Outside, chaos reigned for hours. It wasn’t until nightfall that everything finally grew quiet.
That evening, Chen Yuan ate dinner inside her Storage Space, fed Daniu until she was full, then lay on the bed, unable to sleep.
Her thoughts kept circling back to the matter of dividing the family.
She couldn’t help feeling sorry for the original Chen Yuan. Just what kind of family had she married into?
From the moment she had awakened in this body yesterday until now, not a single member of the Zhang family had come to check on her—aside from Old Madam Zhao barging in that morning to order her back to work. No one had even bothered to look at her, much less ask how she had survived these past two days, whether she’d eaten anything, whether she was starving, or how the baby was supposed to live with no milk to drink.
First, she needed to recover.
With the healing effects of the Spiritual Spring, she’d be fully recovered in another day or two. Once she was well enough, she would negotiate with Old Madam Zhao—and then leave this family for good.
The plan sounded perfect.
Reality, however, had other ideas.
Early the next morning, while she was still sleeping inside the Storage Space, a violent pounding suddenly echoed from outside.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Why bother knocking? Just smash the door open! She’s gotten too full of herself already!”
Chen Yuan hurriedly scooped Daniu into her arms and stepped out of the Storage Space. She had barely wrapped the baby in the tattered padded jacket when—
Crash!
The door was rammed open.
The moment Old Madam Zhao saw that Chen Yuan was awake, she immediately started cursing.
“So the saying’s true—evil lives a thousand years! You’re tougher than I thought. Get up! Grab that little disaster and get the hell out! This room belongs to Laowu now.”
Chen Yuan deliberately put on a weak, sickly expression.
“Mother… where are my daughter and I supposed to go?”
“Go wherever you want! Just don’t keep clinging to the Zhang family. Oh, right—here’s your divorce letter. I wrote it for Laosan. Take it and get out!”
As she spoke, she tossed over both the divorce letter and Chen Yuan’s Household Registration papers.
The surprise came so suddenly that Chen Yuan nearly forgot to react.
She had been lying awake last night wondering how she could leave this family. Now they were handing her a perfectly legitimate way out.
For a moment, she simply froze.
To Old Madam Zhao, however, that stunned expression looked like fear.
Like panic.
Snapping back to her senses, Chen Yuan remembered she still had to keep up the act.
“Mother… Laosan only just passed away, and you’re already driving us out? Daniu is his own flesh and blood…”
She pretended to wipe away tears that didn’t exist.
“You mentioning it just reminded me!” Old Madam Zhao barked. “Laowu, go write another document—a formal severance of kinship. We can’t let that little money-losing brat come back and sponge off us in the future.”
Just like that…
Every last problem was solved.
Chen Yuan was utterly dumbfounded.
She had expected a fierce battle full of shouting and fighting.
Instead…
What was this?
This wasn’t how she’d imagined it at all.
She almost didn’t know how to respond anymore.
Wasn’t every transmigration story supposed to have the heroine crushing a family of vicious relatives?
No matter.
Inside, Chen Yuan was positively blooming with joy.
This old woman was surprisingly cooperative.
Before long, another document was placed in her hands—the severance of kinship.
Holding the divorce letter, the severance document, and her Household Registration papers, Chen Yuan slowly shuffled out of the Zhang family home with Daniu in her arms, stopping every few steps from weakness.
The moment she left the Zhang residence, she tucked all three documents into her Storage Space before heading straight toward the foot of the mountain.
She remembered there was an abandoned house there.
A hunter had once lived in it, but he had mysteriously disappeared several years ago, leaving the house empty ever since. It was run-down but still barely livable.
Of course, Chen Yuan had no intention of actually living there.
She merely needed a place to keep up appearances in front of the villagers.
Her body was still too weak to withstand much strain. She needed another couple of days to recover completely. During that time, she also had to think carefully about how she would live from now on.
As she walked, a middle-aged woman suddenly stepped into her path.
“Laosan’s wife, where are you going with the baby?”
Chen Yuan recognized the woman as vaguely familiar, though she couldn’t remember her name. She only knew the woman lived not far from the village head’s house.
Ah…
She’d obviously heard about yesterday’s incident at the Zhang family. Running into Chen Yuan now, she naturally wanted the firsthand gossip—something she could proudly share with the other women later.
Faced with such an “adorable” auntie, how could Chen Yuan possibly refuse?
Besides, she had no interest in protecting the Zhang family’s reputation.
So she vividly recounted the entire affair, adding plenty of embellishments along the way. When she finished, she sighed and added,
“I don’t blame anyone. I only blame myself for not giving Laosan a son.”
“How can you think like that?” the woman said indignantly. “A daughter is still Laosan’s own child! He hasn’t even been gone for long, and they already kicked you and the baby out. Aren’t they afraid his spirit will be heartbroken? That old hag Zhao is truly vicious. Sigh… you’ve had it hard. If you run into any trouble in the future, come find me. I’ve got something to do, so I’ll be going now.”
The woman hurried off at a near run.
Chen Yuan watched her leave, speechless.
Was there really any need to be in such a rush?
Whether you ran or walked, everyone in the village would still be gathered there. You weren’t going to miss much gossip either way.