As dusk fell, the people working in the fields dragged their weary steps back home.
By the river, Old Master Yu and the others washed the mud off their hands and feet before walking home in their damp straw sandals.
Old Master Yu and Yu Laosan walked ahead, while Yu Lao’er and his wife followed behind, keeping a distance and not daring to get too close.
When they went to work in the fields that afternoon, the couple had been scolded by Yu Laosan for a long time. He cursed them for raising an unfilial daughter, for bringing a disastrous guest into the family to harm everyone, for being deserving of not having a son to take care of them in old age, and for dying as wandering ghosts without any descendants to perform ancestral rites…
In short, Yu Laosan cursed viciously, venting all his pent-up grievances and fears on the second brother and his wife.
The couple, being honest and inarticulate people, didn’t know how to argue back and could only endure silently.
Their submissive demeanor only fueled Yu Laosan’s anger further. He felt that if it weren’t for their incompetence, unable to even control their daughter, she wouldn’t have dared to act so arrogantly in the Yu family and wreak havoc.
Yu Laosan was so enraged that he nearly lost his mind. If it weren’t for his concern about Yu Li, he would have wanted to physically assault this useless couple.
That fall at noon had left his tailbone numb. Even though Wang Shi had massaged his back during their midday rest, easing the pain somewhat, he still felt a lingering ache in his lower back while working in the afternoon.
The soreness in his lumbar spine reminded Yu Laosan of Yu Li’s outrageous behavior, making him hate the second brother and his wife even more.
No matter how one looked at it, they refused to believe that Yu Li’s outburst was due to years of oppression against the second branch of the family. Instead, they blamed the second brother and his wife for being inept, unable to discipline their daughter, and lacking authority in front of her, which emboldened her to defy her elders.
They didn’t dare to resent Yu Li or confront her directly, so they vented all their frustrations on the second brother and his wife.
Even Old Master Yu, when he saw his third son pointing at the second couple and cursing them out, remained silent, only wearing a sullen expression.
This made it clear to everyone that the old master’s attitude toward the second brother and his wife was one of great disdain.
To him, raising such an unfilial and disobedient daughter was entirely their fault!
As they neared the house, Yu Laosan suddenly felt uneasy.
Lowering his voice, he asked nervously, “Father, do you think she’s still here…?”
When they went out to work in the afternoon, they’d heard that Yu Li was still in the western room.
In rural households, there’s always plenty of work to be done. Even when a daughter comes back to visit, the family typically only hosts her for a meal before she and her husband leave in the afternoon. Only families who truly treasure their daughters would let them stay longer.
The Yu family was not one to cherish daughters. They couldn’t wait for Yu Li to leave and never return.
Old Master Yu frowned, unsure if his granddaughter was still at home.
Of course, he hoped she’d already gone back to the Fu family and would be treated as if she no longer existed. After all, the Yu family never expected a married daughter to bring any benefits to her natal family.
As he pondered, he noticed a few people standing near the house’s gate. Squinting to get a better look, he realized they were neighbors from the Feng family.
The Feng family was pointing at the collapsed wall and discussing something.
When they saw the Yu family return, the eldest of the Feng family called out, “Uncle Yu, what happened to your wall? During lunch, we thought we heard something. Could it be your wall collapsing? What’s going on?”
In the countryside, houses weren’t built close to each other. Though the Yu family and Feng family were neighbors, there was a considerable distance between them. Thus, the Feng family hadn’t heard the commotion at noon, only noticing the sound when the wall collapsed.
At the time, they had been eating lunch. The scorching midday sun made everyone feel lethargic, and no one had the energy to go check.
It wasn’t until evening, when the youngest son mentioned that the Yu family’s wall had collapsed, that they hurried out to see what had happened.
This isn’t a stormy day, so why did the courtyard wall suddenly collapse? The Feng family was deeply curious about the cause.
Old Master Yu’s face immediately darkened.
