The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

Du Mingxian anticipated their words and spoke first, not giving them a chance to speak.

Wu Daniu's words got stuck in his throat, but Du Youtian had no such concerns. "Mingxian, how dare you talk like that? I'm your father. We're already at your doorstep. Can't I even go inside for a drink of water?"

"Father, you should know how my in-laws treated us when we broke off the engagement. I'm having a hard time living in the Ling family now. If I invite you in without permission, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain it to them when they come back." Du Mingxian didn't want the two of them to go in.

“I don’t care, I’m already at your doorstep, you have to let me in, and you have to let me stay for a few days.”

"What?" Du Mingxian was shocked, as if she had just realized Du Youtian's shameless nature.

Now that the words were out, it was easier to continue. Du Youtian spoke casually, "Your aunt has been busy at home, and besides, I'm a grown man, and she's my sister-in-law, so it's not convenient for me to take care of her. I haven't been feeling well lately, so I'm coming to stay at your house for a few days to give you a chance to show your filial piety."

Du Mingxian simply stopped acting and remained silent with a blank expression.

Wu Daniu explained, "Uncle is indeed not feeling well. I've already brought him over. How about he stays for a few days?"

“How could it be inconvenient? My aunt is his eldest sister-in-law and it's inconvenient for her, but what about his nephew whom he raised like a son? He used to cherish him like the apple of his eye, but now that he needs him, he has to use him. He can't not use him.”

“When I was little, my dad went out to work and earned some money. He would buy three skewers of candied hawthorns. My uncle’s three children each got one skewer. My dad said that I didn’t need to take care of him in his old age, as Mingcheng and Mingcai were enough. My cousin was a lucky girl and should also get one skewer. When I was little, I could only watch.”

“They never treated me like a daughter before, and now they come to me for help. That won’t do. You should take them back to Du Mingcheng to take care of them. We can’t expect him to hide behind us and refuse to help us when we’re young and we need to give back.”

Du Mingxian thought of her childhood. That life was full of heartache and grievances. Now that she has been reborn, it feels very distant and peaceful. It's as if she wasn't the one who suffered those grievances back then.

Seeing Du Mingxian's determination, Wu Daniu said, "Mingcai is missing, but Mingcheng is at home. However, he is not your father's son, so it wouldn't be good for him to take care of him."

"What's wrong with that? Du Mingcheng enjoyed so many benefits when he was a child, and now he doesn't care?"

"He is indeed your nephew; you'll have to handle this matter for Mingxian."

Only when Du Youtian lived at the Ling family's house could he have the excuse to come over often, thus giving him more opportunities to spend time with Mingxian.

Du Mingxian rolled her eyes and said, "It's not that I can't stay, but... Father, my cousin and I got married on the same day. You secretly added five taels to my cousin's dowry, but I got nothing."

"Now you want to acknowledge me as your daughter. Since I am your biological daughter, I am definitely closer to you than your niece. She has five taels, so it's not unreasonable for me to ask for ten taels, is it?"

In this lifetime, she truly didn't know whether Du Youtian had added any money, but in the lifetime when Du Mingwei married into the Ling family, Du Youtian secretly added five taels of silver. She only found out about this when the widows entered the house and started arguing.

Du Youtian really did add to his savings this time. "Mingxian, Father doesn't have any money right now..."

"How could you not have any money? You can give your cousin five taels, but you don't have any for me. It seems you don't treat me like your own daughter. So, if you want to move in, no way."

Are you putting on a show here?

Wu Daniu was sweating profusely with anxiety. Suddenly, he remembered what Du Mingwei had said to him before he left: "Mingxian, if you don't take care of your uncle, aren't you afraid the villagers will laugh at you? And you... your husband is also a scholar. Scholars care most about their reputation. Aren't you afraid he will blame you?"

Du Mingxian smiled faintly, "Oh, I'm not afraid of being laughed at by the villagers. Everyone in the village knows how my father always favors his son to the point of favoritism. And now you're telling me about filial piety?"

"You're right. I believe scholars care about their reputation. So why don't I just make him divorce me? That way I can go straight back to the Du family, eat and drink at home, do nothing, and throw away all shame. Let's see who can do anything to me then."

"By the way, I'm pretty strong. If I see someone I don't like, I might beat them up to vent my anger. That's not impossible. It sounds pretty good."

Wu Daniu was unaware of Du Mingxian's assault, but he was tempted by Du Mingxian's suggestion that she divorce him if her reputation was ruined. If Du Mingxian were divorced, wouldn't he have a chance to marry her?

Wouldn't it be better to just elevate a concubine and have the two sisters serve her together?

Du Youtian had been beaten by Du Mingxian before, and when he heard her mention hitting people, he was immediately frightened. Thinking of that pain, he hurriedly said to Wu Daniu, "Quick, Daniu, take me back."

"Uncle, what's wrong? Didn't you say it wasn't convenient at home? Why don't you stay at the Ling family's house for a few days?"

Where can I stay? If I stay any longer, I might lose my life.

"Go back, go back, hurry up and leave. I'll pretend I never had this daughter." Du Youtian now loathed Du Mingxian.

Du Mingxian just watched coldly.

Wu Daniu wanted to say something more, but Du Youtian urged him on, so he swallowed back the words of advice he was about to say and could only silently pull the man back, all the way until they left the village.

He asked, puzzled, "Uncle, we agreed before we came that you would stay at the Ling family's house for a while, and then I would come and take you back. The Ling family's house is nice to live in now, and the food must be good too. You'll have someone to take care of you here. Why go back?"

"What do you know?" Du Youtian didn't want to talk about being beaten by his daughter. Besides, Mingxian didn't know what was going on either. It was very strange. She hit someone, but the person she hit had no injuries. She was the one who suffered for nothing.

Wu Daniu frowned, somewhat displeased. He didn't send the person away, otherwise he wouldn't even have an excuse to look for Du Mingxian anymore.

"Uncle, no matter what, Mingxian is still your daughter. She wouldn't do that."

"Hmph, that brat is hard-hearted. Da Niu, if you drag me back again, I'll go and talk to the villagers. I don't believe that Ling Silang, a scholar, doesn't care about his reputation. Once the Ling family finds out that Ming Xian has ruined their reputation, she'll be in big trouble."

Cheng Daniu wholeheartedly agreed with the suggestion, "Uncle, this is great, this is great. Maybe Mingxian will come to your house to pick you up after she finds out, so she can have a good reputation."

"Hmph, I won't let her pick me up then. I'll have her buy me a maid to serve me well." She'll definitely give birth to a son then. "She dug up ginseng for the Ling family, so she must have money. Buying a maid is just a matter of a word for her."

This brat has no filial piety towards her father at all; she's an ungrateful wretch.

Du Youtian completely forgot that just a moment ago he felt that Du Mingxian was strange for hitting people without causing any injury, and was afraid that Du Mingxian would be divorced and sent back to the Du family to cause trouble and hit people. Now he just wanted to make Du Mingxian disliked by the Ling family and have a hard time in the Ling family.

Du Mingxian was completely unaware of the two men's actions. After watching them leave, she went straight into the courtyard. Before she even returned to her room, she heard noises coming from the guest room.

I walked over and pushed the door open. I saw that You Yuan was awake and was trying to sit up. There was a bowl on the stool by the bed. He had knocked it to the ground earlier, making a sound.

"Oh, you're awake. This bowl you broke is a priceless heirloom in our family. So, how do you plan to compensate us?"