The Overachieving Little Husband of the Top Scholar’s Household - Chapter 63: Military Household

Qiu Huanian let Jiujiu and Chunsheng study at home while he and Du Yunse tidied up and went to the village chief’s house with Bao Yi’s family.

When they arrived, the village chief’s house was bustling. Last night, a pack of wolves entered the village, and as soon as dawn broke, the village chief led his family to inspect each household in the village. Villagers who suffered losses continued to come to the village chief’s house to report their situations, which would later be reported to the county magistrate.

For those villagers who truly couldn’t make a living, the village chief took it upon himself to lend them grain to get through the winter, without charging interest. They only needed to return it after the autumn harvest next year.

Although he could be muddle-headed about minor matters and show favoritism within his family, as the village chief of a single-surname village, Du Zhenhe was still better than most people.

A traditional village chief of an ancient clan society—this was Qiu Huanian’ first impression of the village chief, and looking back now, it truly fit.

Bao Ren was busy in the courtyard. When he saw them, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked over, saying, “Fortunately, we inspected the courtyard walls of each household a few days ago. This time, no one was hurt when the wolves entered the village, only some livestock kept outside were killed.”

“It’s also thanks to Bao Yi and Yunse killing three wolves last night. The pack was probably scared and quickly retreated. When we went home last night, we barely heard any wolf howls.”

Hearing that no one was hurt, Qiu Huanian let out a sigh of relief. Although the loss of livestock was just as unbearable for many ordinary farming families, as long as people were alive and well, there was hope for recovery.

Bao Ren smiled and said, “Bao Yi, you came back just in time. Father just told me to hurry over to Hua Ge’er’s house to call you. Returning before the New Year has finally put his mind at ease.”

Bao Yi’s face was stern as he stiffly replied, “Hmm.” Bao Ren was startled, then turned to look at Ye Taohong, finding that his second brother’s wife also had red, swollen eyes and a face full of anger.

Looking at Qiu Huanian and Du Yunse, who came along with them, Bao Ren realized that things were probably not simple.

Last night, when Yun Ying ran out to the tree outside, the more he thought about it, the more bizarre and suspicious it seemed. Bao Ren thought about the undercurrents between the various branches of the family and then looked at Bao Yi and his wife’s expressions, his heart sinking heavily.

He opened his mouth and said futilely, “Father is in the main house. You should go see him first.”

Bao Yi shook his head coldly. “Where’s Bao Li?”

“…Third sister-in-law said she wasn’t feeling well, so Bao Li has been with her in their room.”

In other words, this morning, when the village chief took his family to inspect the village household by household, Bao Li didn’t go.

At this moment, only Bao Ren, Meng Fuyue, and Yun Cheng’s family of three were busy in the courtyard.

After Yun Ying went missing last night, the village chief hurriedly sent his eldest and third sons out to look for the child. Not long after, Bao Li returned, and then the third sister-in-law began to feel unwell.

Bao Li immediately decided to stay with his wife instead of continuing the search, even saying, “Just do your best. It’s the middle of the night, and the outside is full of wolves. How could she still be alive?”

Luckily, Ye Taohong couldn’t sit still and had already gone out to search for the child; otherwise, she would have certainly rushed over and torn his face off.

At that time, the third sister-in-law clutched her stomach, crying and making a fuss, giving the village chief a major headache. In the end, it was Yun Cheng who stepped up and said he would go out to search for Yun Ying on behalf of his third uncle, and that matter was reluctantly dropped.

So, it was Bao Ren and Yun Cheng’s father and son that Du Yunse encountered last night.

Ye Taohong already knew about this last night. When she heard that the third sister-in-law was feeling unwell again, she sneered, “Out of thirty days in a month, she feels unwell for more than twenty days. She can’t do any work, yet she always demands the best food, but nothing’s ever actually wrong with her.”

These words were spoken without any courtesy, causing the villagers still at the village chief’s house to turn their heads and look.

Even if things were bad in private, Ye Taohong usually wouldn’t speak like this in front of outsiders for the family’s reputation.

“Brother, please call Bao Li and that beast Yun Zhe to the main house. I want to settle this matter properly with them.”

After Bao Yi finished speaking, he supported his wife as they walked toward the main house, with Cunlan running over to follow them closely.

Bao Ren and Meng Fuyue glanced at each other and finally shook their heads.

“I’ll go to the main house and keep an eye on things. You go get them.”

Yun Cheng was still measuring grain for the villagers borrowing food, while keeping accounts. Many of them appeared to be focused on the grain, but their eyes were already glancing toward the main house.

