As Yu Li and her sisters stepped out, the door of the neighboring room opened, and Yu Lao’er (Second Brother Yu) and his wife stepped out.
Liu Shi asked in a hushed voice, “Li Niang, where are you going?”
Every time they learned their eldest daughter was visiting, their hearts would tighten with worry, afraid that Yu Li might stir up trouble and anger the old lady again.
They had no way to control their daughter and didn’t know how to, but they still hoped she wouldn’t cause any problems.
Otherwise, when Yu Laoda (Eldest Brother Yu) returned, the one who would suffer would inevitably be her.
Yu Laoda had always been favored by Old Master Yu and his wife. From a young age, he had been sent to a private academy to study, later married the daughter of a scholar, and fathered two successful sons. He even secured a respectable position in the county, where he lived and worked, making him the epitome of a “respectable county man” in the eyes of the rural villagers.
In the minds of Yu Lao’er and Yu Laosan (Third Brother Yu), this elder brother was untouchable, a figure of great authority in the Yu family. His word carried weight not just within the family but also among the village head, elders, and clan leaders. Even the villagers showed him great respect.
It wasn’t that Yu Lao’er and his wife were overly pessimistic, but they understood all too well the weight of Yu Laoda’s authority in both the Yu family and the village. Few would dare oppose him.
If Yu Laoda decided to discipline his daughter, they believed Yu Li would have no way to resist.
After all, she was their daughter, and they didn’t want her to suffer any punishment or come to a bad end.
In truth, they hoped she would stay in the Fu family and live quietly. The Fu family didn’t have much work to do, and Zhou Shi was a kindhearted mother-in-law. Being a daughter-in-law in the Fu family was far better than being at the Yu family. Why didn’t she understand this?
Yu Li glanced at them and said, “I’m going to see Third Uncle.”
Hearing this, the couple sighed in relief—it wasn’t the old master or old lady she was going to confront, thank goodness.
But then they were surprised. Yu Lao’er asked, “What are you going to see Old Third for?”
Yu Li didn’t answer. Her calm face, under the fading twilight, revealed a cold indifference, as if she were looking at two strangers, rather than her parents.
Yu Jin said, “Father, Mother, don’t worry about it. This time, Third Uncle is in the wrong. Just stay inside the house.”
She knew her parents were unreliable and didn’t expect them to stand up for her. All she hoped was that they would stay out of the way, keeping to themselves without causing trouble.
She didn’t expect them to protect their daughters and certainly didn’t want them siding with others to scold them.
Yu Jin’s expectations for her parents were now very low—so low that all she asked was for them to remain as they were, useless but not making things worse.
Yu Lao’er and his wife looked at their daughters’ calm expressions, opened their mouths, but couldn’t find the words to say.
In the end, they could only watch as the sisters headed toward the third branch’s house.
—
Perhaps because of Yu Li’s presence, the Yu family was unusually quiet. Everyone stayed holed up in their rooms, not daring to come out, not even to fetch water if they were thirsty.
Only a faint trace of light remained in the sky as night descended further.
Yu Li, accompanied by her sisters, walked to the third branch’s house and knocked on the door.
“Who’s there?” came the voice of Third Aunt Wang Shi from inside.
“It’s me,” Yu Li replied.
When Yu Li spoke, there was a moment of silence inside, followed by the sound of a chair toppling over. The commotion that ensued hinted at the chaos happening inside.
Yu Jin and her sisters heard everything clearly. Their eyes gleamed in the twilight like those of cats, almost glowing with anticipation.
It was hard to describe their emotions at the moment—a mix of excitement, nervousness, and an unnameable surge of energy from deep within. It made them feel fearless.
They realized there was nothing in the world they needed to fear. When faced with injustice, they should confront it boldly rather than swallowing their grievances and believing they were in the wrong.
After a long while, the third branch’s door finally opened.
It was Yu Laosan who answered. He stood in the doorway, visibly uneasy as he looked at the four nieces. His voice trembled slightly, “L-Li Niang, what brings you here?”
Inside the house, Third Aunt Wang Shi nervously pricked up her ears, dreading that this calamity of a niece had come to cause trouble for the third branch.
Even in the main house, Old Madam Yu and Old Master Yu, hearing the commotion, couldn’t help but strain to listen.
