Chapter 31: Impossible Relatives

"My lady, Lady Xue is here." Qiu Lu opened the door and hurriedly invited Xue Zhenrui inside.

Xu Chengyue stepped out to welcome her.

Behind Xue Zhenrui, two maids were carrying a large, heavy chest. They were visibly exhausted, looking as if they could barely hold it up any longer.

Xu Chengyue was stunned. Was this a gift for her?

She stammered through some polite pleasantries, "You didn't have to bring anything just to visit."

"Lady Xu, these are all letters from your readers," Xue Zhenrui said, her eyes shifting away.

"?" Xu Chengyue asked, puzzled. "It’s been nearly a month since my last book was finished, how could there be so many letters?"

"You'll understand once you read them." Xue Zhenrui signaled for the servants to set the chest down.

What was going on with everyone acting so mysterious?

Xu Chengyue picked up a letter and opened it. The phrasing was quite literary and clearly written with great care. Translated into plain language, it went something like this:

*Master Yueming:*

*Seeing this letter is like seeing you in person. It has been twenty-eight days and three hours since I last read your work.*

*Your books have had a profound influence on me; they are my spiritual sustenance. You have shown me what a wonderful treasure words can be, and that reading is, in fact, a spiritual delight. I am deeply captivated by your literary talent.*

*The vastness of the universe and all living things are revealed one by one under your pen.*

*—Here follows 800 words of sycophantic praise—*

*These past few days, I have been unable to eat or sleep well. I am listless, as if I have caught an illness that requires medicine to cure. If there is a miraculous medicine in this world, for me, it must be your books.*

*If books are a way to meet kindred spirits through literature, then I look forward to seeing you again.*

Xu Chengyue shook off the goosebumps. That was truly sappy. But the flattery was quite skilled; she could hire this person to write speeches for the flag-raising ceremonies.

The requests for a new book were quite subtle, but could this entire crate be filled with them?

Xu Chengyue quickly opened another letter.

Xue Zhenrui watched her expression cautiously, afraid of making her angry.

Today’s mission had been assigned by Master Lü, not to force Xu Chengyue to start writing immediately, but to give her a gentle reminder so she wouldn't get too carried away with her leisure time and forget about the work.

Many readers had already come to the Shanhai Bookstore several times to ask, and the letters were doubling every day. The chest they brought wasn't even everything; it was just from the last few days.

Besides, Master Lü had a personal motive. He and the shopkeeper had made a bet on whether Lady Xu’s new book would match the success of her first one, or perhaps even surpass it.

The shopkeeper firmly supported Lady Xu, while Master Lü was skeptical, thinking it was a tall order.

Xue Zhenrui, of course, stood firmly on Lady Xu’s side.

However, she was unsure of the situation. Lady Xu had been so busy for so long and had only just started resting; she worried that being urged to write might make her angry.

Xue Zhenrui felt like crying. Would she leave a bad impression on Lady Xu? Would Lady Xu end up hating her?

If she had known, she wouldn't have come. But she had heard the shopkeeper and Master Lü discussing it so excitedly, and she realized she hadn't seen Lady Xu in many days, which was why she took the assignment.

Lady Xu was actually a very kind and gentle person. When she first started working, she had taught her many things step-by-step.

But for some reason, whenever she saw her, Xue Zhenrui felt nervous and terrified of making a mistake.

After opening several letters and finding that they were all urging her to write a new piece, Xu Chengyue felt quite speechless.

Since she had been resting for so long and was indeed getting bored, she decided she might as well write a new book.

"Alright, I understand. If I finish the manuscript in a few days, I'll send it over," Xu Chengyue replied.

Xue Zhenrui was overjoyed; in an instant, the sunlight seemed to shine much brighter.

*Oh, Lady Xu is truly wonderful. She must have agreed because she didn't want to make things difficult for me.*

After seeing off Xue Zhenrui—who was teary-eyed and kept reminding her to take care of her health and not overwork herself—Xu Chengyue ordered her maid to prepare the ink, paper, and brushes, and had her desk moved back in front of the window.

