"How can she not be divorced?" Yang Anshi finally spoke up, her triangular eyes rolling twice, "The fourth family not having a son is ultimately problematic. By rationale, as the principal wife, if she cannot bear a child, she should actively arrange for her husband to take another woman, but what about the Dong Family? To think she even jumped into the river, why didn’t she just die and be done with it?" As for the two granddaughters, when they’re of age, just sell them to whoever gives the most bride price.
The Dong Family next door cried even louder, with the sobbing of Daya and Erya woven in.
"Cry, if you keep crying I’ll just throw you out," Yang Anshi raised her voice.
Sure enough, the crying from the next room abruptly ceased.
"How can you talk like this?" Yang Peili frowned, "Are we just going to condone this behavior? After all..."
"What’s the big deal about a man having a little fling?" Yang Anshi glanced sideways at Yang Peili, "At worst, we bring her in as a concubine..."
Yang Peili opened his mouth but found himself unable to refute.
Yang Baixiang had initially been shocked, but by this point, he had grown numb; completely disillusioned with this family and these relatives, he truly wished he could separate from them, even if it meant leaving with nothing—anything was better than confronting such chaotic situations day after day.
"Enough, let’s leave the matter at that," Yang Anshi waved her hand dismissively, "Everyone go back to what you were doing."
Yang Baifu immediately looked smug and tried to rise.
However, Feng Caie covertly poked Yang Baichuan and even gave him a meaningful look. After being ill for several days, she had lost weight, making her eyes seem larger, and with a flutter, she even seemed a bit more attractive than before.
Yang Baichuan stood up somewhat unwillingly, "Father, Mother, I have something..."
Yang Anshi immediately glared at Feng Caie.
Feng Caie lowered her head, refusing to meet the other’s gaze.
"Father, Mother, the thing is..." Yang Baichuan rubbed his hands nervously, "I was thinking... of splitting from the family..."
"What?" Yang Anshi’s voice rose again, but because she hadn’t shouted for many days, her voice cracked, leading to an involuntary fit of coughing.
Yang Baihe, who had been sitting silently beside Yang Anshi, quickly reached out to pat her mother’s back.
"At least my Baihe is filial," Yang Anshi finally calmed down and sighed, "The rest of you are all ungrateful wolves..."
A glint of irony flashed in Feng Caie’s eyes. It cost ten pieces of silver just to have a tooth replaced, and that money was from everyone in the family, not mentioned a whisper before spending it. Why should they? And this time it was her daughter who had accompanied them, essentially to serve her younger sister-in-law. Ruyu had come back and said that Yang Baihe was quite generous with money; they stayed in an inn in the county city that cost fifty coins per night, with dinner delivered to their room by Xiao’er, tipping him over ten coins for each service, and even hiring a horse carriage for outings, to the point of splurging on a new skirt.
She was not willing to continue slaving away for these people.
Yang Baichuan shrank his neck in fright, but since the words were already out, he wasn’t about to take them back, and stiffening his neck, he continued, "I want to split from the family." Actually, it would be better if he split from the family; his father-in-law had said long ago that if he did, he could join his uncle-in-law in the county city as an Account Manager, with board and lodging provided, and a monthly salary of a piece of silver. Surely that was better than scraping a living from the soil, but if he didn’t split from the family, whatever he earned would go to his mother, something his father-in-law was not happy about.
This time was another opportunity; he had to take it and insist on splitting for his own sake.