Old Master Yan felt a lump in his throat, unable to swallow it down or expel it. Finally, he gritted his teeth and declared, “But that doesn’t mean you get to divide the land among your ger and your sisters! I decide how the family is split up. Your second branch gets only one mu of paddy field, one mu of dry field, and five taels of silver—nothing more!”

“Exactly! Exactly! Yan Xiaoyu, you good-for-nothing son of a gun, don’t you dare try to take advantage of our family!” Yan Xiaobao chimed in twice before his mother silenced him with a single glance.

Niu Fugui waved his hand dismissively. “That’s not quite how it is. Ever since Young General Gu was enfeoffed as a prince, the court changed the rules. Both ger and daughters can now inherit land. From your family’s allotted fields, Sister Yue and Yu-ger each get half an mu of paddy field and half an mu of dry field.”

Young General Gu’s full name was ‘Gu Yueming’. He was the son of the Protector General and Princess Wanping, and he, too, was a ger. Before him, no ger had ever taken the battlefield for Great Chu. Yet Gu Yueming, mastering martial arts, single-handedly slew enemy commanders. In the war between Great Chu and Nanhe, he single-handedly secured an overwhelming victory for Great Chu, keeping Nanhe subdued for over a decade. From that point onward, both young ladies and gers of Great Chu gained the right to inherit land.

Weishi County, located in Peiyang Prefecture near the southwestern frontier—the very site of that historic conflict—meant its people knew General Gu’s exploits well. Many young women and ger took pride in Gu Yueming.

Yan Xiaoyu, possessing the original host’s memories, was also aware of this.

“The village chief is right. My sister and I together own one mu of land. One mu of land—we can share it. This is the rule set by the imperial court. Grandfather wants to take our land? Is he trying to defy the court?”

“Don’t pin that on me!” Old Master Yan was both angry and anxious. He turned to look at Yan Xingsheng.

Yan Xingsheng nodded grimly. Yan Laoji waved his hand dismissively. “Fine. Those two mu of land are yours.”

Yan Xiaoyu continued, “My father also has one mu of land. Let’s settle it this way—I won’t ask for more. Of the Yan family’s seven mu of farmland and ten mu of land, the eldest uncle takes the lion’s share. Grandfather, you give our second branch three mu of paddy fields and five mu of dryland.”

Yan Xiaoyu spoke truthfully—he truly wasn’t demanding more. All these years, the Yan family’s fields, including those Yan Xingsheng had purchased later, had been managed solely by the second branch. In the past, his grandmother, aunt, and uncle had also helped manage them. But after Grandmother Yan passed away, Aunt Yan married far away, and Uncle Yan died of illness, so all the work fell on the second branch.

With so much land, even hiring laborers would require three or five people to manage it properly. The silver the second branch saved their household could easily buy several more mu of land.

It made no sense that those toiling to manage the fields could only get three mu, while those sitting back and doing nothing could get fourteen.

Yan Xiaoyu remained adamant, refusing to yield. Yan Xingsheng and Old Master Yan knew their division was excessive. After Niu Fugui spoke a few fair words, seeing they couldn’t gain any advantage, the Yan father and son reluctantly agreed.

The land was divided as Yan Xiaoyu proposed, but a new dispute erupted over the silver.

“Uncle earned the money and bought the land, so it all belongs to him. But what about the wages Father earned over the years? Shouldn’t those be returned to him, too?”

Old Master Yan had already felt a sharp pang of regret parting with those few mu. Seeing Yan Xiaoyu now press for silver as well, he trembled with anger.

“How much could your father have possibly earned? The four of you lived off the Yan household—eating my food, wearing my clothes! Do you think that costs nothing?! Giving you five taels is already the height of generosity!”

Yan Xiaoyu glanced down at her own short tunic, remade from two of Yan Xiaobao’s old garments, and felt utterly speechless. “Grandfather, you just said two mu of land would cover my parents’ food needs. Our second branch naturally eats grain from our own fields. As for my father’s wages…”

Just the other day, Yan Xiaoyu had calculated with Yan Xingmao. This year, Yan Xingmao worked as a hired laborer and earned roughly twelve hundred wen. In previous years, during the farming off-season, he took short-term jobs at the docks, bringing in over a tael annually. He’d been doing this work since he was fifteen, and now, at thirty-five, he’d likely earned twenty or thirty taels over the years.

Not a single coin of this silver remained; it had all been funneled into the eldest branch’s coffers.

Yan Xiaoyu demanded twenty taels of silver. This time, no matter what the village head said, Old Master Yan and Yan Xingsheng both refused.

“Your father? Earning thirty taels of silver? You might as well go rob someone!” Old Master Yan pointed his finger at Yan Xingmao’s nose as he confronted Yan Xiaoyu.

