"Do you know what I want to do most right now?
I want to send you to a strict boarding school for re-education, the kind where they beat you if you don't behave!"
"Forget it, do whatever you want!"
Ding Yun actually wanted to enforce filial piety through corporal punishment, but unfortunately, that would be illegal. She didn't want to end up in jail herself for trying to forcibly change her daughter's personality.
If that happened, her grandson would truly have no hope.
So, she ultimately decided to compromise.
She gave up on continuing to worry about Liu Lan.
She would no longer try to control her, letting her be as she pleased. If she wanted to stay home, she could. If she wanted to eat, there would be leftovers. But she shouldn't expect anything else, like money for clothes.
However, Liu Lan wasn't worried about any of that. She was worried that something was wrong with her mind. That's why she clung to Ding Yun, refusing to let go, wanting to borrow money to see a doctor. She pleaded with Ding Yun not to abandon her, as she was, after all, her biological daughter.
Liu Lan's incessant pestering made Ding Yun feel like she had brought this upon herself. After all, if she hadn't made Liu Lan have three consecutive nightmares, Liu Lan wouldn't have gone mad thinking she was mentally ill.
Afraid of death, she desperately wanted medical attention.
But now, it was a done deal.
She couldn't travel back in time to change the past.
In reality, with Ding Yun's current savings, lending her some money for an examination would have been easy. But Ding Yun feared that if this precedent was set, similar situations would arise repeatedly.
Liu Lan would use it as an excuse to demand money forever.
Wouldn't that bring her back to the same situation as before?
Wouldn't Liu Lan still be dependent on her?
Ding Yun could accept some compromise, but she couldn't accept a complete capitulation, becoming indistinguishable from the original body. Therefore, she decisively refused.
She then quickly broke free and avoided her.
To be safe, Ding Yun even found a hidden corner and transformed herself. She cast a Spell of Neglect upon herself and a Designated Spell of Neglect upon her daughter, with herself as the designated target, to reduce her presence in Liu Lan's eyes.
Indeed, the spell worked quite well.
After casting the Spell of Neglect, even when Ding Yun walked past Liu Lan, Liu Lan acted as if she hadn't seen her, completely ignoring her. Unfortunately, this beautiful state of mutual non-recognition didn't last long, because before long.
Ding Yun couldn't resist and dispelled the Spell of Neglect herself.
She then gave her daughter a good beating.
While hitting her, she also healed her, ensuring no visible injuries, but Liu Lan could still feel the pain.
There was no other way; Ding Yun truly couldn't control herself.
Under the influence of the Spell of Neglect, Liu Lan had started rummaging through the house, finding cash that Ding Yun had kept at home, intending to pocket it. She had also nearly stumbled upon the box where Ding Yun stored refurbished phones. Seeing this, how could Ding Yun stand by?
Of course, she had to quickly break the spell.
And give her a beating.
At this point, Ding Yun finally understood why some parents, who initially insisted on not hitting their children and on being calm and patient, eventually lost control and resorted to physical punishment.
It was simply because the children were so infuriating.
Words were completely ineffective for education.
After the beating, Liu Lan, who had rarely been punished before, became much more obedient. The anger and frustration that Ding Yun had accumulated over time were also greatly relieved.
It seemed that a little physical discipline was necessary. Otherwise, not only would the child be disobedient, but the parent would also be driven to death.
This harmed the liver and the body, affecting lifespan.
Afterwards, whether it was due to the beating, or because Liu Lan stopped having nightmares for the next few days, or because Ding Yun allowed her to return home, or even allowed her to eat at the table with her son without paying household expenses.
She became quiet from then on.
Although Ding Yun regretted that she never managed to get Liu Lan to work, she was too lazy to bother anymore.
What could she do if her daughter was as stubborn as a dead pig that couldn't be scalded?
For the sake of family harmony, she stopped worrying and getting angry, treating her as an unsellable pig kept at home.
After all, sometimes extra food had to be thrown away.
Having one more person to eat the leftovers was considered being a "plate-cleaner."
No longer preoccupied with her daughter's situation, Ding Yun naturally had more time to study magic, witchcraft, and immortal spells. For some relatively harmless witchcraft, Ding Yun even had test subjects.
She had been reluctant to experiment on her grandson before, but now that her daughter was home, she could use her. Thus, Liu Lan's days at home became less pleasant. When awake, she would often feel an itch somewhere or a pain.
Her metabolism would accelerate, or she would experience diarrhea.
Numerous problems, many varieties, making her feel like she was cursed.
And when she was asleep and not fully conscious.
She would even experience physical deformities in her sleep.
Turning into a pig, a snake, or becoming uglier or more beautiful.
Then Ding Yun would restore her.
Upon waking up in the morning, she would have little memory of it, perhaps just feeling slightly unwell, as if she hadn't slept well.
After this continued for a period, Ding Yun immediately felt that it was quite necessary for her daughter to stay at home and not work. After all, some magic could only be cast on people; without experimentation, how could she know the effects?
If she left, who would Ding Yun use for experiments?
She hadn't discovered her daughter's usefulness before.
That was because Ding Yun hadn't intended to practice then, or at least hadn't intended to cast spells on ordinary people.
Or use ordinary people as experimental subjects.
But now that she had the relevant ideas, Liu Lan's role became apparent. This not only allowed Ding Yun to understand the effects of some magic more clearly but also prevented Liu Lan from just eating without contributing anything valuable!
It was a win-win situation.
Unfortunately, this relatively harmonious period didn't last long, because someone wasn't dead yet. Liu Guoding, despite his illness, was indeed still alive.
After being detained and educated for a few days, he was released.
He remained quiet for a while, not bothering Ding Yun or her daughter, and lived peacefully until his lease on the basement expired.
Then he returned to his hometown.
He returned home to find a way to repair his old house.
It didn't need to be in great condition, just habitable.
This way, he could at least save on rent, and living in the countryside would also reduce daily expenses.
However, less than a year after he returned, his old house, due to lack of funds during repairs and shoddy work, collapsed during a typhoon. He himself survived but broke his leg, becoming essentially a cripple, in urgent need of care.
At the same time, his old house had also collapsed so severely that repairing it would likely cost over a hundred thousand yuan.
In this situation, he had no one else to turn to.
So, he had to contact his daughter again.
He even threatened to sue her for filial support.
Actually, if this lawsuit were pursued strictly, Ding Yun could win. After all, Ding Yun had sufficient evidence to prove that Liu Guoding had not raised his daughter. Parenting and filial support are corresponding responsibilities and obligations. Theoretically, if one hasn't raised a child, they are not entitled to demand filial support.
However, arguing this case would be too troublesome.
The specific judgment would depend on the local judge, with no uniform basis. Moreover, while theory is theory, sometimes traditional customs had to be considered, as even those not at fault might receive some humanitarian compensation.
Therefore, to avoid trouble.
Ding Yun decisively took a harsh approach. She performed a simple Yin Energy Infusion Technique on him, sending Liu Guoding away overnight.
This completely resolved the current trouble.
And any potential future troubles.
The Yin Energy Infusion Technique wasn't a particularly malicious witchcraft. It simply involved collecting Yin energy and malevolent energy and directing it into a person's body. For a healthy person, it would at most cause a severe illness and weaken their vitality. As for someone already in poor health.
Their fate would naturally be dire.
However, to outsiders, it would appear as if his condition suddenly worsened and he died due to a lack of timely medical treatment.