"You unfilial daughter, how could you make an old man kneel before you?"

When the familiar angry voice reached their ears again, Zhou Jiuzhen and his mother-in-law were both surprised as to why the two of them had suddenly appeared there.

Ling Huanwu looked up blankly as her parents suddenly appeared before her, and those fading childhood memories resurfaced.

Ever since Song Yaoyao came to the Ling family, Ling Huanwu has often heard her father's angry roars and her mother's harsh words.

"Why did you take Yao Yao's room? You're already the eldest daughter of the Ling family, what's wrong with letting her have it?"

"Why did you push Yao Yao down into the icy lake? Don't come up today unless you've been soaking in the icy lake for five hours!"

"If only you were half as sensible as Yao Yao, how wonderful it would be if Yao Yao were our biological daughter!"

Every word they once said pierced her heart like a sharp knife.

Now, hearing her father's sudden rebuke, she felt no sadness whatsoever.

The repeated favoritism and distrust she received from childhood had long since pierced her heart, leaving it numb and desensitized.

Song Yaoyao, who had been squatting on the ground screaming in despair, seemed to see a lifeline the moment she saw Ling's parents, and rushed into their arms like a child.

As before, she ran and complained, "Father, Mother, my sister and the other people in the village bullied me and even cheated me out of a hundred yuan!"

Before she could reach Ling's parents, Ling Huanwu grabbed her hair and slapped Song Yaoyao across the face.

For the past two years, if Ling's father slapped or kicked her because of Song Yaoyao, she would retaliate with double the slap.

With another "smack," Song Yaoyao's cheeks swelled up high from the blows.

Amidst her mother's screams, Ling Huanwu slapped their beloved Song Yaoyao twice with satisfaction.

Song Yaoyao was stunned for a moment after being hit, but then she saw Zhou Shuyao squeeze in from the crowd and immediately put on a pitiful expression.

"Ling Huanwu, who gave you the right to hit my wife!"

Zhou Shuyao's eyes widened in anger, and he rushed over, raising his hand to slap Ling Huanwu.

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Zhou Jiuzhen stood in front of Ling Huanwu with a cold expression, and made a move to kick Zhou Shuyao away.

In the blink of an eye, Wang Guihua, Zhou Shuyao's mother-in-law, stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face.

There was a moment of complete silence; you could hear a pin drop.

The villagers, who were just moments before overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement at the sprouting of the island's seeds, were utterly stunned by this palm-sized stew and didn't know what to do.

"Ah...you old woman, what right do you have to hit my Shuyao? Didn't you see me being hit by your eldest daughter-in-law? Yet you hit Shuyao, are you blind?"

Seeing her richest husband being beaten, Song Yaoyao could no longer maintain her previous weak and pitiful appearance and screamed and roared.

Ling's parents quickly shielded Song Yaoyao in the middle, pointing at Wang Guihua and cursing, "My daughter married into your family, and this is how you treat her?"

Wang Guihua stood in front of Zhou Jiuzhen and Ling Huanwu, coldly staring at her in-laws, "What business is it of yours if I hit my own son?"

"You beat your biological daughter for the sake of your beloved adopted daughter without even knowing the facts, so what's wrong with your biological daughter beating your adopted daughter?"

As she spoke, her gaze turned as cold as ice, and she turned to look at Song Yaoyao. "Your adoptive parents beat my beloved daughter-in-law to avenge you, so what's wrong with me beating your beloved husband to avenge my eldest daughter-in-law?"

A perfect closed loop, a logically complete guide to venting frustration.

When Wang Guihua heard her eldest son recount Ling Huanwu's childhood experiences—how her biological parents actually made Ling Huanwu take the blame for their adopted daughter and sent her to bad people to be tortured—she felt utterly disgusted with these capitalists from the city. She, who had always been kind to others, could no longer be polite.

You should know that she loves her adopted son and her biological son equally, and has tried her best to treat them equally from childhood to adulthood. She hates parents who are biased to the extreme.

The onlookers gasped in shock, their eyes instantly focusing on Ling's parents.

That gaze was filled with disdain and mockery.

All the slaps originated from these biological parents beating their adopted daughter for no reason.

It's common to see parents beating their daughters for the sake of their sons, but I've never seen anyone beat their biological daughter for the sake of their adopted daughter.

The production team leader, who had just knelt down, finally sorted out the messy relationships among these people and took the lead in explaining why he had knelt down.

They said Ling Huanwu was a goddess who brought blessings to their island, leaving Ling's parents stunned. They never expected that their own daughter would be so cherished by others.

Finally, the captain spoke earnestly, using his own experience to educate the two, "Even if you love your adopted daughter, you can't beat your own daughter without even asking her. How heartbroken your own daughter would be if you did that!"

Their words made the two of them blush.

The village chief then stepped in to ease the tension, saying that to celebrate, everyone would have a big pot of food together that evening.

Everyone then dispersed, each with their own mixed feelings.

The aunties in the family compound who had bet on the game and not gotten their money back were now filled with regret. They hadn't even received a small share, and had lost all their savings. They all glared angrily at Song Yaoyao, but since the Zhou family was present, they had no choice but to disperse with the crowd.

Now is the time for reckoning.

Zhou Jiuzhen glanced at the obvious handprint on his wife's delicate cheek and his chest heaved violently with anger.

He couldn't hit his father-in-law, nor could he hit his pregnant sister-in-law, so he could only pick up Zhou Shuyao and drag him to the back of the house like he was picking up a chick.

Zhou Shuyao covered his face, his eyes fixed on Ling Huanwu, still deeply shocked by Wang Guihua's words.

He never imagined that Ling Huanwu was suffering endless grievances in the Ling family.

But Song Yaoyao clearly said that she was the one who was always bullied in the Ling family.

Before he could figure out why he felt that sour and astringent sensation in his chest, his neck tightened, and Zhou Jiuzhen lifted him up and carried him outside, causing him to let out a painful scream.

Not far away, Qin Jinshen, hiding outside the fence of the family compound, watched this scene with a sinister and terrifying look in his eyes.

The captain of the guards beside him leaned forward and asked, "Sir, why did you bring these two to the island? Look, Miss Ling has been bullied."

Qin Jinshen stared intently at the woman who turned and went into the house not far away, a confident smile curving his lips. "I promised the Ling family couple that as long as they break up Zhou Jiuzhen and Huanwu, I will introduce their son-in-law to work in Hong Kong."

"I think it won't be long before these two old people turn this place upside down, and then Huanwu will only have me to rely on."

"And I am the partner she will spend her life with!"

The captain of the guard shuddered at his morbid words, but he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he fawned over him, praising him as "wise."

Inside the house.

Ling's father, Ling's mother, and Wang Guihua sat at the same table.

Unexpectedly, the first words spoken by Ling's parents after they sat down enraged Ling Huanwu, causing her to smash the enamel cup in her hand.