Aside from the second branch of the family, no one else came out to eat dinner.
To be precise, they didn’t dare to sit at the same table with Yu Li. Even though their stomachs were growling with hunger, they endured it, stayed in their rooms, and didn’t come out.
Tonight’s dinner was particularly sumptuous. The chicken soup was delicious, and the braised chicken was exceptional. It was cooked with shiitake mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and fresh bamboo shoots, creating an aroma that was simply irresistible. The second branch enjoyed the meal immensely.
This was something the second branch could never have imagined before—being able to eat meat in big mouthfuls.
No need to look at anyone’s face, no need to hold back—eat as much as they wanted, and no one would scold them for being lazy, greedy, or wasteful.
Yu Li thoroughly enjoyed her dinner.
Unlike lunch, which was always interrupted by others, now only the second branch was present. Without anyone’s nagging or fussing, she could focus solely on eating.
Yu Li ate with such satisfaction that she polished off all the dishes, leaving not even a drop of soup.
The second branch members stared at her in shock. Yu Yin asked worriedly, “Big Sister, if you eat so much, won’t your stomach hurt?”
They had eaten their fill as well, but being used to long-term hunger, their stomach capacities were limited. No matter how hard they tried to eat, there were still plenty of leftovers.
After all, Yu Yin had cooked for the whole family.
Yet now, Yu Li had somehow managed to eat all the remaining food. She even mixed the leftover braised chicken gravy with a bowl of rice and continued to eat happily.
“Nope!” Yu Li replied confidently. “I’ve never been full before.”
She wasn’t lying. The original owner had indeed never had a full meal.
As for herself, even after eating so much, she only felt about 80% full—not quite at the point of being completely satisfied.
Hearing this, the second branch couple was overwhelmed with guilt. It was their failure as parents that had left their four daughters hungry.
They were fully aware of their daughters’ status in the Yu family but, having no sons, they lacked the confidence to stand tall. Over time, they had grown accustomed to being exploited by the family and even came to see it as their duty.
This mindset was unsurprising. After all, the couple had lived for so long in an environment where sons were valued over daughters. They had been continuously manipulated and brainwashed, always blaming themselves for any issues, not only wronging themselves but also their daughters.
—
After dinner, the sky had already darkened.
It was time for Yu Li to leave.
Before leaving, she went around knocking on doors, forcing the people hiding inside to come out one by one.
Those inside naturally didn’t want to come out. To avoid her, they were willing to go hungry, planning to wait until she left before going to the matriarch to get some food and cook a new dinner.
This was why they didn’t come out for dinner earlier.
After all, the family still had some grain left. As long as they could cook another meal, they wouldn’t starve.
Standing in front of the tightly shut doors, Yu Li said calmly, “If you don’t come out, I’ll kick the door down.”
As soon as she said this, the people inside no longer dared to hide and quickly opened the door.
With her strength, she might actually kick the door off its hinges. If that happened, they’d have no door to secure their rooms, leaving them uneasy at night.
Under the dim light of the evening, Yu Jin stood to the side holding an oil lamp.
In these times, most commoners suffered from night blindness. Once the sun set, it was as if they were blind, even with their eyes wide open.
This oil lamp belonged to the main hall. Normally, the second branch wouldn’t dare to light it—they’d be scolded for wasting lamp oil. They usually did everything in the dark.
But today, they had nothing to fear because the lamp was lit on Yu Li’s orders.
Seeing the oil lamp in Yu Jin’s hands, Old Madam Yu was clearly displeased. But when her gaze landed on Yu Li, who stood there thin and frail, seemingly weak and harmless, she couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable fear.
Half of Yu Li’s face was obscured in shadow. Her slender figure stood as still as a mountain, exuding an intangible weight that struck terror into those present.
This fear stemmed from the psychological shadow left by Yu Li’s violent outburst at noon. Whatever she did now, the Yu family members instinctively felt a twinge of dread.
“W-What do you want?” Old Madam Yu asked sharply, trying to mask her fear. “You’ve already eaten two chickens! Isn’t that enough?”
What kind of married daughter returns to her maternal home and eats like this?