The village chief heard his second son’s voice, but before he could feel happy, he saw his second son’s family walking in with faces full of anger.

“Bao Yi, what is this about?”

“Father, I am an unfilial son, and today I will cause you trouble. But if I can’t get an explanation for this matter, then I, Du Bao Yi, am not worthy of being a father.”

The village chief, feeling uneasy, stood up with his cane, a bad premonition already forming in his mind.

But he still didn’t want to think in that direction, or rather, didn’t want to admit it.

“You’ve come back from so far away. Rest for a while first. We’ll prepare a good meal, and then offer sacrifices to the ancestors. Whatever it is, can’t it be discussed later?”

Bao Yi stubbornly refused to back down. “No need to bother. If this matter isn’t made clear, nothing else needs to be done.”

“You… Sigh…”

The village chief noticed that Bao Yi’s temperament had undergone a tremendous change since his time away. His forcefulness was now so strong that no one could easily sway him.

Looking at the scar that almost ran through Bao Yi’s eye, the village chief felt a pang of sadness and stopped trying to persuade him.

Before long, Bao Ren brought Bao Li and Yun Zhe over.

Seeing this ten-year-old “nephew” who was already malicious enough to be terrifying, Bao Yi didn’t hesitate and kicked Yun Zhe hard in the stomach.

The enormous force sent Yun Zhe flying out the door, his body hurtling two or three meters through the air before he crashed to the ground below the steps.

“What are you doing, Bao Yi?!”

Bao Li shouted, both furious and alarmed.

Yun Zhe curled up clutching his stomach, groaning in pain on the dirt ground, unable to stand up for a long time.

Bao Li tried to rush out to check on his son but was seized by Bao Yi.

Bao Li was lazy with work, and over the years, his body, though a few years younger than Bao Yi’s, had never been as strong.

Now that Bao Yi had spent months on the frontier and tempered himself on the battlefield, Bao Li was no match for him at all.

Bao Yi twisted Bao Li’s arm forcefully behind his back and kicked him in the calf, making him unable to fight back.

“Your heart aches after just one kick? When he lured Yun Ying out at night and left him on a tree to be eaten by wolves, did your heart not ache then?”

“You, what nonsense are you talking about?” Bao Li’s eyes widened.

“You really don’t know, or are you just pretending not to know? Anyway, ask your good son; he definitely knows.”

The village chief was startled by Bao Yi’s sudden action. He increasingly felt that his second son was a stranger.

So decisive, so ruthless, striking without warning—was this really Bao Yi?

The words Bao Yi spoke, implicating Yun Zhe’s actions, left the village chief both shocked and furious.

“Bao Yi, are you telling the truth?”

“This is what Yun Ying said himself when he woke up this morning. He’s only three years old; how could he lie?” Ye Taohong said angrily while holding her son. “Besides, how could Yun Ying possibly climb a tree on his own? There are only so many people in this household. If it wasn’t Yun Zhe, then find me someone else!”

Qiu Huanian helped testify, “It was Yun Ying himself who said it. No one taught him.”

The village chief frowned and personally asked Yun Ying, “Yun Ying, tell Grandpa, how did you get outside last night?”

Yun Ying had already remembered what happened the previous night. Hiding in Ye Taohong’s arms, he replied timidly, “Big Brother Yun Zhe said climbing trees was fun and took me out at night to climb them.”

“Why didn’t you call an adult and go quietly by yourself?”

Yun Ying bit his finger, confused. “Big Brother Yun Zhe is an adult, isn’t he?”

Faced with Yun Ying’s innocent but fearful gaze, the village chief didn’t know what else to ask.

Yun Cheng, who had been listening clearly from outside, didn’t send away the villagers who came to borrow grain to avoid the shame of family scandal. Instead, he walked straight over to Yun Zhe.

Yun Zhe clutched his stomach; his insides felt like they were burning in pain. He struggled to lift his head, wanting to plead to his cousin, who was usually the most easy-going.

He froze, and all his words shattered upon seeing the fury and coldness in Yun Cheng’s eyes.

He had never seen such an expression on his cousin’s face.

Yun Cheng bent down slightly and lifted Yun Zhe like a small chick, then placed him down in the room.

Looking down at Yun Zhe from above, he said, “You tell them yourself.”

The village chief moved his lips but didn’t stop Yun Cheng.

In his heart, Yun Cheng, the eldest grandson, was the one who should be disciplining all the younger siblings.

“W-What should I say?”

