Chapter 22: The Spineless Man 

“Third Brother, let’s have a talk.” With that, he pulled his third brother into the house. His third brother was clever, but as the saying goes, those involved are often blind—he hadn’t grasped the current situation clearly. 

After explaining things thoroughly, Old Master Zhao felt as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes, his muddled mind suddenly clear. Big Brother was right—now was the time to let Third Zhao go. Otherwise, Eldest Zhao would be dragged down to ruin. 

He would never allow anyone to jeopardize his eldest son’s official career. 

With all the constant quarreling these days, it was truly disgraceful. The family’s reputation had already been completely tarnished. 

“Third Son, if you want to split the family, I’ll grant your wish.”

Third Zhao was momentarily stunned, unable to process what his father had just said. 

“Grandfather, we don’t want to split the family. We want to stay and fulfill our filial duties, to serve you. Please don’t drive us away.” 

There was a world of difference between ‘them’ wanting to split the family and ‘the old master’ wanting to cast ‘them’ out. 

At this moment, Old Master Zhao truly wished he could sew Zhao Zhenyu’s mouth shut. Did she have to butt in everywhere? Did she think she was so clever? 

Third Zhao quickly caught on. “Father, I won’t leave. I just wanted to make sure the children could at least get a bite of food every day. That’s all I ask. I’ll still do all the work, I swear.”

Old Master Zhao was truly furious. Damn it, these people were so hard to shake off—wasn’t it enough that he was letting them leave? 

“Things have come to this. If we all keep eating from the same pot, we’ll just keep grating on each other’s nerves. Fine—today, I’ll make the decision. Your family will be split off first.” 

“Father… are you disowning me?” Zhao Dashu’s eyes reddened as he gazed sorrowfully at his gray-haired father. At this moment, the grief in his heart wasn’t an act. 

“It’s not that I don’t want you—it’s that I ‘can’t’ keep you. With you all here, this household is in constant chaos, fighting every single day. Even if you leave, you’re still my son. You’ll still have to fulfill your filial duties to me, understand?” 

Good grief, the shameless old man wanted to have it both ways. What gave him the right—just because he was old enough to have skin thick as leather?

“Father, whatever you say goes. If this family no longer has a place for us, then I won’t burden you any longer—we’ll leave. But how do you plan to divide the property?” 

The surroundings fell dead silent. Just like that—they were splitting the family? 

Second Zhao stared at his father in shock. He wanted to object—if Third Brother left, who would do all the work at home? Just as he was about to speak, his wife yanked his sleeve and shook her head at him. ‘Let them go!’ With Big Brother in the city and Third Brother gone, wouldn’t the family’s house and land all go to their second branch? Her husband was such a fool—now was the time to make sure Third Brother was cut off for good! 

Old Master Zhao pondered for a moment. “The house obviously can’t go to you. Your mother and I still need a place to live.” 

Zhao Dashu nodded. The house was traditionally passed to the eldest son—he understood.

“As for the land—well, you know your family is small, and you don’t even have a son. What will happen to the land when you and Madam Song grow old? The Zhao family’s land must never fall into outsiders’ hands. So, the land won’t go to you either.” 

“As for the household grain—your eldest brother’s tuition fees all came from selling grain. Your mother and I will tighten our belts and scrape together 80 catties for you. There’s still that old house at the edge of the village—we’ll give it to you. Fix it up, and at least you’ll have a roof over your heads.” 

“As for silver—the family truly has none. But your mother and I will take 50 copper coins from our burial savings for you, so you can buy some basic household supplies.” 

Zhao Zhenyu lowered her head with a disdainful smirk. ‘The old man really has no shame left, saying all this in front of the whole village.’ 

“Well now, this isn’t ‘splitting the family’—this is kicking them out with nothing but the clothes on their backs!” Madam Zheng couldn’t hold back. ‘What nonsense! How can the old man even say these things with a straight face?’

“Father, what about supporting you and Mother in your old age?” This was something his daughter had insisted he clarify—no, ‘put in writing’—before agreeing to anything. 

“By tradition, your mother and I should rely on your eldest brother for support. But since we raised you, you can’t just abandon us, can you? Here’s the deal: you’ll give us one tael of silver a year for our upkeep, plus 200 catties of grain—and not just coarse grains. Thirty catties each of white rice and fine wheat flour. For festivals and holidays, give what you see fit. If your mother or I fall ill, the medical costs will be split evenly among you three brothers. You can take whatever’s in your room. We’ll give you one set of bowls and chopsticks, but no farming tools—after all, you won’t have land. Well? Does that sound fair?” 

The moment these words left his mouth, the entire crowd fell dead silent. Every face wore the same slack-jawed, ‘are-you-kidding-me’ expression. 

‘Did Old Master Zhao even hear himself just now?’ 

The Clan Leader’s brows knitted tightly. He ‘had’ advised splitting Third Brother’s family off—but not like ‘this’! Who in their right mind would call this a fair division? Was the old man out of his mind? No matter how troublesome Third Zhao was, he was still his own flesh and blood! Did he want to starve them to death? And that “support fee”—since when did any family split assets ‘and’ demand such outrageous terms for elder care?

The Village Chief’s face darkened as he stared at Old Master Zhao. ‘”This division agreement—you might dare say it, but I wouldn’t dare write it down.”‘ 

Old Master Zhao’s wrinkled face flushed crimson. ‘Just wait until my son becomes an official—this village chief’s days are numbered.’ 

“Third Zhao, this isn’t how a family should be divided,” the Village Chief said sternly. “You can’t give him ‘nothing’. And that elder support fee—have you ever heard ‘anyone’ in our village demand such terms?” 

Old Master Zhao didn’t see anything unreasonable about it. Third Zhao had no sons—why should he leave him anything? Just to benefit those worthless girls? And one tael of silver wasn’t excessive at all! He wasn’t some common old man—he was ‘the family patriarch’! 

“Third Zhao, how about this?” The Clan Leader paused thoughtfully. “If you won’t give him any property, then don’t make him responsible for your support either. Let festival gifts be given freely, based on his filial devotion. What do you think?”

“Absolutely not! I raised him—how can he not support me in my old age?” 

Old Madam Sun was the first to object, jumping to her feet in protest. Old Master Zhao also felt his wife had a point—had they raised him for twenty-odd years for nothing? 

No, no way! 

The Clan Leader’s expression darkened. “The terms you proposed earlier—not only would the Village Chief refuse to write them, ‘I’ wouldn’t put my name to that document either.” 

“Big Brother!” Old Master Zhao protested, his voice strained.

“Fine! Split it or don’t—I wash my hands of this!” The Clan Leader was truly furious. What kind of ludicrous, unreasonable mess was this? He wanted no part in it. Since when had his younger brother become so greedy and unable to distinguish right from wrong? 

“Wait, Big Brother—let’s do it your way.” 

His eldest son would be taking the imperial exams in two months. At this critical juncture, he ‘had’ to help drive Third Zhao out. 

“Zhao Dashu, is this division acceptable to you?” The Village Chief tried once more to intervene. If Zhao Dashu refused, he still had ideas for how to fight for more. 

Old Master Zhao shot another glare at the Village Chief, his expression darkening.

Zhao Dashu had never dreamed that just like this, their family would be split off. How could he not be happy? He was overjoyed! This humiliation was worth it! 

“I’ll abide by Father’s decision.” 

The Village Chief was speechless. ‘Usually so unruly, and now he’s turned into a spineless pushover?’