That wretched girl! She had ruined her two chickens!
Yu Li looked at them and politely said, “I’m about to leave. I just came to inform you.”
Hearing this, Old Madam Yu and the others were overjoyed, eager for her to leave as soon as possible.
At the same time, they felt a deep sense of relief. Thankfully, she was already married and didn’t live at home. Otherwise, facing her every day would make it impossible to sleep at night.
Just as they were feeling pleased, they heard her add, “Luckily, Grandmother married me into a family in the same village. The Fu family is very close to the Yu family, so I’ll be coming back to see you all every day.”
Everyone: “……”
The faces of Old Madam Yu and the others went blank for a moment, then their expressions changed drastically.
Coming back every day?!!
That wretched girl was planning to return to her maternal home daily? A married daughter is like water spilled on the ground—what kind of daughter returns to her parents’ home every day?
“You…” Old Madam Yu was both angry and flustered. “You’re married now! How can you come back every day? If people hear about it, won’t they laugh at us? Aren’t you afraid the Fu family will be dissatisfied?”
Yu Li replied calmly, “Not at all. My mother-in-law and my—husband are very kind. They won’t mind.”
She truly believed this. Zhou Shi and Fu Wenxiao were both good people—one provided her with food, and the other hadn’t driven her out even after she pinched him. Such good people wouldn’t care about something as trivial as this.
The Yu family was left speechless.
A sudden unease crept into their hearts. If she really came back every day, how could the Yu family endure her constant havoc?
The third son and his wife even began to blame Old Madam Yu. How could she have married Yu Li into the same village? If only she had married her off to a faraway village—or better yet, tens of thousands of miles away—there’d be no fear of her returning daily!
After announcing her plans to the Yu family, Yu Li turned to Old Madam Yu and said, “Grandmother, I’m heading back to my in-laws. Aren’t you going to give me something to take back?”
“What? Give you what?”
“When I came back today, my mother-in-law gave me a return gift. It’s only proper to reciprocate. I can’t go back empty-handed, can I? That would be so impolite.”
What Yu Li said wasn’t wrong. In more refined families, when a married daughter visited her parents’ home and brought a return gift, the parents would usually send her back with something in return. This was to prevent her from being looked down upon by her in-laws.
Of course, Yu Li wasn’t worried about being looked down upon. But earlier, Aunt Guihua had mentioned many things—though Aunt Guihua’s words seemed malicious in Aunt Feng’s view, Yu Li had taken them to heart. Some of what Aunt Guihua said wasn’t wrong.
Old Madam Yu choked on her words, nearly exploding with anger.
At that moment, Old Master Yu interjected, “Give it to her.”
“What?”
“Give it to her,” said Old Master Yu. “Let her take it back.”
By now, he had a good grasp of this granddaughter’s temperament. Even if they didn’t give her anything, she’d take it herself, so it was better to hand it over willingly and avoid her taking matters into her own hands—who knew what she might do then?
Old Madam Yu was extremely aggrieved, but she had no choice. She went back to her room to fetch some items. First, she opened the basket holding their eggs and took out a dozen or so. Then, after much hesitation, she also packed a small bag of fine grain.
When she handed these items to Yu Li, her face was twisted with pain.
Those eggs had been saved to sell in the county for silver when they reached a certain quantity. The fine grain was reserved for the eldest son and the boys Jingde and Jingli to nourish their health. They worked hard in their studies and couldn’t be expected to live on coarse grain all the time.
And now, this wretched girl, who had brought nothing back but had allowed the second branch to eat everything, was leaving with gifts for her in-laws. How outrageous!
Yu Li, having little understanding of return gifts, glanced at the eggs and fine grain and reluctantly thought it was acceptable.
After all, if it wasn’t enough, she could always come back and get more.
“Alright, I’m heading back,” she said to Old Madam Yu and the others. “Also, from now on, whatever food you eat, my parents and sisters should eat the same. If I find out they’re going hungry, I’ll have no choice but to come back and tear down your house so you can go hungry too.”
The Yu family: “…”
Yu Li calmly delivered her threat, bid them farewell, and turned to leave.