She prepared to start writing.

About the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, Xu Chengyue was still fiddling around, and not a single word had been written on the paper.

She turned to look out the window.

It must be the birds chirping too loudly, disrupting her thoughts.

Xu Chengyue got up and closed the window. The chirping was indeed quieter.

She sat back down at the desk and adjusted her posture.

*Yes, this time I will definitely write!*

Another quarter of an hour passed.

Xu Chengyue’s attention shifted from the brush in her hand to her clothes, then to the stool she was sitting on, finding everything uncomfortable.

*It must be these things hindering my thoughts!*

*Damn it, why can't I write? Why do people have to write? Why is everything outside so interesting?*

*Maybe I should clean the table first? And then take a bath and change clothes?*

Xu Chengyue slumped dejectedly over the table.

Fine, she just didn't want to write; she was being lazy.

*Tomorrow! I will definitely write tomorrow! I’ve just been playing for too long, my mood isn't settled yet, and I can't switch into the right state.*

Xu Chengyue found an excuse for herself, packed away the writing supplies, and decided to write tomorrow instead.

And so, the first day of starting the new book resulted in a word count of zero.

The second day: 0.

The third day: 0.

By the fourth day, Xu Chengyue realized with a guilty conscience that two days had already passed since the "few days" she had promised Xue Zhenrui.

*I really can't delay any longer. Write!*

Afraid she would change her mind, she quickly took out her pens and ink.

She began to write without letting her thoughts pause. In fact, she had already thought of the general framework for the book.

Conceiving a plot was easy for her; it was just her "lazy cancer" acting up, making her prefer staring into space over writing.

But once she truly made up her mind, it didn't take long to enter the zone.

First, she established the protagonist as a descendant of a large rural clan. Her grandfather was a feudal patriarch, and her grandmother was shrewish and favored boys over girls. Her father was one of three brothers, and he was the middle child. He was weak-willed, her mother was timid, and they had only her—an only daughter—though they desperately wanted a son.

Everyone in the family, except for her parents, stood in opposition to the protagonist, serving as the primary targets for her to "slap in the face."

This was the difficult situation the protagonist had to face.

Xu Chengyue also gave her a "golden finger": a plain-looking, tattered silver ring she had picked up, which housed an immortal who had descended to earth to find an apprentice.

With the characters set, the conflicts were ready-made. It took her four or five days to write the first twenty thousand words.

While she was closed off writing, unaware of anything else, the news that her new book was about to go on sale had already sprouted wings and flown all across the city of Luoyang.

Many commoners were discussing it.

"Have you heard? Master Yueming's new book is coming out soon."

"How could I not know? It was clearly written in the Shanhai Gazette."

"I don't even know how I got through this month; I've been thinking about it day and night."

"Do you think if we study as much as we read these books, we'll become like those scholars?"

"Keep dreaming. Go try taking the imperial examinations and see what happens."

This was mainly due to Xue Zhenrui. Ever since she heard the news that Xu Chengyue was starting a new book, she was ecstatic and immediately published the information in the paper.

She had self-taught herself the art of "preheating" for promotion.

When Xu Chengyue stepped into the Shanhai Bookstore again after nearly a month and heard this, her first thought was: *Do I really have this much clout? This is the kind of treatment only top stars got when their new dramas premiered in my past life!*

*That's impressive!*

Having received praise, Xue Zhenrui blushed. "Lady Xu is too kind. I only did what I was supposed to do."

Lü Hongzhuo, watching from the sidelines, felt something was a bit off, as if he were watching a wealthy playboy flirting with a respectable lady—if one ignored the fact that both were women.

As for the bet between the shopkeeper and Lü Hongzhuo, Lü Hongzhuo eventually conceded defeat himself.

