Chapter 77

Jiang Dabo supported Yan Pozi and stood in front of the door, the mother and son's faces were ugly to the extreme; Jiang Zongbao's face was bruised and swollen, kneeling at Yan Pozi's feet, pulling on her trouser legs and begging bitterly.

Jiang Zongbao's mother, Cao Shi, held her son's face and felt heartbroken, her mouth cursing filthily about some vixen, some slut.

Jiang Lian'er shrank inside the room, not daring to come out, peeking and looking.

Jiang Zongbao's wife, Qin Shi, leaned against the pillar by the door with a big belly, her cold face expressionless, as if it had nothing to do with her.

Confronting them were several big, tall men, each looking fierce.

The leading man had a pair of connected eyebrows; the roots of the eyebrows stood up, thick and hard, looking very scary.

A few steps away from them on the ground, a woman wearing a white dress lay obliquely, her disheveled hair covering her face, making it impossible to see her features, but her waist was thin and her legs were long, and her posture was quite graceful.

Seeing someone come in, the gazes of both sides swept over at the same time.

Lian Xinmei opened his mouth and hurt people, "Where did this ugly woman come from? Get lost!"

Du Ruo said "Oh," turned her head, and left.

As if she were willing to manage these broken things; she wished she could get lost.

Yan Pozi hurriedly called her back, "Dalang's wife, come here!"

Du Ruo sighed secretly; she knew she couldn't get lost, sigh.

She had no choice but to walk up resignedly, pretending she didn't know anything, and asked in surprise, "Oh my, Grandmother, what's wrong? What happened? Hey, Cousin, why did you become a black-eyed crow? You wouldn't have been beaten like this for stealing someone... else's things, would you?"

The nerves at the corners of Yan Pozi's mouth twitched.

This little hoof, really poking where it hurts, but that's fine. Du Shi, if nothing else, has strong combat power, and that little mouth can anger people to death, just right to help the First Branch deal with this group of men.

"Don't worry about how Jinbao was injured for now." Yan Pozi pointed at the fierce men opposite and said with a stern face, "Our Jiang family has been bullied to the top of our heads. These rascals ran to our house to run wild, insisting that your cousin defiled his wife and asking us to pay money. Heh, this is not taking Jiang Li, the head catcher, seriously! Du Shi, you have always been eloquent, go and reason with them and drive them away!"

Du Ruo rolled her eyes in her heart.

Really thinking she's a fool, using her as a gun while hiding behind to pick up the ready-made results; there's no such beautiful thing.

Du Ruo of course wouldn't be so obedient, but widened her eyes and asked Jiang Zongbao, "Cousin, did you really do that wicked thing?"

Jiang Zongbao: "..."

To tell the truth, he himself was confused, the whole person was like having a spring dream, the feeling was very beautiful, but he couldn't remember the process at all.

"I, maybe..." did it.

Yan Pozi coughed twice, interrupting Jiang Zongbao's words, "Du Shi, now is not the time to pursue this; let's deal with these people who are blackmailing us first."

Du Ruo looked troubled, "But Grandmother, it's not appropriate for me, a little wife who just entered the family, to rush up and reason with several men, is it? You are old and it's not convenient for you to come forward, but isn't there still Eldest Uncle? He is the head of the family and Cousin's own father; it is most appropriate for him to come forward and handle it. At worst, there is still Eldest Aunt; how could it be my turn, the Second Branch's wife, to come forward?"

"Your eldest uncle caught a cold last night and is dizzy and confused; your eldest aunt is illiterate, short-sighted, and can't say anything. Unlike you, who are the daughter of an official's family and have always been eloquent, it can only depend on you."

Yan Pozi looked at her unhappily, "Dalang's wife, you are pushing and shoving like this, could it be that you don't want to help with this favor? Don't forget, although the two branches have separated, the bones are broken but the tendons are connected. If the First Branch suffers, what good can your Second Branch get? If it spreads out, people will only say that the men of the Jiang family are messing around outside and had their descendants' roots cut off; they won't say which man it is. Aren't you afraid that Jiang Li's reputation will be damaged?"

When she said this, Du Ruo was unhappy.

Jiang Zongbao is Jiang Zongbao, Jiang Li is Jiang Li; don't pull them together, she feels sick.

Fine, since you trust me so much and insist on me going up to reason, then I will reason for you to see. Anyway, whatever the result is, you can bear it yourselves.

Thinking of this, Du Ruo agreed with a smile and turned to face that Lian Xinmei, "This big brother, you said my cousin had an affair with your wife; do you have any evidence?"

"I caught this pair of dog-man-and-woman in bed with my own hands; what the hell kind of evidence do I need!"

Lian Xinmei's fists crunched; if it weren't for the brothers behind him stopping him, he would have rushed up and beaten Jiang Zongbao to death.

Jiang Zongbao was so scared he shrank into a ball like a quail.

