Ye Laopo pointed at Liu Xiuxiu, trembling with anger:
“You really are something else!”
Then she turned to the village elder.
“Village elder, you must take our side! A daughter-in-law like this, we cannot keep her in our family!”
Ye Erhe was still kneeling, and Ye Laopo helped him to his feet.
“This has nothing to do with you. All these years you’ve been obedient to your wife—it’s my fault. When I married you off, I failed to see her true nature and brought a shameless woman into our home, causing trouble for you.”
As she spoke, she thumped her chest in frustration.
Ye Erhe, heart aching, quickly held onto his mother’s arm.
“Mother, it’s not your fault. You can’t know someone’s heart just by their face. Who could have expected her to do something like this?”
He then turned to the village elder:
“Village elder, you must rule in my favor. All the money I earned outside, after paying the public dues, was in Liu Xiuxiu’s hands.
Yet she handed it all to the Qian family! A woman with such a venomous heart, we cannot keep her in our house. She must return all the money she received from me.”
Before the village elder could reply, Liu Xiuxiu exploded. Sticky residue smeared across her face, she wiped it on her sleeve and jumped up, pointing at Ye Erhe.
“Ye Erhe, stop spouting nonsense! How much money did I even take? Do you want it back?”
Liu Xiuxiu found such a man cruel and unforgiving. She had been careful, only ever taking small amounts—ten or twenty coins at a time—which wasn’t much.
Now Ye Erhe wanted to divorce her and take back all the money he had given her. Naturally, Liu Xiuxiu refused.
The village elder frowned, raising his voice:
“Enough! You still dare to speak? He’s only asking for the money in your hands—not for the two children who have lived under the Ye family for all these years! Are you still not satisfied?
If this went to the county office, you would be in real trouble.”
Hearing this, Liu Xiuxiu fell silent. Though she was from another village, she knew that in her hometown, women committing such acts would have been “沉塘” punishable. In Xinghua Village, that law didn’t exist, or she would never have dared.
She felt wronged. Since her marriage, Ye Erhe had been away earning money. He returned only two or three times a year. During his absence, she got involved with Qian Dashan from the same village.
When she became pregnant, she knew the child was Dashan’s. To survive, she had no choice but to let Ye Erhe claim them. Fortunately, Ye Erhe returned when she discovered the pregnancy. She pretended to fall accidentally near her due date, claiming premature birth. With twin sons born, Ye Erhe, upon hearing that his wife had given birth at home, doted on both her and the children.
The villagers only knew Ye Erhe as honest and hardworking, never thinking he would raise someone else’s children.
The village elder, seeing Liu Xiuxiu silent, waved his hand:
“Alright, that’s enough. Everyone disperse. Nothing more to see here.”
Then he looked at Ye Erhe:
“Go home. Regarding the divorce, bring ink, brush, and paper and sign it under witness.”
Ye Laopo pinched her waist, unwilling to accept this. Liu Xiuxiu had caused such misery for her second son, raising children that weren’t even his. Now, Liu Xiuxiu would merely pay back some money and demand a divorce? Absurd!
Ye Laopo’s eyes reddened:
“Village elder, everyone in the village knows our family. If my son had wronged her, I would willingly provide a divorce and compensation. But now, she wronged our family! How can she still demand a divorce? No divorce papers, but a dismissal letter she shall have!”
Liu Xiuxiu clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms. To be dismissed (休), it was considered the woman’s fault, and she knew future consequences could be severe.
Qian Laopo approached her:
“Xiuxiu, it’s alright. Even if you are dismissed, you are still our family’s great contributor. You bore two plump sons for my son. Don’t worry, even if dismissed, our family would still accept you.”
Ye Laopo snapped at Qian Laopo:
“You fool! She could cheat in our home, and you think she’d behave at yours? This kind of woman is perfect only for a family like yours!”
Qian Laopo did not take offense. Today was the happiest day she’d had in years—two healthy grandchildren raised by the Ye family, now officially hers.
After considering carefully, the village elder said to Liu Xiuxiu:
“You must compensate the Ye family 500 wen, and Ye Erhe will write you a dismissal letter. Don’t refuse. This is my fair decision. If you think it unjust, you can take the Ye family to the county office and speak with the magistrate.”
Liu Xiuxiu didn’t dare to go to the magistrate. She knew the village elder valued reputation and the interests of other villagers.
Qian Laopo, however, was unwilling. Their family had no money—if Liu Xiuxiu demanded half a tael of silver, they would have to pay. She opened her mouth to protest, but the village elder glared:
“If you want your grandchildren, you must clean up the mess of your incapable son. That’s how the world works. Alright, disperse.”
The village elder’s eldest son wrote the dismissal letter. Ye Laotou nodded to Ye Erhe, who stamped it with his seal.
Liu Xiuxiu felt unwilling. Covered in injuries, beaten so badly, and now forced to pay money and be dismissed—Ye Erhe showed no regard for the years they had shared, only her deserved misfortune.