Mrs. Xu stood up to help with the moving. Since her son had agreed, a widow follows her sons—from now on, she would listen to the children.
Zhao Feng led her Second Brother Zhao Yi into the house. Inside, one could see her dressing table, a canopied bed, and even a large trunk.
Zhao Feng opened the trunk—it only contained some clothes. She opened the vanity case on the dressing table, and there were indeed a few gold and silver flower ornaments and silver hairpins inside.
She packed the valuable jewelry into the case, stuffed it into the wooden trunk, then retrieved a small bundle wrapped in a handkerchief from a hidden compartment in the canopied bed.
Inside were over five taels of loose silver. She wrapped it up and handed it to her Second Brother.
“Second Brother, you hold onto this. This is for treating Eldest Brother’s hand—don’t lose it. This is what Father used to give me as pocket money that I saved up, plus five taels Grandfather secretly gave me after he fell ill.”
Zhao Yi nodded and tucked it into his chest. “Don’t worry, Feng’er. You’ve been wronged.”
“We’re family, what are you saying? Eldest Brother’s hand can get better. Hurry and help me pack.”
They locked all the valuables and books into the trunk and carried it out, then tidied up the rest and had someone come to dismantle the canopied bed. Father had made it for her—she had to take it with her.
Zhao Yi found two young friends to come dismantle the bed in his sister’s room, and pushed his sister outside to keep their mother company.
Zhao Feng ran off to find her Eldest Brother. He sat alone in the courtyard in a daze, his expression sorrowful and dejected.
She took his injured hand and quietly used her Wood-element Ability to heal him.
“Eldest Brother, don’t overthink things. Mother, me, and Second Brother all depend on you. You still need to study and earn an official rank. I asked the doctor—your hand can recover. Once we’ve moved and settled in, we’ll go get it treated.”
Zhao Bin patted his sister’s head. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t gone to the back mountain, Father wouldn’t have died. It’s all my mistake.”
“Brother, if Father heard you talking like that, he’d knock you on the head.”
She whispered in his ear, “When Grandfather passed, he gave me five taels of silver—enough to treat your hand. I also have my jewelry. That’s enough to set up a new home. As long as our family sticks together, there’s no obstacle we can’t overcome.”
Zhao Bin looked at his sister’s resolute, courageous eyes, and nodded forcefully with tears in his eyes. “Alright. Once we’ve moved, I’ll go find a doctor. I’ll earn an official rank to support you and Mother.”
Tears couldn’t help but fall, and he wiped them away fiercely with the back of his hand, turning his head away so his sister wouldn’t see his vulnerable side.
“This canopied bed is our family’s property—you can’t take it.”
Zhao Ran suddenly shouted in reprimand, blocking the door so no one could pass.
Zhao Feng took a deep breath of anger, her eyes turning fierce. She stood up, quietly slipped into the kitchen, grabbed a cleaver, and rushed over at full speed, swinging it down hard when she was still half an arm’s length from Zhao Ran.
“Zhao Ran, I’ll fight you to the death!”
Zhao Feng let out a hoarse shout.
“Ah! Help!”
Zhao Ran was so frightened he ran wildly around the courtyard. Zhao Bin remained steadily seated on his small stool—his sister had things handled. This family truly deserved a lesson.
“Grandmother, Mother, Brother, help! Zhao Feng is trying to chop me to death!”
Zhao Ran’s shrill voice sent screams echoing across the courtyard, making one’s scalp tingle and goosebumps break out all over.
Mrs. Ma rushed out. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“What am I doing? I’m chopping you all to death, you heartless beasts! You’ll come to no good end. Today it’s either you or me. My father was killed by your son.
Your son is a curse, a jinx! My father’s body is barely cold and you won’t even give us food or drink. You want to starve our whole family to death—go die!”
Zhao Feng charged over like a madwoman, swinging at her Second Aunt and Zhao Ran.
“Who are you calling a curse? You dead girl, I’ll tear your mouth apart! Ah… you’re actually swinging that thing!”
Mrs. Ma tried to rush forward, winding up her arm to slap Zhao Feng, but was scared back by the cleaver in her hand.
There were still a few people in the courtyard helping with the moving, but everyone deliberately stood far away watching the spectacle. No one helped Mrs. Ma out of her predicament.
Everyone could see clearly that the blade never actually touched anyone—no one would die. That Feng-ya was clever.
“Ow! You dead girl, have you lost your mind?”
Mrs. Ma was terrified by Zhao Feng’s fierce, crazed appearance, dragging her daughter around the courtyard in a panic.
“You’re utterly devoid of conscience! I’ll fight you all to the death!”
Zhao Feng chased after the mother-daughter pair with her cleaver, swinging wildly at their backsides, yet always maintaining a gap—never actually harming them.
The Old Madam, Zhao Xing, and the clan elders heard the commotion and came running out too.
“Dead girl, what do you think you’re doing?”
The Old Madam rushed over to hit Zhao Feng, aiming a slap right at her face.
Zhao Feng ducked her head to dodge the slap and slammed into her with force. “If you dare bully us again, I’ll chop you all to death! Our main branch cuts ties with you—never to associate again!”
“Ouch! You’ve knocked me down! You, you… what nerve!”