He was a man who valued his reputation. At home, he maintained an air of authority as the head of the family and took pride in his two grandsons, who had the potential to become scholars. He aspired to elevate the family’s status and gain the respect of everyone around him, enjoying the admiration others showed toward him.
As the saying goes, “Family shame should not be aired publicly.” Old Master Yu would never allow the family’s scandals to spread, let alone let people know what kind of trouble his newly married granddaughter caused upon her return.
“The wall had cracks and collapsed on its own,” Old Master Yu said stiffly.
“Cracks?” Eldest Feng was skeptical. “Looking at the damage, it doesn’t seem like it collapsed on its own! I remember when this wall was built, it was reinforced and hammered repeatedly. It shouldn’t crack and collapse so easily, right?”
Old Master Yu’s expression grew more unpleasant. He replied with a stern face, “Why not? Maybe this part wasn’t hammered solid enough during construction.”
With that, he no longer wished to engage in idle chatter with the Feng family and went straight into the house.
Yu Laosan also had no intention of admitting to outsiders that their family had been threatened by a younger member. It was too humiliating. He followed suit, entering the house with a grim expression.
As soon as they stepped inside, a rich aroma of chicken soup wafted over from the kitchen.
The enticing smell momentarily delighted Yu Laosan, but his face quickly turned sour.
It wasn’t a festival or special occasion—why was chicken being cooked?
Could it be…?
Yu Laosan’s ominous premonition was confirmed when he saw Yu Li sitting in the main hall.
When she looked up at him, Yu Laosan felt the soreness in his back and waist from the fall at noon intensify unbearably.
—
When Yu Li saw Old Master Yu and the others return, she remained calm and even greeted them politely, “Grandpa, Father, Mother, Third Uncle, you’re back. Dinner is ready.”
She then turned to Yu Jin and her sisters, saying, “You all can sit down and eat too.”
The group: “…..”
Yu Jin carried over the freshly stewed chicken soup.
Unlike braised dishes, stewed chicken soup requires a longer cooking time to bring out the flavor, especially since chicken meat tends to be tougher. Thus, it had been stewing until now.
Yu Jin placed the steaming chicken soup on the table and, with a filial demeanor, served the eldest sister a bowl of soup first. She also placed a large chicken drumstick in her bowl, along with extra pieces of chicken.
Afterward, she served herself and her two younger sisters, ensuring each of their bowls contained either a drumstick or a wing.
In short, the four sisters had claimed all the chicken drumsticks and wings for themselves.
The group invited to the meal stood there in silence, unmoving.
To be precise, Old Master Yu and Yu Laosan were silent, while Yu Lao’er and his wife looked helplessly at the old master’s grim face, unsure of what to do.
If this were a usual day, Old Master Yu would likely have flown into a rage by now, perhaps even grabbing a stick to discipline them.
At the dining table in the main hall, only the four sisters were seated; the others were nowhere to be found.
Old Master Yu’s expression was dark as he stared at the four sisters. Without saying a word, he turned and went to his room, where he indeed found Old Madam Yu.
As soon as she saw him, Old Madam Yu’s eyes filled with tears, and she angrily whispered, “She actually killed two chickens! Two of them! One of them was even a laying hen, producing an egg every day. And she killed it just to eat! I was saving that hen to make chicken soup for the eldest grandson and Jingde when they returned to nourish their bodies…”
Old Madam Yu was so distressed that she couldn’t stop trembling.
“What a wasteful wretch! How could she slaughter two chickens in one go? What a glutton! It’s enough to choke her to death!”
Old Master Yu was also heartbroken, but he felt helpless.
That granddaughter of his was no longer someone they could deal with. Her sheer strength alone made her unbeatable.
He had thought Yu Li had always been that strong but had endured her grievances silently because she had no choice. Perhaps this time, being married off to a dying man as part of a ritual to ward off misfortune, her resentment had reached its peak, leading her to act recklessly and resort to violence.
At this moment, he heard his wife say, “This won’t do. She’s a menace! As long as she’s around, our family will be ruined sooner or later. She might even drag down Eldest Son, Jingde, and Jingli… Why don’t we just split off the second branch from the family, old man?”