Cao Shi hurriedly blocked in front of Jiang Zongbao. Of course, she was also afraid in her heart, but for the sake of her son, let alone a few men, she would never retreat even if it were a mountain of knives or a sea of fire.

"What are you being fierce about? You have a body frame but can't even feed your own wife, and you have the face to blame others. If it weren't for that vixen in your house seducing my son first, how could my son do such a thing! If you want to hit, hit her; what kind of ability is it to hit my son!"

If you want to know what men hate most, of course, they hate others saying they can't do it.

Cao Shi was stabbing into people's hearts with every sentence, and every knife drew blood.

Lian Xinmei could have restrained himself before, but now he was completely furious. He broke free from the obstruction of several men like a madman, rushed over, and punched Jiang Zongbao in the nose.

Immediately, nosebleed flew wildly, spraying Cao Shi all over the face.

Cao Shi was stunned for a moment, and after reacting, she opened her throat and screamed, pouncing over to scratch and claw at Lian Xinmei, "Ah ah ah! I told you to hit my son, I told you to hit my son, this lady will fight you to the death!"

Lian Xinmei didn't pay attention and had a bloodstain scratched on his face.

His chest heaved violently with anger, so he kicked Jiang Zongbao two meters away with a slap, lying on the ground like a mangy dog, shouting in pain.

Seeing Cao Shi still wanting to fight for her life, Jiang Zongbao hurriedly wiped his nosebleed and called out in pain, "Mother, I beg you, stop, stop talking, okay?"

If she keeps talking, his little life won't be saved, wuwuwu.

The onlookers outside the courtyard wall also covered their eyes one after another.

Oh my god, it hurts so much to be beaten.

It's not that they weren't willing to go up and help; they were all from the same village, and many were from the same clan. Originally, they should have helped each other, but the nature of adultery is really too bad. Think about it, if it were themselves who encountered this, they would definitely beat that adulterer until even his mother wouldn't recognize him.

So as long as no one died, everyone just watched.

Yan Pozi and Jiang Dabo stomped their feet in anxiety. Yan Pozi scolded Cao Shi, "Stupid, who told you to talk too much, get into the house!"

Cao Shi refused; her son was still suffering outside. If no one protected him, what if he was really beaten to death by that rascal?

But her mother-in-law had already spoken, and she didn't dare not listen, so she had to grind her way to the side of her daughter-in-law, Qin Shi, and stand there, but her eyes were still watching Lian Xinmei at all times, thinking that if he wanted to do it again, she would risk her life to fight him.

Looking at Cao Shi's stupid appearance, Yan Pozi regretted it so much that her intestines turned green.

Back then, she was really pig-oil-blinded; she actually married such a brainless idiot to her own son for the sake of a ten-tael silver dowry, harming three generations of the Jiang family.

Looking at Du Ruo, who was calm and composed on the other side, Yan Pozi's regret deepened a bit.

Ever since Du Shi entered the family, the Second Branch's days have been getting better day by day. If Yan Pozi didn't believe that Du Shi had a hand in it, she wouldn't believe it, but the more she believed it, the more she couldn't stand Du Shi.

Why should those little rabbits in the Second Branch live a good life!

"Dalang's wife, what are you still doing, didn't you see that Zongbao is about to be beaten to death?" Yan Pozi reminded unhappily.

Du Ruo seemed to have just realized it, and hurriedly continued the previous topic, dealing with that green-hat brother, "I also sympathize with your encounter, but the damage has already been done. Even if you beat him to death, it won't help. Why don't we talk about conditions?"

Lian Xinmei waved his hand, "Nothing to talk about. I don't want this broken shoe! When I married her, I spent forty taels of silver. I don't do loss-making business. You pay me forty taels, and this matter is over."

It's reasonable.

Du Ruo then turned to look at Yan Pozi, and Yan Pozi choked.

Is this little bitch doing it on purpose? She was so powerful when arguing with her before, set after set, and now that she asked her to help reason, that's it?

Forty taels, that's not a small amount!

If she could agree, why would she need Du Shi to do it? Just give the money.

"This little brother, can it be less? So much silver, we are just ordinary farmers, we really can't take it out." Yan Pozi squeezed out a smiling face and begged.

Du Ruo immediately echoed, "That is, don't open your mouth like a lion. Forty taels, even if you sell my cousin's whole family, you won't be able to gather it, at most thirty-nine taels!"

Pfft, Yan Pozi's old blood almost sprayed out.

What thirty-nine taels, what's the difference between that and forty taels? She was about to open her mouth to correct it when she heard the man loudly agree.

"Good! Thirty-nine taels it is, deal!"

Yan Pozi: "..."

It's over.

She glared at Du Ruo hatefully and gritted her teeth, "Don't say thirty-nine taels, even nineteen taels we can't take out. If you want to sue, go sue, at worst, we'll spend a few years in jail."

