Madam He could no longer listen quietly. Although Da Jiang and the others, when consulting at home, had agreed that if this Zhao Yu’s mother would bring out the dowry, they would be willing to part with everything during the division of the household property, Madam He inwardly disagreed. No matter what, she felt that when dividing assets, they should at least secure enough for the couple to live on. Moreover, Madam He believed that securing more during the separation meant Yu’er’s future life would also be a bit better.

Madam He declared, "In-law, is this what you call dividing the family assets? You have over ten mu of land, and you only allocate two mu to your son? You haven't given them virtually anything else. You are openly driving these two out. Since that is the case, Yu’er, you two should come over to my place. Zhao Yu, rest assured, I won't force you to become a live-in son-in-law; I have my own sons. When you come over, I will ask Yu’er’s second uncle to find you a job in town. Yu’er can also find work there. Once you save up some silver later, you can buy a house in town, or buy land and build somewhere else. In any case, there is no place for you here anymore; it’s the same wherever you settle."

Madam He exchanged a meaningful glance with Yu’er, who quietly whispered to Zhao Yu beside her, "Yes, why don't we listen to Mother? You still need to study for a few years anyway, and the schools in town are better than here. You can study there, and we can find work in town. We can manage somehow."

Actually, Madam He only intended to frighten Zhao Yu’s mother, thinking the mother surely couldn't bear to see her son leave. But unexpectedly, the honest Zhao Yu took the suggestion seriously. Hearing Yu’er say this, he began to genuinely consider the matter. He thought Yu’er was right; since they had nothing here now, settling down anywhere temporarily was the same. Furthermore, going to town to study would be better. So, he spoke up, "Good, Yu’er, we will go to your mother’s place today, and tomorrow we will go to town to find a place and settle down."

Zhao Yu then urged Yu’er to pack their things, saying they would go over with her parents. Madam He and the others had merely been speaking casually, but Zhao Yu’s serious attitude genuinely frightened Zhao Yu’s mother. Hearing her son’s words, Zhao Yu’s mother cried out, "Yu’er, you absolutely cannot listen to them! They want you to abandon your own home. Can’t you even use your brain? You actually plan to go? If you go, won't you become a live-in son-in-law? How can our family’s son become a dāo chā mén? Absolutely not! You are not allowed to leave; this is your home!"

"Hmph, is this even considered a home anymore? Besides two mu of land, there is nothing! And you plan to take the harvest from that land too? That harvest won't be ready until next year. How are these two supposed to survive for the next six months? And they don't have a house; where will they get money to build one? Are they supposed to sleep on the road?" Madam He scoffed dismissively.

The elder called in as a witness also could not stand it and said, "Yes, Yu’er’s mother is right. Zhao Yu’s mother, this division of property is indeed not how it should be done. In fact, the rules Yu’er’s mother mentioned are correct. This is how we divide property here too. You have one son; you must give half of your family’s assets and money to them. After the division, they will give you a fixed amount of money monthly for your upkeep. Additionally, you must prepare them a set of basic necessities like pots and pans; if you cannot, you must substitute with silver. Never mind the other items, but you are not giving them anything now. It is only right that they stay at the in-laws' place for a while. You forbid this and forbid that—what exactly do you intend to do? Why don’t we invite the Clan Elder to settle this division?"

"Fine, then let’s invite the Clan Elder to divide the property. However it is divided, so be it. Yu’er will not object in the slightest," Madam He quickly nodded, then nudged Da Jiang, signaling him to fetch the Clan Elder.

"No need. Since it has come to this, let’s divide it according to what Uncle suggested," Zhao Yu’s mother reluctantly agreed, knowing that if the Clan Elder were called in, he would certainly split everything exactly in half.

Seeing that Zhao Yu’s mother had consented, Madam He called Zhao Yu and Yu’er out to tally up the household items. In the end, the couple received six mu of land and two rooms of the house. Since it was one courtyard, Madam He said they could build a dividing wall in the middle after the separation. They also received some miscellaneous household goods. Although it was still not a full half share, Madam He was relatively satisfied with this outcome. Moreover, they finally returned Yu’er’s entire dowry, without missing a single item.

Madam He gave some of the dowry money to Yu’er, saying that since the household was just divided, they needed to buy everything, and the two currently had no income, so they needed silver for purchases. However, Madam He kept Yu’er’s wedding jewelry, taking it back with her, reasoning that Yu’er would at least have some security for a future emergency.

After the division was complete, Madam He immediately told Qing Shan and Da Jiang to take Zhao Yu and the others and work through the night to build the dividing wall, stating that as long as the wall wasn't up, it was no different from not having separated. Once the wall was built, things would be much better.

After the wall was finished, Madam He saw that Yu’er’s allotted area was a very small courtyard with only two rooms and no kitchen. She instructed Yu’er to cook meals in the courtyard for the next couple of days, and tomorrow they should spend some money hiring temporary laborers to harvest the crops from the fields. After the busy farming season, she would have Da Jiang and Qing Shan come over to help Yu’er’s household build a proper kitchen so it would finally look like a home. With six mu of land belonging to them, they would have enough to live on for the year, especially since Yu’er was skilled at embroidery. Once Zhao Yu found some work, their life would be better than that of ordinary people.

Having given her instructions, Madam He and Da Jiang and Qing Shan headed back under the cover of darkness. In Yu’er’s new quarters, although Zhao Yu felt a bit unaccustomed right after the division, he was quite excited. Seeing Yu’er tidying up, he took her hand, gently pulled her into an embrace, and said, "Yu’er, you have worked hard these past few months. You have suffered a great deal, and it was because I was useless. I will treat you well from now on. I will go to town tomorrow to find work; I absolutely will not let you suffer anymore."

Yu’er leaned her head gently against Zhao Yu’s shoulder and said softly, "It’s enough that you know that. Tomorrow we still have to hire workers to harvest the grain from the fields. You don't need to rush to find work. Wait until the household grain is dealt with and everything is settled. You are a scholar; your main duty is to study. As for finding work, we’ll look for something suitable when the time comes."

Zhao Yu nodded gently, his heart warming. He felt that marrying such a wife was truly his fortune, and he must treat her well in the future.