Old Madam Chen was so enraged her hands trembled.
She pointed at them, cursing viciously, “You damned wretch! You’ll regret this, just you wait! Fine—cut all ties! I’ve no use for a son or granddaughter like you!”
Chen Qingqing’s lips curled. “Cut ties? Then cut ties! We’ll see who ends up regretting it.”
Headman Wu Bao’an frowned. He couldn’t understand why this girl wasn’t afraid at all. Didn’t she realize that once a family severed ties, even blood relations were gone?
In his fifty-odd years, he’d handled plenty of family divisions—but never once a complete disownment.
He hesitated, asking again, “Auntie, are you sure? Think carefully before you do something you’ll regret later.”
Old Madam Chen sneered, her voice sharp and unyielding.
“Regret? Why should I regret? It’s them who’ll regret it! Just wait until my third son passes the scholar’s exam and becomes a xiucai, then maybe even a juren—an official who draws a salary from the court! Cut ties? Of course we’ll cut ties. I don’t need such a disobedient son and granddaughter!”
Chen Zhancai, the third son, grinned smugly. “Headman, since Big Brother’s family doesn’t want to share our good fortune, hurry up and write the disownment letter!”
Chen Qingqing understood perfectly well the kind of person her grandmother was—ruthless, narrow-minded, and utterly heartless when it came to her precious youngest son.
Fine, then. Cutting ties suited her just fine. No more attachments, no more threats.
“Uncle Headman,” she said calmly, “since my grandmother insists on severing relations, if we keep begging her not to, it’ll only make it look like we have ulterior motives. So please, be our witness. And—one more thing. The division agreement must be changed. If we’re cutting ties, then we don’t owe her that one tael of silver every year, right?”
“You’re right,” Wu Bao’an nodded in approval. “Once the disownment letter is written, you’ll be strangers from then on. No obligations, no filial payments.”
Old Madam Chen gritted her teeth. “Strangers, then! I’ll never deal with them again. I’ll just wait and see how that cursed girl survives after leaving the Chen family—they’ll all starve to death!”
Seeing both sides firm in their decision, Wu Bao’an sighed and began writing the disownment document.
Each party pressed their red handprints on it—one copy for each household, and one kept in the village records.
Chen Zhanshan held his copy in trembling hands, tears welling up.
His heart ached so badly it felt like it was being sliced apart.
He knelt before his parents, kowtowed three times, his forehead touching the cold earth.
“Father, Mother,” he said hoarsely, “from today on, your son can no longer serve you. Please take care of yourselves. I wish you good health and peace in all things.”
Old Madam Chen’s face twisted in fury. “Get out! Get out of my sight this instant! I’ll be waiting to see how you survive without me!”
Chen Qingqing almost burst out laughing.
Finally—finally—they were free of these leeches.
“Don’t worry,” she said coldly. “We won’t ever disturb you again. You’ll never have to share a single meal with us. But maybe you should start worrying—about how you’ll live from now on. After all, no one will be like my father anymore, slaving from dawn to dusk without a word of complaint. And no one will be like my mother, washing everyone’s filthy laundry and cooking three meals a day. From now on, you’ll have to do it all yourselves.”
She finished with a mocking smile.
Old Madam Chen’s heart skipped a beat—perhaps she’d acted too rashly.
But when she thought of how they’d soon come crawling back to beg forgiveness, she calmed down again.
She snorted. “Just you wait, you little wretch! You’ll come crawling back one day, groveling like a dog. And when that time comes, marrying you to that butcher will be the kind option—because I’ll sell you straight to a brothel instead!”
Chen Qingqing let out a sharp laugh. “Old hag, keep dreaming your spring-and-autumn dreams.”
Hearing his mother curse his daughter like that, Chen Zhanshan’s jaw clenched so tight his teeth nearly cracked.
He’d felt guilty before, thinking he’d failed his parents—but to hear such venom come from his own mother’s mouth toward his child… how poisonous could a heart be?
He gave a bitter smile. “Mother, rest assured—even if I have to wander the world with my wife and children, I will never sell her.”
At last, the matter was settled.
Wu Bao’an sighed heavily. “Uncle Chen, Auntie, forgive me for speaking plainly, but I must. You’ve spent all these years supporting your third son’s studies, while Zhanshan and his wife have worked without complaint. You really shouldn’t be trying to sell Qing girl for silver. What parent would willingly push their own child into a fire pit? Tell me, am I wrong?”
Old Madam Chen rolled her eyes impatiently. “Easy for you to talk when it’s not your belly hungry! What good is a useless girl? Didn’t Chunni marry for her brother’s education? She’s fine! But this one—she’s all airs and attitude. Enough! You’ve done your part as witness. You can go now!”
Wu Bao’an’s face turned pale with anger.
What an ungrateful old woman—kind when she needs someone, cruel the moment she doesn’t.
Still, he forced a smile. “Qing girl, the days after splitting off will be hard. Comfort your parents. And if you face trouble, come to my house. I’ll help however I can.”
Chen Qingqing took a plump hen from her brother Chen Han’s hands and handed it to him with a smile.
“Thank you, Uncle Headman. Please accept this chicken as a small token of our gratitude.”
He waved his hands quickly. “Oh, no, no, I can’t accept that.”
“Please, Uncle,” Qingqing insisted. “If not for your fairness today, we wouldn’t even have a roof to sleep under. Please accept it.”
Wu Bao’an finally nodded with a chuckle. “All right, then. I’ll take it—but don’t be so polite next time.”
His eyes shone with amusement and quiet admiration.
He’d dealt with countless people in his lifetime—and his instincts were rarely wrong.
This girl’s sharp and sensible.
Mark my words, one day the Chen family will regret losing her.
After a few more words of advice, he turned and left with the chicken dangling from his hand.
Old Madam Chen’s eyes turned bloodshot as she watched the bird leave. “And you call that living well? Foolish, wasteful girl!”
Chen Qingqing shot her a sideways glance. “That’s my chicken. I’ll give it to whomever I please. What’s it to you?”
Old Man Chen’s heart ached—such a fat hen, gone just like that!
He puffed up, invoking his seniority.
“You unfilial girl! Is that how you speak to your elders?”
Chen Zhancai’s face twisted with pain. “Traitorous thing! We haven’t had a bite of meat in half a year, and you gave it away? Are you insane?”
Liu Fengjiao quickly added fuel to the fire. “Exactly! And when we say she’s a useless money-loser, her father gets upset—treats her like some precious treasure! Let’s see who’s crying later!”
Chen Qingqing chuckled softly. “Who’s your granddaughter, and who’s your grandmother? The disownment letter’s written, remember? From today onward, we’re not family. So what right do you have to meddle in our affairs? Don’t try to act high and mighty.”
Old Man Chen’s face turned purple with rage.
He gasped, chest heaving—and suddenly collapsed with a thud.
Old Madam Chen shrieked, “Old man! Don’t you dare scare me like this!”
The entire Chen family panicked, stumbling around in chaos…