Suddenly, she remembered something. Turning back to Old Madam Yu, she said, “Oh, right. When I got married, you didn’t prepare a dowry for me.”
The original owner had married into the Fu family wearing her old clothes and carrying a small bundle containing nothing but a single set of worn-out clothing. As for a dowry, there had been none.
Even the poorest rural families tried to scrape together a dowry for their daughters. The Yu family wasn’t destitute, but their actions had been disgraceful. They had even taken twenty taels of silver as betrothal money from the Fu family.
According to Aunt Guihua, for such a hefty betrothal sum, the bride’s family should at least send her with a proper dowry to maintain appearances. Even if the Yu family kept the betrothal money for themselves, they should have prepared a decent dowry for her to take to the Fu family.
Though Yu Li didn’t fully understand social customs, she thought Aunt Guihua’s words made sense.
Hmm, Aunt Guihua wasn’t as bad as Aunt Feng claimed. Many of her comments were quite reasonable. In the future, Yu Li thought, it might be worth listening to her more.
—
Old Madam Yu was stunned. A dowry? She still wanted a dowry?
A girl sold off for Chong Xi had no right to demand a dowry!
Old Madam Yu wanted to say this but didn’t dare. Her old face flushed an angry greenish-purple, as if she might faint at any moment.
The others didn’t look pleased either, but no one dared to oppose Yu Li to her face.
Fortunately, Yu Li didn’t press for the dowry right away. She simply said, “Prepare it first. I’ll come back to collect it in a few days.”
With that, there was nothing left to say. Finally, Yu Li left the Yu family.
As for whether the Yu family would bully the second branch after she left, she wasn’t worried.
As she had said before, her in-laws were in the same village—one at the eastern end, the other at the western end. It was only a ten- or twenty-minute walk. She could drop by at any time, so she doubted they’d dare to mistreat the second branch.
—
Night had fallen, and a pale crescent moon hung in the sky.
The moonlight was faint, and Yu Li’s night blindness made the road difficult to traverse.
Fortunately, in her previous life, she had walked many nights on unlit paths. Even with her eyes shrouded in darkness, she wasn’t afraid. Following her memory, she headed toward the Fu family home.
In the distance, she saw the glow of a light. Though faint, it stood out starkly in the darkness, guiding her forward.
Yu Li’s eyes reflected the flickering light, and her mood instantly lifted.
When she arrived at the Fu family home, Yu Li knocked on the door. It was Zhou Shi who answered.
“Li Niang, you’re back!” Zhou Shi smiled warmly at the sight of her. “Come in. Have you had dinner?”
“I’ve eaten,” Yu Li replied. Then, she asked if they had eaten and handed over the basket in her hands, explaining that it was a return gift from the Yu family.
Zhou Shi was stunned. That stingy Old Madam Yu actually gave a return gift? How could that be real?
Living in the same village, Zhou Shi had heard plenty about Old Madam Yu’s reputation and knew what kind of person she was.
Had she misjudged Old Madam Yu?
“Little Aunt is back!”
Fu Yanhui and Fu Yansheng, the sibling pair, stood hand in hand under the corridor, greeting Yu Li with joy.
They really liked this little aunt. Over the past few days of eating meals with her, they had grown attached. Watching her eat with such gusto made their own meals seem more appetizing.
Yu Li patted their heads, then pulled out two boiled eggs from her pocket and handed them over. “Here, eat these.”
“Eggs!”
The siblings were thrilled. Their eyes sparkled as they looked at Yu Li. This little aunt was so kind—she even gave them eggs.
Zhou Shi also received a boiled egg and asked in surprise, “Where did these come from?”
“I boiled them at the Yu family’s house,” Yu Li replied calmly. “There’s enough for everyone. Mother, you eat one too.”
Zhou Shi was at a loss for words. Her daughter-in-law had even thought of bringing them boiled eggs? That was just… too kind.
After chatting with them briefly, Yu Li returned to her room to check on Fu Wenxiao.
Even though it had only been a day since she’d last seen him, she couldn’t help but worry that he might suddenly stop breathing. If that happened, she wouldn’t have an excuse to stay at the Fu family home.