Because after reading the text, he had to admit that although it was only the beginning, the plot was every bit as brilliant as the last one, and the setting was even closer to the lives of ordinary people. Lü Hongzhuo had never imagined that domestic squabbles could be written so brilliantly, leaving one full of anticipation.

.

"Brother Zhang, what a coincidence! You're here to buy the book too?"

"Brother Liang, long time no see. I'm just here to join the excitement."

"As the saying goes, there is a house of gold in books; reading more can't hurt."

People who knew each other gathered in twos and threes to exchange greetings.

Once they bought the books, they didn't go straight home to read them. Their favorite places to go now were tea houses and taverns. They would order a cup of tea and, after finishing a chapter, discuss the contents with friends—it was incredibly satisfying.

Reading alone felt like losing the fun of sharing; it was rather dull.

However, before they even reached the main text, they started arguing over the title.

"Why does this title seem even stranger than the last one—*After Being Kicked Out of the Family, I Got Rich and Wealthy*?"

"Why do I think it's more normal than the last one? At least it's very clear."

"Nonsense, what could being kicked out of a family have to do with getting rich? And it says 'being' kicked out, not choosing to leave."

"Whether it's related or not, we'll see once we read it. If I could get rich and wealthy, I'd want to be kicked out too."

As soon as this was said, everyone fell silent. *This kid is certainly daring.*

Stopping the argument, everyone lowered their heads to read.

The story began with a little girl named Wang Erya, who was ordered by her grandmother to go up the mountain to gather firewood.

The grandmother was sharp-tongued, scolding Erya: "You little wretch, you only eat and do nothing, lazy and gluttonous; you'll never be able to get married."

If one didn't know the truth, one would certainly assume Erya was exactly that kind of person.

However, the author described Erya's appearance and clothing in detail, showing that it was entirely the opposite.

She had dry, yellow hair, was skin and bones, and her clothes were tattered and heavily patched. At thirteen years old, the girl wasn't even as tall as her nine-year-old cousin.

She was constantly ordered around by her grandmother, aunt, and step-aunt, forced to do every dirty and tiring chore.

"That old woman is truly hateful. This is her own granddaughter; how can she make things so difficult for her?"

"Well, they are poor country folk. There's no other way; even young children have to work. The grandmother might be wrong, but it's understandable."

"Understandable? Why doesn't she make her grandson do the work? That kid is just standing by, watching the show and stirring up trouble!"

Erya went up the mountain to gather wood, and her cousin ran out to play with his friends. The two happened to collide. The group of boys mocked Erya for being dirty and ugly. The cousin, feeling embarrassed, got into an argument with her and accidentally pushed her off the cliff.

The boys panicked, didn't dare to say a word, and ran away secretly.

When the adults returned from the fields at night, Erya hadn't come home. The grandmother was furious, cursing and swearing. Erya's father, Wang Erlang, also felt embarrassed and blamed Erya for not working properly.

"I'm so angry! Erya has been pushed off a cliff—we don't even know if she's alive—and these people are still blaming her!"

"Wang Erlang is trash too. His daughter is usually so well-behaved. She didn't come home tonight, which is strange, and he doesn't even care if something happened to her."

"Go find her! Hurry! If it's any later, she'll really be gone. That cousin is no good; he pushed her off and didn't even try to save her, and he wouldn't even tell the adults!"

Finally, a fellow villager—the father of one of the boys—rushed to their house and said that Erya had been pushed off the cliff by his cousin, Wang Xiaoliu.

Wang Erlang couldn't believe it because his mother often said he would have to rely on Wang Xiaoliu to care for him in his old age, so he had been very good to his nephew. He never expected his "good" nephew to harm his daughter.

The grandmother didn't believe it and cursed the man for slandering them, blaming everything on Erya.

Wang Erlang and his wife didn't have time to deal with her scolding; they rushed to find their daughter and finally found her at the bottom of the cliff, barely hanging on.

