement life ahead of schedule?”

“Isn’t that nice?” he replied. “We get to be together every day. I don’t want to be so busy with company matters that I have no time to spend with you.”

“So that’s why you work your employees so hard?”

“I pay them salaries,” Yuan Shuo said with complete confidence. “And good work gets bonuses.”

As they chatted, a woman suddenly came running toward them. Seeing that she was about to collide with Tang Guo, Yuan Shuo quickly pulled her aside and moved out of the way.

The woman immediately hurried over to apologize. “I’m sorry, I almost bumped into you. Are you alright?”

“We’re fine.”

“Si Si…” A man came running after her. “Si Si, don’t be angry. It’s all my fault. Next time we visit your parents, I’ll endure it and won’t make them angry, okay? I just feel bad for you. Hearing what they say makes my heart ache.”

System: Host, it’s the male and female leads.

“Are they married?” Tang Guo asked.

They are, but their family issues still haven’t been resolved. Mao Siyuan’s mother often acts pitiful in front of her. There’s still a lot left to deal with.

Lu Qian had also noticed that Mao Siyuan had nearly crashed into the couple. Pulling her behind him, he hurriedly apologized. “I’m terribly sorry, you two. She almost bumped into you. Let me apologize on Si Si’s behalf.”

“It’s alright,” Tang Guo said with a smile. “What, did the two of you have a quarrel?”

“Just some minor things.” Lu Qian laughed. “From now on, I’ll just give in to her. I won’t make her angry anymore. I’ll bear with it.”

Tears shimmered in Mao Siyuan’s eyes, but she didn’t shake off Lu Qian’s hand.

Tang Guo suddenly burst into laughter and wrapped her arms around Yuan Shuo’s waist. “Brother Shuo, there really are plenty of good men in this world, don’t you think?”

“That’s right,” Yuan Shuo answered immediately. “A man should indulge the woman he loves. When two people are together, the most important thing is understanding each other and living happily. If I spoil you and you’re happy, then I’ll be happy too.”

“Exactly. Brother Shuo and I are the ones who’ll spend our lives together, so we have to understand each other. We shouldn’t let little things create misunderstandings. Whether it’s my family or your family, no matter what happens, nothing should affect our own little home.”

Yuan Shuo seemed to understand something and nodded quickly. “Xiao Guo is right.”

“If both families are open-minded and kind, then keep close ties. But if either side is demanding and unreasonable, stay a little farther away. Don’t ever be soft-hearted. If my parents dared bully you, I wouldn’t stand for it.”

“And I wouldn’t let my parents bully Xiao Guo either. Though they all adore you.”

“Come on, Brother Shuo. Let’s go ride the Ferris wheel. But first, buy me some ice cream.”

“Alright.”

Hand in hand, Tang Guo and Yuan Shuo walked away. Watching their retreating figures, Mao Siyuan sank into thought.

“Si Si, I won’t make you angry anymore, alright?” Lu Qian asked softly.

Looking at the humble, cautious Lu Qian before her, Mao Siyuan suddenly burst into tears. “You know my mother’s unreasonable. None of it is your fault. Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I love you, Si Si. I can’t lose you.”

Throwing herself into his arms, Mao Siyuan cried loudly. “Lu Qian, I’ll treat you better from now on. I’ll visit my parents less often. I… I’m afraid of losing you too.”

When Tang Guo opened her eyes again, she found herself sitting atop a rock by the sea. Looking down at the golden fishtail swaying beneath the water, she froze for a moment.

“This… looks like it’s attached to me?”

System: Host, that’s because it is your tail. You have a tail now.

---

✦ Translator's Note — End of arc! 😭

Phew. Finally. This arc is over ⚐

As I mentioned at the very beginning, this is honestly one of my least favorite arcs—not because it's badly written, but because the author did such a good job depicting something that is way, way too real.

It brought back so many frustrating feelings while I was reading it. Just... ugh. So many things in this arc had me grinding my teeth because I've seen versions of these attitudes in real life, especially growing up in a society where social relationships and maintaining family "bonds"can sometimes be treated as more important than the people actually involved.

There's this idea that you should be nice to relatives, that relatives should always be included, that you should help family whenever they ask, that you need to spend money when relatives visit, prepare everything perfectly, keep up appearances, maintain relationships, and so on.

And sometimes I'm just sitting there thinking:

WHY???

Like, you don't even LIKE this person. 😭

Why are you spending money you shouldn't be spending, exhausting yourself, and making your own family uncomfortable just because someone is coming over for a visit?!

And I've definitely seen this kind of thing in my own childhood.

One example that came back to me while reading this arc was when one of my relatives had a contagious illness and needed someone to take care of her. Her mother didn't have the time, so she asked my grandparents to take her in.

Now, there were several other adults in that family who could have helped.

My grandparents' household, on the other hand, consisted of my grandparents, who were already over sixty, me—who was around ten at the time—and my great-grandfather, who was already in his nineties.

