“Mother, I’m back.”

Fu Wenyu entered the house with a beaming smile.

Seeing his joyful expression, Mrs. Zhou was immediately delighted. “Wenyu, have you settled things with Landlord Chen?”

Fu Wenyu nodded. “Yes, it’s all settled. Landlord Chen has agreed not to bring this matter up again, so we don’t need to worry anymore. He’s quite reasonable and didn’t get angry. I followed your advice and didn’t make a scene; I discussed it with him calmly and politely.” Of course, he omitted the part where he had intimidated the man by suggesting that if his son married into their family, future generations of the Chen family might be born with intellectual disabilities, or that more “fools” might appear.

“That’s wonderful!”

Although she had anticipated this outcome, Mrs. Zhou was still overjoyed to hear the news.

She had always felt a certain unease when dealing with Landlord Chen, the kind of nervousness common folk feel when facing someone of higher status. Although she was the wife of a scholar, Fu Qingshan had only passed the imperial examination a few years ago, and their social circle was quite ordinary, with no connections to influential people. Landlord Chen, on the other hand, was different. Not only did he have servants at home, but there were also tenant farmers in the village who worked for his family.

To Mrs. Zhou, Landlord Chen was a lofty figure, and she had secretly worried that after rejecting his marriage proposal, he might resort to force, perhaps even abducting her daughter to make the marriage a fait accompli.

Thankfully, everything was resolved now.

Mrs. Zhou was so relieved that tears welled up in her eyes. “This is such a relief. I can finally rest easy.”

Seeing her at ease, Fu Wenyu was also pleased. “Mother, now that Landlord Chen’s matter is settled, we can’t let our guard down with Second Aunt either. We still need to warn her.”

Mrs. Zhou nodded in agreement. “You’re right.”

Whether it was the confidence gained from resolving the issue with Landlord Chen or the reality check from her argument with Second Aunt earlier that day, Madam Zhou now felt that her son was right. They could no longer afford to ignore Liu.

Seeing this, Fu Wenyu asked, “Mother, what do you think we should do?”

He decided to first hear her thoughts. After all, his modern mindset might not align with the traditional ways of thinking in this era. Moreover, he wanted to encourage her, as she had finally begun to change.

Mrs. Zhou thought for a moment and said, “We should tell your grandfather about this.”

“Wenyu, disciplining your Second Aunt is secondary. The key is to prevent her from spreading rumors outside.” She spoke with a serious expression. “A young girl’s reputation is of utmost importance. Now that the matter is resolved, we must ensure that Rong’er’s name isn’t associated with Landlord Chen’s son. So, we need to make sure they promise not to spread any word of this.”

This was something Fu Wenyu hadn’t considered.

“Mother, I’ll follow your lead.”

“Hmm, but Grandfather’s words might not carry enough weight. I think we should also invite the clan leader.”

After all, Fu Dashi had shown bias toward the second branch during the family division, and his handling of Landlord Chen’s marriage proposal had been less than satisfactory, revealing his preference for sons over daughters. Therefore, Fu Wenyu felt it was necessary to bring in someone with more authority to back them up.

The obvious choice was the clan leader.

Fu Wencheng had been the clan leader for many years and had a commendable track record. Moreover, Fu Wenyu had previously done him a favor by lending him books, so he felt that asking Fu Wencheng to mediate was a good choice. There was also a hidden reason: Fu Wencheng’s son was set to take the imperial examination next year, and if any scandal were to arise in Fu Village, it would be detrimental to his son’s prospects.

Marrying off a young girl from the clan as a child bride, especially to a fool, was undoubtedly a scandal.

Thus, Fu Wencheng would naturally side with them!

After hearing his explanation, Mrs. Zhou nodded in agreement. So, Fu Wenyu took two packages of pastries he had brought back from the teahouse earlier that day and, before it got dark, knocked on the clan leader’s door.

After hearing Fu Wenyu’s explanation, Fu Wencheng’s face darkened.

