Early the next morning, Cao Jie returned quite early.
He brought back a basket with ten eggs.
“Mother knows you’ve always been strong-willed. She was afraid you might lose face, so she asked me to bring you these eggs. Today we’ll go eat at the old house.”
He spoke with excitement, which made Yu Chun think of concubines in the deep palace being summoned by the emperor.
Of course, what Yu Chun cared more about was whether the matter he had rushed off to handle all night had succeeded.
Of course—
‘Power on, power on, power on—’
“Did you get the land deed done?”
“Bang!” The bamboo basket hit the ground. Three sweet potatoes rolled out. Cao Jie frowned, his brows forming a tight crease, clearly annoyed. “You’re always making trouble for nothing. Can’t you just live peacefully for once? No wonder everyone says you’re troublesome!”
“I—” Her chest burned, boiling over. Thinking of yesterday’s beating, Yu Chun’s eyes reddened as she steadied her breath. “Isn’t it all for the two children? Gold and silver mountains are nothing compared to having cash in hand.”
“A Jin found a middleman. He put up three hundred guan in one go. He originally wanted to include my name, but you know after buying this courtyard, how could we have that kind of money left? Since it was his money, adding his name is only fair. Li Ping caused a huge scene at home. There’s still fish farming to set up and walls to build—just sign another contract later. Mother said it herself—there are only me and A Jin in this family. Would he really cheat me?”
Feng: What bold words. Is this courtyard even worth one hundred fifty guan? That good brother of yours is a live-in son-in-law—supporting the elders is your responsibility. That big house was bought with your money.
Feng’s sharp words pierced through Yu Chun’s pretense.
Suppressing her trembling unease, she gathered the courage to ask, “How much money does our family still have?”
Feng: If you let anger suppress you this easily, you might as well prepare to become a beggar!
Clearly, Feng looked down on her weakness.
Yu Chun had been raised with simple values—equality between men and women. She didn’t earn money herself, so she believed the money belonged to Cao Jie to decide. Buying land—whoever paid had the say. Letting Cao Jin hold the deed seemed reasonable to her.
It never occurred to her that without her managing the household, how could Cao Jie earn money peacefully? She had no sense of entitlement. In a marriage, she inherently owned half of their shared income.
Raised to be obedient and well-behaved, she didn’t even realize she had the right to claim property—like an elephant tied to a wooden stake.
If the land was considered bought by Cao Jin, then as long as the later farming contracts were clear, it was fine. She still believed money should be earned externally. This farm would be enough to keep the family from starving during the war. They were still young and had plenty of ideas and energy to make money.
But Feng’s words tore apart the truth hidden by Cao Jie and his family, exposing raw flesh beneath—bleeding, festering.
In other words, more than half of the large ancestral house where Cao Jin’s family lived with the parents had been funded by Cao Jie. His ten years of salary alone amounted to at least three hundred strings of cash, not to mention official land stipends.
Plus, five years as an escort—earning over one hundred strings per year. His expenses had always been covered by trading goods for profit. The house had been bought with that money.
All of this came from gossip the original host had once mentioned, which Feng had learned from neighbors.
So if his parents returned his money, one hundred fifty guan would not be a problem.
“That’s not right. Didn’t Father and Mother keep your money? We don’t need much—just five mu out of thirty. Fifty guan is only half a year of your escort earnings.”
“Where would the money come from? Don’t you know Mother has been in poor health since giving birth to me? She needs medicine half the time. A Jin is a live-in son-in-law—supporting the parents is my duty. If I go to Mother asking about money, would I still be human?”
Cao Jie raised his eyes disdainfully and slammed his cup onto the table, startling Cao Fang into tears.
He quickly picked up his daughter, kissed her forehead, lifted her high, and tickled her, making her burst into laughter.
The crying and laughter woke Cao Rong.
“Mother, Father—”
“It’s nothing, go back to sleep. Your sister just has a temper when she wakes,” Yu Chun comforted him, grinding her teeth, then handed Cao Fang back to Cao Jie and shot him a glance before heading to the kitchen.
For her, there was no solution. Her mother had always taught her that suffering losses was gaining blessings, that heaven was watching. Yet a nameless fire burned in her chest.
Justice truly did not exist. This world was gray. She would have to earn money herself. Since she had taken over Yu Chun’s life and planned to leave eventually, Cao Jie’s affairs were none of her concern.
Li Wan: There’s no solution. Cao Jin is a live-in son-in-law. As long as the mother favors him, you can only endure.
That was her painful experience.
“How much money do we have left? We have two children—we can’t just sit and eat through everything!”
Cao Jie didn’t answer. He handed Cao Fang to Yu Chun and began cooking skillfully—washing crushed wheat from a clay jar, steaming eggs, mixing batter.
“War is coming soon. Your father will arrive tomorrow. My plan is to settle them first, then catch fish and raise them using your method. In times like this, who knows if we’ll even survive? No matter what, A Jin is my only brother. Your younger brother is still too young to support a household.”
