Chapter 42 It’s Not Destined to Be Smooth
"How you live is your business." Zhang Long sneered. "The county magistrate's verdict clearly states this. This courtyard and all the land under the Chen family's name will belong to Chen Kangbo and Feng Lan from now on. This is the government's decree, stamped with the official seal! If you dare to gather here and cause trouble again, obstructing public affairs, you will go beyond jail. That's called contempt of court, a heavier crime!"
He pulled the verdict from his pocket and waved it before everyone. The bright red official seal on it stung the eyes of the Liu and Qian families.
When Liu and Qian saw that they were not getting any better by force, they immediately changed their strategy, sat down on the ground and started throwing a tantrum.
"This is outrageous! Damn Feng Lan! You're driving us to death!"
"Why is my life so miserable? I haven't had a single good day since I married into your Chen family. Now my husband is in jail because of you. I don't even have a place to live!"
The two of them cried and wailed, their faces covered in snot and tears, looking as miserable as they could be. The relatives they brought with them also joined in, pointing at the Feng-Lan family and cursing them with foul language that was unbearable to hear.
They didn't dare to take action, so they used this most shameless method, blocking the door and preventing Feng Lan and her family from entering.
Feng Lan looked at the ugly scene before her and felt sick. She had finally seen through it all: this family was rotten to the core. Talking to them about reason was like talking to a cow.
She took a deep breath, pushed aside her husband who was blocking her way, and walked up to the two women who were making a fuss.
"Second Aunt, Third Aunt." She looked down at them. "You can cry, make a scene, or curse, whatever you want. But I have to remind you of one thing."
She paused, her voice suddenly turning cold. "This yard is mine now. The land you're standing on is also mine. If you keep blocking my door and won't let me in, it won't be a family dispute. It's called trespassing."
She turned and gave Captain Zhang Long a polite smile. "Captain Zhang, I'd like to ask, according to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, what is the crime for trespassing and occupying other people's property?"
Zhang Long understood, cleared his throat, and said loudly, "According to the law, trespassing is punishable by twenty strokes of the cane at the very least, and by prison at the worst! If you dare to gather and cause trouble at the doorstep of the owner, and threaten him, that is an even greater crime!"
Feng Lan nodded, her gaze returned to Liu and Qian's faces, and she smiled calmly.
"Did you hear that? Do you want to leave on your own, or do you want the official to invite you to leave and stay with your man in prison? It's your choice."
Liu and Qian's cries suddenly stopped. They looked at each other, and saw fear in each other's eyes.
They never imagined that Feng Lan not only became more eloquent, but also had a quick mind and even learned to use the law to suppress them!
Liu Dazhuang and the men of the Qian family also looked timid. They were there to support, not to go to jail.
The situation was deadlocked for a moment.
Just then, an unexpected person broke the deadlock.
Daya, who had been hiding behind Feng Lan, suddenly came out. She looked at the aunts and uncles who had once ordered her around, their ugly faces that looked like they wanted to throw a tantrum but were afraid of the authorities. The courage she had been forced to summon at Zhang Quezi's house and in court surged up again.
She walked to the gate of the yard and blocked the door with her thin body.
"This is my home," she began, her voice still trembling, but her eyes resolute. "If you don't leave, I'll...I'll go beat the drum to complain! I'll file a complaint against you again! I'll tell the county magistrate that you're bullying us, an orphan and a widow, and stealing our house!"
"Anyway...anyway, I'm not even afraid of death, so why should I be afraid of you?"
The girl's clear voice echoed at the gate of the yard. The words "You're not even afraid of death" were like an invisible slap in the face of all the troublemakers.
They looked at this girl who had just returned from the gates of hell and still had an aura of death about her, and they felt an inexplicable chill in their hearts.
Yes, for someone who is not afraid of death, what can't she do?
Liu Dazhuang was the first to back out. He glared at his sister fiercely, muttered "useless thing", picked up the hoe, and walked away in shame.
When the Qian family saw that their backbone had left, they exchanged glances with each other and dispersed cursing.
Only Liu and Qian were left, still slumped on the ground, looking at the empty courtyard gate and the family who stood with their backs straight, their faces full of disbelief and endless resentment.
Feng Lan didn't look at them again. She took Daya's hand, then pulled Erya and Sanya over, and nodded to Chen Kangbo.
"Let's go home."
The family, with their heads held high, stepped into the yard that belonged to them for the first time as owners.
Behind them were the resentful curses of Liu and Qian, and the complicated discussions of the villagers. But none of this could shake their hearts.
Because they know that a new life has just begun from this moment, and the road ahead is destined to be bumpy.
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