Chapter 45: A Bitter Struggle ◇

◎It seems Young Lady misses you again.◎

"It's all your fault, all your fault! If you, as her father, had any real power, our daughter wouldn't have been left with no choice but to return to the countryside with that family. If she had a father with influential sway, she wouldn't be in such a vulnerable position now."

"The old matriarch in the mansion is always watching us. As her parents, we can't even lend our daughter a helping hand without worrying about her wrath. Should she become enraged, she could expel us from the family, stripping us of the title of the Wei Duke's residence. Then, what would you, Wei Sanlang, amount to?"

"A mere sixth-rank official, dismissed by others and overlooked by your elder brothers in the mansion. The old matriarch doesn't value you, and the emperor doesn't even recall who you are. When will this endless misery come to an end?"

The room fell into a long silence. After a while, Yu Sanlang turned to leave with his hands behind his back.

Yu Niang hastily wiped her eyes, beginning to regret her words. She had only lashed out due to the news brought by her hired bodyguards that Lian'er had been hunted down and had now returned to her hometown with the Huas, never to come back. These days, she had been living in fear and constantly missing her daughter, grieving over her hardships. The more she thought about it, the more she blamed herself and her husband for being unable to protect their daughter, forcing her to seek refuge with the Huas in the countryside.

Thoughts had turned into an obsession, causing her to speak without restraint, hurting both herself and others.

She wiped away her tears, stood up, and took hold of her husband's sleeve. "I didn't mean those words, dear husband. Please don't take them to heart."

Yu Sanlang replied, "It's alright. What you said holds some truth. I'll go speak with Mother."

"Why are you looking for her?"

"To discuss the matter of separating households."

Yu Niang failed to stop him and watched in a daze as he left. It took her a while before she could chase after him.

The Wei Duke's residence had been in turmoil for several days. Nobody expected that the usually silent Third Branch would be the first to propose a separation, and to live independently at that.

Among the three brothers of the Wei Duke's family, the Third Branch was the weakest in terms of wealth and influence. The Eldest Branch inherited the title and managed all affairs within the household, enjoying a promising future and comfortable life. The Second Branch married the daughter of a wealthy merchant, so they never lacked money, and even bought a minor official position. Only the Third Branch was weak, lacking both noble rank and official status. Their wife was from a modest scholarly family, which was why they had held a low-ranking sixth-grade official position for years without any promotion.

According to everyone in the residence, the Third Branch should have been the most unwilling to separate, as they stood to lose the most. While still part of the Duke's household, they could benefit from its resources. Once they left, not only would their living expenses be affected, but the status of a mere sixth-grade official, stripped of the Duke's identity, would hardly guarantee a comfortable life outside.

To everyone's surprise, the usually reserved and straightforward Yu Sanlang, who never spoke much, was the one to approach the Matriarch first, requesting to separate and live on his own.

He didn't care whether his older brothers wanted to split or not; he just wanted his branch to live independently.

The Matriarch cried several times, but this time Yu Sanlang, who had always been filial and obedient, was determined to leave. Even the persuasion of his elder brothers couldn't change his mind.

The First Lady and Second Lady pretended to advise their younger sister-in-law, but they eventually stopped. Secretly, they were delighted. Without the burden of the Third Branch, the residence could save a significant amount of money and wouldn't need to support their entire family. Besides, regarding Yu Lian's identity... although she was no longer in the capital, she remained a potential troublemaker. Who knew when the emperor might suddenly recall past events and seek retribution?

They reached an unspoken agreement, both feeling that the separation of the third branch was for the best.

A few days later, the third branch of the Wei Duke's residence did indeed separate, with Yu Sanlang moving out with his wife, concubines, and children to live in the courtyard that had been his wife's dowry. This sparked a moderate amount of discussion.

Yu Niang blamed herself, believing that her words had been disrespectful and hurt her husband's pride, leading him to angrily leave the Duke's residence.

But Yu Sanlang said, "For all these years, both my success and failure have been tied to the Wei Duke's residence. I've benefited from its protection, but also grown weary of its constraints. I see now that the emperor has no intention of relying on old aristocrats. If I don't separate from the family, and continue to carry the title of the Wei Duke's residence, no matter how well I perform, the emperor will not see me, and my superiors won't promote me. I'm already in my thirties; if I don't strive for more now, when Lian grows up, she'll have nothing to rely on."

"Besides, living in the residence has always restricted us. For so many years, you've suffered because of me."

"Should we send someone to find Lian and persuade her to come back?"

Yu Sanlang shook his head. "Forget it. Although life in the countryside is poor, it's peaceful and safe. Let her stay for now. If one day…" He didn't finish the sentence, but Yu Niang could see the ambition in her husband's eyes. He was dreaming of the day he would rise to power and then call their daughter back.

But how easy would that be?

The bustling life of the capital seemed like a different world from the simple existence of rural folk.

The next morning, Yu Lian asked her uncle to find a carpenter from the neighboring village to make some furniture and wooden tubs and basins. Villagers usually cut down trees themselves, carried them down the mountain, and paid the carpenter for his labor. But the Hua family lacked the time for such tasks, as they were busy clearing land and planting crops. Thus, they paid extra for the materials.

Villagers were busy with spring planting, unable to spare anyone to assist. Fortunately, Second Uncle, being elderly and no longer working in the fields, had plenty of leisure time. He often wandered over to Hua Zhan's place, imparting his agricultural knowledge.

"Learn this first—how to plow. The key to clearing new land is to turn over compacted earth, making it loose, and removing all the weeds. As for what to plant, we'll discuss that once you finish this task."

