Chapter 38 People who can't even get their surnames decided to engage in this kind of unreasonable argument are here to discuss...

The weather was perfect that morning, with golden sunlight bathing the fields.

After watering her small vegetable garden, Wen Yu straightened up and took a look, feeling quite satisfied.

In addition to planting the seeds that had been distributed to the villagers, she also secretly planted some tomatoes and cucumbers in her own vegetable garden.

She even set aside a small plot of land to plant scallions, ginger, garlic, and a few chili peppers, hoping for a good harvest so she could treat her family to a nice meal.

Looking at the thriving vegetables and the glistening water droplets hanging on the leaves, Wen Yu was in a good mood, knowing that another bumper harvest was on the horizon. She prepared to pack up her tools and go home.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she stepped onto the ridge, she heard several villagers huddled together and whispering.

One of them hurriedly said, "Have you heard? There's a fight going on at Aunt Chen's place!"

Wen Yu's ears immediately perked up.

What?

There aren't many families with the surname Chen in the village, and it seems that only Chen Yu's family still lives here.

But in Wen Yu's memory, Chen Yu never married in order to take care of her two elderly parents. After they passed away, she has been living alone ever since. How could she suddenly get into a fight with someone?

Could it be that someone has come to cause trouble?

The villagers nearby were also astonished: "My God? What happened?"

The villager who spoke first shook his head: "They say her sister, who went out to escape the famine, has returned with her family! But she hasn't even settled down yet, and she's already having a divorce with her husband. The two of them are arguing fiercely right now!"

Wen Yu paused in her steps.

Chen Yu's sister?

Isn't that Chen Miaozhi?

No, she had to go and see for herself.

Without hesitation, Wen Yu quickly ran to leave, dropped off her farm tools at home, and then hurried off in the direction of the loudest noise.

Before she even reached the gate of Chen Yu's house, she saw a large group of people gathered in a circle, pointing and whispering inside.

Even from a great distance, she could already hear the sharp arguments coming from the center of the crowd.

However, the family members were so tightly packed that Wen Yu couldn't see what was happening inside, so she had to painstakingly push through the crowd to get in.

When she finally managed to squeeze into the inner circle and saw the scene before her, she couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.

Chen Yu, who was usually gentle and even somewhat timid in front of others, was now glaring angrily at a man.

Her face flushed with anger: "Liu Haoyan, do you have any conscience?! What did you say when you married into our Chen family? Now you want to go back on your word? You've gone too far!"

The man was completely unreasonable, pointing at her and shouting, "Gods and Gods, everyone, be the judge! My son, Peichuan, is the only heir to our family line. If we don't let him change his surname back to Liu, we're making sure our Liu family line ends!"

"What do you mean by 'only one lineage'?" a villager suddenly interjected. "Don't you have a daughter?"

Liu Haoyan curled his lip, his face full of contempt: "What kind of family line is a woman? Once she gets married, she's like water spilled from a cup, she's no longer relevant! Only sons can guarantee that our Liu family name will continue for generations to come!"

Wen Yu had been here for a long time, and most of the people she met were quite normal, which almost made her forget that this was still an ancient feudal society.

We didn't even go into the museum!

It also allowed her to see the antiques with her own eyes.

"Have you forgotten the marriage certificate you signed in black and white? You're just a live-in son-in-law, and it's only natural that the child takes the mother's surname, Chen!" Chen Yu retorted without backing down. "I think you should worry about this. If your son also becomes a live-in son-in-law in the future, your descendants won't be able to choose their own path!"

"You!" Liu Haoyan was clearly enraged and cursed, "You bitch! What business is it of yours to interfere in our family affairs?"

Chen Yu stamped his foot and said, "Why is it none of my business what my sister does?"

The surrounding chatter grew louder, and even the live chat couldn't help but surge with excitement.

[My God, who is this guy? So arrogant!]

[Hilarious! Why should he get all the benefits? I wondered who it was, turns out he's just a live-in son-in-law. Didn't he spend the money and provisions given to him when he married into the family? Now he wants to just walk away and even steal the child's surname? Hypocritical!]

Some people tried to mediate: "Well, I don't think the surname is that important. It doesn't matter whose surname the child takes. Wouldn't it be great if the two children each took a different surname?"

The next second, the person was left speechless.

What do you think about the two of them each having one child?

[I'm dying of laughter! The child I'm carrying is going to take someone else's surname? There's no such logic in the world!]

People who can't even get the right to have their surname chosen are talking about how important surnames are; they're just brainwashing themselves...

[By the way, is that woman over there Chen Miaozhi?]

Wen Yu looked back in the direction Chen Yu was pointing and saw that a woman was protecting her behind her, and the woman was holding a little girl's hand tightly.

The girl looked visibly frightened, but she suppressed her emotions and clung tightly to her mother, refusing to budge an inch.

The woman looked tired, tugged at Chen Yu's sleeve, and whispered, "Forget it, sister. Pei Chuan... he doesn't want to be with me anyway, let him go."

Seeing that his mother had relented, a boy peeked out from behind Liu Haoyan and yelled at Chen Yu and the woman, "Did you hear that? I want to be surnamed Liu! Who cares if I'm surnamed Chen like your family? You old hag, you're just being nosy!"

Chen Yu was so angry she was trembling all over: "You!"

Just then, she caught sight of Wen Yu and, as if seeing a savior, hurriedly grabbed Wen Yu's hand: "Wen girl, you've come at the right time! Come and judge this!"

The crowd automatically parted, and Wen Yu took the opportunity to open the character panel. While looking at the biographies of several people and listening to Chen Yu's narration, she finally understood what had happened.

The man in front of you, named Liu Haoyan, is the son-in-law of Chen Yu's cousin, Chen Miaozhi.

