A Good Country Wife
Chapter 538 - 532_1

Chapter 538: Chapter 532_1

After sending off Zhang Qiusheng and his daughter and Fangcao, only Zhao Pingshun was left kneeling there, with a face full of stubbornness and defiance. He looked as if he had been persecuted and falsely accused by the Zhao Family. With a sneer, Zhao Erhu said, "Hmph! Boy, don’t be smug. You think just because you’re not a servant of my family, I can’t do anything to you? I have plenty of ways to deal with you."

Zhao Erhu simply couldn’t stand the sight of Zhao Pingshun looking like that, clearly having done wrong but refusing to acknowledge it, and acting as if he was beyond reach; too scheming, too cunning, clearly no good. Had Zhao Pingshun’s attitude been better, he might have been lenient with him. After all, in another way, Zhao Pingshun, though he had helped others, had also indirectly sabotaged the affair; otherwise, Zhao Erhu would not have realized it. Of course, who would be less guarded in their own home? But with this lesson learned, he would never allow others to take advantage again.

"Zhao Erhu, don’t scare me. There is law in this land; you have no evidence. If you dare touch me, I’ll report you to the government and have you thrown in jail." As Zhao Pingshun spoke, he even had a hint of triumph, thinking he had made a sound argument and could intimidate Zhao Erhu, not realizing that such a petty trick might frighten others in the village, but Zhao Erhu, who was not even afraid of the Magistrate Ceng Lu, would not take Zhao Pingshun’s words seriously.

"You just try and see. Come, tie up this wretched thing and beat him fiercely, just make sure not to kill him." As he spoke, Zhao Erhu went up and kicked Zhao Pingshun several times himself, venting his anger.

Zhao Pingshun had not expected Zhao Erhu to actually carry out a beating without hesitation. However, Zhao Pingshun subconsciously considered Zhao Erhu’s self-made household to be on an equal level, ’easy to bully’. Had it been another old landlord family, Zhao Pingshun wouldn’t have dared to do so. After all, there were landlords who had killed people. What was the law before money and power? Even if the law were to apply, it wasn’t something these lowly commoners could invoke. If he really did report to the government, it might be him who got seized first, demanding a fee for lodging a complaint. At least in the current state of Xin’an City, that’s how things stood.

Zhao Pingshun was beaten severely by Zhao Erhu’s servants, screaming like a slaughtered pig. After a while, when Zhao Erhu felt it was enough, he ordered them to stop. Although he wasn’t afraid of trouble, he also didn’t want to kill someone and stir up more issues.

"Come on, throw this scoundrel out, and his whole family with him. All of them, expel them. The ungrateful lot! Even if I had spare money, I wouldn’t keep such black-hearted, ill-intentioned vermin!" Zhao Erhu said disdainfully, even letting slip some profanity.

When Zhao Wufu heard that his son had been captured by Zhao Erhu’s servants, he had no idea what was going on and wanted to confront Zhao Erhu. Before he could find someone, he saw his son, beaten black and blue, covered in bruises, thrown at their doorstep. Then, their whole family was driven out by Zhao Erhu’s servants.

The other families in the area, hearing the commotion, also ran out to watch, somewhat gloating over their misfortune. After all, the Zhao Wufu family had not been good people. They always took advantage while never bearing any loss and had offended everyone in the process.

"What are you doing! What are you doing! We were living here just fine, on what grounds are you driving us out? Call Zhao Erhu here, the village chief had promised he would let us stay until the spring thaw when the house is repaired. Now, driving us out like this, what does that mean!" Zhao Pingshun’s mother, Madam Ping, who also had quite the temper, was driven out of the house and immediately launched into a tirade.

"Exactly, what happened to righteousness? After all, we are from the same village. Your family lives in such a big house, are you really going to make us live out in the freezing snow? I’ve never seen such a heartless household. You’re trying to drive people to their deaths!" Zhao Wufu’s eldest daughter-in-law joined in the ranting after hearing her mother-in-law, completely distorting the truth and turning black into white, which left the surrounding crowd utterly speechless.

Liu Aniu watched them scoffing coldly, "The Dongjia had a kind heart to take in you ungrateful wolves. It’s one thing not to be grateful, but ask your dear son what he did, even conspiring with others to plot against the Dongjia. Dongjia was cautious and narrowly escaped their plans. He’s showing mercy by not blaming you, and yet here you are, spouting such nonsense."

"My son, what could my son have done? He’s a well-behaved and sensible child, how could he do such a thing? It must be you who are framing him. I knew there was something off about your Dongjia, offering us a place to stay with such kindness. It’s obvious that my son must have offended your Dongjia in some way, and that’s why you’ve been holding a grudge and seeking revenge," Madam Ping declared. This statement transcended speechlessness among the crowd, as they realized that some people were just boundlessly shameless.

Liu Aniu couldn’t be bothered to argue with Madam Ping. The more you paid attention to such people, the more they thrived, so he directly ordered his men to carry Madam Ping and those who refused to leave out by their arms.

Seeing her son, whose appearance was battered beyond recognition, Madam Ping lost it and let out a piercing scream, then rushed forward, attempting to fight Liu Aniu. "You curse-worthy bastards, my son has been beaten to this state by you. I demand compensation, give back my son in good health, or give me a thousand taels of silver! If not, I’ll take this to the government, I won’t let this go until the end!"

"Tsk tsk, has this woman lost her mind, asking for a thousand taels? Do you even know how much a thousand taels of silver is, daring to demand such an exorbitant amount?" a protector from Zhao Erhu’s household commented disdainfully on the behavior of Zhao Wufu’s family.

And indeed, the protector was spot on. Madam Ping was used to being poor, with the most silver coins she’d ever had in her house not exceeding ten taels. After her eldest son got married, the family became even poorer, left with only a couple taels of broken silver and a string of copper coins. In her eyes, any amount beyond ten taels was huge, and she had never seen so much money in her life. To her, a hundred taels was as unimaginable as a thousand. She blurted out that figure because she thought with Zhao Erhu’s large estate and many servants, they could surely afford a thousand taels of silver. She reasoned that Zhao Erhu wouldn’t agree to pay that much and that she could negotiate it down to a few hundred taels.

Ignorance sometimes is indeed bliss, or else, Madam Ping would not be so brazen in her demands, even if she were the most shameless rogue. Those around her thought they had misheard, believing this woman must be insane, daring to blackmail Zhao Erhu’s family, and for as much as a thousand taels, no less. They didn’t realize that Zhao Erhu had become such a figure that even Wei Laoye, the notorious tyrant of Xin’an City, dared not provoke him. After Zhao Lingxiang challenged Wei Laoye, he even sent a respectful apology. This old woman must be under the delusion that the family was an easy target. Tsk tsk, definitely madness.