The Old Madam was old after all—no match for a young, nimble girl. Zhao Feng knocked her to the ground with a headbutt. Just as she was about to get up and hit her granddaughter, she looked up to see the cold gleam of the cleaver pointed right at her face.
“Enough! Feng’er, what do you think you’re doing? Are you trying to kill someone?”
Zhao Xing stepped forward, blaming his niece without even asking what had happened.
“If you push me to the brink, then kill I will. Dead and buried on the back mountain—who would know who did it?”
Zhao Feng withdrew the knife and blew on the blade, her eyes darting toward her third brother Zhao Ren with a cold, wolf-like gleam—fierce and menacing.
Zhao Xing’s heart trembled. “What in the world is going on here?”
He turned and roared at his wife and daughter.
Zhao Ran sidled over, thinking she had backup, and pointed at Zhao Feng to tattle: “Dad, she wants to take away the canopy bed and the dressing table from that room—those are our things!”
Zhao Xing swung his arm and smack—a crisp, resounding slap across his daughter’s face.
“I already said everything in their room goes with them. Are you deaf? Cause any more trouble and don’t blame me for being rough. Get lost!”
“Waaah!”
Zhao Ran covered her mouth and burst into loud sobs.
That slap had landed solidly—her cheek was surely swollen by now.
“You heard him. Go ahead and move the things. Otherwise it’ll get dark. All my books need to be moved too—I need them.”
Zhao Bin spoke up only then.
“But…”
Mrs. Ma didn’t want them taking the things either. The furniture in that girl’s room had been bought while the old man was still alive—all beechwood, fine timber. Wouldn’t it be nice to keep it for Ran’er as her dowry? Could save them a bit of money too.
Zhao Xing’s icy gaze cut across his wife like a blade. “Did you not hear what I said?”
“I heard.”
“Don’t we need to eat? Get to work.”
Zhao Xing barked at his wife, then turned and went inside with the clan elders.
Old Madam also stood up and delivered a hard smack to the back of Mrs. Ma’s head. “When your man speaks, you listen! You’re nothing but trouble every single day. Get in the kitchen and cook.”
With that, she grabbed Zhao Ran by the ear and dragged her forcibly toward the kitchen. Zhao Ran’s ear was nearly torn off by Old Madam, and she let out a miserable wail: “Grandma, let go! It hurts… it hurts!”
“You think you’re some young miss? I say you’re just asking for a beating.”
Old Madam was extremely partial to boys. Her favoritism toward the second son didn’t mean she cared for Zhao Ran—if provoked, she’d hit her just the same.
Zhao Feng set down the cleaver and shot her eldest brother Zhao Bin a look, meaning: Finally, we’ve gotten some satisfaction.
The onlookers also felt a sense of relief watching the scene. That second brother’s family was cunning and vicious—the complete opposite of Zhao Laoda in temperament.
To put it bluntly, they really didn’t seem like they were born of the same mother. Look at Old Madam’s venomous nature—she and Zhao Xing were cut from the same cloth. How had she given birth to a righteous man like Zhao Laoda?
Zhao Feng clapped her hands and stood beside her eldest brother Zhao Bin, raising an eyebrow smugly.
Zhao Bin tapped her with his finger. “You… don’t provoke Second Uncle. You can’t afford to mess with him—he’s sly as a fox.”
“I know. Brother, does your hand still hurt? I’ll rub it for you again tonight.”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore. Go help keep an eye on the things.”
Zhao Bin ruffled his sister’s hair, his face full of affection.
“Mm. You rest.”
Everyone pitched in, and the work went quickly. There wasn’t much stuff to begin with—Zhao Bin’s books were the bulk of it.
They carried everything to the barren field at the edge of the back mountain. Zhao Laoda had bought it just last year, planning to slowly reclaim it over time. The land had nothing on it, but it had been very cheap.
His family originally owned twenty mu of good farmland, so they didn’t depend on this plot for food right away—they could reclaim it gradually. The plan itself was sound, but who could have known that misfortune would strike without warning?
Even with Zhao Feng’s Wood-element Ability, she hadn’t been able to save her father. By the time they carried him back, his eyes were already closed—she never even got the chance to reach out.
She was a reincarnated evolved Wood-element Ability user. All these years she’d been training her ability with no response, and it was only recently, when her father died so suddenly and she was struck by overwhelming grief, that she truly broke through. Otherwise, who knew when it would have awakened.
Though she was an outsider by origin, her parents had raised her for fourteen years, and she was deeply bonded with her parents and brothers. When her father passed, it hit her like a thunderbolt. But no matter how grief-stricken she was, she had to stay strong—help her brother hold the family together. First priority: heal her brother’s hand.
Why had Grandma and the others suddenly turned hostile? Because the doctor had said Eldest Brother’s hand injury was severe—even if healed, it might leave lasting aftereffects, making it difficult for him to hold a brush and write in the future.
For a man with a Xiucai scholarly title, being unable to write meant his career was finished. That was why Second Uncle had instigated Grandma and the mother to split the family—letting the women play the villains while he stayed in the background as the “good guy,” avoiding public condemnation.
Hypocritical and vicious. Hah! Just you wait.