As to whose child it actually was, the people of Songjia Village split into two factions.
"It's definitely Song Zhenqing. I just saw him drag a woman right into the haystacks."
"Is your brain stuffed with porridge? If it were Song Zhenqing's lover, would Du Chunzhi have blown the whistle? She would have kept it tightly under wraps, then secretly married the daughter-in-law into the family, or else Song Zhenqing's reputation would be ruined."
"That's right. The only reason she could bring out that letter is that Song Yao must be keeping a mistress on the side."
Both sides argued their own logic. Song Huaiyu couldn't bear to listen any longer, and with a stern face, he said, "Du Chunzhi! Bringing all sorts of messy rubbish here—what kind of decency is this!"
Du Chunzhi looked utterly innocent. "Village Chief Uncle, although this is Songjia Village, you are the Village Chief. To command respect, you must be impartial and cannot favor the Song family. Cultivated Talent, I have another handkerchief here that also belongs to Song Yao. Could you help me take a look at what characters are embroidered on it?"
The Cultivated Talent Song Rusong took the handkerchief, cleared his throat, and said, "There is a weeping willow embroidered on this, and below it is embroidered the character 'yin'—as in 'lush and green' [lù cǎo rú yīn]."
Du Chunzhi was just waiting for these words; her eyes instantly welled up with tears. "So it's Liu Yin! She is Song Yao's cousin, and usually the two of them cast plenty of affectionate glances at each other. I never expected that Song Yao, for all his gentlemanly facade, would actually commit such a scandalous act!"
Some villagers were privy to this affair, and they immediately opened the floodgates, enthusiastically broadcasting the past history of Song Yao's household.
"In the past, that Liu Yin used to come all the time. I've seen her—such a slender waist and such a sweet voice."
Du Chunzhi chimed in, "Right, her little glances were full of tender affection."
"They used to be engaged, but she thought his family was too poor and called off the marriage. Song Yao cried at home every day, but she never looked back and later married a wealthy man."
Du Chunzhi nodded. "I heard she cursed her husband to death and now plans to run back to curse Song Yao."
When Song Yao heard this, he wouldn't stand for it. "Who says Yinniang curses her husbands? There's no such thing at all!"
Would Du Chunzhi coddle him?
"Anyway, if she doesn't curse her husband, she'll curse her mother-in-law, or else your son. Pick one."
Song Yao: "..." So she just *has* to curse something, is that it?
Faced with this farcical scene, Song Huaiyu felt nothing but a headache and tried to untangle it from the beginning. "Song Yao, you were the one trying to sell your wife today, is that right?"
Song Yao prevaricated. "Village Chief Uncle, this woman got this letter from goodness knows where. It's sheer slander; everyone must not believe it!"
Du Chunzhi laughed. "Song Yao and the Cultivated Talent both studied at the same school—who doesn't recognize that handwriting? The contract was written by Song Yao, so don't try to shift the blame. The Cultivated Talent possesses upright integrity; he would never help him forge evidence. If Song Yao refuses to admit it, then let's fetch Liu Yin here and ask her to her face if this happened."
Song Yao glanced at the Cultivated Talent with a pleading look in his eyes, but the Cultivated Talent put his hands behind his back and pretended not to see—Du Chunzhi had already said he possessed upright integrity; if he wasn't a bit upright, how could he show his face?
Everyone was mocking Song Yao, egging him on to call Liu Yin over. Seeing that the situation was turning ugly, Liu Yin, who had been hiding in a corner, quietly crept toward the front gate, attempting to slip away in the chaos. However, the front gate was already shut, and by the entrance stood two extremely fierce Da Huang dogs, baring their teeth as if they wanted to take a bite out of anyone.
Liu Yin shrank back. Suddenly, the crowd in front parted to both sides, clearing a path. Du Chunzhi strode over, grabbed her by the collar, and landed a succession of loud slaps. "What were you hiding here for? You even dare come to watch the commotion in our Songjia Village?! The two of you colluded to sell me off—were you just waiting to step into my shoes?"
