“Madam Zhao, I warned you: if you dare make designs on my daughter again, I will have your life!” The deep depths of Yun Zhu’s eyes burned with a bloodthirsty red.
The faces of everyone present paled drastically; no one doubted Yun Zhu’s words at this moment.
She truly had killing intent toward Madam Zhao!
“Second Brother’s Wife, hurry and let go!” Madam Yang rushed forward in a anxious panic, trying to pry open Yun Zhu’s hand. “Killing someone requires paying with your life! If something happens to you, what will become of Yiyi?”
Because the others were men, they could only worry in secret, unable to step forward.
“Mother, Mother…” Lu Yiyi stepped forward crying, tugging at Yun Zhu’s skirt. “Yiyi doesn’t want you to pay with your life… Mother…”
Hearing her daughter’s cries, Yun Zhu snapped back to her senses, her grip loosening slightly.
Madam Yang took the opportunity to rescue Madam Zhao from her grasp.
Filled with guilt, Yun Zhu pulled her daughter—who had cried herself into a little tearful mess—into a hug, apologizing repeatedly: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Mother didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry…”
She had been provoked by Madam Zhao’s words just now and had actually forgotten that her daughter was still right here.
Supported by Lu Ping, Madam Zhao rubbed her neck with lingering fear.
Just a little more!
She had almost been choked to death by Madam Yun just now.
“Clan Elder, Village Chief, Madam Yun… Madam Yun is going to commit murder!” With a face full of terror, Madam Zhao wanted the two clan elders and the village chief to seek justice for her.
Who would have thought that the Great Clan Elder would say in a heavy voice, “Madam Zhao, you are a mother yourself; surely you understand the principle that a mother becomes formidable for her child! Today’s matter cannot be blamed on Madam Yun!”
The Great Clan Elder’s gaze toward Lu Ping was filled with disappointment. “It is said that a virtuous wife brings fewer disasters to her husband. Look at what you have spoiled Madam Zhao into! With a mother like this, can you guarantee that Jingshan will truly be filial to you in the future?”
It had to be said that old ginger was indeed spicier than young ginger; he saw through Lu Jingshan’s true nature at a single glance.
Lu Ping’s heart thudded. Just as he was about to say something, the Great Clan Elder waved his hand. “Enough. Press your handprints. From now on, you will no longer have any connection. Don’t let us hear about Madam Zhao making trouble for Madam Yun and her daughter again, or else you will be expelled from the clan!”
If they did not restrain Madam Zhao now, even if Jingshan entered officialdom in the future, he would be dragged down by her.
Both parties pressed their handprints on the agreement to sever ties, and the first and second branches moved out of the Lu family ancestral residence.
Seeing how pitiful they were, the village chief gave them an courtyard at the foot of the mountain that had been abandoned for a long time, with its roof entirely gone.
According to the village chief, the original owner of this courtyard was an outsider who had fled here during a famine year.
Because both brothers in the family were hunters, they had built the house at the foot of the mountain to make it convenient to go up into the mountains for hunting.
Later, after getting back in touch with their relatives, the entire family had left.
The bottom of Lu Jinghai’s heart was just like this roof—completely empty.
However, he still had a large family behind him waiting for his arrangements. He hurriedly gathered his thoughts, forcing a smile to comfort his wife and Yun Zhu: “Let’s tidy up and make do living here for these few days. In any case, it shouldn’t rain in this weather. Once the autumn harvest is over, I’ll bring Zimo and his brothers to fetch some thatch and cover the roof properly.”
Mentioning her three sons, Madam Yang asked in wonder, “It’s already this late, and I didn’t send food over. How come none of those brothers came back either?”
“Perhaps they aren’t hungry and want to hurry up and finish harvesting the grain.” Lu Jinghai walked out carrying the water buckets borrowed from the village chief’s house. “I’ll go carry some water back to clean up.”
The layout of this courtyard was different from the other courtyards in the village. Although it had only one courtyard, it was structured like a *siheyuan*. Apart from three main rooms, there were two side rooms on both the east and west, as well as reverse-facing rooms.
Yun Zhu had secrets on her, so she directly discussed with Madam Yang: “Eldest Sister-in-law, your first branch has many people. Yiyi and I will live in the west side room, and the other rooms are yours. Later, I’ll have to trouble Eldest Brother to help me build a small kitchen so that our two families won’t affect each other.”