“Start by telling us what you were doing last night.”

“I was in the house all night. My younger brothers can testify for me. I didn’t go outside!”

Bao Yi spoke directly, “Bring those two little ones here and ask them too!”

Bao Li was reluctant. He felt that Bao Yi was acting like a madman. What if he ended up hitting the two younger sons as well?

Yun Cheng looked at Yun Zhe, neither believing him nor disbelieving him, and asked him, word by word, “Your room, along with your two brothers, is directly opposite my study. Why don’t you tell me what time I lit the lamp last night and what time I put it out?”

Yun Zhe’s mind spun quickly, and he answered hastily, “You lit the lamp at a quarter past the si(9-11) hour and put it out when you heard Yun Ying was missing.”

Yun Cheng shook his head. “No, a quarter past the si hour is my usual reading time. Last night, I was worried about wolves entering the village, so I wandered around the yard and only entered the study to light the lamp at three quarters past the si hour.”

Yun Zhe hurriedly said, “Then it was three quarters past the si hour. Just a difference of two quarters of an hour. I didn’t remember clearly.”

Yun Cheng looked at him quietly.

“Are you sure?”

Yun Zhe tried to seek help from those around him, but Bao Yi twisted Bao Li’s arm even harder. With a crunching sound, Bao Li’s face twisted in pain, too overwhelmed to offer his son any hints.

“Are you sure?” Yun Cheng asked again.

Yun Zhe trembled twice. Unable to withstand the pressure, he gritted his teeth and said, “Yes, I’m sure. It was three quarters past the si hour!”

Yun Cheng sighed, his eyebrows showing a mix of disappointment and icy coldness. “You’re wrong. The experienced people in the village said that by the wolf tracks, they could tell wolves had entered the village within the last day or two. I had no intention of reading last night and never went to the study.”

He asked sternly, “Yun Zhe, where were you last night? What are you trying to hide by repeatedly lying and insisting you saw the study’s light?”

“I-I…!”

Although Yun Zhe was somewhat clever and had studied for nearly half a year, he was still young and inexperienced. Being so logically and systematically trapped and questioned by Yun Cheng left him unable to respond.

His face turned red, his gaze darted around, and he stammered, unable to say a single coherent word. When his eyes fell upon Bao Yi, his second uncle, his entire body shook with fear.

Qiu Huanian, watching from the side, had never seen Yun Cheng like this before. Slightly surprised, he raised an eyebrow, planning to tell Meng Yuanling about it later. Du Yunse nodded faintly.

The village chief’s suspicion was nearly confirmed. He slammed his cane down hard and scolded in a low voice, “Tie up this beast who dared to harm his own brother, hang him from the beam, and see if he’ll speak or not.”

This was one of the harshest private punishments used in the villages of Zhang County. If it were an adult, their arms would be crippled within half an hour of hanging. While a child’s lighter weight meant it wasn’t as severe, it was still far from easy.

Yun Zhe had only ever heard adults use such threats in scary stories, warning kids that if they didn’t behave, they’d be hung from the rafters. He had even seen a young man who had been punished this way, left with arms too damaged to lift again.

He still wanted to study and make something of himself. What would he do if his arms were ruined?

Overwhelmed by immense fear and despair, his psychological defenses were completely shattered.

He cried and clung to Bao Yi’s leg, begging, “Second Uncle, please forgive me. Please, I know I was wrong. I’m young and ignorant, and I won’t dare to do it again. Please, I beg you!”

Bao Yi kicked him away. “Get lost, you little beast! Now you’re afraid? Weren’t you scared when you tried to harm my son?!”

Yun Zhe trembled and tried to struggle again, accidentally rolling next to Cun Lan in the corner. Seeing no one paying attention, Cun Lan looked upward nonchalantly, then stomped on Yun Zhe’s right hand with her embroidered shoe, grinding it back and forth.

Yun Zhe let out another scream, but he had already screamed so much that no one paid attention.

The village chief’s expression was cold and left no room for mercy. Bao Ren sighed and went to get the rope himself.

Just then, Yun Zhe’s two younger brothers suddenly ran over, saying their mother’s stomach was hurting.

Ye Taohong didn’t believe them at all and sneered, “Her bad stomach really works well. It’s been bad from the start of the pregnancy until now. And now, hearing her son’s wrongdoing exposed, she’s playing this trick again.”

Meng Fuyue wasn’t too convinced either. She had some sense of whether her third sister-in-law’s stomach problems were real or not.

