First watch of the night.

------------

After thinking back for a bit, Luo Xiaoqiong let out a wilted sigh. "I’ve realized I’m really not a qualified daughter. Chuxia, don’t you think I’m especially useless? I can’t do my job well, I can’t handle household stuff either, what else do you think I’m good for?"

"Alright, stop slipping into self‑denial mode again..." Chuxia glared at her. "That’s enough. If you keep this up I’m going to ignore you."

"But that’s really how I feel. I’m hopeless at everything except eating, and I never leave any food behind..." Luo Xiaoqiong muttered as she frowned. "I’m practically on par with a pig."

Chuxia gave her an amused sidelong look. "Yeah, everyone’s just waiting for you to drop a litter of piglets now."

"If anyone’s dropping them, it’ll be you first."

Chuxia: "..."

Luo Xiaoqiong arched her brows smugly. "I’m just stating the facts, what’s with that face?"

"Okay, seeing you like this means you’ve bounced back..." Chuxia straightened her expression and changed the subject. "My eldest uncle and eldest aunt have already moved over there. Are you going to wait until I leave before you go live there, or what’s your plan?"

"Kicking me out?"

"Get lost..." Chuxia glared at her in annoyance. "Fat Auntie and Uncle Gangshun moved out early just so you could get along better with your in‑laws. I have to cooperate a little too, don’t I?"

"A few days won’t make a difference, right?" Luo Xiaoqiong looked at Chuxia with obvious reluctance. "Once you go back, I’ll be living with my father‑in‑law and mother‑in‑law all the time. They’re so open‑minded, there’s no way they’d fuss over a few days."

"That’s true..." After thinking it over briefly, Chuxia said, "I’ll talk it over with my mother‑in‑law and the others in a bit and have my eldest uncle and eldest aunt stay on this side for now.

They don’t know anyone or anything around here. Once my eldest uncle leaves, my eldest aunt will have to handle everything on her own. It’d be better to have my parents keep her company these few days, show her around and help her get used to it."

Luo Xiaoqiong grinned happily. "That’s perfect. Then I won’t feel guilty about dumping them over there alone. I’ve actually been really torn—wanting to be with you but also feeling I’m letting them down."

Chuxia looked at her with a smile. "Oh? Weren’t you just blaming me for being inconsiderate and sending them over there?"

"Don’t frame me. Am I that unreasonable?" Luo Xiaoqiong looked at Chuxia with a face full of grievance. "We’ve been playing together since we were running around bare‑bottomed, and you say that about me? That’s really hurtful."

"Now that you’re pregnant you’ve really turned into little Daiyu..." Chuxia shook her head and got up to go outside. "I’m done yakking with you. I’m going to talk to Grandma."

"I’m coming too." Luo Xiaoqiong quickly stood up and followed. "Heartless. It’s just a few days, and you keep trying to ditch me."

Chuxia: "..."

...

Zhao Yushan and Li Aiyuan were in a hurry to move out mainly because they didn’t want to make things hard on their niece. Even though his younger sister and niece had explained to them over and over, they still felt that their arrival had caused too much trouble for the Zhou family.

When Chuxia went to share her idea, Old Madam Zhou nodded repeatedly. "Xia, that’s exactly what we should do. When they were moving out, your grandpa and I, your mom, your second uncle, second aunt, third aunt, we all tried to stop them. But your eldest uncle and eldest aunt said they wanted to go over there and tidy up the place properly, so it wouldn’t feel too deserted when you moved in—bad for a pregnant woman.

When someone puts it that way, we really can’t insist anymore. Besides, he’s still not that close to us. If we push too hard, it’ll just make them uncomfortable.

You talk to them nicely. If they’re really worried about that place being too desolate, we’ll send a few people from home to stay there and keep it tidy. Your parents don’t get to see your eldest uncle and aunt more than once a year. It’s rare to have this kind of chance—of course they should spend more time pouring their hearts out to each other."

Chuxia looped her arm through the old lady’s and chuckled. "I knew Grandma would be the most open‑minded. Honestly, I knew even if I didn’t discuss it with you and just brought them over, you’d be over the moon. But to set my eldest uncle and aunt’s minds at ease, I have to talk it over with you. Grandma, you mustn’t think I don’t trust you, okay?"

"Alright, Grandma understands." The old lady rubbed her head fondly. "How could Grandma not know what you’re like? There’s no way I’d misunderstand you. Oh right, your second aunt came to you, didn’t she?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Yeah." There was no point hiding it, so Chuxia admitted readily. "She’s worried about Laowu and Xiao Feng too. But I didn’t really help much. What Xiao Feng means is that Laowu has to go talk to her himself—on the condition that he realizes his mistakes and promises not to act like an idiot again."

"Ai!" The old lady let out a heavy sigh. "Our big family looks good from the outside, but actually, there’s a whole pile of worries. Still, compared to Grandpa Ye’s family, we’re doing much better."

"The situation at Grandpa Ye’s place is really worrying. Oh right, Grandma, Grandpa keeps going over to chat with Grandpa Ye—has he mentioned how Grandpa Ye’s health is now?"

"What could it be like? This kind of illness isn’t something that gets better in a day or two. The key is long-term recuperation, and while recuperating, he mustn’t get upset. Over there, the old ones are worrying, the young ones are worrying—how is he supposed not to get angry?