Madam Yang was stunned. “Second Brother’s Wife, you want to live separately from us? How can that be? Your eldest brother certainly won’t agree either.”
“Eldest Sister-in-law, my mind is made up; you don’t need to persuade me anymore,” Yun Zhu said with a firm attitude. “We’re only living separately; we’re still one family.”
Madam Yang hesitated for a moment, and in the end could only say helplessly, “Since you have already decided, I’ll tell your eldest brother later.”
Second Brother’s Wife had suddenly become so opinionated that she was somewhat unaccustomed to it.
However, perhaps this was a good thing for Yiyi!
By the time Yun Zhu and her daughter finished tidying up the west side room, two hours had already passed. Seeing that her daughter was filthy all over, Yun Zhu simply closed the door, brought out a large bathtub from her spatial pocket, filled it with water, and began giving her daughter a bath.
“Mother, so many bubbles!” Lu Yiyi played with the bubbles created by the body wash, extremely happy.
Yun Zhu smiled along with her.
“Mother, where did all these things come from?” Lu Yiyi asked curiously again.
“They were conjured up using immortal magic that an immortal taught Mother.” While coaxing her daughter, Yun Zhu instructed, “However, this matter cannot be told to outsiders, okay? Otherwise, the immortal will take Mother’s magic back, do you understand?”
Lu Yiyi tilted her little head, thought for a moment, and asked, “Can’t it be told to Eldest Uncle, Eldest Aunt, and my three older brothers either?”
“Right. Except for the two of us, mother and daughter, no third person can know about this.”
Yun Zhu had tried sending her daughter into the spatial pocket earlier, but unfortunately, it didn’t work.
Apart from the original living things and herself, no other living creatures could enter the spatial pocket at all—not even Yiyi.
Lu Yiyi nodded, her voice soft and tender as she replied, “Mother, I’ve remembered!”
After bathing her daughter, Yun Zhu brought out a pot of eel porridge from her spatial pocket.
Looking at the large pot of eel porridge, Lu Yiyi asked in a low voice, “Mother, can we share some of this porridge with Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt? Usually, when Grandmother stinted on my food, Eldest Aunt would secretly give me food to eat.”
Yun Zhu lovingly patted her daughter’s head. “Yiyi really is a good, grateful child. However, we cannot share this porridge with your eldest uncle and the others today. Let’s wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow, Mother will take you to town and bring back delicious food for Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt.”
When dividing the family, they hadn’t received a single grain. If they brought out eel porridge right now, how could they explain where it came from?
Just as Yun Zhu and her daughter finished drinking the eel porridge, the door to the west side room was knocked on, and Madam Yang’s voice came from outside.
As soon as Yun Zhu opened the door, Madam Yang stuffed a bowl into her arms. “We didn’t get any grain today. I went to the village chief’s house to borrow a bit of coarse flour and cooked a few flatbreads. You two eat some first to tide you over.”
The newly harvested grain was meant to be exchanged for money and coarse grains, so she hadn’t been willing to use it.
After saying that, Madam Yang hurried away, her face still wearing a look of worry.
Looking at the coarse flour flatbreads in the bowl that were slightly burnt, Yun Zhu felt a touch of warmth in her heart.
Upon arriving in this dynasty, she originally only wanted to protect her daughter and raise her safely; as for the other people around her, she hadn’t intended to get deeply involved with them.
However, the family of the first branch was doing everything they could to protect Yiyi, and Yiyi was also very reliant on them.
She couldn’t let Yiyi feel sad or disappointed.
Perhaps it was time to redefine her relationship with the first branch!
The sky quickly turned dark. Yun Zhu looked up and could directly see the open sky above.
Just as she was about to take a tent out from her spatial pocket, she heard her daughter say happily, “Mother, look! There are so many stars in the sky! Sleeping here, it feels like using the stars as a blanket.”
Yun Zhu’s heart turned completely soft and warm. Hugging her daughter as they slept on the bedboard temporarily pieced together from wooden planks, looking up at the stars, she softly told her stories about the stars and the moon.
Having experienced far too many things today, the little girl soon fell fast asleep. Just before drifting off, she mumble-checked with her mother in a daze: “Will Mother really take me to town tomorrow?”