The truth is that news of Zhang Cuiya being sold got out, causing other children in the Zhang family to have their engagements broken off, making it difficult for them to speak ill of others afterward.
Naturally, the people were dissatisfied, so they went to Zhang Li's house and demanded compensation from her family.
Zhang Lishi naturally couldn't produce that much, and even if she did, she wouldn't be willing to. So she fabricated a story, shifting all the blame onto the Li family, which directly provoked everyone to launch an attack.
She was initially a little guilty about blaming the Li family for everything, but seeing how these people were so frantically causing trouble for the Li family, she instantly felt justified.
Everyone looks out for themselves; if she hadn't brought up the issue, she would be the one getting beaten black and blue now.
Moreover, she wasn't wrong. If her younger brother's family had agreed to help Cuiya from the beginning, Cuiya would have entered the Lu family smoothly long ago, and the two families would definitely have been able to improve their lives.
Unfortunately, the Li family sided with outsiders, harming her daughter Cuiya and so many younger members of the Zhang family.
They should be held accountable for this!
Thinking this way, she became even more righteous and said, "It's none of your business how I, as the older sister, discipline my younger brother! I don't have a contract of servitude in your hands!"
She wanted to cry whenever she heard about the indenture. Her own daughter had been sold, and she hadn't gotten any benefit from it. In addition, she had ruined the reputation of the entire family. Now that the matter had blown up, people from several surrounding villages knew about it and would point and whisper about her whenever they saw her. She had been hiding at home for the past few days, afraid to go out and even more afraid to check on her daughter's situation.
Unfortunately, the Zhang family came knocking on her door, and she couldn't handle them, so she had no choice but to bring them to the Li family.
She thought that letting these people beat her up would be enough to vent her anger, but who would have thought that this woman would interfere again? She was furious, but dared not speak out.
"Want your indenture? It's easy. I can give your man a large sum of money and have him sell you to me. As for your fate—whether you make money for me like your daughter, become my slave, or die in my hands—it's all up to me."
One sentence was enough to make Zhang Li's face turn pale. Nowadays, men have absolute control. As long as they want, they are allowed to sell their sons, daughters, and wives.
Especially for troublemaking women like Zhang Li, it was even easier to buy her.
Men are all fickle and easily bored. Selling a fierce, haggard wife and buying a young, beautiful woman to be their wife is a dream come true for them.
Zhang Li was terrified, while the man beside her was already somewhat tempted.
He was also annoyed by what had happened in the past few days. All these troubles were caused by this woman. She was usually unreasonable and shrewish, which was bad enough, but now she had caused him so much trouble. How was he supposed to face the Zhang family in the future?
If he could really sell this woman for a good price, it would indeed be a good thing. He was already tired of her, so he might as well get a new one and have a big, healthy son next year. That would make his life complete.
"How much money are you willing to pay for her?"
Zhang Chong asked impatiently, as if he would sell it as soon as He Jiuniang made an offer.
Zhang Li was terrified and said in disbelief, "Husband, I've been married to you for over ten years and have borne you children. How could you say such a thing!"
"Shut the hell up! The reason things turned out like this today is all because of you! I'm going to divorce you right now!"
Zhang Chong cursed at Zhang Li Shi, then turned to He Jiu Niang with a smile and said, "It's all that woman's fault. If you're willing, Madam, just buy her. I'll pay whatever it takes! She caused all that trouble. It has nothing to do with us. Please, Madam, don't make things difficult for the rest of us."
He Jiuniang twitched the corners of her mouth. What a scoundrel! When they sold their daughter, it was a plan they had discussed together, but now they were blaming Zhang Li Shi for everything.
If Zhang Li were a good person, He Jiuniang would sympathize with her right now, but she is not. And He Jiuniang is not a saint either. Not only will she not sympathize with her, but she will also kick her when she is down.
"That's natural. I've always been a person who clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment."
He Jiuniang nodded, giving Zhang Chong a glimmer of hope, and Zhang Chong immediately put on an expectant and ingratiating smile.
"However..."
She changed the subject and continued, "I wouldn't dare buy a woman like that; who knows if she has any diseases?"
"What's the meaning?"
Zhang Chong was stunned, somewhat confused.
Having been married for over ten years, Zhang Chong knew Zhang Li Shi fairly well. He knew that the woman was as strong as an ox and wouldn't have any problems. But He Jiu Niang said that on purpose. Could it be that she knew something?
"Don't you know? Over the years, haven't you noticed that your youngest son doesn't look like you at all?"
He Jiuniang feigned surprise, but what she said sounded quite ordinary, yet the content was incredibly shocking.
If she hadn't said anything, no one would have noticed, but once she did, everyone went to look at Zhang's youngest son and found that he really didn't look like Zhang Chong at all.
Zhang Li's face turned from white to blue, then blue to black, as if she had been poisoned.
The Zhang family's youngest son is only five years old this year. He would lick the boots of the adults fighting, which shows that he has been taught bad things since he was a child.
Because he was Zhang Chong's youngest son, he was especially doted on from a young age. Zhang Chong often said that he would have his youngest son support him in his old age and that everything in the house should be left to his youngest son.
But now people are saying that his youngest son is not his biological son!
Zhang Chong felt he was having trouble breathing. He rushed over, grabbed his youngest son, and pulled him close to examine him closely. He discovered that the boy really didn't look like him at all.
"Tell me, whose bastard are you? Whose bastard are you!"
Zhang Chong acted like a madman, scaring the child into crying loudly, but he showed no sympathy and even slapped his most beloved youngest son.
"Don't hit the child, take it out on me!"
Zhang Lishi truly loved her youngest son. Even though she was being held captive by the Lu family's servants, she still struggled to go and protect him. Unfortunately, the Lu family's servants were not ordinary people, and she could not easily break free.
"I'll kill you, you shameless bastard!"
Zhang Chong lunged at Zhang Li Shi again, and without saying a word, he started punching and kicking her. The other children were stunned. If their younger brother wasn't their father's biological son, then what about them?
Also, whose son is the younger brother?
He Jiuniang's words triggered internal strife within the Zhang family. After the other members of the Zhang family were suppressed, they dared not cause any more trouble. In their tension, they also joined in the fun, feeling that this woman had completely disgraced the Zhang family's ancestors.
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