Chapter 102 Never Back Down

She struggled with all her might, but could not move.

Lu Zhong and Lu Zhongping watched helplessly as their father and grandmother were beaten.

They huddled in the corner, their faces ashen.

It's not that they didn't want to save them, but they were all too aware of the consequences.

They'll just be treated as accomplices and beaten up, and might even be crippled.

In the face of fear, the bond of blood seems so pale and powerless.

Long before their parents and grandmother were dragged into the yard, they had already been severely punished by the Shen family.

All they could do was remain silent, endure, and bury their heads even lower.

Lu Guizhen stood in the middle of the courtyard with her younger brother, Lu Fuhua.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

My dad and grandma did a lot of terrible things, but no matter what, they were still family.

Seeing them being beaten now makes my heart ache like it's being cut by a knife.

She hated their cruelty towards Shen Cuifen, but she also hated the group of people in front of her for being so ruthless.

It is more heartbreaking for family members to kill each other than for enemies to take revenge.

Shen Cuifen saw the grievance and pain in the eyes of the two children and quickly called out to her family.

"Brother! Mom! Sister-in-law! Stop hitting her!"

She knew that if she continued hitting them, the two children's hearts would be truly broken.

She understood that the two children had already suffered enough tonight.

First, she caught her own father cheating, and then she watched her own father and grandmother being beaten up.

If they keep fighting like this, who knows how much trauma they'll be left with.

That kind of shadow cannot be healed by time.

She didn't want to see Lu Guizhen become numb, nor did she want to see Lu Fuhua hate the world from then on.

They are still children, they have a future, and they cannot be completely consumed by this family hatred.

She truly hated Lu Jianguo and Yang Juanhua.

But she knew that beating and scolding wouldn't solve anything.

What she wanted was justice, not vigilante justice.

She originally wanted to personally send Lu Jianguo to prison.

It was a stormy night.

She braved the rain to run to the town's clinic and asked Dr. Chen, her voice trembling.

"If I report Lu Jianguo, will he go to jail?"

Dr. Chen pulled out a law manual and explained it to her page by page.

After hearing this, she felt a chill run down her spine.

After Lu Jianguo died in her previous life, she asked around and found out that everyone said the same thing.

She went to great lengths to find the village officials who were involved in the case, retired police officers from the local police station, and even asked someone to contact a judge in the county.

But the answer remained the same.

The statute of limitations for prosecution has expired, and the law can no longer pursue the case.

Dr. Chen told her that the case was over twenty years old, and the law had long since stopped dealing with it.

Even the most serious crimes have a statute of limitations.

She stood there, stunned, her mind blank.

She hated the ruthlessness of the rules, but she was powerless to change them.

Moreover, if Lu Jianguo really goes to jail, his children will also be affected.

Lu Zhonghe and Lu Zhongping may not deserve sympathy.

But Lu Guizhen, Lu Guizhi, and Lu Fuhua's lives have just begun, and they shouldn't be ruined because of their father's sins.

As for Luzhong and Luzhongping?

She didn't care about those two ungrateful bastards at all.

But she couldn't ignore Lu Guizhen, Lu Guizhi, and her youngest son, Lu Fuhua.

She remembered Lu Guizhen holding her hand and calling her "Mother" when she was a child.

I remember that when Lu Guizhi was sick, she stayed by her bedside all night.

I remember when Lu Fuhua was learning to speak, he first called out "Mom".

These children were her only light during those dark years.

She could hate Lu Jianguo, and she could resent Yang Juanhua.

But she couldn't let innocent children pay for the sins of adults.

Hearing Shen Cuifen say this, the Shen family members, though puzzled, stopped what they were doing.

The older brother, panting heavily, frowned as he looked at his younger sister.

"You're just going to let it go like that? They've bullied you a lot!"

The mother wiped the sweat from her face and finally sighed.

The air in the courtyard gradually quieted down, leaving only heavy breathing and low sobs.

Lu Jianguo released his hand from his head and spat a mouthful of phlegm onto the ground.

"Pah! Shen Cuifen, don't think I'll be grateful to you just because you told your brother to stop! You're dreaming! If your Shen family has the guts, kill me tonight! If you can't kill me, wait until later... wait until I've calmed down, none of you will get away with this! I swear, sooner or later you'll be begging me on your knees!"

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Cuifen suddenly raised her foot and stomped hard on his upturned buttocks.

Lu Jianguo suddenly convulsed in pain.

"In the future? I told my brother to stop because I didn't want the two children to see their father being beaten like a dog, to taint their eyes and break their hearts!"

Shen Cuifen leaned down, her voice as cold as ice.

"If you utter another word, I'll have you tied up right now! We'll go straight to the divorce papers tomorrow, and the ropes won't be loosened until the divorce is finalized! Do you believe me?"

Having lived a lifetime, Shen Cuifen knew best how to build roads and establish a nation.

What he feared was not the fists, but the deep-seated humiliation and loss of control.

As soon as he hits the right spot, he immediately goes limp.

Lu Jianguo was in so much pain that he gasped for breath and couldn't straighten his back.

He knew that his two brothers-in-law were only beating him out of anger, not to kill him.

But Shen Cuifen really dared to go to extremes to ruin him.

"Pah! Those three heartless people would care about me? Dream on!"

Lu Jianguo glared fiercely at the three children standing to the side.

"We're getting a divorce tomorrow, and all three of you get out of here and go back to Shenjia Village! Don't come to my house and freeload! The Lu family doesn't take in outsiders!"

Lu Guizhen's thin shoulders trembled slightly.

She didn't say a word, but silently pulled her younger sister behind her.

Lu Fuhua stared wide-eyed at her father, her eyes filled with heartbreaking disappointment.

"The child is coming with me, but will not return to Shenjia Village!"

Shen Cuifen straightened her back and spoke loudly.

“I am their mother, and I have the right to take them away to where I belong! I will no longer depend on anyone, and I will not let my children live in the shadow of your Lu family!”

"Who built this house? It was me! I carried every brick and tile, and every load of earth! I worked from dawn till dusk, soaking in the mud and water for three whole months!"

She became more and more agitated as she spoke.

"Why should I leave empty-handed? Just because you're a man? Just because your surname is Lu?"

"Let me make this clear today."

Her gaze was like a knife, piercing straight at Lu Jianguo.

"Either you, Lu Jianguo, hand over two thousand yuan on the spot, and I'll take my three children and leave, and we'll never have anything to do with each other again!"

"Or..."

She suddenly raised her hand and pointed to the row of neat tiled houses on the east side of the courtyard.

"Those four rooms on the east side, the kitchen, along with the vegetable garden and chicken coop in the backyard, are all mine! The children are all mine too! Not a single one will be left behind!"

Her tone was firm and unwavering, showing no intention of backing down.

Shen Cuifen didn't mean she didn't want more.

Over the years, she has given so much to this family, far more than just these few dilapidated houses.

But she knew even better that if she pushed him too hard, Lu Jianguo would resort to desperate measures.

She had already thought it through from the day she decided to file for divorce...

She will not return to her parents' home, will not ask for favors, and will not bow her head.

She wants to take back everything that belongs to her and her child, not a single penny less.

When the Shen family heard that she wasn't going back to her parents' home, they were all stunned.

The second brother, Shen Dazhu, had his mouth open, forgetting to even smoke his cigarette.

Shen's mother's eyes welled up with tears, and she was about to speak to her mother to calm down.

Before he could even finish speaking, Lu Jianguo jumped up.

"Shen Cuifen, what kind of dream are you having!"

He kicked over the wooden stool next to him.