“Chahua, you really shouldn’t do this. We’re your own uncle and aunt.
Your parents and elder brother are already gone. If your husband’s family ever bullies you, we’re your only support.”
Aunt Xu panicked. How could they report this to the authorities? It wasn’t like they were occupying someone else’s house.
“My sister-in-law has us to protect her,” Min Ruolan said coolly. As the Lan family’s acting matriarch, she carried a commanding presence and spoke impatiently:
“Enough nonsense. Take your things and get the hell out—now.”
They had traveled such a long way, and after suffering such a huge upheaval, her temper was already at the breaking point.
She had no desire to waste more breath.
“Who do you think you are? What right do you have to order me around?”
Uncle Xu was still unwilling to give up and wanted to argue further. Lan Shuang sighed softly.
“Grandmother, Elder Sisters-in-law—since Uncle and Aunt are unwilling to cooperate, I’ll have to go ask someone to make a trip to the village head’s house.”
She made as if to call over the villagers watching the commotion nearby, frightening Aunt Xu so much that she immediately tugged at Uncle Xu’s sleeve.
“Miss, calm down. We’ll go—we’ll leave right away!”
“I’m not leaving! This is my younger brother’s house. His family has no male descendants now, so this house is mine!”
Uncle Xu was furious at the thought of losing what was already in his grasp, his face red and neck thick with rage.
After all, the people standing before him were all women—he didn’t believe he couldn’t overpower them.
“Uncle, I also bear the surname Xu!”
Xu Chahua trembled with anger. She supported her belly, her face turning slightly pale.
“Huahua, how are you?”
Old Madam Lan, who had been listless and silent until now, suddenly cried out and hurried to support Xu Chahua, her eyes full of concern.
“Fine—just fine. But if anything happens to the child in my granddaughter-in-law’s womb, I’ll make you pay dearly!”
The old madam might be grieving, but when she flared up, she was still frightening.
After all, she had once been the most authoritative figure in the Lan family.
Aunt Xu turned deathly pale, no longer daring to pretend to be pitiful. She tugged at her husband again and whispered urgently:
“Enough, husband. Look at their bearing—they’re not ordinary people.
If this really blows up, we may not gain anything. Besides, they won’t be staying long anyway. Let’s move out first.
After they leave, we can quietly move back in.”
She thought her voice was very low, but Lan Shuang’s hearing was sharp. A mocking curve lifted the corner of her lips.
Easy to invite a god—hard to send one away.
If they moved in, it wouldn’t be so easy for them to leave.
Uncle Xu took the hint from his wife and backed down, his face dark.
“Fine, we’ll move. I don’t even care for this lousy house anyway!”
“Then please hurry and move your belongings,” Lan Shuang said with a pleasant smile.
“Anything still left in this house after half an hour will belong to us.”
Her cheerful words made the old couple so angry they turned around and rushed back inside.
That little sister-in-law Chahua really looked like someone who would do such a thing.
They couldn’t let the things they’d bought end up benefiting Chahua’s in-laws!
Watching the two of them hurriedly pack up their belongings, little Lan Su gazed at Lan Shuang with admiration and shouted:
“Auntie is amazing!”
“It’s all thanks to Shuang’er,” Xu Chahua said, smiling sincerely as well. Returning to the house where her parents had once lived, she seemed to regain a sense of safety.
“I deserve some credit too,” Min Ruolan said, unwilling to be outdone.
If it had been left to this sister-in-law who only knew how to cry, they’d still be sleeping out in the open tonight.
Old Madam Lan, who had been quiet all along, cast Min Ruolan a glance.
“We’re all family—there’s no need to compete over who did more.”
“Yes,” Min Ruolan replied respectfully. She still held great respect for the old madam.
Lan Shuang smiled, sensible as ever.
“Grandmother, it was also fortunate to have Elder Sister-in-law here. If it had just been me alone, I couldn’t have managed all this.”
“Thank you, Elder Sister-in-law, and Shuang’er.”
