Chapter 41: New Master's Introduction
Feng Lan turned around, her eyes icy. "Do you still have any shame? You've done something wrong, and you expect others to clean up the mess for you? The food my daughter sent is for us. What does it have to do with you? Want to eat? Go ask the King of Hell for it!"
The old lady was choked and pointed at Feng Lan, shaking with anger.
Seeing that he was losing his temper, Old Man Chen suddenly put on a fatherly face and softened his attitude.
"Kumber, Lan'er," he said earnestly, "Dad knows that you've been wronged by your parents over the years. But we're family after all, and even if we're broken, we're still connected. Look, who benefits from this mess now? Relatives are picking on you, and outsiders are laughing at you."
He sighed and continued, "How about this, let's both take a step back. First, you take out the thirty taels of silver and ask the county magistrate to release us all. If there's anything, we can go home, close the door, and slowly discuss it, okay? We can't really let this family break up like this, can we?"
Wang Zhihuan's verdict spread quickly throughout Pingjiang Village like a gust of wind.
By the time Feng Lan and Chen Kangbo, along with their five daughters, were escorted by two yamen runners out of the county jail, daybreak had already arrived. The warm autumn sun shone down on them, dispelling the chill of the night in prison.
But Feng Lan didn't dare to relax at all.
On the way back to the village, they became the focus of everyone's attention. The villagers' eyes were mixed with sympathy, awe, contempt, but mostly, undisguised jealousy and envy.
"See, the eldest brother of the Chen family is now the new owner of the Chen family compound!"
"Tsk tsk, I never thought that Feng Lan, this woman who usually keeps quiet, could send her parents-in-law and their entire family to jail with just one move. What a ruthless character!"
"What a ruthless character! He's the one who's always right! If your daughter was sold, wouldn't you fight for your life?"
"That's right! But then again, that's the Chen family's decades-long fortune. The land and yard are worth at least a hundred taels of silver. Giving it all to the eldest wife is like pie in the sky!"
The chatter buzzed like flies into her ears. Feng Lan remained expressionless, guarding her daughters even tighter. Chen Kangbo remained silent, but his back was straighter than ever.
When the family finally stood at the gate of the Chen family compound, which was both familiar and unfamiliar, everyone stopped.
They had passed through this door countless times, but from today on, they were no longer dependent on others, but the true masters of this place.
However, before they could feel any emotion, the gate of the courtyard creaked open from the inside.
The people standing at the door were none other than Second Aunt Liu and Third Aunt Qian, whose eyes were swollen from crying.
Behind them, a crowd of people stood in the yard. Each one was strong and muscular, carrying shoulder poles and hoes, and their faces were full of menace. Judging from their posture, they were clearly the "reinforcements" sent by the second and third wives from their mother's family.
"Oh, sister-in-law, brother, you're finally back!" Second Aunt Liu said with a forced smile, her voice sharp and sarcastic, enough to rip a person's skin off. "What a great show of power! You sent your own parents and brothers to jail. Don't you feel relieved?"
"That's right!" Third Aunt Qian also chimed in. She pointed at Feng Lan's nose, almost poking her in the face. "Feng Lan! You vicious woman! How has our Chen family wronged you? You've been married for over a decade, eating and drinking from us, and now you've grown wings and are biting back, thinking you can take all our wealth for yourself? I'm telling you, there's no way!"
Feng Lan hadn't said anything yet, but Erya behind her couldn't help herself. After her experience in court, this girl had grown much bolder.
"Second Aunt! Third Aunt! You're talking nonsense!" She stood up, her face flushed. "My parents did nothing wrong! It was Grandma and Grandpa who wanted to sell my eldest sister! It was you men who got involved in tying my parents up! The county magistrate has already sentenced you, do you still want to cheat?"
"You little girl, do you have the right to speak here?!" Liu glared at Erya and walked forward to push her.
Chen Kangbo stepped forward, his tall figure like a wall, blocking Liu out. He said nothing, just staring at her with those cold eyes.
Liu felt uneasy when he looked at her. She subconsciously took a step back, then, relying on the crowd behind her, she boldly shouted, "What? Chen Kangbo, do you still want to hit me? I'm telling you, my eldest brother from my mother's family and my father are here today! If you dare to lay a finger on us, we will fight you to death!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a burly man with a face full of flesh came up from behind her, his arms swinging. He slammed the hoe into the ground with a dull thud.
"Who is Chen Kangbo?" He squinted his eyes, acting as if he was second only to the emperor. "You are the one who put my brother-in-law in jail? Let me tell you, this matter today won't end so easily! Either you go to the county government office right now and release my brother-in-law! Or you give me back this yard and all the land! Otherwise..."
He shook his fist, which was as big as a casserole, and the threat he expressed was obvious.
This man was none other than Liu's eldest brother, Liu Dazhuang, a well-known scoundrel in the village.
Chen Kangbo looked at him without any fear, and simply asked calmly, "Are you done?"
"That's it! What's the matter?" Liu Dazhuang stiffened his neck.
"Get out of here after you've said that." Chen Kangbo's voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable force.
"Hey! You're looking for death!" Liu Dazhuang was furious and raised his hoe to attack.
The surrounding villagers were so scared that they stepped back, fearing that they would be implicated.
At this critical moment, a lazy voice came from behind Chen Kangbo.
"Liu Dazhuang, have you become more capable? How dare you use a weapon in front of me, the official?"
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw the two yamen runners who had escorted Feng Lan and her family back, leaning against a nearby wall with their arms folded, watching the excitement. The one who spoke was none other than the captain of the police, Zhang Long.
He walked over slowly and knocked Liu Dazhuang's hoe with the scabbard lightly.
"What? Are you planning to turn a deaf ear to the County Magistrate's ruling? Or do you think your Liu family's fists are stronger than the laws of the Great Zhou?"
The appearance of the yamen runners was like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing Liu Dazhuang's arrogance. No matter how arrogant he was, he didn't dare to go against the government.
He put down his hoe awkwardly and tried to defend himself, "Sir, please don't misunderstand me. We're not trying to defy the law; we're here to seek justice! Feng Lan is so ruthless, she won't leave us any chance of survival! My brother-in-law is incarcerated. How are we, my family, going to survive?"
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