Hua Zhan looked up at the vast expanse of green grass. As his daughter-in-law had mentioned, the plot was more than ten mu large. It would take him an entire year to plow it all by himself.

He never imagined he'd one day be vexed by such a large piece of land. His worries were so consuming that he almost forgot past events and lost the energy to ponder his eldest son's decisiveness.

Yu Lian came to the river to wash clothes, with Little Guo'er tagging along. She casually suggested, "Don't you have two other sons? Let them bring their small hoes and lend a hand. I asked the blacksmith to forge two miniature hoes, and the carpenter has already fitted handles. They can help you. In our household, there are only three men—father and sons. Tilling requires strength; no one else can assist. You've been working hard."

Upon hearing this, Hua Zhan put down his hoe and returned home. In the courtyard, the twins were crouched in front of the pigsty, conversing with the piglets.

They were idle.

Hua Yan: "Brother, do you feel a chill on the back of your head?"

Hua Xing, who had just withdrawn his hand from teasing the piglets, washed it in a bucket. "Surely Sister-in-law is plotting something for us again. We should find a place to hide."

The brothers exchanged glances. "Let's go to Second Uncle's place and play with Bean's older brother."

With their short legs scurrying, the two boys bumped into their father returning home. Just as they were about to sneak away by calling out "Dad," they were lifted up by him. "Dad, put us down, please put us down."

Hua Zhan carried his two sons back to the courtyard. Beside the pigsty, he found two small hoes hidden among the hay stacks and tossed one to each of them, ordering them to carry them.

The twins' faces fell. "Dad, how did you know the hoes were hidden here?"

Hua Zhan sneered. "Take them and work."

"I knew it, Eldest Sister-in-law is no good. She's bad; she must have told Dad."

"Dad..."

Hua Zhan started walking out. "No nonsense."

The twins, dejected, carried the tiny hoes as they followed their father towards the riverbank. Gazing at the lush green grass, they felt even more hopeless than their father. How miserable were they? In all of the capital city, who else was as wretched as they were? Bullying from their eldest sister-in-law, labor under their father – it was truly unbearable.

They had descended to the point of tilling fields and clearing land.

"Dad, we're still young!"

"Hard work begins with small tasks."

"Who said that, Father?"

"Our eldest sister-in-law did."

"..."

Satisfied with the twins' disgruntled glares, Yu Lian smiled as she carried the laundry basket with Little Guo'er in tow. Gazing at the basket, she mused that her current life was just the beginning. With more effort, when they moved into a grand house, she wouldn't have to do these chores herself. Instead, she could command others, counting silver and reviewing account books, living the life of a landlady – that would be the true good life.

In Zhu Ying's eyes, however, the young madam had it so tough and was truly exhausted. She worried tirelessly for the family, managing everyone's livelihood and educating the two young masters. Despite her intentions for their well-being, the two young masters remained stubbornly spoiled, constantly opposing the young madam. They were truly mischievous and deserving of a lesson!

After some thought, he added a postscript to the letter: "The two young masters, unyielding in their arrogance, are difficult to discipline. The young madam has a challenging task."

Seeing that the letter was already quite thick, he feared it might weigh down the homing pigeon, so he tied it securely to the bird's leg and sent it off by patting its wings.

The letter passed through several hands before finally reaching its rightful owner.

At that time, Hua Ji, under an assumed name, was traveling incognito with his subordinates for research. It wasn't until over a month later that he received the letter.

When all his subordinates had left, he sat down at his desk and carefully opened the letter.

Normally, when reading Zhu Ying's letters, he would skip over the lengthy rambling. This time, however, he read every word meticulously.

The letter described how his family had successfully settled in Shangyixiang Village, detailing his parents, grandmother, and siblings. This part occupied less than half of the content. The rest was dedicated to the Young Lady – how she was, what she said, and what she did.

He furrowed his brow, and those elegant, refined eyes took on a deeper hue, like bright moons.

The letter repeatedly mentioned the Young Lady: "Young Lady did this today... Young Lady said that... Young Lady made this..."

"The Young Lady seems to be missing you again. I saw her stay up half the night, gazing at the moon through the window..."

"The Young Lady is having a hard time..."

He folded the letter, took a small box from the bookshelf, and carefully placed it inside.

"Master, has Zhu Ying sent a letter? What did the boy write? It's probably filled with nonsense again. The messenger said the carrier pigeon was exhausted, its wings barely able to move after the journey."

The man in green walked out with his hands behind his back. "Not yet." He paused before adding, "Prepare for a journey to Jiangcheng tomorrow. Have the carriages and boats ready."

Scratching his head, the servant looked at his master's retreating figure in confusion. Could that chatterbox have changed her ways?

After the village had finished planting for the spring, the Hua family gradually adapted to rural life. Hua Zhan, accompanied by her twin sons, spent half a month clearing the wilderness. Amidst their busy schedule, her illness subsided almost unnoticed, and her strength returned. The two fair-skinned boys were tanned a bright red from the sun, and after two weeks, they began to acquire a healthy, bronzed glow, causing Mrs. Chen to shed tears of concern every day.

To Yu Lian's surprise, before she could even seek help, some astute villagers, with keen senses, approached her after completing their own fieldwork. They inquired if she was indeed planning to hire people for land clearance and farming.

"I heard from my wife that your family is going to build a new house. Is that true? Are you hiring laborers? How many copper coins per day? I used to work for wealthy families in the county, so I have experience in this."