No one paid attention to what the two little ones said, and Bao Ren looked around, holding the rope, ready to tie up Yun Zhe.

A sharp scream suddenly came from the house of the third branch, and the village chief’s third daughter-in-law finally couldn’t hold back, stumbling out while clutching her stomach.

Since her pregnancy, she had been eating too much and doing no work, making her body overly plump. As she hurried to the platform in front of the main house, her foot twisted, and with a loud thud, she fell, her belly slamming hard against the platform.

The dull sound startled everyone in the courtyard.

Meng Fuyue quickly took a few steps forward to check her condition, while Ye Taohong, despite her deep hatred for this family, still muttered a prayer.

Meng Fuyue gently helped the third sister-in-law lie flat and turn over, while the villagers gathered to help. Bao Yi released Bao Li, who quickly ran over.

Qiu Huanian noticed the blood seeping through the thick winter clothes of the village chief’s third daughter-in-law and sucked in a cold breath, his heart pounding.

Du Yunse held his hand tightly, shielding his eyes and telling him not to look at such a terrifying scene, but the spreading scent of blood in the air still seeped into his senses.

The third daughter-in-law, who had been faking her stomach problems for months, was finally screaming in real agony. The woman’s piercing wails echoed far and wide.

The third daughter-in-law was carried back to her own room. Several experienced midwives were watching over her, while someone hurriedly drove a mule cart to the town to fetch a doctor.

An incident of this magnitude couldn’t be hidden. Yun Zhe had attempted to take the life of his own three-year-old cousin, and just hearing about it was enough to make people’s hearts race with fear. Yun Zhe’s mother falling and hitting her stomach also caused concern.

Many villagers were paying attention to what was happening at the village chief’s house, wanting to see how the village chief would handle things in the end.

Everyone felt that an eye for an eye was only fair, and what happened to Yun Zhe’s household was their just deserts. However, some believed Yun Zhe’s mother’s suffering was enough to atone for their wrongdoings, while others insisted the matter shouldn’t be left as it was and that Yun Zhe must continue to be punished.

But before the third daughter-in-law’s condition stabilized, the village chief would certainly not deal with Yun Zhe’s matter.

The third daughter-in-law kept howling in her room until nearly noon, with basins of blood being carried out one after another. The doctor from the town had already arrived, but there wasn’t much he could do.

Qiu Huanian went home to eat, but feeling uneasy, he changed his clothes and came over holding a hand warmer to check on the situation.

“How are things inside now? What did the doctor say?” Qiu Huanian asked Meng Fuyue in the courtyard.

Meng Fuyue sighed, “He said the child doesn’t seem likely to make it, but they’ll try to deliver it.”

Qiu Huanian frowned, “The child isn’t full-term, is it?”

“It’s just seven months. Even if it’s born alive, it’ll be…”

Qiu Huanian shook his head heavily. In modern times, premature babies could be placed in incubators simulating the mother’s womb, growing until full-term. But in ancient times, such conditions didn’t exist.

It was the dead of winter, and with the child being born prematurely amid all this chaos, the outlook was grim.

Bao Li was pacing back and forth outside the room, muttering vicious threats about how if his son didn’t make it, he’d make everyone pay. No one paid him any attention.

The village chief sat in the main room, puffing on his tobacco pipe one drag after another. Ever since the third daughter-in-law was carried back, he had remained silent, lost in thought.

Another half hour passed, and the doctor and midwife came out, bringing both good news and bad news.

The good news was that the third daughter-in-law’s life was saved. The bad news was that the seven-month fetus ultimately couldn’t be born alive. The embryo was already formed — a Ge’er with discernible arms and legs.

Qiu Huanian sighed, feeling sorrow for a life that never made it into the world.

On the other hand, he thought, perhaps not being born into such parents and this family was a blessing in disguise.

Bao Li was devastated upon hearing the child was gone, but when he heard from the midwife that it was a little Ge’er, he seemed to feel somewhat relieved.

The third daughter-in-law was out of danger, and everything seemed to have settled. But Bao Yi wasn’t letting it go; his son Yun Ying’s grievance still hadn’t been addressed.

Bao Yi grabbed the hiding Yun Zhe like a chick and threw him into the main room.

“Let’s get on with the business. Where’s the hemp rope? Hang him up for me.”

Yun Zhe trembled, while Bao Li hurried over and stood just out of Bao Yi’s reach to shield his son. “Du Lao’er, can’t you be satisfied with what’s already happened? My wife’s like this, and you still want to cause trouble!”

