Chi Wu immediately wrapped an arm around his wife. Surely, he should let his own father take a stab at this first. His wife absolutely couldn't get involved right now. Besides, their arms were still linked; a sudden panic like this could cause trouble, given their sympathetic connection.

Chi Wu tried to soothe her. "If you go, you’ll just put Mother in a difficult position. What if—what if our mother truly cared for my father to the point of sharing life and death? Wouldn't you just be messing things up if you went barging in?"

Chi Wu subtly pointed out that if the mother-in-law had developed feelings for the latter gentleman, Cheng Ying's arrival would only make things harder for her. For the sake of the mother-in-law, they shouldn't interfere.

How could Cheng Ying not catch the hidden meaning? "Nonsense! If I don't go, I'll be harming my mother! What kind of temper does my mother have? What could she possibly say? Whether she agrees or not, my mother isn't someone who gets to decide for herself. If she keeps this bottled up, it'll suffocate her to death! Why is your father so morally bankrupt? Has he lived a good life for too long that he needs to stir up trouble? If he dies, everything ends. Doesn't your father understand that?"

Chi Wu thought to himself, You understand, so why must you insist on keeping your own father with your mother? You have no idea how much trouble it is. But he dared not say it aloud. "That won't happen, no, no. This is Mother's popularity we're talking about, after all. Who else has the ability to have people fighting to accompany them even after death? Don't worry, Father is here. As long as you don't force things, they'll be fine, really. Besides, you have to think of it this way: my father genuinely cherishes our mother."

Cheng Ying felt it was improper to speak too harshly of Chi Yong in front of Chi Wu. After all, besides being a stepfather, he was still her father-in-law. They should give Chi Wu face, but this man was truly courting disaster.

She took a breath and asked with lingering concern, "Can you really handle it?"

Chi Wu thumped his chest, guaranteeing, "Relax. As long as you don't pressure Mother into moving back to the village with us, it should mostly be manageable."

Cheng Ying snorted in annoyance. What a good scheme. Her own father had been jointly sidelined by them. They were truly taking advantage of the fact that he couldn't speak up for himself. "Oh, I'm sure this has been very difficult for you. You must have given your father plenty of advice, haven't you? But your father truly has screws loose if he's the type of person who can come up with such ideas. Oh, right, Wu Zi, if my father seeks you out for a chat tonight, you better hold steady."

Chi Wu felt a chill down his spine; her words were terrifying. "Ptooey, ptooey, don't talk like that. My stance is very clear: wherever my wife goes, I go. Besides, what does it have to do with me? Just try not to disturb Father's sleep tonight. Seriously, no need to chat with me. I treat you so well, really, no need at all."

Chi Wu immediately started thinking about whether he should stick a door god image up tonight—maybe Guan Yu, or perhaps the God of Wealth knew how to manage such affairs.

Cheng Ying sighed. "You mean I should just sit here and watch your father take my mother away? I'm quite unfilial, aren't I? Will my father haunt my dreams and give me a beating later?"

Chi Wu replied, "No, no. Dead is dead, let it go. When a person dies, the lamp goes out; what's left? They're just making a fuss. Our father and Grandma are finally together; they won't have time to think about us, so relax. They won't come for you, and they won't come for me."

Cheng Ying reflected on the truth of life. "People have to stir things up while they're alive. Once the stirring stops, that's when it’s over."

Chi Wu replied, "Wife, I didn't realize you were so open-minded. I thought you’d be angry with me."

Cheng Ying conceded. "Fine, let it go. Is it worth making a fuss over such a small thing? Besides, Mom and Dad are so old; it’s unlikely they’ll have much of a physical life anymore. Now look, they'll be stirring things up right until the end."

Chi Wu countered, "No, my father isn't that kind of person. If this situation isn't settled now, he won't have an appetite for anything."

Cheng Ying observed, "Your father is certainly enjoying his food now. If this had happened when the old lady was alive, your father wouldn't have dared suggest it—Grandma would have caused such a scene."

Chi Wu murmured, "Wife, let's not interfere; let them make their fuss."

Cheng Ying felt uneasy. Watching Chi Yong lead her own mother off into a springtime romance made her worry about how she would face her own father. She was troubled, and Chi Yong had successfully turned her private worry into a family-wide concern.

Perhaps only little Chi Ye, being so young, didn't grasp why there was anything to worry about.

What Cheng Ying kept to herself was that just deciding between the two of them wasn't enough; they would have to return to the village and settle matters clearly with the Cheng brothers. It wasn't just up to her, the daughter, to support whomever she pleased. This matter involved much more complicated layers.

Chi Wu hadn't spent much time in the village and might not know that such issues frequently required the village head's mediation. She remembered a case in the village involving a bachelor father and son who had taken a wife. That second marriage produced a son, meaning one father had two mothers in the household.

As the saying goes, when you get a stepmother, you also get a stepfather. At first, the new wife treated the elder son okay, but once she had her own child, she treated the elder son terribly.

She tricked the elder son into marrying, and the daughter-in-law also suffered a lot of abuse from the mother-in-law. Eventually, the old woman even egged on the old man to kick both the elder son and his wife out.

