Stand up for your sister-in-law
Zhang Chunfeng opened his eyes groggily and saw that Li Shi looked worried.
"Mother, calm down. Where is my brother?"
"In the field, Dazhu came to call me, saying that your brother had a conflict with someone!" Li was furious. She wanted to grab a whip and go to the field. But then she remembered that Zhang Chuntian had gone to the field with Li Xiuman today. Li Xiuman would naturally stop Zhang Chuntian, but Zhang Chuntian still hit someone. This must be no small matter.
Today is still the Wu family's wedding day. Li helped sew the quilt last night, and today she has to go to the wedding procession. She's so busy she's overwhelmed.
"Don't rush, I'll go right away." Zhang Chunfeng quickly put on his clothes and shoes and splashed cold water on his face.
Fortunately, I accompanied Li Xiuman back to her parents' home a few days ago, and my beloved horse Hongying was at home the whole time.
Zhang Chunfeng rode his horse towards the Zhang family's land.
From behind, Li shouted at the top of her lungs, "Do you remember the way?"
Zhang Chunfeng rode very fast, so she naturally remembered it. She had a photographic memory since she was a child, so how could she forget this stretch of road?
When she arrived at the ridges of the field, she didn't see many people in her own field. Instead, Li Xiuman, Zhang Chuntian, and another fat man were standing in Li Xiuman's field.
The obese man was Shen's biological son, Chen Yaozu. Chen Yaozu had come to contest Shen's land.
Li Xiuman was actually quite happy to see Chen Yaozu, as it would be a good opportunity to discuss with him the possibility of him visiting Shen Shi to fulfill his mother's wish.
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Yaozu sneered, "How many times have I said it? My mother is a daughter-in-law of the Chen family, a lady of noble birth. She is not someone who can be ridden by anyone in Zuixianlou!"
Li Xiuman could not tolerate anyone insulting Shen Shi. "Chen Yaozu! That's your mother! The mother who gave birth to you! How can you say such a thing!"
"Hmph, my own mother? You saw her? How do you know she wasn't just making things up?"
"She carried the baby for ten months, enduring so much hardship. Why lie? When she died, all she thought of was you. How could you humiliate her like this!" At this point, Li Xiuman suddenly remembered the miserable state of Shen Shi when she died. She was so thin that she was just skin and bones, yet she refused to breathe her last. She stared longingly at the door, hoping that her own son could see her off.
Her own son called her a prostitute; it was all made up. If she knew this in the afterlife, she would be restless.
"She gave birth to me but didn't raise me! Haven't you been the one being raised all these years? Logically speaking, the Shen family owes me, and you should repay them. Not only do you have to give me money, but I also want to take this land!" Chen Yaozu finally revealed his true intentions today.
Although Manager Chen had gone bankrupt, Chen Yaozu's adoptive mother was indeed from a prominent family, so food was never a problem for her. However, Chen Yaozu was a gambler; once he got the urge, nothing could stop him. Therefore, he had to scramble for money everywhere. He had known about Shen's death for some time, and he was somewhat saddened by her passing, as no one would be eager to provide him with gambling funds anymore. Yesterday, short of money again, he thought of Shen. Although she had no money, perhaps she had left something behind. He inquired around and learned that Shen owned a piece of land. The land wasn't valuable, but now Chen Yaozu wanted even the smallest piece of land; as long as he could get into the casino, he would take anything.
When Li Xiuman heard that he had come to ask for land, he felt slightly displeased. Chen Yaozu had previously said that he would only visit the Shen family after Li Xiuman paid him money. He could earn money, but the land had been bought by the Shen family. Years ago, when the Shen family was in good health, the two of them would come to the fields together. Li Xiuman felt that both the house and the land were filled with memories of the past and he didn't want to give them up.
Moreover, he is now married to Zhang Chuntian, and a few days ago, Li Shi also said that she wanted to plant something else on his land. Li Xiuman cannot unilaterally give the land to Chen Yaozu.