This was a solution Old Madam Yu had come up with after pondering for half the day.
Traditionally, as long as the parents were alive, the family should not split. Old Madam Yu had never considered dividing the household, and anyone who dared suggest it would have been met with her wrath and possibly a beating that would leave them too afraid to entertain the idea again.
The family had two scholars to support. Even though the eldest son worked as a clerk in a rice shop in the county, earning about three taels of silver a month, the expenses of supporting their studies were enormous. Beyond the costs of ink, paper, and brushes, there were also ceremonial events, social gatherings, and daily living expenses, all of which added up to a considerable sum.
Only by pooling the entire family’s efforts, saving and scrimping, could they afford to support two scholars.
But after experiencing Yu Li’s violent outburst, Old Madam Yu began to think that dividing the family wasn’t such a bad idea after all. The chaos Yu Li caused today stemmed from the second branch being mistreated.
If that was the case, splitting off the second branch and cutting ties with them would leave her no reason to continue troubling them.
Surely, she wouldn’t have the audacity to harass her elderly grandparents or uncles from a separate branch after a division, would she?
At that point, even if she had some justification, it would become unreasonable. If she tried to take her grievances to the clan leader, she wouldn’t have the same confidence to make threats.
Old Master Yu’s face remained grim, and he said nothing.
Seeing his silence, Old Madam Yu pressed him, “Say something, old man! Make a decision!”
“No!” Old Master Yu said in a deep voice, “The second branch cannot be split off!”
Dividing the household wasn’t as simple as saying it. The second branch would undoubtedly take a share of the family’s silver, land, and grain. Once that happened, the Yu family’s financial resources would shrink significantly, and the income from the fields would also decrease. When their two grandsons needed money, there might not be any left to give.
The Yu family’s silver and land could not be divided.
Unless the second branch was willing to leave with nothing.
Was that possible?
Judging by the chaos Yu Li caused today, Old Master Yu thought it unlikely. If the division was unfair, she would undoubtedly cause another uproar, perhaps even smashing their house to pieces.
Hearing his analysis, Old Madam Yu panicked. She immediately said, “No! Everything in this family belongs to Jingde and Jingli!”
She collapsed into a chair, realizing that dividing the family wasn’t an option.
But if they didn’t divide the family, would that troublemaker keep returning to her natal home to stir up more trouble?
—
Meanwhile, Yu Laosan returned to his room and saw his wife, Wang Shi, and their three children hiding inside. They all looked aggrieved.
As soon as she saw him come in, Wang Shi’s eyes turned red.
“What’s wrong?” he asked in confusion. “Why aren’t you eating dinner? Didn’t we kill chickens today?”
Wang Shi replied bitterly, “Eat what? With that jinx out there, who dares to eat?”
Then Wang Shi recounted to him how their three sons encountered Yu Li in the evening and how she had even scolded them.
Yu Laosan looked at his three sons in confusion. “She scolded you?”
The eldest son, Yu Jingzhong, was filled with grievance and angrily said, “She told me and Second Brother to chop firewood, and if we didn’t, there would be no food for us!”
That afternoon, the brothers hadn’t gone to the fields. Although they were old enough to work, they didn’t particularly enjoy farm labor. Most afternoons, they would run off to play or find other things to occupy themselves with.
For example, Yu Jingzhong would sometimes follow the village carpenter to learn some woodworking skills.
But when they came home, Yu Li caught them and demanded that they go chop firewood.
“She even made Yi Ge’er go along with his brothers and told him to gather bamboo husks for kindling,” Wang Shi said, wiping her tears. “Yi Ge’er is only five years old!”
Yu Laosan was furious. “How could she do that?”
Then his wife added, “She said that back when Zhu Niang was three years old, she was already following her sisters to gather firewood. Since Yi Ge’er is five now, he should start helping out at home too. She also said that if only the second branch continues to do all the work, she’ll beat them and not let them eat!”
Yu Laosan: “…”