In the end, it was Li Cuimei who persuaded her parents. She explained that the shops and inns in town were actually all owned by Dalang. Though they were just starting out and facing some difficulties, with good management, they would surely prosper. Moreover, she was used to a simple life and didn’t need so many servants. She agreed to temporarily keep only Liu Ma, her mother’s personal maid, as her daughter’s poor health required an experienced caretaker. With the recent division of the family and the New Year approaching, there was much to do, and she feared she might neglect her daughter due to lack of energy.
Unable to sway their daughter, the elderly couple reluctantly left behind some medicine, food, and their daughter’s beloved embroidery tools, departing with great unease.
Lin Fang didn’t know what Dalang had been like before, but after hearing the village chief’s account the previous day, she believed her father’s words were no longer empty promises—he would surely follow through.
She had expected that a smooth family division wouldn’t be easy, but what surprised her was learning from her mother and second grandmother’s conversation that most of her mother’s dowry had been returned because of her second brother’s intervention. She sighed inwardly, realizing how precocious children were in ancient times—even such a young child was shrewd. It seemed she still had much to learn.
After Lin Fang fell unconscious the previous day, Dalang had gone straight to his aunt’s house. The village chief made a detour to summon the village scribe, and together they entered Lin Boshi’s courtyard. Upon arrival, the chief praised Lin Boshi for his open-mindedness in voluntarily proposing the family division, granting his son freedom to break free from familial constraints and fully utilize his talents to generate wealth for the court. He insisted such an act deserved commendation and immediate reporting to higher authorities. On the spot, he ordered the scribe to draft a commendation, which he signed and stamped. The scribe solemnly stored it away, declaring it would be submitted after the New Year.
Amid this flurry of activity, Lin Boshi had no chance to interject. Seeing the situation was beyond his control and realizing his son and daughter-in-law were resolute about the division, he conceded—but on the condition that since they were being allowed to venture out independently, they could take not a single coin of the family’s wealth. Li Cuimei agreed without hesitation, declaring she wanted nothing.
The division was thus easily settled—all it took was splitting one household registration into two. As the village chief and scribe prepared to leave, Lin Wu spoke up with a serious expression, adorable yet earnest: “Uncle Chief, does that mean my mother’s dowry can’t be taken either?”
The chief teased him, “Of course your mother’s dowry can be taken. It’ll be used for your future wedding!”
Lin Wu pressed further, “But when my mother and I returned home today, we found her dowry gone. What’s left to take?”
The child’s question was like a stone hurled into still water, instantly stirring waves. Lin Boshi and Dong Shi paled on the spot, while Li Cuimei was equally stunned. She had already resigned herself to losing the stolen dowry for the sake of escaping this prison. The chief and scribe, familiar with such schemes, understood immediately. Before any discussion could occur, six village enforcers arrived, ready to search the premises at the chief’s command. Seeing Lin Wen’s calm demeanor and Qi Biao’s casual entrance shortly after, the chief needed no further explanation.
Dowries were documented and registered with the village office; a simple report would suffice for verification. To save face, Lin Boshi ordered Dong Shi and Lin Cuiping to return the pilfered dowry themselves, sternly reprimanding his wife and daughter. Li Cuimei pleaded with the chief not to record the incident, leaving room for her brother-in-law and sister-in-law’s future marriages. While Lin Boshi’s remorse was performative, Li Cuimei’s plea was genuine. Both sides knew the rift was now irreparable.
With just days left before the New Year and the family now divided, everything had to be arranged independently. Though Dalang had previously handled holiday preparations, this year was different—they were their own masters, free to act as they pleased. But before he could discuss plans with his wife, his mother-in-law had taken charge of everything, even measuring the family for new clothes and sending fabrics for them to choose from. Li Ziyang visited multiple times a day, leaving Dalang feeling like he’d escaped one trap only to fall into another.
Noticing her husband’s gloom, Li Cuimei tried to dissuade her brother from sending more gifts, but Li Ziyang ignored her, cheerfully doing as he pleased. Resigned, she planned to visit her parents and explain, but Liu Ma’s words stopped her—and brought a smile to Dalang’s face.
“The old master and mistress are overjoyed that you and the young master are now independent. Forgive my boldness, but all these years, watching you suffer pained them deeply. Yet a married daughter is like spilled water—they couldn’t intervene too much. Gifts they sent rarely reached you intact, and the mistress wept countless tears over it. Now that you’re free, they can finally indulge their wish to provide for you. This is simply parents cherishing their daughter. The young master needn’t overthink it. They’re elderly—let them have this joy. If he truly feels uneasy, he can repay their kindness with filial gestures.”
Dalang bowed to Liu Ma. “Thank you for your wisdom. I was being stubborn.”
As Pan Shi’s personal maid, Liu Ma was of high status, but she was too shrewd to accept his gesture outright, gracefully sidestepping and returning the courtesy.
Watching the exchange of bows, Lin Fang felt dizzy. Would she have to live like this when she grew up? How exhausting.
After diagnosing Lin Fang’s heart condition, her second grandmother adjusted the prescription, making the medicine even more bitter. Each dose made Lin Fang grimace. In her past life, her congenital heart disease had meant more medicine than meals, and she’d resolved not to relive that—yet she drank it anyway, unable to bear her mother’s tears.
As her daughter’s smiles faded and she grew thinner daily without any new symptoms, the family grew frantic but clueless.
On Lunar New Year’s Eve, Tong Shi declared Lin Fang’s condition stable enough to pause the medicine until after the fifteenth, for auspiciousness. Lin Fang then learned that even here, it was considered unlucky to take medicine during the New Year unless life-threatening, as it foretold a year of poor health. Though superstitious and unscientific—Lin Fang had seen patients worsen or die due to this belief during holidays—the reprieve delighted her. She beamed and smacked kisses all over Tong Shi’s face, heedless of the slobber.
Tong Shi tapped her nose, amused. “You little rascal! So listless these days, yet so happy to stop the medicine—you just didn’t want to drink it!”
“Mwah!” Another kiss affirmed her guess.
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