"That won't do. I can raise the money, but not the land."
“Look at you, so poor and pathetic, a man married to a fool! How could you possibly be rich! I think you should go to that Drunken Immortal Pavilion. You have some of Shen’s looks. Go inside, have someone do something to you from behind, and the money will come your way!” Chen Yaozu said, looking Li Xiuman up and down.
Li Xiuman's face flushed red with anger. Just as she was about to say "Shut up," Chen Yaozu said, "If you give me money, I'll kowtow to Shen Shi and acknowledge her as my mother, no matter what."
Although Chen Yaozu and Li Xiuman were born to the same mother, when it comes to having children, if either of the parents is ugly, the chances of the child being ugly are extremely high.
Manager Chen was truly ugly, with a pig's head. Even though he had won the heart of a beauty, Chen Yaozu still looked like a bastard.
He was wealthy when he was young and had actually seen the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. Later, he associated with local thugs and ruffians. Now, looking at Li Xiuman's face, he really felt that his method was feasible.
Chen Yaozu thought for a moment and reached out to pull Li Xiuman, "If you don't want to go to Zuixianlou, that's fine too. I'll introduce you to two women. You can risk being taken advantage of a few times, and then I'll acknowledge Shen as my mother. She used the money she earned from being taken advantage of to buy you, and you can repay her kindness with the money you earned from being taken advantage of. Isn't that fair?"
Enraged, Lee Soo-man shoved Chen Yaozu hard away. Chen Yaozu was fat and couldn't stand steadily on the muddy ground. With the push from Lee Soo-man, he landed on his backside with a thud.
"You son of a bitch, how dare you push me!" Chen Yaozu cursed, grabbing a handful of dirt and throwing it at Li Xiuman. Li Xiuman dodged it with his back turned, but Chen Yaozu was still not satisfied and got up to kick Li Xiuman. But before he could kick him, he was kicked to the ground first.
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was his foolish husband, Li Xiuman.
Zhang Chuntian had always been protected by Li Xiuman, who prevented him from getting involved in the matter. Given Zhang Chuntian's mental disability, he wouldn't have been able to hear the conversation between Li Xiuman and Chen Yaozu clearly anyway.
He didn't understand their conversation, but he remembered someone saying that he should treat his wife well, not bully her, and never let her be bullied! So he immediately kicked Chen Yaozu away.
Li Xiuman's strength and Zhang Chuntian's strength are two different things. Chen Yaozu originally planned to get up and fight again, but while he supported his body with his arms, his thighs were completely immobile.
Zhang Chuntian had just kicked him in the thigh, and Chen Yaozu was shocked to find himself unable to get up.
"My leg! I can't get up! Lee Soo-man, you're so cruel! You let your stupid husband kick my leg and break it! I'm going to take this to the authorities!" Chen Yaozu shouted, trying to get up again, but he just couldn't.
Li Xiuman initially thought the man was acting, but then he saw Chen Yaozu genuinely pressing his hands hard against the ground, trying to get up. He could move one leg, but the leg that Zhang Chuntian had kicked wouldn't move.
Lee Soo-man broke out in a cold sweat. Chen Yaozu had only been joking, but Zhang Chuntian had actually kicked and broken his leg. If Chen Yaozu really took it to the authorities, wouldn't Zhang Chuntian go to jail? This thought terrified Lee Soo-man, who quickly pulled Chen Yaozu away.
Chen Yaozu sneered, "I happen to have brought some government officials with me today. Third Brother, arrest him and put him in jail!"
A meter behind Chen Yaozu stood a burly man. This man seemed very reluctant to be with Chen Yaozu. When Chen Yaozu was asking for land, the third brother had stood far away. Now, hearing the shouts, he actually turned around and walked towards Zhang Chuntian.
Li Xiuman had never met anyone from the government; he had only ever seen the servants from the Zhou family who escorted Zhang Chunfeng home. But whether it was those people or this third brother, they all had one thing in common: they walked with straight backs and extremely steady steps, clearly having undergone uniform training.