"Tsk, Wang Erlang's brain isn't working right. His daughter is his own flesh and blood, while his nephew is from another branch! With his nephew's character, he expects him to provide for his retirement?"

"I hope Erya is okay. At least her parents aren't that heartless toward her."

After bringing Erya back, her mother, Wang Qin, changed her clothes and cleaned her wounds. She discovered that Erya had not only fresh wounds from the fall but also old, long-standing scars.

Only then did she realize why Erya always cried out in pain when touched, even though she had previously called her "delicate." It turned out she had been beaten all along, and Wang Qin didn't need to ask to know it was the old woman.

She couldn't help but cry and complain, calling Wang Erlang a spineless coward who accepted everything, causing both mother and daughter to suffer. She lamented that the old man and the old woman favored the first and third branches, making their second branch work like cattle and horses.

"Even if parents can't treat everyone equally, this is extreme favoritism and child abuse," the person speaking said with anger.

"Filial piety is one thing, but why treat your own brother like a beast of burden?"

"No wonder they want to split the family. With parents and brothers like these... sigh, it's hard. They should just split up."

Wang Erlang was also fuming. He went to settle the score with Wang Xiaoliu, the culprit, and made a move to hit him.

Who would have thought Wang Xiaoliu wouldn't be afraid of him at all, even threatening him: "If you dare hit me, when you're old, I'll just throw you on the back mountain to be eaten by wolves."

Because Wang Erlang had no son, he had treated this nephew better than his own daughter. Who could have imagined he would say such things? Wang Erlang, overcome with rage, slapped him.

Wang Xiaoliu was stunned and started crying loudly on the spot, drawing the grandmother and the sister-in-law, Wang Chen.

Because they saw him as spineless, they didn't respect him. They protected Wang Xiaoliu and scolded him.

"These two are completely unreasonable. With them doting on him like that, I don't think Wang Xiaoliu will amount to anything; he'll just be a petty thief or a thug."

"A little ingrate! His conscience has been fed to the dogs!"

"Split the family! I want to see the family split!"

It goes to show how weak-willed Wang Erlang was; after being scolded by the two women, he slunk away.

Erya hadn't woken up yet, and her parents were worried sick. They were busy with farm work and had been hoping for a son, so they hadn't paid much attention to Erya, but they still cared for their only daughter.

"Why didn't they do this sooner? Now they know how to care? If they had noticed Erya's situation earlier, she wouldn't have suffered for so long." The man slammed the table, directly projecting his own feelings for his daughter onto Erya.

Erya was having a beautiful dream, where an old immortal asked her if she was willing to be his apprentice.

Having grown up in the countryside with no experience—she hadn't even left the village—she couldn't keep her eyes open because of the golden light radiating from the immortal.

When the immortal asked if she was willing, she said it didn't matter because it was just a dream; once she woke up, everything would disappear.

The old immortal felt it was strange and asked how she knew it was a dream.

Erya said that her real life was as bitter as a bitter melon, and good things only appeared in dreams; once she woke up, they were gone.

"Erya hasn't read books, but she's so smart; she understands so much at such a young age. It's heartbreaking!"

"Erya is too sensible. *Sob, sob, sob.* If anyone treated my daughter like that, I wouldn't let them off!" someone said, wiping away tears.

"Erya, say yes! That's a real immortal hidden in the ring, not a dream!"

"Once you have the ability, you can make those frogs in the well open their eyes and regret what they've done."

"Ha! Fools, fools! That Wang Xiaoliu harmed her, but he didn't realize he was facilitating such an opportunity."

The old immortal was also moved that she was so young yet so clear-headed, and he wanted to take her as his apprentice even more, so he used supernatural powers to prove his identity.

Erya was dumbfounded and nodded in agreement.

The old immortal was an immortal who had attained enlightenment through cooking, so he could only teach her that. He warned her not to tell anyone about the ring and arranged to teach her whenever she had time.

"Thank goodness she agreed and didn't miss this opportunity."

"I wonder what the old immortal will teach her?"