At the time, everyone in the village said the second wife was in the wrong, and no amount of persuasion worked. The younger son and his wife pretended not to know anything, feeling they had gotten the better end of the deal.

The elder daughter-in-law was also resourceful. As people said, "A good man doesn't eat food divided by his brothers." The elder brother's family felt that the younger brother's silent acceptance of the benefits was truly unfair to the brotherly bond. The other family said nothing, but the reputation of being unfilial was bad enough. If people then started saying they treated their elders poorly, they’d lose all standing. They had to swallow the silent injustice. The elder couple approached the village cadres with just one demand: they wanted the land next to the ancestral graves so their mother wouldn't have to be buried in the shadow of their brother's plot.

The second couple saw that they were truly useless, and reluctantly agreed.

The old man was older than the old woman and naturally passed away first. When the brothers handled the funeral rites, the younger son took sneaky advantages that were hard for onlookers to bear.

When the old woman aged, and it came time for her care, the elder couple paid whatever was asked, while the second son continued to benefit without saying a word.

Everyone knew what the old woman was like and urged the second couple to speak to her, arguing that after all, they were family.

The second couple's only response was, "What does that have to do with us?" Of course, those words reached the ears of the elder couple. They said nothing and continued to treat the old woman as they always had.

When the old woman passed away, the elder couple spoke up. "They were the original couple; my mother and father belong together. Let the second son find a place to bury his stepmother."

Now the second son panicked. He was truly frightened and even knelt before his elder brother, begging. "If you don't agree, you can't enter. Your mother was the second one!"

The ensuing commotion drew people from ten surrounding villages. The village tried to mediate several times, but it couldn't be resolved. As the saying went, the consequences of one's actions eventually come back to haunt them; why were they so unforgiving back then?

Of course, this wasn't Cheng Ying's direct problem, but if this situation were applied to her biological father and stepfather, it would be tricky, almost identical. If Cheng Ying had her way, agreeing to let Chi Yong lie beside her mother would have been extremely filial. Yet, Chi Wu, that big-tailed wolf, wanted the whole thing for himself. It was maddening, and it wasn't a matter she could decide alone. Wouldn't that cause an uproar?

Cheng Ying tossed and turned half the night, terribly afraid of having bad dreams.

Chi Wu, however, slept soundly wrapped around his wife. It seemed that those with fewer worries enjoyed better sleep quality, which made Cheng Ying intensely jealous.

Yang Zhi, clutching the items in her hand, also couldn't sleep that night. She wondered if Chi Yong's move was impulsive or long-planned. She didn't believe Chi Yong was ignorant of village customs, having lived there for so many years. Moreover, when the old lady passed away, Chi Yong should have understood everything relevant. But this was not the action of someone who understood the rules.

To say she had no feelings for Ying Zi's father was untrue, but after so many years, even the deepest affection had faded considerably. Chi Yong clearly had the upper hand now.

This didn't even need comparison. Although Yang Zhi lacked high emotional intelligence, she understood how to manage a household; the dead couldn't offer anything.

Chi Yong treated her well, especially by considering matters concerning after death—she felt that made him even better. To put it sentimentally, unless feelings reached a certain level, one wouldn't consider such matters.

Yang Zhi had made few decisions for herself in her life, but this time, she wanted to be the one in charge.

Yang Zhi's thoughts were much simpler and more direct than those of Chi Yong or Cheng Ying.

After a sleepless night, she sought out Cheng Ying the next morning.

Cheng Ying thought, It's bad. I hope Mom hasn't done anything drastic. She's not planning to go back to the village right now, is she?

Chi Yong felt tense. His wife's attitude would be clear today. He was surprised that his wife maintained such composure, showing nothing on her face.

However, since his wife had taken the two items resembling land deeds and hadn't returned them, he held onto some anticipation.

When Cheng Ying saw her mother, she wanted to say, Please don't make things difficult; this isn't a big deal.

Unfortunately, Yang Zhi was a person who spoke directly, never beating around the bush. Seeing her daughter, she immediately presented the two cemetery deeds. "Ying Zi, when I was living with your father, I was happy and joyful; we had feelings for each other. But your father never discussed future arrangements with me—it wasn't because our feelings weren't good, but because your father didn't have time to make arrangements with me; we were both young then. You know how long I've been with Xiao Ye's father. Mom has never compared your father to Xiao Ye's father, and I don't need to compare them. But now that Xiao Ye's father has given me this, I am quite happy, and I want to accompany Xiao Ye's father in the future."

Cheng Ying felt a sense of relief, as if a weight had lifted. It was wonderful that she didn't have to make the choice. "I'm happy that Mother will always have someone to accompany her. Don't worry, we, and Chi Wu’s children, will always accompany my father. He won't be lonely. Besides, Grandma treated Father so well; perhaps she has already taken him with her."

As for the concerns in her own heart, Cheng Ying didn't utter a single word. Her mother had given birth to her and raised her. Her mother's simple wish was something Cheng Ying could certainly manage; her mother shouldn't have to worry about this.

She would go back and negotiate with her elder uncles later. It was rare for her mother to take charge of something like this.