Yu Pozi (Yu’s Mother-in-Law) stood up, ignoring the dirt on her clothes, and was about to hit the child.

The people around her quickly intervened, reaching out to stop her. “She’s just a child, what does she know? You don’t need to argue with her.”

“That’s right, the child is just protecting her mother. You’re the adult, so don’t lower yourself to her level.”

Yu Pozi was so angry she spat, “Bah! A little brat hitting her elders, is there no law anymore?” She pointed at Yu Niangzi, her eyes wide, “Tell me, did you provoke her?”

Yu Niangzi, holding her second daughter, anxiously explained, “Mother, I didn’t!”

Someone nearby tried to calm the situation. “Yu Aunt, that’s not true. How could Yu Niangzi teach her? Who doesn’t know that Second Girl is a fool? How could anyone teach her anything?”

If she could be taught, she wouldn’t be a fool, right?

The crowd continued to argue, and Yu Pozi’s face turned purple with rage.

With so many people around, she had no chance to retaliate.

Yu Niangzi, holding her three children, was crying bitterly.

As the village head, Lu Laotou (Old Man Lu) said a few polite words, offering help for any future difficulties, and so on.

The commotion continued for two hours. Everyone was so hungry that they went home to cook.

Yu Dalang’s death was so unexpected, and on the way home, people were gossiping. Everyone had their own version of the story.

Lu Shiqiu, too, was quietly muttering to himself.

Just today, System 1111 had told him that Yu Niangzi would be a good match for him, and then Yu Dalang died.

What a coincidence!

Could the system have something to do with this?

But upon thinking more carefully, it didn’t make sense.

He had only bound the system today, and based on the time it takes for a traveling merchant to return home, Yu Dalang must have been dead for at least a month.

So what does that have to do with him?

Lu Shiqiu pushed the thought aside. “1111? You said if I bind the system, I’ll have children. Don’t you need to treat my illness first?”

【This medicine should be taken within half an hour before intercourse. Taking it now will harm your body.】

Half an hour before intercourse?

Originally, Lu Shiqiu had planned to wait until his health improved, then have his father take him to a doctor.

His father would likely agree to find him a wife.

But now, it seemed like that wasn’t possible.

That night, Lu Shiqiu lay on the kang (a traditional heated bed), tossing and turning, unable to come up with a good plan.

The next morning, Yu’s family held the funeral for Yu Dalang.

Since Yu Dalang died away from home and his body couldn’t be recovered, they could only place some old clothes in the coffin.

This type of burial was called an “official burial mound,” specifically for those without a body.

Of course, in cases like this where someone dies far from home, they couldn’t be buried in the ancestral tomb.

Yu Dalang’s grave was placed at the foot of a mountain.

According to the Taoist priest, the location was good for feng shui, near both the mountain and the sea.

In the village, anyone who died at sea was buried here.

On the seventh day after Yu Dalang’s death, just as his coffin was being lowered into the grave, a major event occurred at Yu’s house.

Yu Pozi wanted to drive Yu Niangzi away, and everyone in the village gathered outside the house to watch the commotion.

Old Man Lu, as the village head, was called in to mediate the situation in the middle of his meal.

Lu Shiqiu put down his bowl and went with him.

Other villagers also hurried out, holding their bowls.

When they arrived at Yu’s house, they saw that Yu Pozi had locked the gate tightly.

Yu Dalang’s three daughters were crying in the courtyard, calling for their mother.

Yu Niangzi was kneeling in front of Yu Pozi, constantly kowtowing, “Mother, Mother, Da Ya and the others are crying. Please let me in. I can’t live without my children. Please, have mercy.”

Old Man Lu walked over, smoking his pipe, and asked, “What’s going on here?”

Yu Niangzi turned around, as if hearing heavenly music, and crawled a few steps to kneel in front of Lu Laotou, crying and pleading, “Lu Lizheng (village head), please help. I have three daughters. If I leave, what will happen to them?”

Yu Pozi spat, “What ‘can’t bear to leave your daughters’? I’ve already said I’ll raise them. You killed my son, and just seeing you makes me furious. Hurry up and get out! Yu’s family doesn’t need a bad luck star like you.” With that, she kicked at her.

