When Rong Zheng arrived, he saw Ye Yun saying he wanted to split from the household and leave Eldest Uncle Ye's home with Ye Chen.
"Look at these two black-hearted ingrates! They have no conscience! Our family has fed and housed them for over four years, and now they say they want to split from the household!" Chen Guihua began wailing.
"We haven't been eating and living here for free. When my parents died, they left thirty taels of silver and ten mu of farmland. You took all the money, and you've been farming the land too. Xiao Chen and I have always worked. We haven't been eating and living here for free," Ye Yun argued.
"Consider those thirty taels payment for all these years, but you have to return the ten mu of land to us." He knew that family would never return the thirty taels. He only wanted to get the land back.
Chen Guihua was furious when she heard this and continued wailing. "What a curse, getting stuck with you two heartless creatures! Don't even think about getting the land!" As she spoke, she pushed aside the villagers restraining her and raised the stick in her hand to strike Ye Yun. "I'll beat you to death, you little bastard!"
Rong Zheng's eyes turned cold. He rushed over in an instant, caught the wooden stick, and gave it a forceful heave, flinging Chen Guihua to the side. The fall left her dazed, and she screamed, "Ow! Ow!" in pain.
Seeing his mother beaten, Ye Yao charged over and threw a punch straight at Rong Zheng's face. But Rong Zheng's kick was so fast that it sent him flying several meters away.
Eldest Uncle Ye, who had been watching from the sidelines, saw his son and wife taking a harsh beating and hurriedly stepped forward. "Stop!"
Chen Guihua forgot her wailing and pointed angrily at Ye Yun. "Well, you little slut! No wonder you refused to marry. You've already been seducing men everywhere, and now you've even brought one home to beat us! Pah, shameless..."
Her curses were so vile they were unbearable to hear.
Just then, Village Chief Ye hurried over. His brows knitted tightly at what he heard, and he barked, "Shut your mouth!" Taking in the chaotic scene and the several injured people, he said, "What is the meaning of this? Help them inside first."
Ye Yun dropped to his knees before the village chief with a thud, his eyes pleading. "Village Chief, we want to split from the household. I'll take Xiao Chen and leave Eldest Uncle's home."
Village Chief Ye knew how these two children had suffered over the past few years, but where they would live after splitting from the household was a major problem. One was a ger, and the other was still a child. If they went out on their own and caught the attention of someone with ill intentions, they would have no way to fight back against the trouble that followed.
He looked troubled. "Yun-ge'er, you need to think this through. If you split from the household, where will you and Xiao Chen live? Your old house isn't fit to live in anymore."
Everything had happened so suddenly that Ye Yun had not prepared for it. He was at a loss, and the light abruptly faded from his eyes. At that moment, he was utterly helpless.
If he did not split from the household today, it would only be harder later. Chen Guihua was already thinking of marrying him off for money. If it happened once, it could happen again. Was he supposed to just sit and await his fate?
But with nowhere to live, where could he and Xiao Chen go?
Life had been so hard, yet he had gritted his teeth and held on. Why was there still no hope?
Was this his fate? Desolation filled his heart!
Seeing Yun-ge'er remain silent, Village Chief Ye sighed.
Chen Guihua stood to the side, immensely pleased. She had known all along that these two brothers would accomplish nothing. How could a ger with a child in tow survive so easily on their own? That was also why she dared to beat and curse them as she pleased. So what if the village chief knew? He could hardly take the brothers in himself.
Seeing the hesitation on Ye Yun's face, Ye Chen knelt down. "Brother Yun and I want to leave this place." He was young but mature for his age, and he vaguely understood that if they could not leave this home today, Brother Yun would have to get married. He did not want to stay here anymore.
Looking at the kneeling Ye Yun, whose face was red and swollen from being struck, Rong Zheng's heart ached terribly. To hell with the rumors. He crouched down and looked earnestly at Ye Yun. "I truly want to marry you, and I'll treat you well for the rest of my life. Would you consider marrying me?"
Ye Yun looked at Rong Zheng through tear-blurred eyes as though he had found a lifeline, then nodded gently.
Everyone was shocked by Rong Zheng's words. They had never seen a man propose so boldly.
Ye Bao, who had been watching all along, was especially affected. Rong Zheng, the man she had set her sights on, had actually announced in public that he wanted to marry that little slut Ye Yun. Jealousy instantly twisted her face beyond recognition.
"Today, I ask everyone here to bear witness. Ye Yun and I, Rong Zheng, have feelings for each other. I'll marry Yun-ge'er in the coming days, and I'll invite everyone in the village to our wedding feast. Here and now, I promise to take care of him for the rest of his life." He turned to Village Chief Ye.
"Village Chief Ye, as the head of this village, we all trust your kindness and fairness in handling matters. Under our dynasty's laws, child abuse can be reported to the authorities." Rong Zheng was not making this up. It was simply that very few people took such matters to the authorities. After all, even an upright official found family disputes difficult to judge. He said this to force the village chief to let them split from the household.
After being flattered and then hearing mention of the authorities, Village Chief Ye felt a little panicked. He was only an ordinary commoner. Those officials were people far above him; he did not even dare look directly at government runners when he saw them.