And I remember thinking:

WHY ARE YOU BRINGING SOMEONE WITH A HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS DISEASE INTO A HOUSE FULL OF ELDERLY PEOPLE AND A CHILD?! 😭

Obviously, I was a ten-year-old. I wasn't exactly in a position to start giving lectures about infectious disease management💀

And to be clear, I'm not saying my family was anything like the family in this arc. They weren't. I'm only bringing this up because the underlying mentality—the “but they're family, so of course we have to help” mentality—can show up in a lot of different ways.

And this is where I think my feelings about this arc get a little complicated.

I absolutely believe in helping people.

If a relative genuinely needs help and you have the ability to help them? Why not? That's what family, friends, and communities are for🤷‍♀️

But I don't think helping someone should automatically mean sacrificing yourself and your immediate family.

There's a difference between saying, “This is inconvenient, but I can help,” and saying, “This may hurt me or my family, but I have to do it because otherwise people will think I'm a bad person.”

That second one bothers me a LOT.

And I think this is especially important when children are involved.

Because children don't get to choose their parents (!!!!!)

They don't get to choose the family they're born into.

And if a parent repeatedly sacrifices their child's needs, safety, happiness, or belongings for the sake of keeping relatives happy, I don't think you can just wave it away with “But we're family.”

Your child is family too.

And actually, isn't your child the person you have the most responsibility toward? like shouldn't they come before some... relatives??

And that brings me to another thing this arc made me think about: filial piety.

This might be a somewhat controversial opinion, so take it as exactly that—my personal opinion🙈

I understand the idea that children should care for their parents when they're old.

If your parents loved you, supported you, protected you, sacrificed for you, and were there for you throughout your life, then of course you'd probably want to be there for them later. That kind of care doesn't even necessarily feel like an obligation. It comes from love, gratitude, and the relationship you've built over decades.

But what about parents who didn't do those things?

What about parents who were neglectful, abusive, emotionally destructive, or who consistently made their child's life worse??

Why does society still sometimes expect that child to provide the same level of devotion and sacrifice as someone whose parents actually gave them a safe and loving childhood?????? (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

I don't know🥹

I struggle with that.

Because I've seen how childhood experiences can follow people into adulthood.

When someone grows up without a sense of security, they can carry that insecurity for years. They may struggle to trust people. They may become extremely anxious about money because they never felt like they had a safety net (like myself, though I am working on it, sigh). They may constantly feel like something bad is about to happen. They may have trouble believing that relationships can actually be safe.

And yes, people can heal. They can meet wonderful people, build healthier relationships, go to therapy, learn to understand themselves, and eventually create the kind of life they didn't have growing up.

But healing doesn't mean nothing happened to them.

Sometimes people carry those effects for a very, very long time......

And then society turns around and says:

“But they're your parents. You need to take care of them. You need to be filial. You need to bring them into your home. You need to give them the best retirement possible. How can you even think of sending them to some facility? How can that compare to YOU personally caring for them?”

And I'm just sitting there like...

But what if they spent your entire childhood making you feel like you wanted to escape that home???

At some point, I think basic responsibility and limitless sacrifice have to be separated.

If your parents are elderly and genuinely need help, I absolutely think it's reasonable to make sure they're safe and cared for if you're able to.

But does that necessarily mean you have to live with them or personally care for them?

Does it mean you have to sacrifice your own marriage, children, career, finances, mental health, or entire life (especially when you already know exactly what kind of people they are and how much of YOU they've already ruined—or almost ruined)??????

Does caring for them mean they automatically get to continue making decisions for you and causing chaos in your life (do remember that we are talking about certain types of parents and they ABSOLUTELY would want to control your life even then)?

I don't think so.

Sometimes arranging or funding care, including professional or residential care when appropriate, can still mean taking responsibility for your parents (like Tang Guo👀).

It doesn't automatically mean abandoning them.

And honestly, I don't think someone should be called “unfilial”, "ungrateful" or “heartless” simply because they refuse to destroy their own life to prove that they love their parents.

Okay.

That got MUCH more serious and personal than I intended. 😭

But I think that's why this arc bothered me so much.

It wasn't just frustrating because of the characters.

It was frustrating because I recognize pieces of this mentality in the real world, and I've even personally seen how complicated family expectations can become when everyone is more concerned about keeping the family happy than asking whether the people inside that family are actually happy.

So... yeah.

The Fool's Daughter is officially over, and I am emotionally exhausted. 😂

What did you guys think of this arc?

Did the parents frustrate you as much as they frustrated me, or did you have a completely different reaction to them?

And more generally, what do you think about the idea that family obligations should have limits?

I'm genuinely curious about this one.

Because apparently I translated an arc about Tang Guo dealing with unreasonable family members and somehow ended up falling into a family and duty contemplation pit 😭

Classic Translator's Note 😭🙈 

Anyway, I'm done ranting now. 

Thank you for surviving this arc with me😂

—Cy