Lu Mosheng walked up to Song Lingling and said, “What are you screaming about? Aren’t you still alive and well?”
The farce finally came to an end with Zhao Xiuli being taken away by the police.
Song Jiayan’s father struggled out of bed, furious. He grabbed a chipped bowl and hurled it at Lu Mosheng.
She didn’t dodge.
The sharp edge of the broken bowl cut her forehead, and blood began trickling down her face.
“Get out!” Song Jiayan’s father roared. “My Song family has no place for a daughter-in-law like you!”
Song Lingling gritted her teeth. “You wretched troublemaker! Get out of the Song family!”
“Enough!”
Song Jiayan had been holding back his anger all along. But when he saw the blood on Lu Mosheng’s forehead, he finally exploded.
“Splitting the family was my decision. If you have a problem with it, take it up with me! This has nothing to do with Mosheng!”
Song Jiayan’s father panted heavily and pointed a finger at his son’s nose.
“You unfilial brat! How has the Song family ever wronged you? Ever since you were a child, when have I ever mistreated you? Your mother died early, and I was afraid you’d feel neglected, so whenever there was anything good, I always made sure you got the biggest share!”
“And now look at you! You think you’re so capable that you dare to split the family apart for the sake of a woman!”
Listening to Song Jiayan’s father, Lu Mosheng could only laugh inwardly. He certainly wasn’t afraid of being struck by lightning for saying such shameless things.
Ever since Song Jiayan’s father married Zhao Xiuli, his stepmother had constantly found ways to deprive him of his fair share.
On the surface, Zhao Xiuli pretended to be a kind and considerate person. In reality, she made Song Jiayan eat leftovers and wear ragged clothes. As the head of the household, his father had simply turned a blind eye to everything.
Song Jiayan repeated firmly, “Splitting the family was my own decision. No one else is responsible.”
Song Jiayan’s father nodded emphatically.
“Fine! Fine! Fine! In that case, why bother splitting the family? We might as well sever all ties! I’ll pretend I never had a son like you. But the Song family has supported you for all these years, and that wasn’t for nothing…”
The meaning behind his words was crystal clear.
He wanted money.
Before Song Jiayan could respond, Lu Mosheng pulled out a thick stack of cash and tossed it in front of his father.
“Will this be enough?”
Song Jiayan’s father and the other members of the Song family stared at the money, their eyes practically bulging out of their heads.
That was a lot of cash! There had to be tens of thousands of yuan there!
Lu Mosheng continued, “Once you take this money, Song Jiayan will have no further ties to the Song family. But severing family ties isn’t something you can settle with mere words. We need a written agreement. We’ll have the village chief witness it, and everyone will sign and leave their fingerprints on the document.”
Song Jiayan’s father kept his eyes fixed on the stack of cash lying in front of him.
“Fine! Then we’ll split the family!” he declared loudly and decisively.
Hearing his response, Lu Mosheng sneered inwardly.
She had guessed correctly. Song Jiayan’s father would agree to the separation as soon as he saw the money. A few thousand yuan might not have been enough to satisfy him, but tens of thousands was another matter entirely.
“However, let me make one thing clear first,” Song Jiayan’s father said, lifting his chin. “Once we sever ties, you two will have nothing more to do with the Song family. Even if you end up eating scraps and struggling to survive in the future, don’t expect the Song family to give you so much as a single bite of food!”
Lu Mosheng met his gaze without hesitation.
“Even if Song Jiayan and I end up as beggars, begging for food on the streets, we will never come crawling back to ask for your help.”
“Good! That’s the spirit!” Song Jiayan’s father turned to Song Lingling. “Go get the village chief. We’re splitting the family!”
The village chief was summoned shortly afterward.
Once everyone had signed the agreement and pressed their fingerprints onto it, Lu Mosheng looked at the words Agreement to Sever Family Ties and felt an extraordinary sense of satisfaction.
She wasn’t the only one feeling pleased.
Song Jiayan’s father clutched the thick stack of cash Lu Mosheng had thrown at him, feeling as though honey had been poured into his heart.
This wasn’t a few hundred or a few thousand yuan. It was tens of thousands!
In all his life, he had never seen so much money. Even the anger he had felt over Zhao Xiuli being taken away by the police had instantly dissipated by more than half.
Lu Mosheng and Song Jiayan took one last look at the Song family members.
Then the two of them turned and left together.
Sitting on the back of the bicycle, Lu Mosheng wrapped her arms around Song Jiayan’s waist.
“We have nothing now,” she said softly.
Song Jiayan’s voice drifted back to her from the front.
“I still have you.”
Lu Mosheng’s eyes suddenly grew misty. She tightened her arms around him and pressed her face against his back.
Song Jiayan’s calm, steady voice reached her again.
“Mosheng, I promise I won’t let you suffer.”
Lu Mosheng murmured a soft acknowledgment.
At last, the heavy burden weighing on her heart had been lifted.
After a bumpy ride, they finally arrived back at their little thatched hut.
Two wild rabbits had appeared from who knew where and were nibbling on the fruits and vegetables she had planted beside the Chinese skullcap field.
She had surrounded the Chinese skullcap field with netting, but she hadn’t bothered to fence in the fruits and vegetables. Thanks to the nourishment from the spiritual spring, however, they were growing much faster than ordinary crops.
“Shh…”
Lu Mosheng made a quieting gesture toward Song Jiayan before moving to catch the two wild rabbits.