The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 112 Division of the Family Property

Chapter 112: Chapter 112 Division of the Family Property

Outside the main gate, the elders of Wang Laozhu’s clan, especially the Li Family Patriarch, had faces as dark as iron. It was utterly disgraceful! The reputation of the Li Family had been thoroughly tarnished!

With resentment, they glanced at the plump girl from the Wang Family. It was her, they didn’t know what methods she had used, but she had somehow forced Li Jinlong to confess everything. Before so many people, there was no chance to retract his statement or secretly save face!

The expressions on the Wang Family Patriarch and the Song Family Patriarch were also quite unsightly.

The youth of the Li Family were too malicious. It was fortunate that this was discovered early; otherwise, how could they avoid misspeaking in their daily interactions, or who knows when they might accidentally obstruct Li Jinlong’s path.

After this incident, retaliation was inevitable, with the likely outcome being the same fate as the Wang Family’s Eldest Child.

Such a venomous snake, always lurking in the shadows, ready to strike, could not be let off easily.

"The truth about how our Eldest Brother was framed has been revealed, Li Family Patriarch. Do you have anything to say?" Wang Laozhu asked, barely containing his grief and anger.

In the eyes of the crowd, what could the Li Family Patriarch say?

Over there, under the instruction of Wang Yongzhu, Wang Yongping and Old Granny Zhang let go of Li Dagui and Wang Daxiu.

Upon seeing the Clan Leader, they rushed over as if seeing a family member, pleading, "Uncle, Uncle, please save our Jinlong! He is being wronged! It’s all a cunning plot by the Wang Family; they envy my daughter for cuckolding them and seek revenge on our family. It’s a ploy of self-harm, Clan Leader, you cannot just stand by and watch us suffer!"

A curse welled up inside the Li Family Patriarch—should he speak it or hold it back?

You really expect me to save you in front of all these people? Are you foolish? Have you lost your mind?

I wouldn’t dare to save you even if I could, let alone when the situation is beyond doubt—how could there be any saving?

The Li Family Patriarch wished he could slap them for their lack of awareness!

On one hand, he was considering how to clear his own name, while on the other, he was trying to preserve Li Jinlong’s life, for he was, after all, a descendant of the Li Family!

After nearly pulling out his beard in frustration, he managed to force a bitter smile and said, "Let’s do this, things are chaotic outside and it’s not a good place to talk. How about we discuss this inside?"

The Wang Family Patriarch looked at Wang Laozhu, and seeing no objection, he nodded his head.

The Song Family Patriarch naturally had no objection either.

Upon entering the Li Family’s main gate and roughly closing the broken door behind them, the various clan leaders and Wang Laozhu headed into the hall.

The hall was already in shambles, not a single chair left intact. Where could they possibly sit?

The Li Family Patriarch couldn’t help but twitch at the brow, but said nothing; he just chuckled awkwardly, "Standing is fine too!"

Old Granny Zhang and Wang Yongzhu also followed them inside.

Li Dagui and Wang Daxiu, who had been by the Li Family Patriarch’s side, also stood to one side.

While Wang Yongping, Jindou, and Jinhu were outside keeping an eye on Li Jinlong, nobody noticed that in Li Jinzhi’s room, despite the commotion, there had been no movement or anyone coming out.

Only at that moment did a figure flash by the door, and under the moonlight, Li Jinzhi gave Li Jinlong a look. The resentment and venom in her eyes were frightening.

In the main hall, the Li Family Patriarch had been making excuses, repeatedly saying that Li Jinlong was still young, just a half-grown child who was merely confused for a moment and deserved a chance to turn over a new leaf.

Wang Laozhu was so angry that he almost blacked out. What child? In the countryside, boys of fourteen or fifteen, if without elders, would have to take charge of the household. What kind of child was that?

Thinking of his own eldest son, lying there unconscious, leaving behind a wife and three sons, the youngest, Jinguan, being only ten, who would now have to be bedridden, how were they supposed to live?

This was the ruin of his eldest and his family!

It was all the misdeed of that little brute from the Li Family, and they dare say he’s young? If not for his reason reminding him, he would have rushed out and beaten Li Jinlong to death.

Old Granny Zhang didn’t have such scruples, spitting directly in the face of the Li Family Patriarch: "Pah! This is the first time I’ve heard of a fifteen-year-old child. Your fifteen-year-old son is already married. Is he still a child? Can a child make his wife pregnant? By what you’re saying, could it be that the seed in your daughter-in-law’s belly doesn’t belong to your son? Isn’t he still a child?"

The Li Family Patriarch’s face turned crimson with anger. That shrew from the Wang Family was really impossible to provoke. The words she said—if they got out—how could he face anyone in the future!

Wang Yongzhu added fuel to the fire in a calm and collected manner: "Jindou, Jinhu, did you hear that? Uncle Li Family Patriarch says that fifteen-year-olds are still children. You haven’t turned fifteen yet, so you’re definitely genuine children. Children are young and prone to foolishness, so why don’t you follow his example?"

When Jindou and Jinhu heard this, they couldn’t hold back anymore. They kicked Li Jinlong in the bend of his leg, sending him toppling to the ground with a thud, and the two brothers started pummeling him mercilessly.

They hit wherever it hurt, and Li Jinlong, pampered and spoiled, had never been hit except by his teacher’s ruler. He couldn’t stand it and started howling as he rolled on the ground.

Soon, his face was smeared with snot and tears as he rolled around the courtyard, looking very undignified.

Peeking through the crack of the door, a few young girls who once had a crush on Li Jinlong gasped in disillusionment.

My goodness, Li Jinlong’s crying fits are worse than those of my three or four-year-old siblings. How did I ever consider him before?

Pah, pah, pah!

Inside the main hall, Li Dagui felt as if his heart were being carved out with a knife. His son was being beaten, but the parents’ hearts ached the most.

Li Dagui couldn’t care about anything else now; his first priority was saving his son’s life. The boys from the Wang Family were ruthless, and if they really hurt his son, who would he rely on for the rest of his life?

He knelt down before Wang Laozhu and Old Granny Zhang with a "thump".

While slapping his own face and begging with tears: "Eldest brother of the Wang Family, it’s all my fault! I didn’t teach my son well! All the blame is on me, Jinlong was just foolish for a moment, his mind clouded by lard, and that’s why he did this outrageous thing! We admit to everything, just please spare Jinlong’s life. From now on, we, the Li Family, will work like oxen and horses to repay you! Eldest brother of the Wang Family, I’m kneeling here for you today, bowing to you. If you want to vent your anger, beat me! I absolutely won’t fight back! I just ask you, with a generous heart, to spare my family Jinlong—"

The secretly slipping in Li Jinhu and his brothers and their wives wouldn’t have it. Why should the whole family suffer for the mistake their younger brother made? What did they mean by working like oxen and horses to repay? It sounded nice, but wasn’t it just expecting the older brothers to become beasts of burden?

Why should it be so? They were all raised by the same parents. Was their own husband’s life so worthless?

"Clan Leader, we request to split the family!" Li Jinhu looked at his pregnant wife’s belly. Over the years, his wife had suffered too much, losing one baby after another. It had been several years and finally, she was pregnant again. If they truly were to serve the Wang Family like oxen and horses, this baby might not survive either.

Closing his eyes, he thought of the secret Old Granny Zhang revealed some days ago. Maybe he really wasn’t his father’s biological son.

"What?" Everyone present was stunned.

Li Jingou, the second son of the Li Family, also stepped forward: "We agree to split the family!"