Li Xiuman panicked and hurriedly stopped Zhang Chuntian, while he spoke to Chen Yaozu to smooth things over.
“I can give you this land, and I can give you money too. Let’s discuss things first,” Li Xiuman said anxiously.
Chen Yaozu, smug and self-satisfied, said, "Not stubborn anymore? Anyway, you already have a husband. Look at the strength of your foolish husband, he's probably already quite grown up by now, even after all this time since the wedding. What are you pretending to be, a virtuous and chaste woman!"
Lee Soo-man clenched his fists, constantly reminding himself that he couldn't afford to get angry with anyone now.
Chen Yaozu remained relentless, saying, "This idiot kicked me so hard I can't get up. He needs to kneel down and apologize to me first." As he spoke, Chen Yaozu whistled at Zhang Chuntian and waved at him like a dog.
"Fool, come here and kneel down and kowtow to me."
Lee Soo-man immediately tried to stop Zhang Chuntian, saying, "This is between the two of us, you can't bully him like this!"
“Idiot! Come here! Idiot!” Chen Yaozu shouted again.
Zhang Chuntian actually walked over, and Li Xiuman tried to stop him, but Zhang Chuntian pushed Li Xiuman aside and walked straight to Chen Yaozu.
“Spring, stop.” Lee Soo-man shouted.
Zhang Chuntian suddenly took a big step and arrived at Chen Yaozu's side in one step. With lightning speed, he punched Chen Yaozu in the face.
Chen Yaozu immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and even coughed up a tooth.
Seeing the blood all over the ground, Li Xiuman knew something was wrong. But Zhang Chuntian was still grinning.
Lee Soo-man was completely enraged and shouted, "Spring! How could you hit someone like that! Who taught you to do that! And you're still laughing!"
He knew Zhang Chuntian's kick was to protect him, but now Chen Yaozu was sitting on the ground unable to move, and Zhang Chuntian had almost killed him with a punch. These two situations were not the same. Li Xiuman couldn't accept the person who had laid a hand on him, so he yelled at Zhang Chuntian.
Zhang Chuntian's smile froze instantly; he had no idea why his wife was angry.
He was at a loss for words. "Honey, did I do something wrong?"
"Who told you to do that!" Lee Soo-man demanded.
Seeing his wife angry, and knowing that this anger was different from his mother's, Zhang Chuntian was about to kneel down with a thud.
Suddenly, a loud neighing of horses' hooves was heard.
“I made him do it this way.”
Zhang Chunfeng, dressed in red, tightened the reins and coldly replied as the red-tasseled horse's hooves announced its departure.
When Zhang Chuntian saw that it was his younger sister, he was overjoyed. In the past, when he got into trouble, as long as his sister was there, he didn't have to be punished by kneeling.
Li Xiuman looked at Zhang Chunfeng with a puzzled expression. Zhang Chunfeng dismounted and reached out to pat Zhang Chuntian's head.
“I tell him every day that if someone calls him ‘idiot’ three times in a row, he should punch them.” Zhang Chunfeng patted his brother’s head with a smile. “It’s good that he remembered. I’ll buy you candied hawthorns tomorrow.”
Zhang Chuntian immediately jumped up, firstly because he was happy that his little sister had come, secondly because his little sister had patted his head, and thirdly because he was happy to have candied hawthorns.
Li Xiuman looked at Zhang Chunfeng in confusion, and then he understood why Zhang Chunfeng had been grinning after hitting someone. It turned out that he was trying to take credit for what Zhang Chunfeng had said.
Zhang Chunfeng, however, was looking at Chen Yaozu.
“My brother is mentally challenged, but I cannot let anyone bully him. Therefore, no matter who he beats, I, Zhang Chunfeng, will hold up the sky if it falls.”
