Guan Xiyue found it amusing.
“Fourth Uncle, why are you silent? Could it be that even you, a so-called scholar, think I am being unfilial? Shall we go to the authorities and argue it out?”
Guan Lao Si, Guan Heyi—who had always held himself above others—suddenly felt all eyes turn toward him. His face flushed deep red as if burning. He raised his index finger and pointed at Guan Xiyue, thinking for a long time before finally saying:
“You unfilial girl! You are guilty of ‘when grandparents and parents are alive, you separate property and fail in support duties’—a grave crime of unfilial conduct!”
The crowd looked confused. The scholar really was hard to understand.
Guan Xiyue remained calm and unhurried.
“First, I was sold off by you as a concubine for a marriage of convenience. You received twenty taels of silver, plus several bolts of cloth. May I ask everyone—have I not already repaid the kindness of raising me?”
Everyone understood this clearly and could easily calculate it. They all nodded. For a poor family, raising a girl to fifteen years old would not cost even a few taels of silver. Twenty taels was more than enough repayment.
Guan Xiyue continued:
“Last time I returned, I said that if you didn’t give me ten taels of silver, I would be unable to explain myself and would be sent back by the Zhou family. What did you say then? That a married daughter is like water spilled—once she is out, she has nothing to do with the Guan family anymore. That whether I lived or died, or was divorced, had nothing to do with you. Did that happen or not?”
The crowd nodded again. They had all witnessed that incident.
Taking in twenty taels and being asked to return ten would have been like cutting their flesh—of course they refused.
Guan Xiyue saw that the Guan family members were all red-faced and speechless, and pressed on:
“Since I have nothing to do with the Guan family, and I have already established my own household as a divorced woman, and even agreed to maintain courtesy visits during festivals like an ordinary married daughter—yet you are still dissatisfied? You stole my belongings and now want to accuse me of unfilial conduct? Very well. It seems we must go to the authorities today. Let the Guan family of Datong Village become famous throughout Qingqing County.”
The Guan family panicked. Even Scholar Guan Heyi could not argue with her; the others naturally had nothing to say.
Seeing the situation turn, Mrs. Wang immediately launched into her usual performance. She slapped her thighs, stomped her feet, and began wailing:
“Oh heavens, open your eyes! What kind of granddaughter is this! She’s trying to force her grandparents to their deaths! Just for eating a little of her rice and flour, she wants our lives!”
Indeed, this was a classic skill of unreasonable old women—almost instinctive.
But Guan Xiyue was unmoved.
“Chunliu, go to Old Sun at the village entrance with the ox cart. Tell him I’ve hired his cart to go to the county yamen.”
Mrs. Wang’s crying abruptly stopped.
Old Master Guan darkened his face and angrily scolded Guan Lao San:
“Look at you useless things—you raised such an ungrateful wretch!”
Zhang Shi began to cry, and Guan Lao San looked wronged but did not dare speak back.
Guan Xiyue had not expected things to escalate this way, so she calmly added:
“Father, Mother, if you stay here you are only suffering. You eat the least, the worst, and do the most exhausting work. If you are willing, come with me. I will support you in old age.”
Zhang Shi’s eyes lit up.
Old Master Guan and Mrs. Wang panicked immediately. If the third branch left, who would do the work at home?
Old Master Guan gave a look. Mrs. Wang reluctantly took the key from her waistband and opened the locked cupboard, taking out the remaining rice, meat, and flour.
There was quite a lot left—worth at least three taels of silver. The crowd clicked their tongues in amazement.
Guan Xiyue, satisfied, decided to stop while ahead:
“If Grandfather and Grandmother still don’t understand, let Fourth Uncle explain clearly what it means to establish a separate household and become two different families. As for whether I am filial or not, Fourth Uncle is welcome to discuss it with me anytime.
Oh, and I am fifteen this year. I earned twenty taels of silver for the Guan family, plus several bolts of cloth. Fourth Uncle is eighteen now, isn’t he? I wonder how you show your filial piety to Grandparents?”
The crowd burst into laughter.
The Guan family was poor but supported two scholars: Guan Heyi and the eldest grandson Guan Ziyan. The problem was that neither had passed even the lowest imperial exam level. They were useless at scholarship, farming, or physical labor, yet still acted refined in front of villagers.
Normally, villagers still respected them a little as “scholars,” but after Guan Xiyue’s mocking words, they suddenly seemed ordinary—no better than anyone else’s sons who at least could do manual work.
Guan Heyi, just barely calming down, flushed red again. He clenched his fists, almost wanting to punch Guan Xiyue.
But she did not care at all. She left gracefully with Chunliu.
On the road, Guan Xiyue chatted with Chunliu.
“Chunliu, do you think I am unfilial? Was what I did too much?”
Chunliu answered seriously:
“Of course not. Miss, since you are living independently, you must be strong. Moreover, the Guan family not only fails to cherish you, but even steals from you—valuable rice, flour, and meat. Even sending them to the authorities would not be excessive.”
Guan Xiyue felt quite relieved. She had truly gotten a good maid: loyal, skilled in martial arts, and with a proper sense of right and wrong.
In ancient times, most women were heavily conditioned by their families and society, lacking independent judgment. Chunliu was different.
She became curious about Chunliu, who unexpectedly knew martial arts.
Chunliu’s expression darkened.
“My family used to run an escort agency. We were fairly well-off, and I trained in martial arts with my father and uncles. This time, we took a job escorting a rare night-illumination pearl. The reward was over a hundred taels of silver. My father and uncles said that after this escort, we would retire.”
“But this time… something went wrong.”
“We were ambushed on the road. After a hard fight, we drove them off, but my uncle and two others died, and my father was seriously injured.”
“When we delivered the goods, the client said the night pearl had been swapped—it wasn’t the original one.”
Tears fell down Chunliu’s face.
“Miss, we clearly risked our lives to protect it. The pearl was never swapped. Why did the buyer deny it?”
Guan Xiyue, as an observer, saw it clearly:
“This world is full of deceit. Perhaps the person who hired the escort gave you a fake from the beginning. Or maybe the swap happened during the ambush. Or even… someone within your escort agency was bribed to switch it.”
Chunliu gritted her teeth in hatred.
“We escort families live by risking our lives. Those cowards don’t dare face us directly, so they use such despicable tricks. But I am powerless and have nowhere to appeal. Before my father died, he even used up all our assets—we couldn’t even afford a coffin. I sold myself to bury him.”
Guan Xiyue fell silent for a moment.
In this world, surviving was truly difficult.
She gently comforted her a few words, then asked:
“Do you still have family left?”
Chunliu nodded.
“I still have an aunt and a young cousin living together. After arranging my father’s funeral, I gave them the remaining silver.”