Yang Ruxin couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and lament; the chaos had escalated to this point, and yet the old lady still insisted on silver—was it a classic case of valuing money over life? She couldn’t help but admire the old lady’s stubbornness.
In fact, the third great-uncle and fourth great-granduncle had already been assisted in arriving by their great-grandsons. However, they hadn’t spoken a word. The longer the two old men stayed, the grimmer their expressions grew. Initially, they didn’t want to get involved with the Yang Family affairs anymore, but they were worried that Dani and her siblings would suffer. That was why they showed up again, only to find that repeated lessons had not brought Yang Anshi to her senses. She was like a rotten piece of wood. Well then, let’s give up on hoping for her change and let her be.
"If you don’t care, then I won’t either," Yang Ruxin suddenly raised her voice, "Since you all have no shame, I’ll go all out as well. Let’s go to the Governor’s Office now and argue it out, eh... A murder must be paid for with life... I really want to see if the Imperial Court will want the son of a murderer to take the Scholar exams, to become an official..."
Yang Baichuan was taken aback. How could he have forgotten about the important matter regarding his son’s upcoming examination?
"Enough," interjected Yang Peili, who had timely arrived, pulling at Yang Anshi, "Aren’t you ashamed already?"
"I..."
"Go back," Yang Peili commanded sternly.
"Go back? What for?" Yang Anshi retorted fiercely, "So what if we’ve separated? Just because she doesn’t have money, we say nothing. But now that she has money, why shouldn’t she support her elders? Why not?"
Yang Peili was at a loss for words. In his heart, he was also irritated with Yang Ruxin. After all, she was a granddaughter of the Yang Family. Having silver, why didn’t she take the initiative to pay respects to them, her grandparents? If she had provided support willingly, would her grandmother have needed to make such a fuss?
Seeing her husband fall silent, Yang Anshi gained confidence and looked toward the village chief, "Respecting one’s elders is a principle upheld by Heaven and Earth. Even if taken before the Emperor, the same holds true, doesn’t it?"
Yang Mancang frowned but couldn’t argue. He turned to Yang Ruxin, "Dani... "
Yang Ruxin took a deep silent breath and smiled at Yang Mancang, "Village Chief sir, I understand. Since it has come to this, no matter how hard it is, I cannot refuse. Let’s discuss it then. How much should our main branch give for elder care? As long as it’s reasonable, there will be no problem."
"Good child," Yang Mancang nodded in approval and then looked at Yang Peili, "Since that’s the case, let’s also work out the elder care payment. In our village, there’s precedent: generally, elder care payments are two or three silver per year. For those who are a bit more affluent, there are also those who give five or six silver. It all depends on the family’s own situation, but it never exceeds that amount..."
"No way," Yang Anshi cut Yang Mancang off before he could finish. She waved her arm, "That’s for other people. Our family’s elder care payments should at least be... ten silver a year." She actually wanted to say a hundred silver, but she wasn’t completely foolish; a hundred silver was a staggering number. If she really said that, she feared it would cause another commotion, so she gritted her teeth and painfully stated ten silver.
Suddenly, a collective gasp filled the surroundings. Ten silver a year—enough for a family of three to live on for two years. Was this old lady Yang Anshi trying to get the main branch to support the entire old residence of the Yang Family?
Yang Mancang’s face immediately turned sour, "Why don’t you ask for a hundred silver?"
Yang Anshi opened her mouth but didn’t dare to clash with the village chief. She indeed wanted a hundred silver, fearing Dani, that wretched girl, wouldn’t give it.