Chapter 821

Bang!

As Zhen Jiang's words fell, Zhen Jian, who was sitting in the first seat below Zhen Jiang's mother, slammed his palm onto the table where the teacups were placed.

The teacups jumped from the vibration, and tea spilled from the bowls.

Zhen Jian looked at Zhen Jiang with a furious expression and shouted sternly: "Presumptuous!"

The atmosphere in the hall turned cold instantly following Zhen Jian's angry shout.

"Zhen Jiang, is this the attitude you have when speaking to your elders?" Zhen Jian frowned as he looked at Zhen Jiang and said: "Disrespectful to elders, so presumptuous; where have you put the upbringing of the Zhen clan?"

"I think it's because your father has been gone for too long that you've forgotten your family upbringing."

"Do you think the Zhen clan only consists of your second branch?"

"Before, you said that the white paper and snow salt were not yours, but belonged to someone else."

"I, as your uncle, didn't say anything, but now it is a time of life and death for the Zhen clan; how can we allow you to be so selfish?"

"Where do you place the lives of the entire Zhen clan?"

"You say we are forcing your mother; are you not members of the Zhen clan?"

"Without the Zhen clan, how could you have your comfortable life today?"

Zhen Ren of the third branch and Zhen You of the fourth branch, who were on the side, nodded in agreement as they listened to Zhen Jian.

Lady Zhang looked at Zhen Jiang with a nervous and worried expression.

"Zhen Jiang, your uncle is right; what happened before is in the past, but now it concerns the lives of the entire Zhen clan; don't be willful anymore, hurry up and apologize to your uncle, and this matter will be settled."

Zhen Ren said with a stern face: "Now that your father is gone, your uncle still has the final say in this family; don't worry, even if you hand over the production methods for snow salt and white paper, there will still be a share for your second branch in the future."

Zhen You also nodded in agreement: "That's right, Zhen Jiang, this is not the time for you to be willful, hurry up and apologize to your uncle."

Apologize?

Zhen Jiang bit her red lips.

Traces of blood seeped out from her delicate red lips.

Her snow-white hands, placed at her waist, were clasped together, her knuckles turning white.

From the very beginning.

Ever since she brought back the snow salt and white paper from Jinyang and they became bestsellers in Jizhou.

The other branches had tried every possible way to obtain the production methods for white paper and snow salt.

At first, it was a discussion.

After she did not agree, they used some underhanded means.

They sent people to spy in secret, monitor, and bribe those around her.

But the white paper and snow salt were all transported from Jinyang in Bingzhou and were not processed locally in Jizhou at all.

So the other three branches sent people to mix into the merchant caravans to go to Jinyang to investigate.

Of course, the results were, without exception, failures.

Only the local residents of Wucun Township could enter the core area of the Jinyang factory.

Outsiders could not possibly enter the factory.

And these people were all Duan Yu's fellow villagers, and they would never mention anything about the production methods of white paper and snow salt to outsiders.

After all kinds of methods were used without success, it turned into intimidation.

Once, twice, three times...

It became increasingly excessive.

Until more than a month ago, when they completely turned against her, ordered her to be placed under house arrest at home, and withheld all the snow salt and white paper that had been stockpiled from Jinyang over the winter.

That wasn't all; now they had come to the door using the survival of the Zhen clan as an excuse.

If this wasn't bullying their family of orphans and widows, what was it?

If her father were still alive, would the other three branches dare to do this?

And now they were even asking her to apologize.

For the past year and a half, she had endured enough.

Back then, her father had fallen ill and passed away.

The family business was in chaos, and the other three branches of the Zhen clan were fighting for benefits, and no one was willing to leave Jizhou.

They were all afraid that if they left, the others would seize more property, so no one was willing to go to Bingzhou.

That was why she had embarked on the road to Bingzhou.

And because of that, she was robbed by mountain bandits on the way.