Chapter 13: Split the Family? Keep Dreaming! 

By midday, it was time for lunch.

Jiang Jiuyue had no intention of keeping Zhao Kun for a meal, and Zhao Kun, slick as ever, immediately claimed his in-laws had food ready and made a quick exit.

Only after he left did Chen Cuihong dare to come out of her room and cook for Jiang Jiuyue.

There wasn’t much to make—just a pot of rice, some eggs stir-fried with soy sauce, and a simple vegetable dish.

Chen Cuihong moved quickly and soon served the food in the main hall.

Once Jiang Jiuyue finished eating and was about to return to her room with her three daughters, Du Jinhua gritted her teeth, summoned her courage, and marched to the doorway of the hall.

“Third daughter-in-law, I… I have something to say to you!”

Jiang Jiuyue raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

Du Jinhua shut her eyes tightly and said, “I want to split the family. I want to separate your third branch from the rest.”

Jiang Jiuyue sneered, “Split the family? Keep dreaming.”

Du Jinhua panicked. “I’ll give you silver too, alright? I’ll even split half of the family’s few acres of land with you!”

Jiang Jiuyue curled her lip. “You think you can buy me off with that little silver? No way! Everything your Liang family owes me—you’ll pay it back, slowly.”

With that, Jiang Jiuyue walked past Du Jinhua, taking her three girls back to their room.

Du Jinhua’s legs gave out, and she slumped by the doorway, on the verge of tears. When will this living nightmare finally leave?!

Back in their room, Jiang Zhen’er couldn’t help but ask,
“Mom, Grandma said she wanted to split the family. Didn’t we always want that? Why won’t we do it now that we finally can?”

Jiang Jiuyue flicked her forehead.
“Silly girl. Back then, we were getting bullied and thought splitting off was the only way to escape. But now we’re the ones in charge—why would we split? That would be doing them a favor.”

Jiang Zhen’er nodded but still asked,
“Mom, I don’t want to live with Grandma and the others. When can we really split off?”

Jiang Bao’er chimed in,
“Yeah! Living with them is awful. I don’t like them.”

Jiang Jiuyue pinched her cheek.
“Then who’s going to do the work? Right now, they’re the ones doing chores for us. Isn’t that nice?”

Jiang Bao’er quickly said,
“Mom, I can work! Me and big sis can both help. We don’t want to live with Grandma anymore!”

Even the youngest, Jiang Yu’er, suddenly piped up,
“We won’t live with them. And we won’t live with Dad either. Just Mom and us together.”

Only then did Jiang Jiuyue remember—oh right, the original host had a husband who’d been away doing business for years. Not that he was any good; he and his mother were cut from the same cloth.

As for this husband? Jiang Jiuyue had zero interest in keeping him.

“Once Mom earns enough money, we’ll split off and move out, just us.”

Truth be told, Jiang Jiuyue also didn’t want to deal with the Liang family every day. But she was still short on money, so she had no choice but to use the Liang house as a temporary base.

Once she had enough saved up, she’d consider divorcing Liang Jinchang—and not quietly, either. She planned to skin the Liang family alive. No one would get off easy.

With that promise, her three daughters were reassured. Their mom was amazing—she’d earn the money in no time and take them far away from the Liang family!

That afternoon, Zhao Kun returned for more self-defense training. While he was practicing, Jiang Jiuyue glanced toward the courtyard gate and spotted Chuntao peeking in.

“Chuntao? What are you doing here?”

As Jiang Jiuyue walked over, Chuntao quickly waved her hands.
“No, no, it’s nothing! I just came by to look.”

Jiang Jiuyue glanced back at Zhao Kun in the yard and smiled at Chuntao.
“Don’t worry. He’s my disciple now. If I say go east, he won’t dare head west. You’re safe—come on in.”

Zhao Kun was very tactful. He stepped aside quietly and practiced on his own.

Only after he moved away did Chuntao dare to enter.

“Jiuyue, you’re incredible! Even a government officer has become your disciple!”

Chuntao had heard from others that Jiang Jiuyue had become quite the force lately—taking in the local headman’s son-in-law as a disciple. That’s what prompted her to come take a look herself.

Jiang Jiuyue just smiled. “It’s nothing impressive. He wanted to learn, so I taught him. He paid his tuition, after all.”

Only now did Chuntao feel fully at ease. At last, she no longer had to worry about Jiang Jiuyue being arrested or thrown in jail.

As they chatted, the three sisters walked in from outside. Jiang Zhen’er had tear-streaked cheeks, Jiang Bao’er’s face had several red marks, and the youngest, Jiang Yu’er, was filthy—like she’d rolled around in the dirt.

Jiang Jiuyue’s eyes narrowed. She had just today allowed the girls to go out and play for a bit, and in no time at all, this had happened?

Chuntao gasped in shock. “You—what happened to you? Did someone bully you?”

Still sniffling, Jiang Bao’er, her eyes red with anger, told them everything that had happened.

It turned out the three sisters had gone to play by the river and ran into the children from the headman’s family. Seeing them alone, those brats wasted no time and started beating them up.

Once Jiang Bao’er finished the story, Jiang Jiuyue’s expression turned completely dark. How dare they touch her daughters? They must have a death wish!

Zhao Kun, who had overheard everything while training nearby, instantly flared up when he realized it was his in-laws’ kids who had bullied his master’s daughters.

“My master’s daughters are my sisters! Bully them, and you’re bullying me! Let’s go—I’ll take you girls back and we’ll settle this!”

Desperate to prove himself to his master, Zhao Kun dropped everything and was ready to lead the girls back to confront their attackers.

Jiang Jiuyue nodded toward Chuntao. “You go on home first. I’m heading to the headman’s house.”

Her voice was calm, but Chuntao still sensed a dangerous edge to her tone.

“You… be careful. Don’t cause too big a scene…”

Chuntao always worried that Jiang Jiuyue might lose control and do something extreme. Seeing her march off to confront the headman, she couldn’t help but try to warn her.

Jiang Jiuyue gave a calm smile. “Don’t worry. It’s not like I’m going to kill the headman.”

With that, she turned and walked off. Watching her back, Chuntao felt a chill of dread and, after a moment of hesitation, ran after her.

Meanwhile, at the headman’s house, his grandsons were gleefully bragging about beating up Jiang Jiuyue’s daughters as revenge for their grandfather.

They were proud of themselves—but the headman looked like he wanted to slam his head into the wall.

These little devils were clearly trying to get their grandfather killed! Bullying Jiang Jiuyue’s daughters? She’d definitely come for revenge!

“You little brats… you’re going to be the death of this old man!”

He stomped his foot in fury. These brainless fools! Didn’t they know their brother-in-law had already become Jiang Jiuyue’s disciple? And they still dared lay a hand on her daughters?

Just then, Zhao Kun’s booming voice rang out in the courtyard:

“You little Yang brats! Get out here!”

Only now did the boys realize they might have seriously screwed up. They all cowered behind the headman, too terrified to go outside.

Zhao Kun marched into the main hall, grabbed one of his nephews at random, and slapped him hard across the face.

“You little bastard! You’ve got some nerve, bullying my sisters!”