Zeng Ruiqing rushed over and slapped Zi Ping twice. Zeng Ruixiang hugged him from behind, "Brother, calm down, brother, you must calm down."

  "How can I be calm? After raising you for so many years, you were actually deceived by someone's small favor. Are you lacking food or clothing? I've never seen you so stupid, delivering yourself to be bullied. Do you have eyes or a heart? Can't you tell good people from bad? You're such a big girl, don't you have any guard against this? All these years, your meals were eaten in vain. Does he let you do whatever he wants? Would you go die if he told you to? Forget it, I'm not going to bother with you anymore. From now on, consider me dead to you. Get out!" Zeng Ruiqing shouted angrily.

  Zi Ping immediately knelt down in front of Zeng Rui Qing, hugging her father's legs and crying out that she was wrong. "Dad, I was wrong, I know I was wrong. Seeing mom get angry and give birth prematurely, I regretted it. Dad, don't drive me away, whatever you say I'll obey."

  Everyone who saw this couldn't help but shed tears. However, Zeng Ruiqing seemed to have made up his mind and said: "Don't call me Dad anymore. For the sake of everyone's well-being, you should leave and never come back. To avoid the prying eyes of our neighbors, relatives, and fellow villagers, I plan to move with your mother and the children to the city to find a new place to live. You don't need to look for us either. I mean what I say - if you come once, I'll hit you once. Considering our father-daughter relationship, take this ten taels of silver and leave. From now on, we have no more ties with each other. Oh, I'll give you the household registration; tomorrow, go sell it and then return it to me. No need to return it, just let Zi Fu accompany you there tomorrow. We don't need to see each other again. If you truly care for me and this family, then don't come back, lest you drag down your younger brother and sister."

  Zhou's wife was about to say a few words, but Zeng Ruiqing pointed at her and scolded: "Shut up. What else do you want to say? What have you been doing all day? You can't even take care of a child, are you dead? It's happening right under your nose. Didn't you notice anything? If it weren't for the sake of the two younger ones, I would have gotten rid of you too."

  Zeng Ruiqing finished speaking, pushed Zi Ping away and went back into the house. With a loud bang, he slammed the door shut, causing the whole house to shake. Zhou Shi was frightened and didn't dare say another word. After a while, she heard Zeng Ruiqing yell at her to go in and pack up Zi Ping's things. Zeng Ruixiang wanted to go in and try to persuade him, but was pushed out by Zeng Ruiqing, who said: "No one should try to persuade me, you all know my temper, it's no use whoever tries."

  Tian saw Zi Ping only knew how to cry, so he advised her, "Girl, crying like this isn't good for the child in your belly. Now your father is still angry, no one can persuade him, it's better to listen to him and leave for a while. Maybe after some time has passed, things will be okay, or maybe when the child is born, he'll forgive you. Your father has a stubborn temper, the more people go against him, the more he'll resist. I know my own son. Listen to what Grandma said, since they've separated, just live your life well with him."

  Mrs. Zhou was furious and shouted: "What kind of holiday is this, who agreed to marry him? My good daughter has been ruined like this, I hate to strip his tendons and peel off his skin. Can I marry Zi Ping to such an old man? Listen to your mother, let's drink medicine to abort the child, mother will definitely find a better one for you."

  "No, Mother, I don't want to get rid of the child. He said so too, no matter who I find, he will try every means to break us up, it's useless. He said he will be good to me and will be good to me for a lifetime." Zi Ping cried out.

  "This scourge, harming my daughter like this, are you possessed by a demon? Tomorrow I'll go to Qingyuan Temple to burn incense for you to exorcise the demon. This scourge wants to die in front of me, I really wish he would die immediately." Zhou Shi cursed viciously.

  "Never mind, listen to me, this is her fate, let her go. If something unexpected happens after the child is born, you will regret it later. This is the path she chose herself, whatever hardships there are, she will have to bear them herself. Zhiping, if you regret it in the future, remember that this path was chosen by yourself, and don't blame others for your suffering or hardship. Of course, I hope you'll be happy. As for your father, what your grandmother said is right, let's talk about it later, no one can change his decision now." The old man spoke, and then sighed deeply.

  "Ah, child, why is your life so bitter? You heartless, short-lived ghost! How can you be so shallow? Our family may not be wealthy, but have I ever deprived you of food or clothes? And yet you're stabbing a knife into my heart. Think about it with your toes, how can a young girl like you get entangled with a grown man? You've been deceived once, and now you want to deliver yourself to him again? How can we just let him ruin us like this? I won't stand for it! Why don't you just die, that would be cleaner..."

  The child didn't know what had happened and also hugged her mother's leg and cried. At this time, the little baby inside also cried. Zhou Shi had to let go of Zi Ping and take care of the younger one first.

  Zi Ping remained kneeling on the ground, crying. Tian saw her and wanted to help her up, but Shen hurried over to assist, making some hot water, helping Zi Ping wash up a bit, and telling her to go inside and lie down, saying they could talk about things tomorrow. Tian was worried and said she would stay with her tonight. Shen and Zeng Rui Xiang then took Zi Fu back home.

  Zi Rong Zheng was playing with his younger brother and sister, while Zi Qing saw that the three of them looked unhappy. So she cleverly said: "Dad, mom, we've already rolled out the tangyuan, I'll go boil some water to cook them."

  Shen's family held Zi Qing tightly and cried: "Qing Er, my dear daughter, you must listen to your mother's words, don't take the wrong path, I won't be able to bear it."