Old Lu motioned for the eldest daughter-in-law to help Yu Niangzi up, “The ground is cold. Get up quickly.”

Yu Niangzi wiped her tears and stood up.

Old Man Lu didn’t even look at Yu Pozi and spoke gently to Yu Niangzi, “When you married Yu Dalang, you were dutiful to your mother-in-law and kind to your neighbors. The whole village saw it. Who would dare divorce you? Also, this house belongs to your family. No one can take it from you.”

Yu Niangzi was extremely grateful.

She knew that the village head was an upright man who wouldn’t allow her to be bullied.

Old Man Lu understood the difficulties of widows, and since they lived in the same village, he knew Yu Pozi’s character well.

She was extremely biased toward sons over daughters.

She had two daughters and, to pay for a high dowry, had married them off to families with terrible reputations.

If Yu Niangzi truly wanted to remarry, Old Lu wouldn’t interfere, but he couldn’t stand by and watch Yu Dalang’s three daughters be mistreated.

Old Lu turned to Yu Pozi and said in a deep voice, “A divorce isn’t something you can decide with just your words. There are laws of the land and family rules. Are you really going to abandon a daughter-in-law who hasn’t violated the seven prohibitions?”

After speaking, he looked at the elders of the Yu family, who all spoke up, “No, no one in our clan has said she should be divorced. It’s the third sister-in-law who made this decision. It has nothing to do with us.”

Most of the people in Hongshu Village were surnamed Lu.

The Yu family had moved here a hundred years ago when the Wang family was overthrown.

There were only eight households left today, and they were nothing compared to the Lu family.

They didn’t dare offend Old Man Lu.

Yu Pozi, fuming with anger, said, “Lu Lizheng, since ancient times, houses and land belong to the Yu family. What’s wrong with me living here?”

Old Lu nodded, “I didn’t say you can’t live here. But this house belongs to Yu Niangzi and her three children.

Unless Yu Niangzi remarries and her three daughters marry, no one has the right to take it from them.

Our Hongshu Village has always been a place where people reason things out. We won’t allow anyone to bully the weak.”

The villagers nodded in agreement. “That’s right. Yu Niangzi hasn’t remarried, and the three girls aren’t married yet. Why are you trying to kick them out—”

“Leave? How can you be so heartless?”

Seeing that the villagers were all saying this, Yu Pozi knew that directly taking the house was impossible.

She wiped away her tears and pointed at Yu Niangzi, shouting to Old Man Lu, “She’s the one who killed my son. Why can’t I divorce her?”

Lu Shiqiu walked up with a smile and said, “Oh, Aunt Yu, you’ve got it all wrong. If you ask me, it’s more likely that Yu Dalang’s death was caused by you, his mother.

I remember, before Yu Niangzi married Yu Dalang, Your own husband died.

It seems you not only brought misfortune to your husband but also to your son, and now you’re blaming your daughter-in-law.

You’re just accusing others to cover up your own wrongdoings.”

The villagers around them began to eye Yu Pozi suspiciously.

Yu Dalang’s uncle had passed away many years ago, and no one even remembered when he died.

Now, suddenly being mentioned in this context, it actually seemed plausible.

Sweat beaded on Yu Pozi’s forehead, her lips trembled in frustration as she angrily retorted, “You! You’re the one who brings misfortune to your husband!”

The crowd burst into laughter.

Lu Shiqiu pointed at himself in disbelief and said, “Aunt Yu, I’m a man. How could I bring misfortune to my husband?”

Yu Pozi’s face turned bright red, and she hastily changed her words, intending to accuse him of bringing misfortune to his wife.

But he wasn’t even married—how could he be accused of that?

His parents were still alive and well.

Seeing that she was about to make more trouble, Old Man Lu lost his patience. “Open the door quickly, or I’ll have someone break it down, and you’ll have to pay for the repairs.”

Yu Pozi hesitated for a long time but finally produced the key.

Old Man Lu tossed the key to Mrs. Yu and looked at Yu Pozi, “If you’re not happy, feel free to report me to the county.”

No matter the era, peasants feared going to court.

They disliked the shame and feared the expenses.

Yu Pozi saw the strange looks from the crowd and felt a surge of guilt.