Yan Xiaoyu didn’t flinch. “How much my father earned isn’t for you to decide. My father’s wages as a farmhand are known to my eldest uncle. He also went to the docks for odd jobs alongside the villagers. Whether he earned thirty taels or not, why don’t we ask the villagers?”

“I don’t care what others say—I won’t pay that silver!”

As the two argued endlessly, the village chief pondered for a moment: “Old Master, the second branch didn’t receive a house. You’re only giving them five taels of silver. They need to buy land, build a house, and furnish it—that won’t be nearly enough. Your Yan family is renowned as one of the wealthiest households in Xiling Village, a respected name in our community. To send your son away without even providing funds for a house would bring shame upon the Yan name. Why not compromise? Give the second branch fifteen taels, and let the remaining five taels be Xingmao’s tribute to you?”

Old Master Yan still refused. Yan Xiaoyu then threatened to take Yan Xingmao to the county school to beg for food. Old Master Yan and Yan Xingsheng turned crimson with rage, fuming with fury.

Finally, Old Master Yan sneered coldly and played his trump card.

“You insist on silver? Fine! Then I sever ties with Yan Xingmao! He can’t control his son, and Yan Xiaoyu repeatedly defies his elders. I, Yan Youcai, have no disgraceful descendants like you. From now on, I have no connection with your family of four! I won’t rely on Yan Xingmao to care for me in my old age or see me off in death. And you, the second branch, can forget about my support or your eldest uncle’s!”

He shot Yan Xiaoyu a contemptuous glance. “If you insist your father earned thirty taels, I won’t bother arguing. I’ll give you fifteen taels as the village chief suggested. But once you take this money, you cease to be descendants of Yan Youcai. Think carefully.”

Niu Fugui stared in disbelief. Yan Xiaoyu and He Qiuhua looked equally astonished. The three members of Yan Xingsheng’s household remained silent, their faces betraying not a hint of surprise—clearly, they were already privy to the arrangement.

A moment of silence hung in the room. Yan Xiaoyu hadn’t expected Old Master Yan and Yan Xingsheng to be so ruthless. He turned his head to look at Yan Xingmao: “Father?”

A bitterly mocking smile flickered across Yan Xingmao’s numb face. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, and when he opened them again, his gaze was clear and resolute. “If your grandfather wants to sever ties, then so be it.”

“Alright.” Yan Xiaoyu replied promptly.

If he’d known such a good deal was possible, he would have given up not just fifteen taels, but twenty taels. His earlier hesitation had merely stemmed from fear that Yan Xingmao might struggle to accept it immediately.

Yan Xiaoyu had originally worried that even after the family split, the blood ties would prevent him from completely severing ties with the Yan family. But now that the old patriarch had made the first move, he had no lingering concerns.

On the other side, both Old Master Yan and Yan Xingsheng assumed the second branch wouldn’t readily agree to sever ties. After all, the Yan family was no longer what it once was—they now boasted a scholar-candidate. Even if Yan Yonghe failed to pass the provincial exams later, his status as a Xiucai already made him a local gentry, a rank ordinary folk could only dream of. Moreover, he was still young. Who knew when he might pass the provincial exams and bring honor to the Yan family?

Yan Xingmao was a good-for-nothing. All these years, hadn’t he clung to his elder brother just to secure a powerful backer for himself and his two children? Why would he so readily agree to sever ties?

Though puzzled, Old Master Yan dismissed it as Yan Xingmao’s petulance. With the relationship already severed, he saw no point in maintaining appearances toward Yan Xiaoyu and the others. He not only ordered the second household to vacate within three days but also demanded that Yan Xiaoyu hand over the guarantee letter written by Yan Xiaobao.

“If you refuse, I won’t give you the fifteen taels of silver.”

Yan Xiaoyu didn’t think much of that piece of paper.

As long as the main branch didn’t provoke him, he couldn’t be bothered with them. If they insisted on courting disaster by coming before him, he had ways to deal with them—this piece of paper was insignificant.

Later, when Old Master Yan demanded to withhold the five taels of silver intended for Yan Xiaoyu, Yan Xiaoyu agreed.

Eager to shed the second branch’s “deadweight,” Yan Xingsheng followed Niu Fugui to town that day. As the second branch’s representative, Yan Xiaoyu naturally had to go too. That very day, they obtained the official documents issued by the county yamen.

Niu Fugui never imagined a simple division of property could escalate into severing family ties. He returned home in a daze, and villagers who heard the news couldn’t help but sigh with regret.

While Yan Xingmao and his wife felt a weight lifted, a sense of uncertainty also settled in their hearts.

For years, every matter in the Yan household had been decided by Old Master Yan and Yan Xingsheng. Now, separated from the Yan family, could they truly make a life for themselves as their son claimed?