Chapter 14: Instigating the Separation of the Family

Chapter 14: Instigating the Separation of the Family

Cuihua finished lunch and prepared to go home with Sun Wang. Before leaving, she took Zhu to hide in the room and whispered, "Mom, after Second Uncle's leg injury, didn't you always want to split the family? Now the opportunity has come."

Zhu was simple-minded. She asked in confusion, "What chance? Qianhuan has already proposed a separation, and your grandfather would rather marry you off than agree. What other chances are there?"

"Mom, Qianhuan's engagement has been broken off. This is a good opportunity for us to split up the family." Cuihua said with confidence.

"What does Qianhuan's breaking off of the engagement have to do with the division of the family? You silly girl, why are you keeping me in suspense? Just say it if you have something to say, and just fart if you have to." Seeing that Cuihua took a while to say something but didn't get to the point, Zhu urged her to speak quickly in an extremely impatient tone.

"Her reputation has become bad because of her breaking off the engagement. Grandpa cares about reputation the most. Besides, my second brother is studying in a private school and is highly valued by Grandpa. Mother, you just need to let my second brother complain to Grandpa, saying that his classmates are making fun of him for his cousin's breaking off the engagement and he can't concentrate on his studies. Then he can ask for a separation. Grandpa will have to agree even if he doesn't agree for my second brother's sake."

Seeing that her mother had lost her patience, Cuihua decided not to keep her in suspense and quickly told her mother the solution she had thought of with a proud look on her face.

"Yes, mother, why didn't you think of it? This is really a good way to divide the family." Zhu slapped her thigh, with a look of hindsight on her face. It was obvious that she also agreed with Cuihua's idea.

"Mom, tell my second brother about this tomorrow night when he gets home from school. I'm going home with Sun Wang first." Cuihua did not forget to tell her mother before leaving.

She couldn't wait to see the miserable appearance of Qianhuan's family after being driven out. Now that her second uncle's leg was injured and he had lost the ability to earn money, their lives would definitely be more difficult after the separation. She imagined Qianhuan being worn out by life and felt happy in her heart.

"Okay, mother got it. You guys should be careful on the road." Zhu also reminded.

The next day, Wenzhi came back from school and Zhu told her son the method Cuihua taught her. Wenzhi also agreed to divide the family. He had long disliked his second uncle's family of three, who did not earn a penny and just ate and drank for free at home.

It was dinner time, and the whole family was sitting at the table. Wen Zhi suddenly said, "Grandpa, I don't want to go to the private school tomorrow."

"What happened? Why don't you want to go to the private school?" Old man Liang was puzzled as to why his second grandson, who had always been well-behaved, suddenly said that he didn't want to go to the private school.

"My classmates all know that Jiang Lin canceled Qianhuan's marriage, and they all make fun of me about it. They all say that our Liang family's daughter has bad behavior, so Jiang Tongsheng doesn't like her. I really don't feel like studying anymore."

Wen Zhi was not lying, Jiang Tongsheng himself also slandered Qianhuan in front of his classmates. Jiang Linniang was very upset when she was asked to pay a tael of silver, and she spared no effort to speak ill of Qianhuan in front of the villagers. In just one day, rumors about Qianhuan were everywhere.

Upon hearing this, Liang Laoer and Liu felt sad. They had heard some rumors in the village today, and they didn't expect that even people in the private school knew about it.

"Everyone in the private school knows about it? Does the teacher know about it too? This won't affect your ability to take exams in the future, right?" Old Man Liang asked his second grandson nervously, fearing that these things would affect his ability to take exams.

"I guess the teacher has heard about it. I don't know if it will affect the exam. Grandpa, what do you say we should do now?" Wen Zhi asked with pretended anxiety.

Old Man Liang fell silent. He didn't expect that Qianhuan's breaking off of the engagement would become known to everyone so quickly, and now it has affected his second grandson's studies.

"What else can we do? We can only separate the three of them and live separately. Mom and Dad, don't blame me for not considering my second brother's family. Wenzhi is the only scholar in the family. He is the hope for our Liang family to change. We can't let Qianhuan's breaking of the engagement affect his studies."

Zhu said with a look of deep sorrow. Seeing that Old Man Liang remained silent, she quickly told him about the division of the family.

"Sister-in-law, my second brother's leg injury has not yet healed. Now he can neither go to the fields to do farm work nor go up the mountain to hunt. If we separate their family of three, how will they live?" Chen couldn't bear to watch it anymore. She couldn't help but say a fair word for Liang Laoer's family.

"Third sister-in-law, now that Qianhuan's engagement has been broken off, everyone knows about it, and Wenzhi is too embarrassed to stay in school. You are actually still on their side? Are you hoping that our Wenzhi will fail in his studies?"

