"There’s no need for such trouble! Today, all we need is one word from the Clan Leader, and this matter will be resolved!" Wang Yongzhu had thought there would be a half-day’s fuss, but with a single stroke, Lady Lin had taken care of the most troublesome Old Lady Sun.
Moreover, the impact of her actions had deflated the Sun Family’s momentum by threefold.
Such an opportunity shouldn’t be missed; once the Sun Family dealt with Old Lady Sun, making demands wouldn’t be as simple.
In the past, she would have agreed easily, as long as Old Lady Sun was in a bind, Wang Yongzhen’s life in the Sun Family would have been relatively more comfortable.
But now, both for the sake of splitting the family and for Wang Yongzhen’s future, she should lend a hand.
"What word?" the Sun Family Patriarch was extremely wary.
Such torture inflicted on a Great Ming daughter-in-law, no one’s maternal family would let this pass easily.
"Separation!" Wang Yongzhu said flatly.
"What? Separation?" The Sun Family Patriarch could hardly believe his ears, was it really that simple?
"That’s right! Separate my eldest sister and Mutou, let them live independently, and list them as a separate branch in the family records. From the time of separation, they will have nothing to do with the original Sun Family! My sister’s dowry will be taken in full. My sister and Mutou will temporarily return to the Wang Family with us for a while, and later, depending on my sister’s health recovery and what Mutou thinks, we’ll see whether they go back to Sun Family Village or not." Wang Yongzhu nodded.
The Sun Family Patriarch was somewhat tempted; the request was not excessive.
It was only natural to take the dowry when separating from the family; only, the matter of whether they’ll return to Sun Family Village caused him some hesitation.
Hearing this, Sun Shitou immediately sprang up: "Why should my mother’s entire dowry go to Mutou? I have a share in that as well!"
"Exactly, we are the eldest son, we should get more! All these dowries should be ours!" Shitou’s Wife chimed in.
Wang Yongzhu acted as if she hadn’t heard, only looking at the Sun Family Patriarch: "Clan Leader, I believe our demands are not excessive! Looking at the whole situation, it’s the Sun Family that got off lightly. If you don’t agree, we will have no choice but to go to the Government Office! Regarding my brother-in-law’s death, I have inquired with a doctor. My brother-in-law died from hitting his head on a rock. If at the time Old Devout Woman had let my brother-in-law see a doctor, there was a fifty to sixty percent chance of saving his life."
"But Old Devout Woman claimed there was no money at home, even though my sister had clearly borrowed a sum of money from the Wang Family to the Sun Family that day. My sister said to use it for my brother-in-law’s treatment first, but the Old Devout Woman strenuously refused, leading to a fatal delay. Moreover, she is responsible for delaying my brother-in-law’s life and has blamed everything on my sister, tormenting her."
"Every single incident, not to say that Old Devout Woman deserves a few days in jail, but ruin the Sun Family’s reputation would be a piece of cake. Wouldn’t you agree?"
This was a blatant threat.
The Sun Family had been pushing their luck precisely because they knew the Wang Family cared about face and reputation.
Now, the Sun Family clan would know that for the sake of face and their reputation within the clan, they would have to swallow their displeasure and endure!
After a moment of consideration, the Sun Family Patriarch decided that merely creating a separate branch was fine. Mutou was still part of the Sun Family. After all, with Mutou at the Wang Family, they would naturally arrange his marriage, and any children born would still belong to the Sun Family.
From this point of view, the Sun Family had nothing to lose.
If they refused even this and provoked the Wang Family into making a public scandal, the Sun Family Village would lose all face.
Therefore, he agreed with a frown.
Wang Yongzhu was a person who liked to follow through with things. She immediately sent Wang Yongfu and Wang Yonggui to accompany the Sun Family Patriarch to the ancestral hall to witness the listing of Mutou and Wang Yongzhen as a separate lineage.
Only then did she signal Lady Lin to pack up Wang Yongzhen’s dowry separately and go into the house to see Wang Yongzhen.
