Chapter Six: The Family Estate Is Divided — He Receives but a Single Ox; Mistress Ma Rejoices at Her Trifling Gain

When morning came, Jin Lang led the ox up into the hills as usual. Back at the house, wicked Mistress Ma had done exactly as the ox foretold — she had secretly purchased arsenic and kneaded it into the noodles, setting the dish aside expressly to poison Jin Lang. At midday, Jin Lang came home for his meal and made his way toward the kitchen. Mistress Ma pointed to a bowl of noodles and told him to take it and eat. The moment Jin Lang saw the noodles, his heart was on guard — he had not forgotten what the ox had told him in the night, and he knew it was true. Though he took the bowl in hand, he dared not put a drop to his lips. Mistress Ma, seeing him hold the bowl without eating, stepped forward and struck him a blow. But as it happened, the blow knocked the bowl from his hands and it shattered on the ground. In an instant, a flash of flame and light burst from where it fell. Jin Lang was so frightened that the color drained from his face; then, fearing another beating from Mistress Ma, he turned and fled at once.

He ran all the way up to the hills. The ox was still there on the hillside, grazing. Jin Lang ran up to the ox, weeping: "Ox! Ox! What you told me last night has come to pass exactly as you said. It is thanks to you that I was warned in time — otherwise, one of us would now be dead!" The ox heard this and nodded in reply: "Since this has now come to pass and your elder brother is not at home, it would not do for you to return today. By tomorrow at noon, your brother will certainly be back. At that time, go home and tell him everything — your elder brother will know how to handle it."

Having said this, the ox fell silent and returned to grazing. Jin Lang followed the ox's counsel and went without food for a full day and night. The following day, he waited until noon before going home. The old gatekeeper hurried out to meet him, saying: "Young master is back! Your brother returned to the house some time ago and has been asking after you. I have already told him the whole story from beginning to end. The young master is in the back hall right now, scolding your sister-in-law soundly. You may go in." Jin Lang listened, then went inside as instructed to see his brother. He bowed respectfully and stood to one side.

Mistress Ma, the moment she laid eyes on Jin Lang returning, glared at him with loathing in her eyes, as though she could devour him alive. Jin Cheng told the boy to eat his meal first. When it was finished, he pointed at Mistress Ma and spoke his rebuke: "You wolf-hearted vile woman! You have made a habit of acting without conscience. I have cautioned you again and again, and not only have you shown no sign of changing, you have grown worse. It is just as the old saying goes: 'The most venomous thing of all is a wicked woman's heart!' I see no other way but to invite our maternal uncle to come and divide the family property, so as to protect my younger brother from further harm. I cannot forget the words my father left me on his deathbed, nor can I allow this to become a scandal for others to mock. My brother is still young, but I will have an old servant stay with him and see him through, so that you, you vile woman, will no longer be able to lay your hands on him!" When Mistress Ma heard these words, she opposed them with all her might and absolutely refused to agree. Jin Cheng's fury rose until his hair stood on end. He rushed forward, seized Mistress Ma by the hair, threw her to the ground, and beat her while she wailed and sobbed. The servants crowded around to intervene, finally pulling Jin Cheng to a chair and soothing him with words of calm, until at last his anger subsided.

Jin Cheng went into the study and with his own hand wrote an invitation, then sent a servant to summon his maternal uncle, An Yunsheng, to the house to oversee the division of the estate. The old servant took the letter and hurried to An Yunsheng's house. An Yunsheng opened it and read:

To my honored maternal uncle, with deep respect: It has been too long since I last paid my respects — how I have missed and longed for your guidance. The household has suffered misfortune; both father and mother have passed from this world one after the other. There is a family estate to be managed, yet I am burdened with anxiety within the home and pressed by affairs outside it at every turn. My young brother remains in the house, where he has repeatedly suffered abuse at the hands of a cruel sister-in-law. Remembering that I must not dishonor my late father's dying wishes — that I must care well for my brother — I write to beg that you, Honored Uncle, would condescend to come, to serve as witness and to adjudicate a fair division of the family property. Respectfully seeking your favorable response.

Your affectionate nephew, Jin Cheng

An Yunsheng read the letter and thought to himself: "My brother-in-law is gone, and the young boy he left behind has been mistreated by his sister-in-law. Separating them into different households is clearly the best solution. Fortunately, the elder nephew still has some love for his brother — that is admirable enough." He put on his outer robe and followed the old servant to the Niu household. Jin Cheng met him at the gate and welcomed him into the main hall, where a banquet was laid in his honor. After the meal, the servants served tea. Over the tea, An Yunsheng said: "You sent me a letter this very morning, and I was rather astonished when I read it. When your father passed away, he left behind only you two brothers. The family estate is substantial. What is needed is brotherly love, a harmonious marriage, and husband and wife working in accord — only then can your father and mother's spirit be at peace in the afterlife. Why on earth do you wish to divide the household?"

