Chapter 44: Severing Family Ties
Grandma Su and Su Guilan were relentless, refusing to budge.
The village chief had a headache.
Although Mrs. Zhang had been tricked into putting her fingerprint on the contract, agreeing to it left concrete evidence. If this case went to the government, she might not necessarily win.
Each side argued their own reasoning, causing him great distress.
"Grandma, Aunt, why not invite Grandpa and Second Uncle and Aunt over to discuss this? We’re all family, I don’t believe they’d be so heartless."
"Even if you bring your grandpa, Second Uncle, and Second Aunt over, the result will be the same," Su Guilan said. "Do you think if they come, they’ll side with selling the land to us and marrying you off to Mutou, following the contract?"
"I don’t believe Grandpa, Second Uncle, and Second Aunt would be so cruel to us. We’re family! My father enlisted in place of Second Uncle, otherwise, I wouldn’t be fatherless."
Su Yaoguang cried heartbreakingly.
Zhang Zhaodi held her, crying even more despairingly.
"Your dad was the eldest, who else would go to enlist but him? Talking about enlisting for your uncle, humph, will you harp on about this trivial matter forever?" Grandma Su complained, "Do you really want Grandpa and Second Uncle and Aunt’s opinion? Fine, I’ll call them over now. To tell you the truth, this is the whole family’s decision."
Grandpa Su, Second Uncle, and Second Aunt quickly arrived.
Su Yaoguang rushed over, kneeling in front of Grandpa Su, crying out, "Grandpa, you must stand up for us! Grandma wants to seize our land and marry me off to Mutou."
Grandpa Su, known as a kindly old man to outsiders, was now in a quandary with Su Yaoguang kneeling before him in front of all eyes, feeling awkward.
"Well, Yaoguang, Mutou is your cousin. Marrying him makes us even closer. Since your mother has already signed the contract, just go along with it!"
Second Aunt Su sneered, "Yaoguang, do you think your aunt would mistreat you? Isn’t that family yours in the future?"
Second Uncle Su, with a look of false kindness, said, "We’re doing this for your own good. The one you bought has an unclear background, good enough to be a servant, but marriage is out of the question."
"Cousin Mutou is a fool. If I marry him, what if I give birth to little fools?" Su Yaoguang protested, "Aren’t you considering my well-being at all?"
"Nonsense, Mutou is no fool. Su Yaoguang, have you looked at yourself? A jinx who brought her father’s death; you should be grateful anyone would marry you," Su Guilan retorted instantly, hating any slander against her son. "Village chief, there’s nothing left to discuss. This is a family matter and will be handled accordingly."
"If you force me to marry Mutou today, then I will never acknowledge you as my grandparents or uncles and aunts again," Su Yaoguang said vehemently.
"Yes, we will sever ties," Zhang Zhaodi shouted, "If you dare pressure us, we’ll cut all relations."
"Such bold words," Zhong Lanhua snarked from the crowd. "Are these two scared out of their wits? Threatening like such fools."
Grandpa Su, Grandma Su, Second Uncle, Second Aunt, and Su Guilan all displayed disdainful expressions.
Sever ties?
Did they even have familial ties?
Zhang Zhaodi gave birth to a girl, unable to carry on the Su Family’s lineage, so why care?
Besides, no matter how she severs ties, she’ll have to marry Mutou.
"Enough, don’t make a fool of yourself." Grandma Su dismissed it. "There’s no point in dragging this on any longer."
"Uncle Li Zheng, you’ve seen it too, my grandparents, uncles, aunts want to corner us mother and daughter to death. Such relatives aren’t worth having. Everyone present can witness, there’s no more relation between us and them. Today, I’ll write a breakup letter. If they sign, I’ll sell the land to them."
"Aside from the land, you also need to marry into our family," Su Guilan said.
"First, answer me, do you intend to keep pressuring us and would rather sever ties than relent?"
"Absolutely," Su Guilan gleefully said. "Who do you think you are? Do you think this little trick will threaten anyone?"
Su Yaoguang stood up and strode into the courtyard.
The crowd wondered what she was up to.
Seeing the atmosphere suddenly grow cold, Zhang Zhaodi cried even louder.
Zhou Wangshu offered honey water, handing it to Zhang Zhaodi, "Drink a little to soothe your throat."
Zhang Zhaodi gulped down the honey water in one go, then resumed her wailing.
Everyone: "..."
Something feels off, but no one can pinpoint why.
Su Yaoguang returned, holding a piece of paper, and said to the village chief, "Uncle, this is a breakup letter. Please witness, we mother and daughter are severing ties with them."
The people in the village were astounded.
"Does this girl know how to read?"
"When did she learn?"
"It doesn’t matter. What’s important is she can not only read but also write. She’s quite something!"
Su Guilan frowned.
Was this foolish girl really determined to sever ties?
She thought it was just a threat to scare them.
If this widow and orphan sever ties with them, they’ll be even more isolated in the village.
Is she stupid? She’s going to marry Mutou anyway, so why sever ties?
The village chief looked at the paper’s contents, glanced sympathetically at Su Yaoguang, and said, "This is indeed a breakup letter. You elders, forcing a widow and her daughter like this is truly unkind. If there’s a change of heart now, it’s still not too late. You are family, you should support each other rather than scheme against each other."
"Who are we threatening?" Grandma Su scoffed, "We just want the land. Who cares about ties with her and her daughter?"
Grandma Su wanted to press her fingerprint but hesitated to prick her finger.
Zhou Wangshu grabbed Grandma Su’s finger and swiftly cut it with a prepared woodcutter’s knife.
"Ahhh..."
Zhou Wangshu released her hand and looked at Grandpa Su.
Grandpa Su quickly said, "No need, I’ll do it myself."
He dipped a little of Grandma Su’s blood to press his fingerprint.
Second Uncle and Second Aunt immediately followed suit when Zhou Wangshu glanced their way, using Grandma Su’s blood to mark their prints. As for Su Guilan, she being married out wasn’t significant, even if she didn’t sign the breakup letter, the mother and daughter wouldn’t care about her.
"Alright, the breakup letter is signed, now sell us the land."
"We’ll sell you the land, but you have to give us forty taels of silver first," Su Yaoguang wiped her tears.
"What forty taels? Wasn’t it twenty?" Second Aunt’s eyes widened.
"Take out the contract and show everyone whether it says forty or twenty?"
Grandma Su took out the contract she had just stored away.
The village chief received it, noticing a blot of blood over the price, obscuring the digits entirely.
He raised his eyebrows and looked at Zhang Zhaodi.