Zhang Chunfeng slowly walked to Chen Yaozu's side. Chen Yaozu had seen many people, and initially, at first glance, he only thought Zhang Chunfeng was good-looking and wasn't afraid at all. But when Zhang Chunfeng said those words, Chen Yaozu immediately realized that this was not someone to be trifled with.
He immediately pounded the ground and yelled, "My legs! My face! The Zhang siblings are bullying me, they're going to beat me to death! Third brother, third brother!"
Zhang Chunfeng then noticed Third Brother standing in the distance. The man called Third Brother sensed something was wrong when he saw Zhang Chunfeng coming from afar. He had just planned to leave, but Chen Yaozu called him back.
Zhang Chunfeng also looked up at the person called "Third Brother". She always had a photographic memory, and although she didn't know the person's name, she was sure she had seen this face before.
"Where have I seen you before?" Zhang Chunfeng asked first.
When Chen Yaozu saw Wang San approaching, he said smugly, "My third brother works for the government. You've crippled me like this, so he's going to arrest you all!"
"Working in the government?" Zhang Chunfeng suddenly remembered, "I really have seen you before."
"So you've been to jail before! You're such a nice guy! Third Brother, arrest her!" Chen Yaozu shouted.
Wang San walked slowly towards them, his eyes filled with malice, while Chen Yaozu looked even more smug. Wang San raised his hand and slapped Chen Yaozu across the face.
"Ouch!" Chen Yaozu exclaimed, covering his face in disbelief.
Li Xiuman and Zhang Chuntian both paused, watching Wang San's actions with curiosity.
Chen Yaozu covered his face and shouted, "Third Brother, why are you hitting me! Arrest her!"
Wang San spat, "Shut up, you bastard! I shouldn't have listened to you and come with you to beg for money today."
Wang San cupped his hands in greeting to Zhang Chunfeng. “Mr. Zhang, I was working at your residence yesterday at Young Master Zhou’s birthday banquet, and we did meet.” After explaining, he added, “I don’t know this fellow at all, and I know that government officials should not associate with him. However, I have a good-for-nothing cousin, and this bastard owes my cousin twenty taels of silver. My cousin is currently seriously ill and is waiting for the money to treat his illness.”
Wang San sighed, "I had no choice but to follow him to ask for money. I never expected that what he meant by asking for money was to seize other people's land."
Zhang Chunfeng understood that Wang San had said so much for two reasons: first, to disclaim any connection between himself and Chen Yaozu, and second, to prevent Zhang Chunfeng from bringing this matter to the Zhou family's attention.
"Don't worry, he owes your cousin money, and I'll make sure he pays it back," Zhang Chunfeng said thoughtfully.
Wang San bowed, then turned and left without paying any attention to Chen Yaozu.
"Third Brother, Third Brother, don't go!" Chen Yaozu called out anxiously.
As soon as Wang San left, Chen Yaozu cried out in alarm.
He was already sitting on the ground, his legs aching so badly he couldn't move, and now Zhang Chunfeng, Li Xiuman, and Zhang Chuntian had him completely surrounded. Chen Yaozu smiled and tried to ingratiate himself with Zhang Chunfeng, "I was wrong, Lord Zhang, please be magnanimous and let me go."
Zhang Chunfeng sneered, "Who said I'm magnanimous? I've always been vengeful."
Chen Yaozu's smile froze on his face. "How could this be? You're a scholar, how could you... Ah!"
Zhang Chunfeng pulled a whip from Hongying's body at some point and lashed it out at Chen Yaozu, who screamed in pain.
Chen Yaozu immediately realized that Zhang Chunfeng was indeed a vengeful person. Even thugs have their skills; Chen Yaozu, while being beaten and screaming, kept glancing at the faces of the three men.
Zhang Chunfeng showed no mercy, Zhang Chuntian was a fool, but Li Xiuman frowned.
Chen Yaozu immediately shouted, "Brother Man'er, brother, please save me! If I get beaten to death, how will I see my mother? We have the same mother!"
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