The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 591 - 589: Give Us Justice

Chapter 591: Chapter 589: Give Us Justice

"Mother, weren’t those just angry words I spoke to you before? You didn’t take them seriously, did you?" Wang Yongan looked pitifully at Old Granny Zhang, having been chased and beaten for quite some time without daring to fight back. His hair had come undone, and his clothes were dirty. Every movement caused a searing pain all over his body—he was truly in a sorry state.

Wang Yongzhu watched Wang Yongan with a cold eye, indeed recognizing him as thick-skinned and black-hearted. Initially, he had intentionally sought to take Wang Yongfu’s life, showing no concern for whether his family members lived or died.

Now, however, in his own words, everything was borne of hardship. He claimed it was all for the glory of the Wang Family, and that he had had no choice but to resort to desperate measures.

As for harming Wang Yongfu, that simply wasn’t true!

Even taking away the property deeds and selling the land—he was now returning with silver to redeem it all, wasn’t he?

With this explanation, his grievous mistake of nearly being expelled from the household became a minor one.

Seeing the look of interest on Wang Laozhu’s face, Wang Yongzhu knew that he was swayed.

To this father, his lifelong obsession had been to bring glory to his ancestors, and for Wang Yongan to become an official.

Now that Wang Yongan had returned claiming he had achieved this goal, in Wang Laozhu’s eyes, this son was perfect. As for the theft of the property deeds, that was merely an extreme measure for extreme times.

Sure enough, Wang Laozhu glanced around—dusk was setting in. The whole family was gathered at the door; what would people think?

He coughed and said, "What are you all doing standing at the door? Waiting for others to laugh at us? Let’s go inside and talk."

Saying this, he walked toward the courtyard.

Lady Lin, unwilling to concede, said, "Why should Wang Laoer and his family be allowed inside? No matter how well he speaks, the fact that he almost got our head of the household killed is the truth. We can’t just accept his innocence because he says so. Father, are you saying our head of the household is not your son?"

"Wang Laoer almost took the life of our head of the household. Just because of this, no family could simply gloss over it with a few words!"

Lady Lin felt that her father-in-law had completely lost his mind. Whatever Wang Laoer said was the truth? If he claimed to be your father, would you believe that too?

To express her anger, Lady Lin firmly blocked the door, preventing anyone from entering.

Wang Laozhu being blocked by his daughter-in-law at the door—him, a father-in-law, could not simply push his daughter-in-law aside.

He also found Lady Lin’s attitude utterly dismissive of him as the father-in-law, and his face fell stern as he looked to Wang Yongfu, "Eldest Brother, control your wife!"

Wang Yongfu’s eyes reddened as he looked at Wang Laozhu. "Father, do you really believe Laoer’s words?" His voice trembled.

Wang Laozhu uncomfortably averted his gaze and placatingly patted Wang Yongfu’s shoulder. "Eldest Brother, no matter what, he is still your brother. Look, it’s getting dark, and it’s bitterly cold. Are we really going to leave his family of three out in the cold? Even if you still hold a grudge against Laoer, surely his wife and Jinchai are innocent, right?"

"If we leave them out here in the wind for the night, will they even have their lives left by morning? Let’s go inside and talk. Rest assured, Father knows what he’s doing."

Wang Yongfu was about to say something but was pulled back by Jinhu. He stepped forward, pulling Lady Lin away. "Father, Mother, let’s just listen to Grandfather for now, shall we? Let’s all go inside, it’s too cold. We wouldn’t want to catch a chill! Besides, since Grandfather seems to have a plan, I’m sure he will give us justice!"

Lady Lin expressed her reluctance in a low voice, "Are you foolish? With how biased Grandfather is, how could he possibly give us justice?" She muttered softly.

Jinhu sneered and exchanged a knowing look with Jindou before saying, "Mother, what can you do if you don’t let them pass? If Grandfather wants them inside, he’ll find a way no matter what. Why exert the effort? Let’s just let them in and see what they’re up to. Let’s see what Grandfather is really thinking!"

Wang Yongzhu took another look at Jinhu—this youngster had come a long way in his business sense and maturity in the past half-year.

Moreover, by the tone of his voice, he seemed prepared for an outright confrontation.

It seems inevitable—the family had already divided. Wang Yonggui’s house had its own plot of land and silver, and Jindou and Jinhu were both grown up and able to help with the family business.

As long as they continued their business, life would surely not be too shabby, especially with Jindou and Jinhoo, two strapping young men in the prime of their youth. It was impressive that they didn’t rush up to give Wang Yongan a thorough thrashing first, ah, but that was because Old Granny Zhang had moved faster.

But could they really swallow their pride and let Wang Yongan off the hook?

Only Wang Laozhu was wishfully thinking that since Wang Yongan had returned to admit his guilt, they were still family after all.

Lady Lin was pulled away by Jinhoo, and Wang Laozhu went inside first. Although Wang Yongan was in pain, he hurriedly followed behind him.

The rest of the Wang Family exchanged glances. Wang Yonggui scratched his head in irritation and said with a wry smile, "Mother, sister, shall we go in? If we don’t, I’m afraid that scoundrel Wang Laoer might feed father another dose of his damn charm, and dad might not even remember his own name."

Old Granny Zhang was still holding the thin bamboo rod, reluctant to let go, searching, looking for an opportunity later to land a few more blows to ease her frustration.

The Wang Family turned and entered the house, ignoring Lady Qian and her daughter Jinchai who were still kneeling on the ground.

Lady Qian, seeing everyone had gone inside, hurriedly pulled Jinchai up, dusted off her skirt, and made to follow them inside, when she remembered the two large trunks that still needed to be brought in.

She called out urgently, "Jindou, Jinhoo, Fourth Brother, help carry in the trunks—"

She called out repeatedly, but no one responded.

Lady Qian was both angry and anxious, knowing that these days were nothing like the past, and everyone in the Wang Family looked at them with disdain. She didn’t expect anyone to come out and help.

With no other choice, she bit down hard on her anger, and together with Jinchai, they slowly dragged the trunks up the steps.

Soft and delicate, Jinchai didn’t have the strength; the trunks didn’t budge, and she ended up falling on her buttocks on the ground.

Though no one saw her fall, she felt humiliated all the same.

Frustrated, she let go of the trunk and ran into the courtyard, covering her face.

Lady Qian called out to her several times with no success, stamping her foot in urgency. How was she to bring the trunks inside?

She was terribly worried.

"Sister-in-law, let my Mutou help you move them inside," a voice offered.

Lady Qian turned around to see an unfamiliar woman and a young man standing behind her.

After a moment’s thought, she remembered the woman—wasn’t she the daughter left behind by the matriarch from earlier? And it was she who had spoken a few good words for her husband earlier and was now volunteering to help.

Lady Qian was extremely grateful. She had heard of this elder sister’s reputation before and had always looked down on her; never would she have imagined that, at this moment, it would be this elder sister lending a hand.

Hurriedly, she tried to offer a strained smile, "Thank you, elder sister! Otherwise, as a woman alone, I really couldn’t have moved these."

Wang Yongzhen nudged Sun Mutou, "Mutou, hurry and help your Second Aunt move the trunks inside, will you? What are you standing around for?"

Sun Mutou stamped his feet, stepped forward to heave the trunks into the courtyard, set them down by the main door, then turned and left.