Liu Yin took the full brunt of the blows, covered her swollen face, and shrieked repeatedly. Song Yao and Song Zhenqing, father and son, immediately blocked her path, wanting to protect her. Du Chunzhi swung her arms and waded in; the chivalrous father and son both took a few heavy smacks to the face.
In a frenzy of rage, Song Yao abandoned all filter. "You vicious woman! Selling you was giving you a good future; don't be ungrateful!"
"Enough! Fighting in public—what does this look like!" Song Huaiyu couldn't stand it any longer. Unwilling to have Songjia Village become the laughingstock of gossip, he wanted to quickly settle the matter.
"Song Yao, since your cousin is also here, let's clear the air in front of everyone. Liu Yin is pregnant, and if you want to bring her through the doors, that's fine, but your legal wife is still here, so she can only be a concubine. Du Chunzhi, you should be magnanimous too and welcome her in to avoid being mocked."
Of course Du Chunzhi was unwilling, and Liu Yin was even less willing. She gazed at Song Yao with tear-blurred eyes and said, "Cousin, I might as well smash my head against a wall and die!"
Old Mother Song panicked. If Liu Yin didn't enter the family, the silver left behind by Liu Yin's former husband would be untouchable. The old woman blurted out anxiously, "Don't die! Make Du Chunzhi smash her head and die!"
Furious, Song Huaiyu pointed right at Song Yao's nose. "You, a scholar, engaging in premarital hanky-panky is already unsightly enough. Do you actually plan to make Liu Yin your primary wife?"
Song Yao stiffened his neck and stayed silent. Seeing that his side was losing ground, Song Zhenqing immediately jumped out. "Du Chunzhi isn't fit to be in the Song family! Today, my father was originally going to divorce his wife!"
Du Chunzhi sneered, "On what grounds would he divorce me? I do all the farm work, I wash all the clothes, I never say a harsh word, and I swallow any grievance myself. I'm the first to get up and the last to sleep—even before the Jade Emperor himself, my conscience is clear."
"That's right," Song Ergen's wife shouted from below. "On what grounds does Song Yao divorce his wife? I say Chunzhi should be the one divorcing her husband!"
Du Chunzhi heartily agreed. "I am divorcing the Song family. Starting today, the house and the land all belong to me, and the lot of them can get lost!"
This matter could no longer be patched up; Liu Yin had to be married into the family. Weighing the pros and cons, Song Yao bit the bullet and said, "A separation agreement, a separation agreement then, will that do?"
"Fine by me, the land all belongs to me anyway, since you don't farm it anyway," Du Chunzhi said without the slightest bit of politeness. "After all these years of hard toil, your Song family must give me another ten taels of silver, otherwise don't even think about a separation."
Ten taels?!
Song Yao nearly passed out. The last two taels in his pouch had already been given to Mammy Tian; where would he find spare money?
"Cousin," Liu Yin sobbed, looking as if she could barely stand, "the silver... I'll help you pay it. I don't want to see her ever again..."
Du Chunzhi knew in her heart that this was already the best possible outcome; on Songjia Village's turf, it was simply impossible to drive Song Yao's family out completely.
She cleanly and efficiently divided the fields, took the money, and asked the Cultivated Talent to help write up the separation agreement.
Widow Zhao asked, "Can't Song Yao write?"
Du Chunzhi replied, "I don't think much of his handwriting!"
Watching the spectacle, Song Ergen's wife cackled with laughter. "Widow Zhao, are you still set on Song Yao?"
Widow Zhao shook her head frantically. "What's there to be set on? The family doesn't have a couple of coins, and they've got two wives! If I went over there, I'd be a concubine to a concubine. When they eat, I'd be drinking slop; if they drink congee, I wouldn't even get the foot-washing water! When they run out of food, wouldn't they sell me off too?"
Everyone burst into loud laughter. Song Yao's face turned beet red, and he hurriedly signed the separation agreement.
Song Huaiyu assigned the empty house at the village entrance to Du Chunzhi as temporary quarters, and then with a wave of his hand, he declared, "All right, disperse!"
"It's not over yet. We can't disperse."
Song Huaiyu glared. "What else do you want to do?"