A smug smile flickered at the corner of Granny Li’s lips before she quickly replaced it with a sorrowful expression.
“My husband died young, and I’ve been a widow for many years. I know all too well the pain of this suffering. I can’t let Anbang’s wife go through the same hardship I endured, nor can I tie a young woman like her to my side, forcing her to remain a widow for Anbang for the rest of her life. She deserves a better life. If you truly wish to sever ties, then so be it.”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone praised Granny Li for her magnanimity.
Shen Qingyuan paid no mind to Granny Li’s attempt to play the role of the virtuous mother-in-law. Her only goal was to quickly cut all ties with the Zhao family.
“Since we’re severing ties, let’s make it clear. I ask everyone to bear witness and request the village chief to draft a formal severance document. From this day forward, I will have no connection whatsoever with the Zhao family.”
While no one was looking, she pinched herself hard.
The pain instantly brought tears to her eyes.
“Zhihong needs money for his studies, so I won’t ask for Anbang’s pension. But please return my dowry to me!”
When the original host married into the Zhao family, the Shen family had given her two taels of silver and a silver hairpin as her dowry—a fact known to everyone.
The foolish original host had handed over her dowry to Granny Li, but now that they were severing ties, it was only natural to demand it back.
Granny Li was overjoyed when Shen Qingyuan said she wouldn’t claim the pension.
But upon hearing the demand for the dowry, she froze.
She had long forgotten about it.
Besides, once money was in her hands, there was no reason to give it back.
“That… that’s your dowry. It must be in your possession. Why are you asking me for it! Besides, you’re the one who wants to sever ties. Just leave on your own—no one is stopping you! Don’t even think about taking a single needle or thread from this house!”
Such shameless words successfully enraged the Shen family.
They wished they could fly over and slap Granny Li right then and there, but a reminder from Shen Qingyuan’s cough forced them to suppress their anger.
Shen Qingyuan went all out, thoroughly shaming the Zhao family.
“Back when Zhihong didn’t have the money to pay his Shuxiu (Tuition Fee) and stayed home for several days, you cried in front of me, saying you didn’t want to cut off Zhihong’s path to the imperial examinations. Thinking that as a family, we couldn’t just stand by, I took out my dowry so Zhihong could continue his studies.”
“Later, to ensure Zhihong could study without interruption, you asked if I could seek help from my family. I swallowed my pride and went back to my parents’ home to borrow money for Zhihong’s education. For Zhihong’s future, my family even chose to give up my nephew’s chance to study. Now that Zhihong has passed the Xiucai examination, how can you turn your back and deny everything?”
“I haven’t even asked you to repay the money I borrowed from my family—I’ve already shown the utmost kindness. How can you still withhold my dowry from me!”
Upon hearing this, everyone looked astonished and gradually understood many things.
Zhao Village and Shen Village were not far apart, and everyone was familiar with the situation in both villages.
Only now did they realize why Shen Dali’s son, who had been doing well in his studies, had suddenly stopped attending school.
It turned out that the money meant for Shen Dali’s son’s education had all been given to Zhao Zhihong.
For a humble farming family, supporting one scholar was already a struggle; supporting two was nearly impossible.
The people of Zhao Village had always taken pride in Zhao Zhihong as their scholar. Little did they know that Zhao Zhihong had not only used his widowed sister-in-law’s dowry but also relied on money borrowed from her family for his studies. It was utterly disgraceful.
And now, to treat her this way—wasn’t that the height of hypocrisy?
Zhao Zhihong stamped his feet in fury, grinding his back teeth so hard he nearly broke them. He regretted not hitting Shen Qingyuan harder earlier—he should have beaten that wretched woman to death to prevent her from spilling such disgraceful affairs.
What would the villagers think of him now?
More importantly, if his fellow scholars found out, how could he ever hold his head high again?
He wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into and vanish on the spot.
Sensing her son’s rage, Granny Li grew frantic and began acting unreasonably.
“You say you gave me the dowry, but who knows if you spent it on some other man!”
Shen Qingyuan continued playing the pitiful victim.
“I’ve remained chaste and loyal for Anbang’s sake. How could you, as my mother-in-law, slander my virtue like this? What meaning is there in living anymore? I might as well die! Anbang, where are you? Take me with you!”
With that, she lunged toward the wall, ready to end her life to prove her innocence.
Naturally, Zhou Shi and her two sons couldn’t just watch Shen Qingyuan harm herself and immediately intervened.
Thus, a dramatic tug-of-war unfolded.
The crowd fell silent, and Shen Qingyuan had completely taken control of the situation.
Just then, Village Chief Zhao’s voice cut through the tense silence.
“Enough, all of you! Stop this commotion!”
Hearing this, Shen Qingyuan immediately threw herself at Village Chief Zhao’s feet.
“Please, Village Chief, uphold justice for me!”
She then recounted the entire sequence of events. After listening, Village Chief Zhao frowned slightly.
“Do you truly wish to sever ties with your husband’s family?”
Shen Qingyuan nodded emphatically.
Village Chief Zhao turned to Granny Li.
“In that case, let it be so! Old sister, return Anbang’s wife’s dowry to her.”
“But Village Chief, I—”
Granny Li tried to protest, but Village Chief Zhao cut her off.
“If this continues, it won’t end well for anyone. Think carefully about the consequences!”
This was a reminder to Granny Li that everything must prioritize Zhao Zhihong’s reputation.
For now, the matter hadn’t escalated too far. Even if the villagers knew the truth, they wouldn’t spread it to protect the village’s reputation, so it was still manageable.
But if it blew up beyond his control, it would harm both Zhao Village and Zhao Zhihong’s standing as a Xiucai.
Though reluctant, for the sake of her son’s career and reputation, Granny Li had to bite the bullet and produce two taels of silver.
Shen Qingyuan promptly stepped forward to take the silver, then deftly snatched the silver hairpin from Granny Li’s hair.
It was part of her dowry, which Granny Li had tricked her out of and had been wearing ever since. Today, she would take it back too.
Feeling her head suddenly lighter, Granny Li instinctively tried to grab it back, but Zhao Zhihong pulled her aside and whispered,
“Once I marry Yun Yuanwai’s daughter, I’ll buy you a gold hairpin to wear.”
Hearing her son’s promise, Granny Li finally stopped making a fuss.
Just as Shen Qingyuan tucked away the silver and hairpin, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in her mind.
[Congratulations, Host, on successfully severing family ties. System Space has been successfully bound, and system tasks are now activated.]
[System Task: Please take the three children with you to prevent them from turning dark and becoming villains. Upon completion, the system will provide a mysterious reward.]
Hearing this, Shen Qingyuan nearly dropped her jaw in shock!
This was like giving a sweet date only to slap her right after!
Wasn’t rewarding her with the System Space enough? Why did she have to keep future villains by her side? Did they think she had a death wish?
As soon as this thought crossed her mind, the system voice sounded again.
[Friendly Reminder: If the host fails to complete the task, it will be considered a failed system binding. The system will self-destruct on the spot, and the host will permanently vanish from this world!]
Shen Qingyuan stared in disbelief, her eyes wide.
This is just another way to get me killed!
Forget it, staying alive is what matters!
Then let’s just do the mission!
Seeing Village Chief Zhao start writing the severance letter, she hurriedly moved closer.
“Add one more clause to the severance letter: Anbang’s three children will come with me!”
Village Chief Zhao’s hand paused while writing, and he looked at Shen Qingyuan in confusion.
“Those three children aren’t your own. What do you want the Zhao family’s children for?”