Although there's a saying that scholars can argue black is white, Lin Xiaoguai had never mastered this skill in either of her lifetimes, even when working in a magazine where others engaged in verbal sparring, she mostly used real strength to make her point.
Actually, she should be grateful she was born in the sixties rather than the eighties. Society in the 21st century isn't as simple as it was then. Even with real skill, if you can't deftly manage relationships above and below you, don't even mention promotion; one might encounter numerous vexing issues. Sometimes, even the slickest individuals, if lacking the right background and relationships, had to suffer and compromise, let alone the former.
Lin Xiaoguai wasn't good at arguing with people, largely because her character was too upright. But even the most upright person, as a mother seeing her son endure such grievous wrong, couldn't remain rational.
That being said, she blurted out a sentence that was quite "unreasonable".