Jin Cheng replied: "Uncle does not know the full extent of it. Brotherly love — I am not without it. But my wife does not obey the harmony of marriage; she abuses my young brother at every turn. I have been reluctant to speak of it, but I deeply fear that my brother will come to harm at her hands." An Yunsheng then turned to rebuke Mistress Ma: "Niece-in-law, with a character like yours, you are very much in the wrong! Your young brother-in-law dwells in this house and must be treated with kindness and care. To beat and scold him is wicked beyond measure. And how could you make him sleep in the ox pen? Where in this world is there a person with so little humanity? Worthy nephew, your decision to separate households is indeed the wisest course for protecting your little brother. Now that I am here, we shall proceed." He then asked Jin Cheng to bring paper and brush. Jin Cheng directed the servants to set out the writing materials and grind the ink. An Yunsheng put on his spectacles, read through the household account book carefully, then took up his brush and wrote:

This deed of family partition is drawn up by Niu Jin Cheng and Jin Lang, brothers. The family has suffered the misfortune of losing both father and mother in succession. External affairs are numerous and pressing; worries at home are many. Between the two surviving brothers, though brotherly affection has not been lacking, a harmonious conjugal relationship has not been maintained. Therefore, we resolve to divide the household and live separately, so as to prevent any untoward incident. We respectfully invite our maternal uncle An Yunsheng to serve as witness and to oversee a fair division, so that neither party receives too much or too little. It is hoped that each party will guard his share of the estate and restore the honor of the family name, so as to fulfill the hopes that our parents once held for us. Each brother retains one copy of this deed as permanent record.

Signed jointly by Niu Jin Cheng and Jin Lang

Mistress Ma sat to one side in sullen dissatisfaction; she longed to swallow the entire estate herself and drive Jin Lang out, but with the maternal uncle conducting a fair division she had no power to manipulate matters to her advantage. The document was ready; Jin Cheng and Jin Lang were called to affix their marks. Jin Cheng stepped forward and signed at once. Jin Lang stepped forward and said: "Though my elder brother has signed, I will not follow his order!" And with that, he slipped away and ran up the hill.

That Jin Lang refused to sign puzzled the assembled readers — what could the boy be thinking? The reason was this: whenever something important arose, Jin Lang would go to consult with the ox in private. He listened to the ox in all things and acted according to its counsel. Jin Lang reached the hills, and the ox, already sensing why he had come, shook its head and wagged its tail and said to Jin Lang: "You have come at this hour — surely you have something to discuss?" Jin Lang said: "Just so. My brother and I are to divide the family estate. The maternal uncle has already drawn up the partition deed and commanded me to sign it. Being uncertain, I have come to ask you — how do you think this matter should be resolved?" The ox replied: "As I see it, there is no need for you to covet any part of the family property. Wealth and poverty in this life are determined by Heaven — why emulate the foolish and greedy? Go back now and declare to your maternal uncle that all the family property shall be left entirely in your elder brother's keeping, and that you ask only for this one ox to be your companion morning and evening. Beyond that, only food and clothing. Hold firm to these two conditions — nothing more." Jin Lang said: "But I would be left with nothing at all — no property whatsoever. At this moment I may manage, but what will I have to rely on in the future?" The ox stamped its foot and said: "I may be an animal, but my word is not false. There will be a way in time." Hearing the ox answer him thus, Jin Lang asked no more. He turned and hurried back down the hill to the house.

An Yunsheng was still in the main hall in conversation with Jin Cheng. The moment he saw Jin Lang return, he smiled warmly and once again asked the boy to affix his mark. Jin Lang stepped forward and made a deep bow, then said: "I am grateful for Uncle's kindness in attending to this matter, and I should not have defied your instruction. Yet being so young, I cannot manage a great household. Let the family property be left in my elder brother's keeping for the time being, and I ask only for a single ox. Everything else is of no concern to me." An Yunsheng said: "It is a son's duty to receive his father's legacy — how can your brother take the whole of it himself? If this is how it stands, there is no point in dividing at all." Jin Lang said: "Please let my brother have it. I ask only for food and clothing — and the ox I must take; my brother cannot claim sole authority over that." An Yunsheng and Jin Cheng, seeing him so fixed and resolved in his position, had no choice but to accept his terms. The deed was signed, and An Yunsheng was seen out with due ceremony.

As for Mistress Ma, her heart sang with secret pleasure. She thought to herself: "That wretched little beast has only himself to blame — to spend his whole life minding a cow! In the end he will starve to death one day or another. Here I shall live in comfort, with the whole estate to myself. How perfectly delightful!" As it is written:

The venom of the green bamboo snake lies in its bite;

The sting of the yellow hornet hides beneath its tail.

Of all the poisons in this world,

None is more venomous than the heart of a wicked woman.

What happened next? Turn to the next chapter to find out.