If it weren’t for not wanting to ruin their family relationships, your grandpa really would like to bring your Grandpa Ye over here so we can look after him. Ever since he came back from the Ye Family last night, he’s been in low spirits. He said if things go on like this, he’s afraid your Grandpa Ye won’t make it through this year."

Chuxia suddenly sat up straight. "It’s actually that serious?"

"Your grandpa and Old Ye have been brothers for a lifetime. Words like that, he wouldn’t just say casually. Today your grandpa went to talk to the Ye brothers. He doesn’t really want to meddle in other people’s business, but now that it’s come to this point, if he still doesn’t step in, all that’ll be left in the future is regret.

Xia, Grandma is telling you this, but don’t overthink it. Even putting aside the fact that Ye Meiru betrayed Xiaomi, even if she hadn’t, Xiaomi still couldn’t be with her. Our family and the Ye Family simply don’t have that fate to be in-laws through our children.

Your grandpa told me last night that in the past he never believed marrying the wrong wife could ruin a whole family. Now he really feels that saying is not exaggerated at all.

Your Grandma Ye, even when she was young, was the sort who fawned on the powerful and stepped on the weak. Fortunately, your Grandpa Ye had his own mind and could keep her in check, so nothing too big ever happened.

Later, when it came time to marry off their sons, the men didn’t interfere, so she really started to spread her wings. All the daughters-in-law were chosen by her. If the sons didn’t agree, she’d kick up a fuss. There was nothing they could do. Whether they were satisfied or not, the three brothers could only go along with it.

And now, haven’t the aftereffects all shown up? Among the younger generation of the Ye family, not a single one is promising. The three sons all have decent hearts, but their temperaments are too soft.

Your grandpa said the reason Old Ye’s health keeps getting worse is because he has nothing to look forward to. If at least one of them were doing well, he wouldn’t be driven to that ’to hell with it all’ mindset."

Yes, once a person’s spirit collapses, the whole person collapses. Even a healthy person is like that, let alone someone as sick as Grandpa Ye. Chuxia sighed and looked at Old Madam Zhou. "Grandma, I want to go see Grandpa Ye. Is that okay?"

She had wanted to visit him before, but because of Qiang Yuxian’s attitude, she decided it was better not to go. But now that things had come to this, she especially wanted to do her part.

When she married Zhou Mikang, Old Master Ye had taken the initiative to go to the Zhou family to give them his blessings. She was truly grateful. Maybe her words would be of little use, but she still hoped to make an effort.

"Xia..." Old Madam Zhou looked at Chuxia with some concern. "Given how things are for you right now, Grandma really doesn’t want you to go there and be mistreated. The others are still manageable, but Qiang Yuxian certainly won’t say anything pleasant."

"Grandma, of course I know all that. I’ll go together with Zhou Mikang..." Biting her lip, Chuxia looked at Old Madam Zhou. "Grandma, I want to ask Grandpa Ye to be the babies’ god-grandfather. What do you think?"

Old Madam Zhou nodded solemnly. "Of course that’s good. If your grandpa knew about your decision, he’d be overjoyed. Actually, he really had this idea before, but he was worried you might feel obliged rather than willing, so he gave up on it."

"Then we’ll go tomorrow. When Grandpa gets back, I’ll talk it over with him, and also discuss it with Zhou Mikang."

"Xia..." Old Madam Zhou looked at Chuxia with deep emotion. "Grandma has always known you’re not an ordinary child—kind, generous—but even so, I didn’t expect you could go this far.

You haven’t said it, but Grandma knows: you’re repaying the Zhou family’s debt of gratitude. Back when the Zhou family was in a bad way, your Grandpa Ye helped a lot behind the scenes. Your grandpa and all of us in the family have always remembered it.

I suppose Xiaomi told you these things, and you’ve been keeping them in mind, right? Grandma has to say it again: when it comes to judging people, Xiaomi’s eye for character really is something I can’t compare with."

...

After a few months, seeing Old Master Ye again, Chuxia could hardly believe her eyes. This shriveled, misshapen old man—was he really that energetic elder she remembered?

Zhou Mikang’s mood was heavy as well. He had only not come for a few days, yet the old man’s condition was so much worse than before. What kind of people was this whole family?

Do they have to drive the old man to his death before they’ll be satisfied?

Don’t they realize that if this family loses Old Master Ye, they’ll truly be completely cut off from the social circle they used to be part of?

It’s not that he wants to cling to power and influence, but people are alive; you have to keep moving forward. Decline forced by circumstances is no one’s fault, but decline caused by people—he really can’t accept that.

Yesterday Grandpa went to talk to the three sons of the Ye family about Old Master Ye. They’re very anxious too, but they simply can’t find a solution. They say they want to send the old man to a convalescent home, but he won’t agree. If he stays at home, they can’t very well make the old lady and the daughters-in-law all move out...

In short, in handling family matters, they are really remarkably lacking in responsibility.

Old Master Ye smiled and pointed at the chair by the bed, looking at Chuxia. "Child, it’s alright. Everyone has to walk this last stretch. The Ye family has caused you so much grievance, and yet you can still come here with Xiaomi to see me. This old man is truly very happy..." (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)