She could only leave in defeat.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Every year, from January to March, was the fish spawning season and the fishing off-season for the fishermen.

During this time, the men of Hongshu Village would go to the city to do short-term labor.

However, such work wasn’t easy to find, and even when they could find it, the pay was poor and the food was scarce.

But this year was different.

It was heard that the salt and alkali land in their county had been bought by wealthy families, who needed these laborers to help with irrigation.

Most of the men in Hongshu Village had gone, leaving behind only the elderly, children, and women who couldn’t do heavy labor.

Of course, Lu Shiqiu was the exception.

He wasn’t about to be cheap labor.

Not wanting to listen to his sister-in-law complain at home, Lu Shiqiu decided to take a stroll.

【Host, based on this system’s analysis, there’s a young girl about three hundred miles away from here from the Fang family who would be a perfect match for you.】

Lu Shiqiu lazily asked, “Oh? How old is she?”

【She’s six years old this year.】

Lu Shiqiu rolled his eyes, thinking the system was brainless, “I’m twenty-five this year. Can I wait that long?”

【This system will search further.】

Lu Shiqiu glanced toward the riverbank where a woman was using stones to break the ice, preparing to wash clothes.

Saltjian County was the northernmost part of Yue Kingdom, and it was winter.

The river had frozen three inches thick.

She was going to wash clothes in such cold water—didn’t she want to die?

He paused, watching as several women carrying water buckets walked over.

In the middle of winter, they were just coming to fetch water from the river to use for cooking and washing.

One woman in a green jacket crouched down beside Mrs. Yu(Yu Niangzi), glanced at her, and exclaimed, “Oh no, Yu Niangzi, how are you washing like this? The water must be so cold!”

Mrs. Yu pursed her lips and said quietly, “The firewood at home is only enough to cook with. Washing clothes uses too much water, so I had no choice but to use this.”

The woman in the green jacket leaned closer and asked, “Mrs. Yu, how old are you this year?”

Yu Niangzi froze for a moment.

Before she could answer, the woman continued, “You’re all alone, and it’s really pitiful. You’re still so young, and with no son, you’ll have no one to rely on in the next life. My cousin passed away from his wife two years ago. He’s capable and would be a good match for you.”

Mrs. Yu’s face turned bright red, and she replied quietly, “Auntie, there’s no need. I have three children. I’m not without support.”

“Oh, silly girl,” the woman in the green jacket teased, tapping Yu Niangzi’s arm. “You want to stay single, but others have to let you. Your mother-in-law has been eyeing your three large houses for a long time. The other day, I even saw her at Liu Pozi’s house.”

Liu Pozi was the matchmaker from the neighboring village.

Yu Niangzi stopped what she was doing and looked at the woman in the green jacket to see if what she said was true.

“I saw it too, Yu Niangzi. That old woman is no good. Now that most of the men from our village are away working, you’re left alone with the children. If she truly wants to harm you, you’ll have no choice but to remarry.”

Yu Niangzi gripped the clothes-beating board tightly in her hands.

The other women watched her with sympathetic eyes.

Since Yu Dalang had passed, Yu Pozi would no longer help with the children.

Yu Niangzi’s youngest daughter was only two years old, not even speaking clearly yet, but was already running and jumping all over the place.

It was the most exhausting time to have a child at home.

No wonder she couldn’t collect much firewood.

Once the first group of women left, another group of women, closer in age to Mrs. Yu (Yu Niangzi), arrived.

If the first group of women had been offering kindly advice, this new group was purely hostile.

These women were not much older than Mrs. Yu and certainly didn’t look as good as her.

The saying “widowhood brings trouble” applied here, and their sympathy had quickly turned to wariness.

They feared their husbands would be charmed by Mrs. Yu, so they actively discouraged their men from talking to her.

And if that wasn’t enough, some of them were even betting privately on when she would remarry.

One woman exaggeratedly slapped her leg and said, “Oh, Mrs. Yu, why are you still doing this work? Didn’t someone send you firewood this morning?”

Mrs. Yu froze, then frowned, “Liu Dajie, don’t say such nonsense. No one sent me any firewood.”

“Oh, don’t deny it. I saw you and my older brother by the mountain early this morning. He was even touching your back. Do you think I didn’t see?”