“Your wife wasn’t pushed down by me; it’s purely your own accumulated sins coming back to bite you. Yun Ying’s account hasn’t been settled. Don’t think you can avoid it.”

Just as the two were about to start bickering again, the village chief, who had been silent the whole time, gave a heavy cough.

He lowered his head and, in the ensuing silence, let out a long sigh. “I really am old. Old and useless. Always laughing at other families’ turmoil, but look at my own. Haven’t I raised a bunch of beasts?”

“Father, you…”

The village chief waved his hand to cut off Bao Ren’s attempt to speak, his tone filled with despair. “Enough. Let’s split the family.”

Those present were too stunned to react.

You must understand, the village chief had always valued the idea of a large, unified family. In the past, even a slight mention of splitting the family would cause him to fly into a rage.

The village chief remained silent.

What else could he do? Things had escalated to this point, and his favoritism toward boys had played a significant role. If they didn’t split the family now, the brothers would become eternal enemies for generations to come.

Children and grandchildren would have their own fortunes. Let them fend for themselves.

Bao Yi was the first to react. He spoke directly, “Big Brother is the eldest son and must provide for Father. By the rules, the family residence should go to him, and he should receive a larger share of the family property.”

“Over the years, Big Brother and Sister-in-law have taken care of everything inside and out. Yun Cheng’s continued studies will also require significant expenses. My suggestion is that Big Brother should receive seventy percent. Father, what do you think?”

Upon hearing this division, Bao Li’s eyes widened. If Bao Ren took seventy percent, then the remaining thirty percent would be all that was left to divide. To make Bao Li suffer, Bao Yi was practically willing to harm himself in the process.

“Second Brother, how can…” Bao Ren disapproved of taking so much.

Bao Yi shook his head and continued, “Of the remaining thirty percent, twenty percent will go to me, and ten percent to the third household. It’s what they owe us.”

“Du Bao Yi, you shameless bastard!” Bao Li cursed in a fit of rage.

Getting only ten percent was practically the same as being left with nothing. After all, he still had three sons and a sickly wife to support.

Bao Yi remained firm and refused to give a single bit more to the third household.

The village chief was silent for a moment before asking his second son in an unprecedentedly solemn tone, “If things are divided this way, you won’t cause trouble for Yun Zhe and the third household anymore.”

Bao Yi pursed his lips, and only after Bao Ren nudged him from behind did he grumble, “If they cause trouble for me again, don’t blame me for being even harsher.”

The village chief took a heavy drag from his tobacco pipe. “Very well. Then let’s split the family. The eldest household, go to the storeroom and fetch the ledgers and silver. Let’s get this matter settled before the New Year. After all, Yun Cheng is getting married to a husband after the New Year, and we don’t want him walking into a mess.”

…

Qiu Huanian didn’t watch the family-splitting process; the village chief’s family handled it behind closed doors.

The next day, the third household bought an unused thatched house in the village and moved out.

The house’s previous owners had moved to town and were doing well, so the conditions of the house were better than what Qiu Huanian lived in when he first transmigrated. But in the bitter cold, the third household, accustomed to living in bright brick houses, was still suffering.

Later, Qiu Huanian heard from Meng Fuyue that the third household only received ten percent of the family property. The silver was almost all spent on buying the thatched house, and they were left with one acre of irrigated land and three acres of dry land. Working diligently, it would barely be enough to feed a family of five.

“Actually, Father-in-law still has compassion. After all, we’re in the same village. If things really get unbearable, he won’t refuse to help. His intention is to make them realize their mistakes and genuinely reform,” Meng Fuyue saw the situation clearly.

“Is Bao Yi’s family still living in the ancestral house?” Qiu Huanian hadn’t heard about them moving out.

Meng Fuyue shook his head and said, “It seems Bao Yi made some sort of achievement on the frontier. His superior appreciates him and invited him to join the army. He plans to take his family to the borderlands to settle down after the New Year. My father-in-law doesn’t approve, and they’re currently at an impasse.”

“Joining the army would make them a military household, wouldn’t it?”

According to Yuchao’s household registration system, once a household became a military household, they couldn’t easily leave. Each family had to provide at least one person for military service. When a father died, his son would replace him; when an older brother died, a younger brother would take his place, until the family could no longer produce a qualified male.

“Yes, military households aren’t something to take lightly. We’re not far from the border, and several villages and towns nearby have military households. Once a war breaks out, they’ll be drafted one by one.”

“Unless someone can rise up and become a properly ranked military officer, they’re just there to be sacrificed.”