I traveled back to ancient times, but I was able to lie down and relax.

In the afternoon, before dinner time, it was the most leisurely time for the villagers.

People gathered in twos and threes to chat, or sat under the shade of trees to cool off.

With little entertainment available, people naturally gathered together to gossip about this family and that family.

"Hey, have you heard? Something bad happened to the Liu family today. Their little granddaughter is dying!" a woman said.

"Is he dying? What happened? There are so many people with the surname Liu in the village, which Liu family is it?" Someone immediately chimed in.

"The Liu family that produced a scholar in the past, right? Scholar Liu left behind three children, the youngest one."

"Oh, that girl's name is Sirou, right? I remember she was thin and small, and looked like she wasn't in good health."

"Yes, she's five years old, but she's not even as tall as other three- or four-year-olds. What's wrong with her?"

"I know about this. This morning, Liu Xiucai's eldest son rushed to see Doctor Li, saying that his sister was sick. It seems that she is seriously ill and there is no way to save her. It's a pity."

"Hey, you're wrong, it's not that he can't be saved,"

The woman who spoke was very secretive, deliberately lowering her voice as she said, "It's that old man Liu who doesn't want to save him!"

"Why? Because she's his own granddaughter."

"I heard that they thought the medicine was too expensive and were reluctant to spend the money! Besides, the medicine wasn't that expensive, only a little over 100 coins."

"You're already reluctant to spend just over 100 coins? Think of how much money Liu Xiucai and his wife Song Shi earned for the Liu family before. Tsk tsk tsk, these three children are so pitiful without their parents."

"Yes, and that Fang woman from their eldest son's family is also difficult to deal with. She beats the children at home every day. Just a few days ago, she even broke the head of Liu Xiucai's eldest daughter!"

"Really? I didn't know that. Tell me quickly."

……

Similar conversations circulated throughout the village.

Just then, someone shouted, "A fight has broken out at the Liu family's place!"

As they were talking, the women of the Liu family exchanged glances, unable to contain their gossip, and immediately surrounded the Liu family.

At this moment, several people were arguing in the Liu family courtyard.

Seeing the villagers gathering around, Liu Nanjia immediately knelt down with a thud, pleading tearfully, "Grandpa, please, get medicine for my little sister, or she'll die!"

Liu Yanxi knelt down as his sister knelt down.

Seeing the brother and sister like this, the surrounding villagers looked at Old Master Liu with even more disdain.

Grandpa Liu was furious. The two children had been pulling him around, insisting on talking in the front yard, and they wanted him to pay for the medicine.

Fang was not there at the time, and he did not want to get entangled with them personally, so he turned to leave, but was forcibly pulled away and prevented from leaving.

Seeing the villagers who had come to watch, he realized that they had set a trap for him and were using the power of outsiders to pressure him.

He was instantly enraged and wanted to teach these two disrespectful brats a lesson.

But mindful of the people outside, Old Master Liu suppressed his anger and said sternly, "Get up! Speak properly!"

He then said to the villagers, "It's just a family matter, nothing to see here, everyone disperse!"

People came here just to watch the spectacle; now that things have just started, how could they possibly want to leave?

Immediately someone said, "No way, old man Liu, you can do things that disregard the life of your own granddaughter, why are you afraid of people watching?"

"That's right, that's right," others echoed.

Grandpa Liu was even angrier. When did everyone in the village find out about this? But he couldn't swallow this anger, especially since he was being forced to pay money.

Liu Nanjia didn't want to argue any further. She said, "Since you're unwilling to use public funds to treat my younger sister's illness, let's divide the family property. Give us the money that the second branch of the family is entitled to, and we'll treat my younger sister ourselves."

Upon hearing the words "separation of the family," there was a moment of silence outside, followed by a louder murmur.

Old Master Liu's eyes widened, and he roared, "Divide the family property? Who gave you the audacity! What right do you have to say such things to me!"

How dare a mere girl bring up separating the family from him?

Liu Yanxi replied, "My sister may not be qualified, but I am. I am now the only male member of the second branch of the family, and I can represent the second branch."

"Sir, I request that the family be divided and that our second branch be separated from the family."

At this moment, Grandma Liu, who had been taking care of Liu Sirou in the room, also came out. She said anxiously, "What nonsense are you two talking about? How can you divide the family property? If you divide the family property, how will you three children live?"

Liu Nanjia looked at Grandma Liu, who was probably the only elder in the family who still cared about them.

Unfortunately, she was subservient to her husband her whole life and dared not resist in the slightest, which is also the tragedy of women in this era.

Liu Nanjia didn't want to beat around the bush anymore and said softly, "Grandma, do you think we're doing well in this family? If we stay here, we really won't be able to survive. If we separate, we'll have another way to live."

Grandma Liu was stunned. She wanted to refute, but she couldn't think of anything to say.

Yes, no one knows better than her what kind of lives these children have been living for the past two years.

Grandma Liu opened her mouth, then sighed deeply, wiped away her tears, and stepped aside.

Grandpa Liu wouldn't be moved by these words; they would only fuel his anger. Was this accusation of the Liu family abusing them in front of so many outsiders? Without a single thought about what he himself had done?

Grandpa Liu felt utterly humiliated, and his anger consumed him. He disregarded the fact that he was in front of outsiders and frantically searched for something to beat someone up.

While searching, he said, "You two little brats, just you wait! How dare you talk about me like that? I'll beat you to death today!"

At this moment, the village head pushed through the crowd and came in, saying, "Uncle Liu Zhi, you're getting old, getting angry is bad for your health. Don't keep hitting the child like that, let's talk things out."

When Grandpa Liu saw the village head arrive, he regained some of his composure. He thought the commotion had attracted him, and said awkwardly, "What brings you here, village head? The child was being disobedient, and I was disciplining him. It's nothing serious."

The villagers were all disdainful of his bullying and cowardly behavior. Aunt Wang from the crowd spoke up, "Grandpa Liu, you're wrong. We saw everything that just happened clearly. You're so angry and trying to cover it up. Could it be that Nan Jia is telling the truth, and you've been touched on a sore spot?"

"Yes, judging from the way the old man was doing it, he was very skilled. He must have hit the kids quite a few times."

"Exactly, exactly. I was scared just watching. If we weren't really afraid of not surviving, how could a bunch of kids dare to talk about splitting up the family? It must be so hard without adults."

Of course, some people felt that Liu Nanjia and the others were wrong and were not following filial piety, and the crowd was discussing it.

The village headman gestured for the villagers to be quiet and said to the Liu family members, "I'm here today for this matter. Let's talk about the division of the family property. Uncle Liu, you go first."