When Zhu saw that Chen spoke up to help Liang Laoer's family and tried to stop her from separating them, she immediately became furious. She glared at Chen viciously and immediately turned her attention to accusing her.

If her son Wenjie had not testified before, Cuihua would not have been beaten, would not have been married in a hurry, and she would not have been scolded by her mother-in-law. She suspected that it was Chen who instigated Wenjie to say those words deliberately.

She is now unhappy with everything about Chen. Humph, she is full of evil intentions and pretends to be gentle and virtuous in front of her parents-in-law.

"I think what Zhu said is right. Wenzhi still has to take the exam next year. Now he doesn't even want to go to school. What if he fails the exam? We can't delay Wenzhi's development just for the sake of the second son. Old man, we can only separate the second son's family and let them live on their own." Old Mrs. Liang also chimed in.

She had always hoped that her grandson would pass the imperial examination and come back so that she could live a peaceful life as an official's wife. Now that Qianhuan had lost her fiancé Jiang Tongsheng and always contradicted her, she was eager to separate them.

"Second Brother, what do you think?" Old Man Liang took a puff of his pipe and looked at Liang Laoer.

"Dad, I'll leave it to you to decide on this matter. If you want to separate us, I have no complaints." Liang Laoer also knew that he was now a burden to the family. Qianhuan's reputation was damaged after the broken engagement, which affected his nephew's studies. He also blamed himself.

"Second brother, there's nothing Dad can do. Wenzhi is the only educated man in the family. Now that Qianhuan's engagement has been broken off, everyone knows about it, so Dad has no choice but to separate you. Don't blame Dad." Liang Lao Er took a deep puff of his pipe and made a decision.

"Dad, you make the decision." Although Liang Laoer felt uncomfortable, he also knew that it would not be good for anyone to continue staying in this family.

"Dad, since we are going to split up the family, let's split Wenjie and me up as well. If we only split up my second brother's family, people in the village will definitely talk about us. It's better to split up the family altogether."

Chen actually also wanted to divide the family business. Over the years, the money that the third son sent back every year was taken away by his mother-in-law and spent on Wenzhi's studies. The mother and son did not see a penny.

"Ms. Chen, the third son is not at home now, and you have not been in good health. If the family is divided, even if you are given land, you won't be able to farm it with your body. You and Wenjie should not separate, but live with us." Old Man Liang persuaded Chen.

"Dad, Wenjie and I should split up. We can ask my brothers to help farm the land allocated to us temporarily, and when the third brother comes back, he can farm it himself. Besides, doesn't the third brother send us five taels of silver every October? If we split up, we can use the five taels of silver to get by even if we don't farm." Chen was usually the most obedient, but this time she didn't let old man Liang help her make the decision.

She said this very cleverly. The point she wanted to make was to tell everyone that if the family split up, I would have to keep the money my husband sent back myself.

In fact, the smartest one among the three daughters-in-law is Chen. She doesn't seem to fight or compete with others at ordinary times. That's because the old couple loves their youngest grandson very much, so there is no need for her to fight for anything.

Over the years, the third brother would send back five taels of silver every year while in the army, but not a penny of that money went into her pocket. It all went to her mother-in-law, Old Lady Liang, and was finally used to subsidize Liang Wenzhi's tuition.

If the family was divided, she could take the money sent back by the third son in October. Five taels of silver was enough for the living expenses of the mother and son for a year in the countryside. That was why she would not be so obedient this time.

Old man Liang didn't expect that his third daughter-in-law, who had always been docile, would change her behavior this time. In the past, when he asked her opinion on something, she would always say, "Dad is the boss. I'll listen to you." This really surprised Old man Liang.

"Third brother's wife, you'd better not separate and continue to live with us. It will be difficult for a woman like you to raise a child." When Zhu heard that the money sent back by the third brother would be returned to Chen, she became anxious.

Wenzhi's education was expensive. In the past, the second brother went hunting, the third brother sent money, and the family sold grain, which was barely enough to cover Wenzhi's expenses. But now that the second brother was gone to earn money, if Chen took away the money sent by the third brother, what would Wenzhi do with his education?

Old Lady Liang also thought the same as Zhu, and she put on her mother-in-law's airs: "Mrs. Chen, in my opinion, you and Wenjie should live with us."

"Thank you, sister-in-law and mother, for your kindness. My second brother has moved out. If Wenjie and I don't move out and live on our own, then there will be no point in dividing the family. It would be better if we don't divide it at all. My second brother and his family can stay in the old house, and we can still live as one family." Chen was firm in her attitude.

Hearing this, Mrs. Liang and Mrs. Zhu were silent. They didn't want the second son and his family to stay at home any longer.

Even for Old Man Liang, Qianhuan's reputation was ruined by the broken engagement, which affected Wenzhi's studies, so he didn't want to keep them at home. In his heart, nothing was more important than Wenzhi's studies.