Chapter 20 – Agreement

Besides, while Gu Dapeng was weak and cowardly, the elders of the Gu clan were not. Yan Fengru knew very well that if she truly divorced, she could take Zhuzhu with her, but taking Bai’er with her wouldn’t be so easy. If her son remained in the Gu family without his birth mother to look after him, such a young child would be no different from being thrown into a den of wolves.

Who knows—just like last time, he might “accidentally” fall into the water again. And next time, they might not be so lucky. At the thought of it, Yan Fengru’s eyes turned red with fury—she wished she could devour someone alive.

There was no way Yan Fengru would leave Bai’er alone in the Gu family, so she had come up with a plan.

Separate from the family! They must split off!

Gu Dapeng suddenly looked up, staring at his wife in disbelief. Then he lowered his head again, deflating like a punctured balloon.
“Feng’er, I… I know you’re upset. Whatever you want, I’ll agree. But just—”

“I want to split from the family,” Yan Fengru said firmly. “Gu Dapeng, your two older children are both fine in your eyes, I get it. But I’m their stepmother. In their eyes, I’m just the evil stepmother. Tell me honestly, Gu Dapeng—over the years, how have I treated you and your late wife’s children? Haven’t I done right by them? You’ve seen what kind of tormenting stepmothers other families have. I don’t know why they hold such deep resentment toward me.”

“If they can’t tolerate the three of us, then we won’t stick around to be an eyesore.”

The more Yan Fengru spoke, the darker Gu Dapeng’s expression became.

“Gu Dapeng, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but things have come to this point—do you really think it can be undone? Last time Bai’er fell into the water, I told you that would be the last time. I hoped it was an accident. But now it’s happened twice. I only regret that I don’t have three eyes and eight limbs. I have no proof!”

Yan Fengru ground her teeth in anger.

“If I had even the slightest proof, I’d send them straight to the yamen!”
Gu Dapeng looked up again, his pupils contracting in shock. In this era, the yamen was sacred. Among villagers, if there was anything they couldn’t resolve, going to the yamen was a last resort—and people always came back having lost a layer of skin.

That was not a place for common people.

Gu Dapeng hadn’t expected his wife’s resentment to reach such a level! And yet, the more stubbornly she spoke, the more bitter he felt. Their youngest son was only five years old, and already the family would be splitting up. Anyone who heard would think there was strife in the household!

Normally, families only separated once the sons had married and the elders passed on. It signified growth, the branching of a tree. After all, many households living under one roof did cause problems. Friction was inevitable, and it strained brotherly bonds. But Bai’er was so young, and Qingshan hadn’t shown any sign of being intolerant of his little brother.

Gu Dapeng, a simple man, couldn’t understand why his wife was so fixated on splitting up. Wasn’t it just an accident? Was it really worth all this? But if not splitting meant divorce, he hadn’t even dared to consider it.

At his age, to go through a divorce? How would that look? It would be even more disgraceful than separating households.

If it was just about splitting, he could still try to exert his authority as a husband and say no. But if it came to divorce, his wife’s brothers were no pushovers, and he didn’t dare stop her by force. He felt so aggrieved, it was as if he had swallowed a bitter herb! If Yan Fengru could hear his thoughts, she would’ve sneered. Wasn’t it true that their household was in chaos? But who had caused it?

Certainly not her or her two children!

Logically, Gu Dapeng could understand why his wife wanted to split the household. He wasn’t stupid, just honest. Gu Qingshan was composed and mature; even when dealing with his stepmother and half-siblings, he never showed hostility. But Gu Caihe was different. She was already a mother herself but still had no sense of propriety. Even as their father, Gu Dapeng couldn’t say she treated her younger siblings kindly.

The girl was truly thoughtless!

But when he thought of splitting the family and bearing all the pressure that came with it, Gu Dapeng instinctively tried to avoid it. He slumped in his chair, his large frame slightly curled in—a posture of denial and refusal to face reality.

Seeing that nothing she said was changing his mind, Yan Fengru grew disappointed.

“Fine, Gu Dapeng. Since you still refuse to split the household, then tomorrow I’ll have my brothers come, and we’ll file for divorce!”

Yan Fengru flung her hand aside, but Gu Dapeng caught her tightly. She tried to shake him off but couldn’t. At that moment, Gu Dapeng stood up, and in comparison to his towering frame, Yan Fengru looked very petite. Yet she wasn’t the least bit afraid.

“No—don’t, Feng’er!” Gu Dapeng’s eyes were full of desperation, and he seemed to have aged years in an instant.

Yan Fengru hardened her heart and wouldn’t look at him.

“If you truly insist on splitting the family, then—then we will…”

Seeing his stance begin to soften, Yan Fengru’s tone also eased somewhat. She shot him a sidelong glance. “What do you think? I’ll take Bai’er with me, you keep your eldest son. We’ll stay out of each other’s way. I won’t expect your son to support me, and you better not come crawling to Bai’er in the future begging for grain or silver for your old age.”

Though she was a stepmother, when she married in, Gu Qingshan was already fifteen and Gu Caihe twelve. Now they were twenty-three and twenty respectively. In this era, even stepmothers were considered mothers. Children were expected to support their elders. But Yan Fengru didn’t want anything from Gu Qingshan—she didn’t want to choke on it.

Likewise, she wasn’t about to let the old man off easy either. He had his eldest son to be filial, and Bai’er wouldn’t have to worry about it. She’d wait and see just how filial that “dutiful” eldest son turned out to be!

She could read Gu Caihe like a book, but Gu Qingshan was different. Yan Fengru’s instincts told her this stepson wasn’t simple. He certainly didn’t seem like the “good son” Gu Dapeng believed him to be.

Gu Dapeng muttered to himself. He wasn’t actually that old yet—in the village, men his age could still farm and support themselves. He could even help his eldest son. Thinking of it that way, maybe splitting the household wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

But if his wife left with their son and daughter, and he lived with his eldest son and daughter-in-law, what difference was there between that and being a widower? The old man felt sour and teary.

Truthfully, Gu Dapeng had always liked Yan Fengru even more than his first wife. It was simple—first, she was much younger, and she maintained herself well. She was beautiful, and even honest men weren’t immune to beauty. Most importantly, Yan Fengru was lucky—she had given birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, in one go.

Twins! What a blessing that was. But Gu Dapeng never imagined he’d come to this point with his “young, pretty wife” Yan Fengru. Still, he knew her temper—once she made up her mind, there was no going back. He didn’t want things to escalate to the point where her brothers would come knocking to demand justice. That would be too humiliating.

Then the family would truly be broken.

After weighing all sides, the honest man Gu Dapeng had no choice but to agree to the separation.