Xu Chahua forced back the tears in her eyes, and the group urged Uncle Xu and his wife to move their belongings out.
That aunt was truly something—she even tore off the freshly pasted window paper and took it with her.
As for pots, bowls, and utensils, the place was stripped bare, as if a swarm of locusts had swept through.
The corner of Lan Shuang’s mouth twitched. “Second Sister-in-law, before you left, this house wasn’t completely empty, was it?”
Otherwise, what had your family used to eat and live with back then? Surely there had been some household items.
Only then did Xu Chahua seem to react. She pointed angrily at the quilt rolled up in Aunt Xu’s arms.
“That was bought by my mother. You’re not allowed to take our family’s things!”
“Chahua, what proof do you have that this quilt belongs to your family?”
Aunt Xu tried to play tough again. Xu Chahua instinctively looked toward Lan Shuang.
Lan Shuang: ……
She rubbed her forehead helplessly. “Second Sister-in-law, you should recognize the things in your own home.
If they take anything that doesn’t belong to them, I’ll go report it to the authorities immediately…”
“Alright!”
Xu Chahua might not be very quick-witted, but she was stubborn when it mattered. Sure enough, she began checking item by item.
“This pot was forged by a craftsman my father hired. And this hoe… the backs of these bowls even have my father’s name carved on them…”
Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu: ……
“Alright, alright, we’ll give them back!”
Aunt Xu ground her teeth in anger. “People say the richer someone is, the stingier they become.
So you really did marry well, Chahua—but now that I see it, you’re nothing special either.”
Fighting over a few broken bowls and chopsticks—how shameless.
“These were bought by my parents. Even if I were to throw them away, I wouldn’t give them to you!”
Xu Chahua imitated Lan Shuang’s manner. “Aunt, you’d better hurry up—otherwise, you can just leave all these things behind…”
“Let’s go, let’s go! I won’t stay in this unlucky place another second!”
Feeling utterly humiliated, Uncle Xu carried his belongings and slunk away.
Aunt Xu didn’t dare take anything extra either, muttering curses under her breath as she left the ancestral house.
Xu Chahua, on the other hand, happily put everything her parents had left back in its proper place.
“Grandmother, there are still quite a few daily necessities left in the house. For now, we won’t have to worry about freezing—there’s just no grain.”
“It’s fine. We have hands and feet—we won’t starve.”
A mist clouded Old Madam Lan’s eyes, but she had finally thought things through.
She was the elder of the family. If even she became dispirited, what would become of the children?
“Second Sister-in-law, this is your family’s ancestral home. You arrange everyone’s rooms.
We’ve all traveled a whole day—everyone must be exhausted. It’s time to rest.”
Lan Shuang spoke up, cutting off Xu Chahua, who was getting a bit carried away. Xu Chahua nodded repeatedly.
“Then Grandmother, would you mind staying in the east room where my parents used to live?”
It was the best room in the house. Old Madam Lan waved her hand.
“How could I mind such things? I’m a bit tired. Shuang’er, help me over to rest for a while first.”
“Alright.”
Lan Shuang immediately supported Old Madam Lan. Xu Chahua quickly added,
“Then Shuang’er can stay in the room next to Grandmother.
Elder Sister-in-law can stay in the first room of the west wing with Su-ge’er. I’ll take the second room of the west wing—that used to be my room.”
“Alright.”
Naturally, no one objected. Lan Shuang helped the old madam into the room. The once pampered and well-cared-for old madam sitting in a crude wooden house created a stark contrast.
The room wasn’t large—there was only a roughly made wooden cabinet, a couch, and a simple table and chairs.
Yet Old Madam Lan had no mind to notice any of this. She held Lan Shuang’s hand, lowered her voice, and said solemnly:
“Shuang’er, your grandmother is not a fool. When the new emperor ascended the throne, I already sensed something was wrong, and I secretly hid away some things, hoping they could help us get through this crisis.
But at this moment, the only person I can trust is you. Are you willing to make another trip back to the capital?”