Taohua Village, Feng Household
Life for the Feng family had recently become a living hell.
Old Lady Li had lost a large sum of money, and it felt like a chunk of her flesh had been carved out. She was tormented day and night, unable to rest.
Since she was suffering, no one else in the Feng family was allowed to have an easy time either.
As a result, every member of the Feng family now looked gaunt and hollow-eyed, their faces barely human anymore.
“Grandpa, Grandma, I’m still hungry! I can’t take it anymore—I want eggs, steamed buns, meat—”
“Grandpa, Grandma, I want chicken, I want fish—”
Feng Dabao and Feng Erbao had never endured such hardship in their lives. Though they had been beaten into submission a few days prior, children their age quickly forgot pain when hunger took over. Today, they finally couldn’t hold back and began wailing at the dinner table.
Old Man Feng’s face darkened, but he ignored the two little ones, silently sipping his watery porridge.
The second branch of the family kept their heads down, trying to make themselves invisible. They knew Old Lady Li was about to explode.
Sure enough, Old Lady Li slammed her chopsticks down.
“Eat, eat, eat! You ungrateful little brats!
“When you had money to buy candy, did you ever think of your old grandma?
“Now that you want meat, you remember me? If your parents would just return the money they stole from me, I’d slaughter a chicken for you tonight—”
Feng Dabao and Feng Erbao immediately turned to their parents. “Mom, Dad, if you took Grandpa and Grandma’s money, just give it back—”
Feng Dalang and Little Li felt like their organs were twisting in rage!
They had lost money too, and no matter how many times they explained, their mother refused to believe them. Now even their own sons were turning against them. The couple grabbed their sons by the collars and dragged them into the yard for a beating.
Soon, the sound of slaps landing on little buttocks echoed through the yard, accompanied by the boys’ howls.
“You little bastards! Do you think your father isn’t hungry too?
“I’m starving to death! If I had money, would I let myself waste away like this?!”
Little Li also cursed loudly, and the Feng household descended into chaos.
The commotion didn’t stop for a long time until Old Lady Li finally bellowed:
“Enough! If you want to beat them, do it at night—don’t waste time that should be spent working!”
When the first branch returned to the main hall, Old Lady Li sternly assigned everyone their tasks.
The second branch was to continue gathering firewood in the mountains, while the first branch was given a new chore.
Recently, Old Lady Li had ordered the first branch to clean out the pigsty and the outhouse. The family’s dirty clothes and bedding had also been scrubbed spotless by Little Li.
With no more filthy chores left at home, Old Lady Li’s anger still hadn’t been fully vented. So yesterday, she had arranged with several families in the village for the first branch to clean their pigsties.
No wages were to be paid—just some straw soaked in pig urine and feces.
To farmers, fertilizer was a valuable resource, though the most potent still came from human waste in the outhouse. Pigsty waste wasn’t as rich.
Besides, pigsties were filthy and stank horribly, so many families were happy to let someone else do the dirty work.
When Old Lady Li announced the task, Little Li exploded.
She had thought that after doing all the dirty work at home, her mother-in-law would finally calm down and let her rest for a few days.
But now, she was expected to clean the entire village’s pigsties? This was outright abuse!
With a shriek, Little Li dropped to the ground, slapping her thighs and wailing.
“My life is so bitter! How am I supposed to live like this?!
“Dalang, your mother is trying to kill us! If she doesn’t want us to live, we might as well go beg on the streets—
“At least beggars get a full meal once in a while! Not like now, starving and freezing with endless dirty work—”
“Father, Mother, if you truly despise us this much, just split the family and let us go—”
Feng Dalang’s eyes reddened, and he dropped to his knees with a thud.
His words were like water splashed into hot oil. Feng Erlang was the first to react.
“Elder Brother! I won’t allow it!
“How can you talk about splitting the family while our parents are still alive?!”
Feng Erlang’s face was a mix of shock and terror, his body trembling slightly.
The second branch had no sons, and Feng Erlang had always assumed that when he died, it would be the first branch’s sons who carried his coffin. So he vehemently opposed splitting the family.
“Second Brother, you haven’t been misunderstood, despised, or ground down by Father and Mother… You don’t know how much I’ve suffered…”
The recent hardships had indeed been brutal, and Feng Dalang’s voice cracked with tears. Feng Erlang tried to console him.
In the end, Old Man Feng intervened, ordering the second branch to help finish the already promised chores. After that, no more would be assigned.
He also promised everyone a bowl of dry rice that night, and the first branch dropped the idea of splitting.
Feng Sanya lowered her head, hiding her dark, venomous expression.
Why?
Why does she have endless chores while “Liuya” lives comfortably in the Zhao household?
Why didn’t that little bitch drown? Why did the Zhao family have to meddle?
She had deliberately egged Feng Dabao and Feng Erbao into pushing Liuya into the water, but it had all been for nothing!
Now, to avoid spending money on the little bitch’s treatment, her grandparents had let her stay openly with the Zhaos, eating and drinking her fill.
The more she thought about it, the more unbalanced she felt, her face twisting with resentment…
She desperately wished her mother would return soon and deal with that little wretch!
The rest of the Feng family also eagerly awaited Taoniang’s return. In their eyes, she was practically a goddess of wealth.
When Taoniang came back, the family would have money—and money meant good food.
What they didn’t know was that Taoniang was indeed about to return.
But not in her usual grand fashion, laden with riches and gifts.
Instead, she would come back battered, bruised, and utterly humiliated.
Sheng Residence
After Magistrate Jiang left, Sheng Yong stormed back to his courtyard in a rage.
Sheng Minmin’s earlier shrewish behavior had left him so furious that he didn’t even have the energy to punish Qingying for reporting to the authorities.
Of course, even if he had tried, Sheng Minmin would have stopped him. She wasn’t about to let Qingying’s loyalty go unrewarded.
By now, Sheng Minmin had also returned to Peony Court.
It was nearly dawn, and this body had just recovered from illness. Coupled with her age, she simply couldn’t stay awake any longer…
Her head throbbed dully, and she had no choice but to collapse into bed.
She managed about two hours of fitful sleep before waking to daylight.
Upon rising, she learned that Qingying, Qingxiang, and Qingzhu had already identified five suspects.
Four had been cleared, leaving only one—Taoniang.
Taoniang had once asked a kitchen steward to deliver a letter to a dilapidated temple in the West Market, placing it beneath a statue and lighting incense…
Qingying and the others had been about to seize Taoniang for questioning when the Sixth Young Miss intervened.
That morning, Sheng Yong had lifted the restrictions on movement, so Sheng Mingzhu had emerged from seclusion.
Unable to act, Qingying’s group had no choice but to return to Peony Court. They sent someone to investigate the temple, but the scouts hadn’t returned yet.
Given Sheng Minmin’s understanding of Taoniang, she doubted the investigators would find anything useful.
But evidence wasn’t important to her. She already knew Taoniang was the mastermind.
After washing up, she sat down for breakfast, confident that Sheng Mingzhu and Taoniang would soon appear.
Sure enough, she had barely taken a few sips of porridge when a maid announced Sheng Mingzhu’s arrival—with Taoniang tied up in tow.
“Let her in.”