He had heard villagers mention that Rong Zheng had changed, and it was certainly true. His bearing commanded respect without anger, and his words were firm, reasonable, and well supported.
Before he could speak, Eldest Uncle Ye cut in from the side. "What are you doing here making trouble, Rong Zheng? This is our family's business. An outsider like you has no right to interfere."
Rong Zheng's expression darkened, and he looked at him coldly. "I'm Ye Yun's future husband now, and I will interfere in this matter. Believe me, I'll file a complaint against you with the authorities."
Frightened by Rong Zheng, Eldest Uncle Ye shrank back, his lips opening and closing. Village Chief Ye glared at him and Chen Guihua, his expression grim, and said:
"Do you want to argue this before the authorities? We'll divide the household today." He pointed at a young man. "Go fetch Third Granduncle Ye and ask him to witness this."
Third Granduncle Ye was the third-born and belonged to a senior generation of the Ye clan, so everyone respectfully called him Third Granduncle. When he arrived and saw the brothers Ye Yun and Ye Chen in such a pitiful state, he sighed repeatedly and said, "Let them split."
Though they called it dividing the household, what they were actually dividing was the property left behind by Ye Yun's family. Back then, Eldest Uncle Ye had used caring for his nephews as a reason to transfer their ten mu of land into his own name, promising to return it when Ye Chen turned sixteen.
Village Chief Ye said, "Then I'll oversee this. Ye Yun and Ye Chen will split from their eldest uncle's household, with Third Granduncle as witness." He continued, "When Ye Yun's parents passed away, they left thirty taels of silver and ten mu of land. All ten mu must be returned today and registered under Ye Chen's name. As for the silver, half will be returned, and the rest will count as payment for looking after them all these years. Any objections?"
Hearing that she would have to give up the silver and land already in her hands, Chen Guihua immediately refused and shouted:
"Isn't this bullying us? Haven't Ye Yun and Ye Chen needed food and clothes these past four years and more? That all costs plenty of silver! They're both young and can't do much work. They've been eating and living here for free. Now they want the silver back too? Where's the justice in that?"
She lied through her teeth and began making unreasonable arguments. Eldest Uncle Ye was even more unwilling when he heard that the silver had to be returned, but he said nothing.
Ming-ge'er, who was standing nearby, spoke up in a small voice. "You're lying. Yun-ge'er and Xiao Chen haven't been eating and living here for free. They do lots of work every day, and you-you even beat them." He rolled up Ye Yun's and Ye Chen's sleeves, revealing blue and purple bruises as well as the fresh injuries from today.
Seeing this, the watching villagers began condemning the family, and the scene grew noisy once more.
Now the target of everyone's criticism, Chen Guihua threw a tantrum. Paying no heed to the dust on the ground, she rolled around, shrieking the same few phrases over and over. "You're framing me! Playing favorites! I can't go on! I might as well die!"
Third Granduncle Ye's face darkened. Furious, he slapped the table and pointed at Chen Guihua. "Shut your mouth! If you don't stop, I'll have Qiangzi divorce you!" Eldest Uncle Ye's name was Ye Liqiang. "A shrew who disturbs the peace of the household can be divorced!"
As an elder of the Ye clan, Third Granduncle was fairly respected. Chen Guihua was wary of him and dared not make any more trouble.
Village Chief Ye could not even be bothered with Chen Guihua. He glared at Eldest Uncle Ye and said harshly, "You decide what to do. If you refuse and Rong Zheng takes your family to the authorities, he's a scholar and knows the law better than you. How will you outargue him in court? Besides, just look at the things you've done!"
With the pressure now on him, Eldest Uncle Ye had no choice but to agree. Seeing that her useless husband had agreed just like that, Chen Guihua scrambled up from her tantrum on the ground, grabbed him, and pounded him fiercely.
Eldest Uncle Ye was already feeling aggrieved. His scheme had backfired and cost him dearly. In his anger, he slapped her across the face. "Shut your mouth!"
After another bout of chaos, they finally recovered fifteen taels of silver and ten mu of land. As Village Chief Ye was leaving, he said to Rong Zheng, "Rong Zheng, I heard you've pulled yourself together. That's very good. Where are you planning to have Ye Yun and his brother stay?"
"I'll have them stay at an inn in town for now."
Seeing that Rong Zheng had a solution in mind, Village Chief Ye was reassured. "You're a good man. Ah, since you proposed to Ye Yun in public, as your uncle, I admire your courage and openness. Those brothers have had a hard life. Treat them well." He raised a hand to pat Rong Zheng's shoulder, then turned and left.
"Thank you, Village Chief," Rong Zheng replied, helping Ye Yun go pack his belongings. He had wanted Ye Yun to have his injuries treated first, but Ye Yun insisted on finishing the packing.
When he went inside and saw where Ye Yun and Ye Chen lived, Rong Zheng's heart ached again. It was only a cramped woodshed with a hard wooden plank bed. Firewood was piled at the far end, while clothes and miscellaneous belongings were heaped in a corner at the foot of the bed. Their lives were truly far too hard.
Ming-ge'er helped pack, cursing quietly as he worked. "That family is so heartless. They treated you so badly and still wanted to pocket all the money and land your parents left you. They're absolutely vile..."