The commotion outside was clearly heard by Sun Mutou from the back room. Although he was older than Wang Yongzhu, the unfolding events outside still exceeded his understanding.
Not until Wang Yongzhu came in to check on Wang Yongzhen, whose fever had subsided and breathing had stabilized, did he speak, "Alright, wrap your mother in the quilt and back."
Sun Mutou obediently carried Wang Yongzhen, following Wang Yongzhu out the door. Under the watchful eyes of the onlookers, he placed Wang Yongzhen onto the carriage.
Wang Yongzhen’s face peeked out from the blanket: she was clearly visible to everyone throughout the journey, her cheeks gaunt, dark circles under her eyes, and her face still flushed with the recent fever, looking as though she was on the brink of succumbing to serious illness.
As Sun Mutou carried Wang Yongzhen about to board the carriage and Lady Lin was taking Wang Yongzhen’s dowry to leave, Sun Shitou became frantic: "That dowry is mine! Mine!"
After shouting twice and being ignored, the Wang family members began gathering their belongings to get on the carriage. Today’s thorough trashing of the Sun Family felt incredibly satisfying; aside from the bed Wang Yongzhen had slept in, the only thing left intact in the Sun Family’s house was the structure itself.
Aside from Wang Yongzhen’s dowry, the remaining few Copper Coins and Silver, the Wang family members couldn’t care less about those and left them scattered on the ground.
As soon as the Wang family left, Sun Laoer and Sun Laoer’s Wife hurried to grab what they could.
Shitou’s Wife also rushed to snatch things up, all the while calling out to Sun Shitou, "Shitou, hurry and grab something, or there’ll be nothing left!"
For a moment, Sun Shitou was preoccupied with the dowry taken away by others, and at the same time, he was concerned about the Old Lady Sun’s private savings that remained.
In the end, still fearing the Wang family members, he clenched his teeth and joined in the scramble for the private stash.
Before long, the Sun family members started fighting amongst themselves...
After boarding the carriage, Lady Lin imagined the Silver in her hand as Wang Laozhu’s face and squeezed it hard, finally letting out a breath of spite.
Then she heard Wang Yongzhu ask, "Sister-in-law, how did you know that Old Lady Sun had a man on the side?" She was curious about Lady Lin’s sources of information.
Lady Lin was taken aback, "I didn’t know?"
"You didn’t know? Then how did you describe it with such detail?" Wang Yongfu almost popped his eyes out in astonishment.
On the way back, it was Wang Yongping driving the carriage, with Liu Xiaoqiao keeping him company on the outside. The young couple overheard this conversation, and Wang Yongping nearly rolled off the carriage.
"So was Old Lady Sun’s cursing our eldest aunt, calling her a jinx, just nonsense? If she really labeled our eldest aunt as a jinx, how could we have justified smashing up the Sun Family’s home? Since she labeled us with that jinx accusation, I naturally had to sling mud back at her! Just thinking about how dark and malicious Old Lady Sun is, I blurted out that she had an affair! After all, her own husband had long passed away, who could clarify such matters? As long as we stick to our story, in the end, wouldn’t it settle itself?" Lady Lin said, smirking.
"I didn’t expect there to actually be green on top of my father-in-law’s head!" Lady Lin said, her enthusiasm rising once more.
"You tell me, who could be Old Lady Sun’s secret lover? You know, the Sun Family should really thank me. If I hadn’t said what I did, would the hidden truth about Old Lady Sun have come out?"
Jinhoo didn’t even want to speak. The Sun Family is probably going to hate you, yet still thank you? They might as well thank your eight generations of ancestors!
Wang Yongzhu herself was overwhelmed by this bewildering twist.
She had thought that Lady Lin had learned the news from somewhere else. She was initially thinking, if they had known about this earlier and figured out who the paramour was, they could have used that information to pressure Old Lady Sun to treat Wang Yongzhen better, not always send her back to the Wang Family, which could have prevented the subsequent events from happening.
It turns out, it was just something Lady Lin blurted out on a whim.
If Old Lady Sun knew about it, she would probably be spitting blood from rage.