It was true that Landlord Chen was a kind man, but his son was no good match! What family that cared for their daughter would willingly marry her off to a fool?!

Not to mention the troublemaker Liu stirring the pot.

Fu Wencheng immediately stood up and said sternly, “This matter cannot be ignored!”

So, that evening, when Fu Dashi and Fu Qingshi returned from the fields and were about to have dinner, they were met with the stern faces of Clan Leader Fu Wencheng, Mrs. Zhou, and Fu Wenyu.

Fu Wenyu glanced at the dishes on the table and inwardly scoffed.

A bowl of pickled vegetables, a bowl of loofah soup, and a bowl of some unidentifiable brown dish. Four people sharing three dishes, with no meat in sight, and each person had only a bowl of porridge. In contrast, their own family, despite being in mourning, had eggs with every meal and a variety of dishes.

At the same time, he noticed that only Fu Dashi, Fu Qingshi, and Second Aunt Liu were present in the room. Chunhua was nowhere to be seen—perhaps she hadn’t returned yet or was still in the kitchen.

This was just as well.

“Wencheng, Qingshan’s wife, Wenyu, what brings you here?” Fu Dashi, who was sitting facing the door, was the first to see them and asked in surprise. “Has something happened?”

Clearly, he knew that Fu Wencheng, as the clan leader, didn’t visit without a reason. Coming over so late in the evening surely meant there was an important matter to discuss.

Fu Dashi seemed to think of something, and his expression changed. “Could it be… Wenyu, are you planning to sell the land?” He could only think of this as a reason significant enough for the clan leader to make a personal visit.

Fu Wencheng snorted coldly. “Third Uncle, is land all you care about?”

“When your family divided the property, Wenyu, as the eldest grandson, only received twenty percent of the land. That goes against clan rules! But since Qingshan’s wife and Wenyu agreed, I didn’t say much.”

“After all, it’s your family matter.”

“But I never expected you to be so senseless. What kind of family is Landlord Chen? Although he has wealth, his son is a fool!”

Fu Wencheng spoke with deep disappointment. “Marrying your granddaughter into such a family—aren’t you afraid people will point fingers at you? When you pass on, how will you face Qingshan in the afterlife?”

Well said!

Fu Wenyu almost wanted to applaud, feeling that the clan leader had voiced his own thoughts perfectly.

After hearing this, Fu Dashi’s expression froze.

“I… I never said I wanted to marry Xiao Rong off to them.” He looked at Mrs. Zhou. “Qingshan’s wife, when Landlord Chen sent someone to propose, I said that since the family had divided, her marriage would be decided by her parents. I told him to ask you.”

Under everyone’s gaze, Mrs. Zhou pursed her lips and straightened her back. “Father, I refused at the time. But Second Sister-in-law wouldn’t give up. She was tempted by the two taels of silver Landlord Chen offered as a reward for matchmaking and tried to persuade me several times in private.”

“Today, she even tricked me into going out to pick wild vegetables. Then, when no one was around, she brought up the marriage proposal again, saying that Landlord Chen’s son was a good match and that marrying xia Rong off would bring wealth to our family.”

Her chest heaved with anger, clearly still upset by the memory.

The group’s attention then turned to Second Aunt Liu.

Second Aunt Liu’s face had turned pale.

At her core, she was a cowardly and greedy person, easily swayed by small gains. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been tempted by a mere two taels of silver. Now, with so many people staring at her, especially her father-in-law and the clan leader, she began to panic.

“I… I… I…”

“Hehe, Sister-in-law, I just thought that Xiao Rong would have to marry sooner or later. Marrying someone familiar is better than a stranger, and marrying into wealth is better than marrying into poverty. At Landlord Chen’s house, she’d never have to worry about food or clothing.”

She stammered nervously, “That’s why I tried to persuade you a few more times… just a few more times.”

“I… I… I was only trying to help!”