As he spoke, he grabbed Yu Chun’s shoulders, forcing her to face him. “Don’t worry. I promised you’d live an enviable life. Once this war passes, I’ll hire someone to help with Cao Fang. You can just stay at home and rest.”
Yu Chun saw how overbearing he was and could not respond.
She broke free from his grip, burying her face into Cao Fang, suppressing her anger.
She was not the original Yu Chun. She wouldn’t fall for empty promises.
She had to find a way to make money. As for the pepper she had hidden—she felt no guilt. She absolutely should have hidden it. Relying on this man, the whole family might starve.
After a while, her anger subsided slightly. She picked up the three sweet potatoes from her mother-in-law. What a generous and kind mother-in-law—she would regret it. Cao Jie was blindly filial to a fault.
Li Wan: What he said makes sense. In troubled times, clans must stick together.
Feng: Not bad… he can cook, understands social relations… no wonder he convinced your whole family to come.
Feng’s approval of Cao Jie carried undisguised contempt for Yu Chun.
Had she never seen a decent man before?
Flames flickered, and the pot boiled with the scent of grain. Yu Chun didn’t fully understand Feng’s tone, but she agreed with Li Wan and began to understand why the original host chose Cao Jie.
Daiyu: No matter what, Ah Chun, you must be cautious. From what he said, there’s no money at home. He likely plans to take money from your family to invest in his brother’s farm. As for buying a maid—according to Tang law, kidnapping or selling people into slavery is punishable by death.
Chun: What?
Baochai: Daiyu is right. Commoners are forbidden from owning slaves. That’s just empty talk. If your family’s money is lost in Cao Jin’s farm, you will lose your support completely. Your whole family will be drained dry.
Feng: Don’t be foolish and refuse directly. If you expose it, you’ll just argue with him. Let your father handle it—best to lie and say there’s no money.
What? Were they all hearing the same thing?
What exactly had Cao Jie just said?
After a while, Cao Jie poured the batter into the pot. Soon, the porridge was ready.
Yu Chun placed Cao Fang in her little chair. Her mind was still muddled—without social awareness to guide her thoughts, everything felt blank.
Did she even have a brain?
“Heh.” She laughed to herself, shaking her head. No distractions.
Cao Jie frowned.
“Why are you still standing there!” he snapped, clattering bowls and chopsticks. Cao Rong tugged at Yu Chun’s sleeve.
“Mother, let’s quickly set the table, or Father will get angry again!”
Yu Chun snapped back to attention. How could she let a child worry? Such a pitiful child. She hurried to set the table, serve food, feed the children—completely forgetting she had just been beaten yesterday, that she was still injured, and even forgetting about the money.
After eating, Cao Jie took Cao Rong and carried Cao Fang out. Yu Chun stared at the bowls for a long time, her thoughts tangled, then lay down to rest.
Her head hurt. She would deal with everything tomorrow.
In a place untouched by sunlight, within the magical jade, the Twelve Beauties argued fiercely beyond Yu Chun’s awareness.
Xiangyun: Isn’t she a bit foolish?
Daiyu: Truly pressed by wind and frost. I thought I was already pitiful—losing both parents young, frail and sickly, meeting the wrong people. But I never imagined such shamelessness exists—violence and suppression toward wife and children, yet flattering and blindly filial toward parents. And Ah Chun, with no money, no assets, no family support, burdened with two children—she’s being left to drown in this world!
Baoyu: Sister, don’t be sad. You are always sincere. Now she has your help, and all of us giving advice. Things will improve.
Feng: There’s nothing new under heaven. This is her own doing. If she weren’t greedy for looks and wealth, she wouldn’t have fallen into this trap.
Xichun: But who taught her otherwise? From how she treats the children, she’s kind-hearted—just an ordinary person. Faced with such circumstances, what else could she do? This is karma, fate. Only by becoming cold and detached can she break free—otherwise she’ll become another fallen perpetrator. Why should we involve ourselves?
Baoyu: Xichun, nothing has happened yet. If she is kind, then ignoring her suffering would also create karma.
Xichun: Hmph—
Feng: I say it’s either you overpower others or get overpowered. Her thought—“struggling against heaven and earth is endless joy”—I like it. Better to fight than be schemed to death!
Li Wan: Not everyone is as clever as you. This man can support the family, endure hardship, and knows how to please people—he’s already a top-tier husband. Filial duty is a mountain no one can overcome.
Feng: The Qing dynasty has been gone for over a century—why are you still stuck in the past?
Li Wan: Better than your fate—wrapped in a straw mat in the end!
Feng: And you? Struggling your whole life, only to be abandoned by your son—
Qiao Jie: Mother, please stop arguing, I’m scared!
Feng: Hmph—I’m just bickering for fun!
Li Wan: Baochai is right. In the end, it depends on her. We are merely observers.
Heavy gray clouds gathered, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and soon rain began to fall steadily.
Yu Chun hurried to open the door, only to see that Cao Jie and Cao Rong had already brought in the drying vegetables and driven the chickens and dogs into shelter.
She picked up Cao Fang and kissed her.
For now… she would endure this life.