Unbeknownst to them, Yu Li’s every move had already come to dominate the entire Yu family’s attention. The moment she made even the slightest stir, everyone tensed up.
Yu Li didn’t waste time with pleasantries. She got straight to the point. “Third Uncle, when you used to take Ah Yin’s embroidery to the embroidery house in the county, the money you brought back after deducting the cost of fabric and thread should have been around 400 wen per month. You only gave 300 wen to Grandmother. Where did the remaining 100 wen go?”
In an instant, everyone froze.
Yu Laosan and Wang Shi’s faces turned pale.
At that moment, a loud thud came from the main house as Old Madam Yu suddenly flung the door open and stormed out like a firecracker ready to explode.
“You good-for-nothing, Laosan! You dared to pocket 100 wen!”
A hundred wen! A hundred wen every month! Over the years, who knew how much that added up to!
In Old Madam Yu’s mind, all the family’s money was hers to manage, meant to be saved for her two grandsons’ education. She had always suspected Yu Laosan wasn’t entirely honest, occasionally pocketing small amounts while working odd jobs, but she had turned a blind eye, thinking it wouldn’t be much.
But now, to find out he had the audacity to skim 100 wen from Yu Yin’s embroidery earnings—this was far beyond her tolerance.
If it were just a few wen or a dozen, she might have let it slide. But a hundred? That was outrageous.
In her fury, Old Madam Yu grabbed a cane from the courtyard and began whipping Yu Laosan with it.
Yu Laosan didn’t dare fight back and could only jump around trying to avoid the blows.
“Mother, stop hitting me, stop—”
“I’ll beat you to death, you greedy scoundrel! How dare you steal from your own mother!” Old Madam Yu raged, whipping him even harder. “Hand over the money now! That’s my money!”
Yu Li and her sisters stepped back to avoid being accidentally hit by the cane.
Hearing Old Madam Yu’s words, Yu Li calmly reminded her, “Grandmother, that money belongs to Ah Yin, not you.”
In her eyes, the money Yu Yin earned was hers. Even if the family hadn’t formally split, it was only reasonable to contribute a portion of earnings to the household fund, as the main branch did. However, the person who earned the money should still keep a portion for themselves. Otherwise, how demoralizing would that be?
Eating less, working more, and earning money only to see not a single coin stay in your hands—this wasn’t just unfair, it was inhumane.
Even an old ox wouldn’t be exploited to such an extent.
No family would do this. Typically, the elder managing the family finances would take half the earnings for household expenses and leave the other half for the younger generation.
Old Madam Yu choked on her words, unable to refute but also too afraid to provoke Yu Li into taking action. She vented her frustration on Yu Laosan instead, whipping him even harder.
Yu Laosan wasn’t Yu Li; he didn’t dare resist his mother, nor did he dare grab the cane from her hands. All he could do was run around the courtyard, pleading for her not to get angry.
Wang Shi couldn’t bear to watch her husband being beaten and rushed out to stop Old Madam Yu.
But Old Madam Yu was furious and turned the cane on her too, whipping Wang Shi so hard that she cried out in pain. Her screams were so loud that even the Feng family next door could hear the commotion and stood at their doorway, looking over curiously toward the Yu family.
In the end, it was Yu Jingzhong and his two younger brothers who couldn’t stand by and watch their parents being beaten any longer. They ran out to intervene.
“Grandmother, please don’t hit my parents…” The youngest, Yu Jingyi, clung to Old Madam Yu’s leg and began to cry loudly.
Old Madam Yu couldn’t bring herself to hit her grandson, so she finally stopped, holding the cane as she pointed it at Yu Laosan, shouting, “Where’s the money?”
Yu Laosan was covered in cane marks, his face, neck, and other exposed areas swollen and bruised. Old Madam Yu didn’t believe in sparing the face when beating someone and deliberately aimed for spots that clothing couldn’t cover.
Not only him, but Wang Shi also bore a face full of whip marks, her expression a mix of pain and grievance.
Hearing Old Madam Yu’s question, Yu Laosan stammered, “Mother, I… I spent it all…”
“Spent it all?” Old Madam Yu’s voice rose sharply. “A hundred wen every month, over two years, that’s more than two taels of silver…”