Years ago, he signed a marriage contract to marry into the Chen family, stipulating that all the family's land and houses would belong to the Chen family, and that the children would take their mother's surname. Now that the children are grown up, he wants to go back on his word, not only divorcing his wife but also changing his son's surname back to Liu.

[Liu Haoyan, 32 years old, idle, addicted to alcohol and gambling, emotionally unstable, and prone to violence...]

[Recent Experiences: Repeatedly squandered family funds on pubs and gambling tables, and upon returning home, verbally abused and even physically assaulted his wife and daughters.]

Chen Miaozhi, 29 years old, literate, with a resilient and patient nature...

[Recent Experiences: During the famine, she sold her dowry to support her family; she tried her best to protect her daughter, Qianshan, in front of her drunken husband; and she persisted in teaching her daughter to read and write despite the hardships.]

Damn it!

Wen Yu cursed secretly in his heart.

This is not a simple marital dispute; it is outright one-sided bullying.

Chen Miaozhi was clearly a woman capable of supporting herself, yet he tormented her like this.

This was the female teacher she had been longing for; how could she just stand by and watch her be dragged into the mire by such a scoundrel?

She had to support Chen Miaozhi.

Wen Yu quickly asked in his mind, "System, how should divorce be handled in ancient times, especially in cases involving a son-in-law living with his wife's family?"

The system replied: "Host, according to the laws and customs of this dynasty, in ordinary marriages, if the wife commits any of the 'seven grounds for divorce,' the husband may divorce her."

However, the situation of a son-in-law who marries into the wife's family is special, as his status is similar to that of a wife in a regular marriage. If he wishes to separate from his wife, the person who officiated at the wedding must issue a "letter of release of the son-in-law" to dissolve the marriage. Usually, this requires the witnessing of an elder in the clan or a respected local figure, and must be registered with the government to be effective.

Wen Yu felt somewhat relieved, but then pressed on, "So, who can they ask to dissolve the engagement? And who can be a witness?"

The system remained silent for a longer time this time.

Both of Chen Yu and Chen Miaozhi's parents have passed away, the sisters have married far away, and their only brother has gone missing while fleeing famine. The most suitable witness in the clan at present is Chen Yu, their cousin.

[In addition, if there is a village head or clan elder, they can also uphold justice. However, according to my research, the former village head of Luxi Village has passed away, and there is currently no new village head, leaving the village in a state of vacancy.]

Seeing that no one could subdue him, Liu Haoyan became even more arrogant: "Hmph, even Peichuan himself wants to take my surname, so what you say is useless!"

“There’s not even a person in charge in your village. Who’s qualified to write a marriage certificate for me? If this can’t be resolved, I’ll go to the county government office, beat the drum to appeal for justice, and ask the upright official to judge and decide whose surname this son should take!”

Upon hearing this, the villagers who had gathered around were outraged and accused him: "Liu Haoyan, have you no shame! You made it all agreed upon when you married into the family, and now you want to go back on your word?"

"Exactly! You've gotten all the benefits, and now you want to discard me after I've served my purpose? There's no such logic in the world!"

"If it weren't for the Chen family, would you have had a place to live? Would you have had food to eat? You're such an ungrateful wretched child!"

Liu Haoyan, however, stubbornly ignored everyone's accusations, displaying a rogue-like demeanor: "Those two old bastards are long gone, where can I repay their kindness? Over the years, I have done more than enough!"

Wen Yu looked at Chen Miaozhi, and then at Pei Chuan, the boy hiding behind Liu Haoyan with a hostile expression towards everyone, and her heart sank.

Liu Haoyan's idea was by no means a spur-of-the-moment decision.

This is by no means a simple case of marital discord.

For a child to become psychologically estranged from their biological mother, even to the point of hatred, there must have been years of indoctrination and instigation behind the scenes.

The viewers in the live chat had reached their limit.

【Ugh, I'm so angry! Sister Miaozhi, run! Why keep a man like that around?!】

[Wen Yu, hurry up! Protecting our future female teacher is our duty!]

[Just imagining it is suffocating. How has Sister Miaozhi managed all these years...? This man looks like he'd drink, gamble, and beat people at home. Don't ask me how I know, my dad is like that.]

[Hilarious! Different families, same dad. He used to come home drunk and take his anger out on us for no reason. Every single one of us in the family has been beaten by him. Luckily, I escaped.]

[Damn it, this is making me so anxious. Could we crowdfund to hire a lawyer for Sister Miaozhi...?]

Oh, right.

Since this involves the law, then everything should be done according to the law!

Wen Yu immediately understood. She stepped forward and stood between the two, her voice clear and crisp: "Liu Haoyan, you said you wanted to go to the county government office, fine. Let me ask you, do you still have your marriage certificate from when you married into the Chen family?"

Liu Haoyan was taken aback, his eyes flickering for a moment: "...Of course."

"Does the marriage certificate clearly state in black and white that you voluntarily marry into the Chen family, that your children will take your mother's surname, and that all family property will belong to the Chen family?" Wen Yu pressed on relentlessly.

Liu Haoyan was speechless, but he argued, "So what? Times have changed! Now we want a divorce, and our son wants to be recognized by his ancestors. Those old stories from so many years ago are no longer valid!"

"Recognize your ancestors and return to your clan?" Wen Yu sneered. "Law and customs both recognize marriage contracts. You signed something in black and white, how can you just go back on your word? Do you think the county government office is your private property, where you can cause trouble as you please?"

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Author's note: This extraordinary man is actually based on a real person, and in reality, he was even worse than the one I portrayed.

Unfortunately, the woman in real life suffered greatly in this marriage, and was even severely cheated by him when they finally divorced.

I want this story, at least in the novel, to have a happy ending.

[Pitiful]