Yan Pozi was betting, betting that Lian Xinmei only wanted money. Once it went to the government office, Jiang Zongbao would certainly not have a good time, but Lian Xinmei would also not get the silver, and in the end, he would lose both people and money.

Lian Xinmei didn't eat her set at all, sneering coldly, "Old woman, you'd better think clearly. If you don't take out thirty-nine taels today, I'll break your eldest grandson's third leg first, and then send him to the government office. Money and the root of life, you choose one."

When Jiang Zongbao heard this, his guts were scared out of him. He didn't care about the injuries on his body and crawled to Yan Pozi's feet with effort, looking up with his bruised monkey face and crying and begging.

"Grandmother, Grandson doesn't want to go to jail, and even less wants to be a man without roots. I beg you, save Grandson!"

Yan Pozi's face was cloudy and sunny.

Save, certainly must save.

She only has this one direct grandson. Qin Shi is pregnant, and she doesn't know if it's a boy or a girl. If it's a girl, wouldn't the bloodline of the old Jiang family be cut off in her hands?

The key question is, how to save?

Thirty-nine taels, she can't take it out no matter what. Back then, the silver Jiang Mo Nian gave her was mostly used to buy land, and the rest was used to build this residence.

Later, Jiang Mo Nian died, and Su Shi took the children back to the old residence. Yan Pozi cheated Su Shi out of all the money, and she did save dozens of taels.

Unfortunately, after losing Jiang Mo Nian as a backer, the family's income plummeted, and the land still had to pay taxes. Relying solely on the pension silver of a few wen from the Second Branch and the meager harvest from the fields, the expenses of a whole family didn't leave much.

The most annoying thing is this grandson, Jiang Zongbao, who is messing around outside all day, eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling. To plug his holes, she doesn't know how much silver has been lost.

Now, counting it all up, there were only a dozen taels left.

This money is her coffin money. Even if she was willing to take it out, it wouldn't be enough at all!

Yan Pozi was calculating quickly in her heart.

Lian Xinmei on the other side saw her indifferent and became impatient. He pointed at Jiang Zongbao and signaled to the men behind him, "Brothers, grab that coward for me. I'll castrate him today and see what he uses to harm good women in the future!"

The men agreed in unison, rushed up without saying a word, and like an eagle catching a chick, lifted Jiang Zongbao up without any effort and threw him roughly at Lian Xinmei's feet.

Jiang Zongbao lay on the ground like mud, tears and snot all over his face, looking pitiful and disgusting.

"Grandmother! Grandson knows he was wrong, I won't dare to do it again! I beg you to save Grandson! Mother..."

Yan Pozi could hold back, but Cao Shi couldn't. Those wails heard in her ears were simply as painful as cutting her heart.

Cao Shi rushed out, looking at the men with red eyes, "In broad daylight, you still want to use private punishment? I tell you, my nephew is a head catcher in the county government! If you dare to touch a hair on my son, watch out, he will make you pay!"

Lian Xinmei was indeed hesitant.

A head catcher is not much of an official, but if he really wants to find trouble with someone, he has plenty of means.

However...

Lian Xinmei's gaze fell on the woman on the ground who had been hanging her head and not reacting, a trace of fear flashing in his eyes.

Forget it, life is important. At worst, after finishing this ticket, he will go far away!

"A head catcher is amazing?" Lian Xinmei looked down at Cao Shi and sneered, "Stinky woman, I see you don't understand the laws of Da Zhao. I will be merciful and tell you that the law says, whoever catches his wife having an affair and beats the adulterer to death on the spot is innocent! I left your son a dog's life, which is already a great merit. You still want your head catcher nephew to stand up for you? Don't dream! Alright, if you want to keep your son's root of life, stop talking nonsense, give me the money!"

Seeing that she couldn't scare him, Cao Shi had to look at Yan Pozi pleadingly, "Mother..."

Yan Pozi looked troubled.

She wanted to take the money, but thirty-nine taels is so much, where could she take it out?

Seeing Yan Pozi not saying a word, Lian Xinmei took out a knife and patted Jiang Zongbao's cheek, "Sorry, brother. Since your most respected grandmother is unwilling to take money to redeem you, don't blame me for being impolite."

As he said this, the knife in his hand slowly slid down, from Jiang Zongbao's throat all the way to his belly button, and continued downward.

Jiang Zongbao's face turned pale, his breathing quickened, and his pupils dilated.

Suddenly, his body shook, and a strong smell of urine permeated the courtyard.

Lian Xinmei's movements paused, looking down at Jiang Zongbao's wet crotch, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Useless coward, he hadn't even started yet, and he actually wet his pants from fear. With this kind of courage, he dared to seduce a married woman; who gave him the courage?

He sneered, not caring about the stench, and the knife continued downward without mercy.