Zhang Daniu's father also said angrily, "I always said we should have drowned her when she was born. We fed her, gave her water, and raised her all these years, and she still mistreats and harms her own brother. She's a despicable, worthless, and worthless thing!"

Unable to bear it any longer, Master Fan said, "You two! Stop shouting. Zhang Daniu has already confessed to his crimes, and his guilt has been established. No matter how much you shout, it will be useless."

Upon hearing this, Zhang's parents immediately sat down on the ground, kicking their feet, slapping their thighs, and crying out:

"Oh dear, what an ungrateful son I've raised! He's our only son... How are my husband and I supposed to live now? And my grandson... He's so young and already without a father..."

Song Anxin watched helplessly and shook his head. Although he didn't want to see such a young child from the Zhang family lose his father, it was the bitter fruit of their own actions, and who could they blame? He could only hope that they would raise their grandson well so that he wouldn't become another troublemaker like Zhang Daniu.

Even as Zhang Daniu's mother cried and shouted, none of the villagers present said anything. Today they had learned a new phrase: "Even the emperor is subject to the law." Besides, Zhang Daniu was indeed a bad person; he had already confessed to his crime. How could they let this scoundrel go?

Zhang Daniu's mother cried for a long time, but seeing that no one paid any attention to her, she peeked out from between her hands covering her face. She saw that the villagers were indifferent and were even pointing and whispering about them. She simply stopped crying, but her eyes darted around slyly. Suddenly, she caught sight of Yan Shuping, who was standing not far away in his official robes.

She immediately crawled on her knees and kowtowed to Yan Shuping, saying, "Your Honor, please spare my Da Niu... I beg you, I beg you..."

Zhang Daniu's father also quickly knelt down and kowtowed to beg for help.

Yan Shuping's handsome brows furrowed. He had just heard what the elderly couple said: their son committed a crime and they were blaming their daughter. They were simply unfit to be parents.

The constables immediately dragged them away. Seeing that their pleas for mercy were ineffective, Zhang's parents cried out:

"I want to file a complaint! Your Honor, I want to sue Zhang Mei and her husband. They are unfilial and unjust, they disregard their parents, and they disrespect their elder brother and sister-in-law... I want them to go to jail with my son."

The eyes of Zhang's parents revealed a ruthless intent; if Da Niu was in trouble, their family wouldn't have an easy time either.

The surrounding villagers gasped. Zhang's parents were truly ruthless; their son was in prison for a crime, yet they wanted their daughter and son-in-law to go with him.

Lin Fengshou and the others were furious when they heard this. Song Anbang was also very puzzled as to why there were such parents. Song Anxin was also extremely angry. What a vicious and unworthy couple of parents they were.

Lin Fengshou and his companions went up to argue with Zhang's parents.

Just then, a woman's voice came from the crowd: "Father, Mother."

Everyone turned around and saw Lin Fengnian leading Zhang Mei out. Zhang Mei's eyes were swollen like walnuts, clearly indicating that she had been crying a lot, but her face was calm at the moment.

Seeing Zhang Mei's expression, Song Anxin knew something was wrong. She quickly stepped forward and said gently, "Meizi, you and Fengnian go inside. Mother will handle things here."

Zhang Mei forced a smile onto her usually stagnant face and said:

“Mother, I’m alright. Thank you for always protecting me. I can’t hide anymore. There are some things I need to settle. This is also what you taught me: to face whatever comes my way bravely. Life is long, and it will all pass.”

As soon as Zhang Mei showed up, Zhang's parents immediately tried to tickle her.

"You damn good-for-nothing, you've finally come out! You better tell your in-laws to release your brother, or you and your husband will go to jail with him!"

Lin Fengnian stood in front of Zhang Mei. He was a farmer all year round and had plenty of strength. He pushed Zhang Daniu's father aside in one go.

Zhang Daniu's mother quickly stepped forward to help her old man up, and immediately began to curse:

"You actually let your man lay a hand on his own father! You ungrateful wretch! Your Honor, did you see that? They laid a hand on their own parents! How could my family produce such a worthless wretch..."

Although Zhang Daniu was being held by the yamen runners, he was still jumping up and down, cursing:

"You good-for-nothing! Not only did you ruin my life, you even dared to hit your parents! Why didn't I beat you to death back then...?"

Zhao was also lying on the ground cursing, but dared not make any movement for fear of aggravating the wound on her buttocks. Therefore, she lay there motionless with her mouth babbling away, which looked quite comical.

The constables standing nearby couldn't stand it anymore. Why hadn't they struck this wicked woman on the mouth with the cane earlier? They pretended to walk over there unintentionally and stepped over Zhao Shi, landing precisely on the wound where she had been caned. Zhao Shi screamed in pain, breaking out in a cold sweat. She didn't dare to vent her anger on the constables, and she didn't even have time to curse them.

Zhang Mei listened without any change in expression—no anger, no sadness—she simply watched them quietly.

Song Anxin and the others were extremely worried. Lin Fengnian wanted to shut them up immediately, but Zhang Mei stopped him.

After the Zhang family had finished cursing and were taking a breather, Zhang Mei spoke up:

"Father, Mother, Brother, Sister-in-law, have you finished scolding me?"

"This is the last time I'll call you."

Zhang's parents and brother and sister-in-law were stunned by Zhang Mei's sudden words. They wanted to continue scolding her, but Zhang Mei spoke first.

Zhang Mei smirked and said self-deprecatingly, "What right do you have to sue me? I ask you, am I your daughter?!"

"No, it wasn't me. Your son and daughter-in-law sold me to the Lin family long ago. The indenture was actually made by you two, Zhang Daniu and Zhao Shi, while I was unconscious. Don't you remember?"

She stared intently at her parents and asked, "Did you say a single word for me when they sold me?"

Zhang Mei suddenly shouted, "No! You've never cared about me! From childhood to adulthood, I've always been called a good-for-nothing girl and a burden to you. I lived like a dog in that family!"

Tears slowly welled up in Zhang Mei's lifeless eyes.

"I'm trying so hard to please you, hoping you'll give me even a second glance, just one glance... even just a little bit of what you care about Zhang Daniu would be appreciated..."

Tears welled in her eyes, and she suddenly looked at Zhang's brother and sister-in-law: "I thought you two had made up, I thought I had finally received a belated apology and concern. I never imagined it was all a lie! You were just pretending to get my in-laws' secret recipe for duck eggs."

Zhang Mei shouted, "Why! Why did you do this to me? Why did you sell me and then disturb my life? Why did you give me hope only to deliver such a heavy blow? What did I do wrong?! Just because I'm a girl?!"

But I am a girl, and I am also your flesh and blood…

The surrounding villagers were all deeply moved upon hearing this, and even some women and girls, thinking of themselves, secretly began to wipe away tears.

Zhang's parents and elder brother and sister-in-law had never seen Zhang Mei like this before, and were speechless when questioned.

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