Li Xiuying and Guo Youcai were met with a cold reception as soon as they returned to Lao Guo's house.

During the time Li Xiuying and Guo Youcai were arrested, the Guo family suffered a lot of gossip and criticism from outsiders. What was most infuriating was that their grain was confiscated, which made Old Guo and his two sons resent Li Xiuying and Guo Youcai.

If it weren't for the trouble caused by that mother and daughter, would they have gone three years without a harvest?

The family's old sow was also driven to Qin Zheng's house by Lu Guohua's men. Now the family is so poor that they only have a few chickens and ducks left. They rely on a few eggs to exchange for grain.

When Old Guo saw Li Xiuying, he immediately turned around and went back into his room.

Even his own son, Guo Youcai, no longer liked him.

The two sons of the Guo family only glanced at Li Xiuying indifferently, and the two daughters-in-law glared at Li Xiuying and Guo Youcai, whose face was bruised and swollen, before snorting and going about their own business.

They respected Li Xiuying before because both Lao Guo and Qin Zheng protected her.

Now that Qin Zheng is gone, and Old Guo also doesn't like Li Xiuying, what need is there for the two of them, as wives, to act as undercover agents in front of Li Xiuying?

Only Guo Li sat on a small stool in the courtyard, watching Li Xiuying without moving.

Li Xiuying helped Guo Youcai, whose face was bruised and swollen and who could barely walk, into the yard, and called out to Guo Li, "Xiao Li, come and help your brother."

It would have been better if we hadn't said anything.

Guo Li looked at Li Xiuying and Guo Youcai with unfamiliar eyes, then got up and walked outside, saying, "My friend asked me to go out and play, so I won't be home for lunch."

After saying that, he disappeared without a trace.

Li Xiuying stared in the direction Guo Li had left, and clicked her tongue in exasperation: "That child, why is she always out running wild all day long?"

"Eldest son's wife, second son's wife, come quickly and help your younger brother loosen up his muscles!"

She continued to order around her eldest and second sons' wives as always, but neither of them paid any attention to her. They would just glance at her and then continue with their own work.

She was a woman after all, and she took some handicrafts from someone else to do.

If it weren't for the two sisters-in-law doing some handicrafts, the Guo family would probably have starved to death relying solely on those few eggs.

They were doing the job of stringing beads onto nice clothes, and they were doing it very carefully.

Whether they were genuinely attentive or just pretending, they were so attentive that they couldn't hear Li Xiuying at all.

Seeing that her two daughters-in-law didn't understand, Li Xiuying was about to lose her temper when Guo Youcai, one of her subordinates, suddenly cried out in pain.

Guo Youcai covered his face, groaning in pain, "Ouch... Mother, my face is so painful and itchy, could you please get me some medicine?"

He has suffered greatly in the detention center these past few days.

The people in the detention center are all scoundrels. They don't care how he got in; they just bully him, a newcomer. They've beaten him up pretty badly these past few days.

He even suspected that Qin Zheng might have specifically instructed the people inside to treat him well.

Li Xiuying was heartbroken.

She lovingly touched Guo Youcai's face, which was red and purple from being beaten. She wanted to get some medicine for Guo Youcai's bruises, but she didn't have any money. So she turned her attention to her two daughters-in-law. "Eldest daughter-in-law, go and buy some medicine for your brother, do you hear me?"

The eldest daughter-in-law was doing her work when she heard this. She immediately threw the beads in her hand into the bamboo basket and said without any politeness, "Mother, don't you know how expensive medicine is? He's a grown man, can't he even handle this little injury? What's wrong with just enduring it?"

Bear with it?

Li Xiuying was about to explode when she heard this, but she didn't have the confidence to do so, so she ordered, "Second son's wife, you go!"

The second son's wife glanced at the eldest son's wife.

The eldest son's wife shook her head.

For a moment, the second son's wife ignored Li Xiuying's words and continued to pant over the beads in her hand.

Hey?

Li Xiuying was dumbfounded. Were her two daughters-in-law going to rebel?

Old Guo, sitting at the doorway of the main room, waved his hand impatiently and said, "Don't make such a fuss. Can't a grown man like him endure this kind of hardship? We don't even have money for food, let alone spare money to buy him medicine. Just bear with it!"

Li Xiuying felt sorry for her son and immediately retorted, "You surnamed Guo! How can you tolerate this? This is your own son!"

"My own son! You've spoiled him rotten!" Old Guo also lost his temper.

He grabbed half a brick from the side and slammed it to the ground, angrily shouting, "It's all because you spoiled your own son like this! Look what he's done to our family!"

The eldest daughter-in-law also said sarcastically, "The old sow at home was perfectly fine before. We fed her so much grain, and even bred her. But you made her run away from Qin Zheng's house like that. We've also been fined until we're almost out of grain. Look at what you've done!"

Li Xiuying's face changed. "Eldest sister, you dare to criticize me now?"

The eldest daughter-in-law snorted coldly, but before she could speak, the second daughter-in-law added, "Mother! We're not trying to criticize you, but look at the mess you've made of this family! We can't even afford to eat!"

When Li Xiuying saw that her second son's wife was also criticizing her, her eyes widened even more.

Old Guo waved his hand irritably and said, "You're back just in time. Go out and pick some wild vegetables. The family hasn't had lunch yet, so hurry back and cook!"

Another blow!

Li Xiuying hasn't cooked a single meal since her two daughters-in-law entered the family. She hasn't cooked for almost ten years, and now they actually dare to ask her to cook?

This is outrageous!

Enraged, Li Xiuying bent down and picked up the half brick that Lao Guo had thrown down. She dared not hit Lao Guo, nor could she touch Lao Guo's two sons. Suddenly, she spotted the second son's wife, raised the brick, and turned to smash it at her!

"You little slut! I'll teach you a lesson for daring to criticize me!"

The second son's wife glared at him, dropped the basket of glittering beads she was holding, and ran away, screaming, "Mother! What are you doing?!"

When Guo Lao Er and Guo Lao Da saw that the two were about to fight, they quickly stepped forward to break them up.

The eldest brother grabbed Li Xiuying.

The second son also shielded his wife, angrily shouting, "Mother! What are you doing!"

"I'll let her scold me!"

Li Xiuying struggled fiercely, furiously trying to hit her second son's wife, and even Guo Laoda couldn't stop her.

The second son's wife hid behind him, crying out with a mix of grievance and resentment, "Why do you always bully me! My sister-in-law said so too!"

The eldest son's wife remained silent.

Enraged, Li Xiuying pointed at her second son's wife and yelled, "You little slut! Your mother has only been gone for a few days! She's not dead! How dare you talk back to me!"

He then threatened to smash the second son's wife again.

The second son's wife also got angry. She pulled her son away and tried to push him up, yelling, "Then hit me! Hit me on the head! Our family is in this state because of you! You could kill me and put my mind at ease! It would save me from having to put up with your wicked mother-in-law here!"

"You little slut!"

The eldest and second eldest brothers rushed to pull them away, and the scene became chaotic. Just then, a crisp sound came from outside the courtyard gate—

"Is this the Guo family's house?"