  "What nonsense are you talking about, scaring the child? You're really muddled." Zeng Ruixiang immediately pulled his wife over as soon as he saw her.

  Zi Qing found a chance to ask Zi Fu what was going on, and Zi Fu told her everything that had happened. He said: "Brother knows you're smart and know what can be done and what can't be done. You're getting older day by day, don't go out unnecessarily, stay home and help mother take care of your younger brother and sister. Don't be blinded by others' small favors and lose your nature."

  "Brother, rest assured, am I the kind of person who is easily satisfied? If I want money, won't I go out and earn it myself? Look at our family's silver, isn't it all earned by me? The fruit trees will have a big harvest this year, just wait and see."

  Zi Qing deliberately raised her chin and showed off, and as expected, Zi Fu stretched out his hand to mess up her hair, pinched her cheeks, and cooperated with a smile: "Yes, look at whose sister is so fierce, so smart, and also so money-loving."

  The two of them made a fuss for a while, and Zifeng's heart also felt a bit more relaxed, so he put down his guard and started preparing the school supplies. They quietly passed the 16th day, and the whole family thought that Zeng Ruiqing had changed his mind, but unexpectedly on the morning of the 17th, Tian came over to tell Zifeng to follow Ziping to go through the household division procedures.

  Zi Fu accompanied Zi Ping and the so-called brother-in-law to finish all the things, and then sent them to the new rented courtyard. He didn't return home until before dark. Shen Shi asked him and only knew that he had been to the old house, fearing that Zhou Shi and others would worry. Also said that Zeng Ruiqing has packed up his belongings and is ready to move out tomorrow, and does not plan to come back for a short time. Shen Shi listened gloomily, asked Zi Ping's address, and didn't say anything else.

  At the end of the month, Xia Yu's husband sent his younger brother to deliver a message that Xia Yu had given birth to a boy. Everyone's face finally showed some joy. Shen Shi wanted to go and give gifts for the new mother, and Lao Ye Zi and Tian Shi also wanted to go and take a look. Zeng Rui Xiang's private school had already started classes, and Shen Shi was worried about leaving Zi Qing and Zi Yu at home alone, so she asked her own mother He Shi to come and take care of them. Then she packed some things and went with Tian Shi and the others to Qiao Village to visit Xia Yu. Because the journey was quite far, they planned to stay overnight.

  Originally, Tian wanted Damao and his brother to come to Ziyin's house for dinner and stay overnight, but Zeng Ruixiang did not agree. Mainly because of the incident with Ziping, which gave him a great warning. Damao is still an outsider after all, and he is already 15 years old. However, this is something that cannot be said openly. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Mother, my family is still being taken care of by my mother-in-law, besides, Damao and the others are particularly mischievous. I think it's more convenient to let little sister take care of them for a day, and there are also some chickens and ducks at home that need to be taken care of."

  The old man also said, "Old two is right, it's indeed unreasonable to let the aunt serve them. Don't let others laugh at us for not knowing etiquette. Autumn Jade is nearby anyway, so just call her over to cook a meal for a day and she'll get used to it."

  Tian knew that Shen was indeed displeased with Chunyu's family and only caused trouble without any benefits, so he could only give up.

  Just as Shen's family had just left, Zhou Zhanggui, Wen San and Lin Kangping arrived. Lin Kangping brought a bottle of medicine for Zi Qing, saying it was effective for her cough. This made Wen San stare at him in confusion, asking: "How did you know she had a cough? When did you see her?"

  Lin Kangping was at a loss for words after hearing this, and Zi Qing chimed in, "It's just that last time he came back from Guangzhou, he brought me some stuff."

  "What's wrong with it? Why don't you want it from me? And why won't you accept the jade butterfly I bought for you?" Wen San stared at Zi Qing, his eyes full of grievance.

  Zi Qing listened and felt a bit of a headache, saying: "How can they be the same? Yours was given to me, I naturally couldn't want it, his was entrusted to me to buy on his behalf, with my own silver."

  Wen San's face improved a bit after hearing this, and at this time, Zhou Zhanggui hurriedly said: "Our master was very pleased to see your oranges, and said that there are new things to send as gifts for the New Year. You don't know, the nobles in Beijing don't lack silver, but they do lack novel things. Our master's face is saved, and he wants to return some gifts to your family, so I brought them."

  Zi Qing took a look and saw that they were just some dried fruits and pastries from the capital, so she accepted them. Then she saw there were also four pieces of silk, Zi Qing politely declined. He Shi, who was standing beside her, also said they couldn't accept it. Zhou Zhuang Jiu saw this and wanted to give ten taels of silver as a gift for oranges. He Shi tried to decline but couldn't, so she left the fabric behind, saying they would wait for Shen Shi to return and make a decision.

  As they were about to leave, Zi Qing handed over her eight taels of silver to Lin Kangping. Lin Kangping took it without saying a word. Wen San saw this and asked: "What's with the silver? Why are you giving him silver?"

  "It was just a few taels of silver, I asked him to bring me some exquisite foreign trinkets from Guangzhou." Zi Qing's face was calm and composed.

  Wen San was hurt after hearing this, he looked at Zi Qing and then at Lin Kangping, but didn't ask anything else.

  Ziying didn't know that because of her careless move, Lin Kangping was forced to agree to sell himself to Wen San for five years without any pay. However, in his heart, Lin Kangping was delighted, as he would be completely free after five years.