"Auntie, you spoil your daughter-in-law far too much. If she were my wife, I would have driven her out long ago for speaking to you that way, demanding her own way. Zhao Yu, you let your wife get away with too much." Auntie Zhao Yu turned her attention to Yu'er.

Zhao Yu wasn't truly a fool. From the moment his aunt stepped into their house and he overheard the conversation between her and his mother, he knew which side his aunt stood on. If his mother hadn't scolded Yu'er or Yu'er’s family right in front of him, or if she hadn't seen the bruises on Yu'er’s body, perhaps Zhao Yu would have wavered. But now, no matter who spoke, Zhao Yu only wanted to separate the household as quickly as possible.

Zhao Yu’s mother continued her tirade, supported by the woman Auntie Zhao Yu had brought along. What they didn't realize was that the more they insisted, the firmer Zhao Yu’s resolve to separate became. He felt his mother showed not a shred of remorse for what had happened. Yu’er was covered in scars, yet his mother faced the situation with such casual ease. Zhao Yu thought his mother’s heart was truly hardened. Thus, this time, Zhao Yu paid no mind to their words, focusing only on dividing the property.

Before they could finish, Zhao Yu cut them off. "Auntie, thank you for your concern. My mother and I have decided to divide the household now. You can just sit and watch. I promise you, after the split, I will still honor my mother as dutifully as before; I will not withhold a single cent of what is due to her. As for how the division is done, let Mother decide. I won't say another word, as long as Yu’er's dowry is returned. After all, that was a token of goodwill from Yu’er's family when she married. It inherently belongs to Yu'er. If Yu’er herself does not agree, I won't touch a single bit of it. Though I am not capable, I must secure this for Yu’er."

Seeing Zhao Yu growing visibly angry and speaking so forcefully, the Auntie fell silent. Although she had come to support Zhao Yu’s mother, Zhao Yu had stated this was their family matter, and as an aunt, it was inappropriate for her to interfere too much.

It was Zhao Yu’s mother, realizing her son was unmoved, who changed tactics and burst into tears. "Yu’er, Yu’er! All you talk about is this woman! This woman has only been with you for a few months and she’s no good—not gentle, incapable, unfilial, lazy, and she doesn't serve you well. But I, your mother, worked myself ragged for years to raise you, treating you like an emperor! Now, for this woman, you want to cast your mother aside? Yu’er, you are so heartless! Yu’er’s father, why did you leave so early? Now you leave me here to suffer hardship. How am I supposed to live?"

If someone else were weeping in this manner, many people might have come forward to blame the son. However, given Zhao Yu’s mother’s established character and her notoriously poor standing with neighbors—relying on the fact that she had a scholar in the house to treat villagers poorly—and her refusal to contribute financially or laboriously to community efforts under the pretense of her son being a Xiucai, the few onlookers gathered at the door and the elders brought in as witnesses watched her lamentations with completely blank expressions.

Zhao Yu stood by as his mother cried, offering no interruption. His mother continued to weep and detail their family history, starting from Zhao Yu’s childhood, then his father’s death, describing her immense hardships and sacrifices for her son, concluding with his marriage and its supposed failings. In essence, she was listing her own merits. Yet, Zhao Yu remained utterly unmoved.

Primarily, Zhao Yu had heard these words too many times; he could recite them by heart. Furthermore, he felt his mother was deliberately humiliating him in front of so many villagers. This realization made him acutely aware of how dependent he had been on his mother all these years—a shame for any man. This also prompted Zhao Yu’s self-reflection: he was now married and had the responsibility to support a family.

After weeping for a spell and seeing no reaction from the surrounding people, and having repeated her grievances until she ran out of things to say, the He family members stood watching. When Zhao Yu’s mother finally stopped crying, He Shi spoke up: "Sister-in-law, everything that needed to be said has been said. Before it gets dark, let's divide the property. The rule for division in my family, when there is only one son leaving, is that all the major assets, like the house and land, must be divided in half. Additionally, household necessities should be duplicated. I don't know your local customs, though. What do you think?"

Seeing that the division of the household was unavoidable today, Zhao Yu’s mother ceased her weeping and began calculating her own interests. She assumed her son's insistence on separation was solely due to Yu'er's family inciting him. She knew her son’s character; he had never truly suffered, nor had he ever been involved in managing household affairs. If the household separated, he would inevitably face hardship. She figured that once he realized the difficulty of managing daily life and found himself unable to cope, he would obediently beg her to take him back. With this thought, Zhao Yu’s mother became even more determined not to give these two anything more than absolutely necessary, not wanting their lives to be easy. She retorted, "Sister-in-law, what are your rules? What is this about dividing everything in half? We don't have such a rule here. Besides, didn't Zhao Yu just say that whatever I decide regarding the division, he wouldn't utter a word? Zhao Yu, is that what you said?"

Zhao Yu looked at his mother and nodded once, remaining silent.

"Very well then. The land was earned by me and your father. I will give you two mu of land. You can start farming it after I harvest this season’s grain. The house is a single compound and cannot be divided; you will not receive any part of it. As for other items, take whatever the house has in surplus; if there isn't enough, then there isn't enough. There is nothing else to divide," Zhao Yu’s mother declared.

The bystanders, upon hearing this division, shook their heads, thinking the mother was acting excessively harsh. Essentially, this division only granted the couple two mu of land, leaving them without a house. How were her son and daughter-in-law supposed to live? Furthermore, they wouldn't receive the land until after the current harvest was collected—this was clearly pushing them toward destitution.

Zhao Yu and Yu’er, standing nearby, knew the proposed division was cruel, but since Zhao Yu had already made his promise, they naturally found it difficult to object.