I served as Li Bai's page.

After hearing what I said, the second concubine sat down in a chair and burst into tears, wailing and crying as if she wanted to drag Master Xu out of his grave.

Li Bai said, "Second Aunt, don't cry. Ziyan, as the head of the household, won't treat you badly; she'll treat you the same as when Father and Mother were alive."

"I don't want to. I want to separate from the family. I want to live alone with my son," the second concubine said.

Li Bai said, "We should wait until the three-year mourning period is over before discussing dividing the family property."

"No, I want it divided right now. Bring out the house deeds and land deeds, and we'll divide it immediately," the second concubine said, grabbing Li Bai's hands.

"I don't know where it is either. You've searched the whole house, but you still couldn't find it," Li Bai said.

"There's still one place we haven't searched, and that's Madam's room. Come on, let's search Madam's room." The second concubine said, heading towards Madam Xu's room. Wu Ma stopped her, saying, "Everything in Madam's room belongs to Miss; no one else has the right to touch it."

"The house deeds and land deeds don't belong to Miss alone; they belong to everyone. I don't want the rest; I only want the house deeds and land deeds," the second concubine said.

"Don't search Madam's room. She gave me the house deed and land deed," I said.

All eyes immediately turned to me. I took out the bundle Madam Xu had given me from my bag, opened it, and held the house deeds and land deeds in my hands. I said, "Madam Xu had long anticipated that you would divide the family property. Therefore, she instructed me to tell my young master that all three branches of the family would receive a share, with the second concubine receiving a larger share because she has a son. You just wait now; once the master and madam have completed their hundredth day of mourning, we will officially divide the family property." After I finished speaking, I put the house deeds and land deeds back into the bag.

The second concubine watched longingly as I carried my bag and walked towards the madam's room.

Li Bai said, "Everyone should go back to their own courtyards. We can discuss the division of the family property later."

Xu Ziyan went into Madam Xu's room and cried again, heartbroken. Wu Ma handed Xu Ziyan the jewelry and silver notes Madam Xu had left behind, saying, "Madam's money and jewelry are all here. Take them back to Baizhao Mountain. I'll guard them for you here. Staying here will only make you more heartbroken; don't let it upset your health."

Xu Ziyan hugged Wu Ma and wept bitterly again. Butler Wu instructed Wu Chao to prepare the carriage and come back to Baizhao Mountain with us.

Back home, after putting the two children to sleep, Li Bai came to my room and said, "Second Madam has been searching for days without finding it. When did you put the house deed and land deed in your bag?"

"The lady gave it to me on the day of the master's funeral. I told everyone the truth," I assured Li Bai.

"Yuehua, what do you think we should do next? I absolutely will not accept the Xu family's house deeds and land deeds."

"You can do without the house, but you must have the land. You must guarantee that the young mistress and children will have a source of income. Besides, the land is also rightfully hers."

"How could it be something the young mistress deserves? She married me, and now she has nothing to do with the Xu family. I also have my own residence on Baizhao Mountain."

"But you have no source of income. Are you going to let them starve? Listen to me, you must have land," I said firmly.

"Are you trying to make people gossip about me behind my back? I wrote a guarantee when we got married."

"Young Master, don't worry, Master Xu has already taken that guarantee from Second Madam and torn it up."

"How do you know?"

"My second wife told me herself."

Li Bai fell silent after hearing my words.

"Young Master, you've been quite tired these past few days. You still have to burn paper money at the grave tomorrow. Go back and get some sleep," I said.

Li Bai went back to his room to sleep after pondering for a while.

Before the formal division of the Xu family, the Li family of Bai Zhaoshan held a meeting attended by all members. The meeting was chaired by Li Bai.

"I've gathered everyone here today mainly to discuss two things: First, I want to clarify that I didn't marry into the Xu family; it was Miss Xu who married me, Li Bai. Therefore, I will not take any of the Xu family's assets. Second, before my wife passed away, she betrothed Xiaoqian to Wu Chao, and I completely agree to that. I'll approve of whenever you hold your wedding banquet."

I stood up and said, "Host, I object to the first point, which states you shouldn't accept the family property, because this property doesn't belong to you; it belongs to the young mistress. Therefore, you can't make that decision; it should be up to her. I fully agree with the second point."

"Yuehua's objection is invalid; now it is the young mistress's turn to speak," Li Bai said.

Xu Ziyan stood up, walked to Li Bai, and stroked his beard with her hand, saying, "Whatever my husband says is law. I will obey him in everything. If my husband goes hungry, I will go hungry too."

Li Bai said, "It can't be that bad, there's still food to eat."

I was furious and stood up again, saying, "Neither of your words count. Ask Boqin; he is the future master of the Li family."

I asked Boqin softly, "My little darling, would you rather eat meat or starve?"

"Uncle, I want to eat meat, I don't want to drink the northwest wind," Boqin replied.

"Young Master, did you hear that? Boqin's words are valid; the land is required. Meeting adjourned."

"Wait, whatever you say, but don't want too much. Just take the Bai Zhao Mountain ones. It's close to home, so it's easy to farm and manage." Li Bai had no choice but to settle for second best.

"That's up to you, but when dividing the family property, you have to consider Steward Wu and Granny Wu. If the Xu family mansion is to be given to the second concubine, then you have to consult Steward Wu and Granny Wu to see if they want to stay or go home."

"I know that. If all else fails, we can have them come to Baizhao Mountain as well."

Xu Ziyan said, "Let them come to Baizhao Mountain. Seeing them is like seeing my father and mother."

Wu Chao stood up and knelt down before Li Bai and Xu Ziyan, saying, "Thank you so much for your kindness, young master and young lady. Our whole family will be loyal to you both."

Li Bai helped Wu Chao up and said, "Your father and aunt watched Ziyan grow up, so they are like her parents. They can come to Baizhao Mountain if they want. From now on, our lives will mostly involve spring planting and summer sowing. We probably won't have the luxurious life we ​​had in the Xu family before."

Wu Chao said, "We can live any kind of life, son-in-law and daughter, don't worry, we will never let you starve."

Everyone laughed after hearing Wu Chao's words, and Xiaoqian lowered her head shyly.

Following the Li family meeting, the day for the Xu family to formally separate was fast approaching.

Master Xu and Madam Xu had only been gone for a hundred days, and the second concubine was already impatient, causing a scene at the Xu residence in Da'an Mountain demanding a division of the family property. The Wu family official drove a carriage to Baizhao Mountain to pick us up.

Before Li Bai and Xu Ziyan even entered the Xu residence, they heard the second aunt shouting loudly: "A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl; she still wants to come back to claim the family property and steal my son's things! What kind of world is this?"

Aunt Wu said, "Second Madam, you're being rude. What do you mean by 'stealing your son's things'? This house belongs to the young lady; she can do whatever she wants. Your son was born to a concubine; how can he compare to the young lady? It's your son who's stealing the young lady's things."

Li Bai entered the gate and quickly stopped the two women, saying, "Second Aunt, Aunt Wu, please stop arguing. It's not good for outsiders to hear."