Chu Nanzhi slowly lowered her hand. If a child is not well taught, the fault lies with the parents.
She bent down to pick up the mutton pancakes that had fallen to the ground. As she brushed away the dust, she said sternly, "Even if you don't eat it, you must not waste food."
As she spoke, a sharp glint flashed across her clear eyes. She asked the four children, "Who told you that I killed your father?"
The four children fearfully looked at Li Ce in unison.
Li Ce did not back down. He said bluntly, "That's right. I was the one who told them that. I only spoke the truth. If you had not broken the rules, caused trouble outside, and been so violent and domineering at home, Brother Jinxiao wouldn't have become so depressed that he lost his job two years ago. Then he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to take a risk and accept the job."
His words made Chu Nanzhi frown.
It was true that two years ago, the Host was partly responsible for Lin Jinxiao losing his job at the county office.
Back then, there had been a lot of gossip about the Host and Priest Ximen. Lin Jinxiao was depressed and had spent a drunken night in the wine shop. He neglected his tasks the next day and was fired by the county magistrate.
The tax case had obviously been planned by that Taoist priest to kill him.
However, Li Ce did not know the details. He had deliberately said these things to the children to incite their undying hatred for her.
Perhaps these children would avenge themselves when they grew up.
She focused on Li Ce and said sternly, "I've already said that Brother Lin is fine. No matter how bad I am, I'm still their mother. You shouldn't say such things in front of the children."
"Why should I believe you?"
Li Ce smiled mockingly. "Do you really think you're possessed by a god? Brother Jinxiao committed a capital offense. Do you think you can just say a few words and persuade the county magistrate to let him go ? I know what you're thinking. You're just trying to trick me so that you can escape again."
He began to speculate that this crazy woman had caused a lot of trouble in the county office, so he became even more wary of her.
The sight of the mutton pancakes in Chu Nanzhi's hand infuriated him. He pointed at her and shouted,
"You're really a heartless evil woman. Brother Jinxiao's life is in danger, but you're still squandering what little silver you have. You really don't care about whether he lives. What bad karma has Brother Jinxiao accumulated in this life?"
"The capable can survive anywhere. I can afford a little silver."
Chu Nanzhi had no patience for this uncouth villager. She said angrily, "Don't project your narrow views on me."
The small girl beside Li Ce also thought of something at that moment. She gently tugged at the corner of his shirt and whispered to him, "Uncle Li, the silver is still in the bag. I hid it just now."
When Li Ce heard this, his face stiffened and he looked embarrassed.
Chu Nanzhi could not be bothered to argue with him. Lin Jinxiao would return soon anyway.
She was a little tired after so much activity. She looked at Li Ce and sneered.
"Since you don't believe me, why don't we make a bet? If Brother Lin returns unscathed today, how about you kneel and address me as Great Aunt?"
"Not… not just Great Aunt. Crazy woman, if… if you really have that ability to do that, I'll kneel and kowtow to you eighteen times and address you as Old Ancestor."
Li Ce was fixated on how the woman could afford the mutton pancakes. So he was stammering as he spoke.
Seeing how confident he was, Chu Nanzhi stopped talking.
It was her first time being someone's ancestor, so she had to be mentally prepared.
After putting the mutton pancakes back into the kitchen, she went to the small hut where she had rested last night. She washed up briefly and tidied up the room's furnishings. She made sure that the table in the hall that she had broken last night was repaired. Only then did she have the time to hide the remaining silver.
These thirty-eight taels of silver and one tael of gold were now she had now.
If she divorced Lin Jinxiao, she would have to depend on this money to support herself for a long time.
The security in ancient times was worse than she thought. She had to keep the money safe.
She remembered that this hut was originally occupied by the four children. Later on, the Host had forced Lin Jinxiao to occupy it.
Lin Jinxiao had injured his leg two days ago. The Host planned to escape, so she pretended to vacate the master bedroom for the children and Lin Jinxiao to rest while she moved into the small hut. That way, she could escape at any time.
The hut was built simply and there were no good hiding places.
After some thought, she took the cloth used to wrap the mutton pancakes and wrapped the silver tightly before placing it in an empty shelf at the top of the small closet.
Just as she finished, she faintly heard Li Ce and the four children whispering outside.
"That woman has been in there for so long, but there's no movement. Si Bao, sneak into the hut and take a look. Don't let her escape again."
"Boohoo, I'm not going. I'm scared."
"Then Uncle will go in and take a look. Don't run around. I promised your father that I would ensure you survive. I can't let anything happen to you."
Chu Nanzhi thought to herself: This fellow has changed his mind pretty quickly. Last night, he had instructed the sentry to let her go, but today, he was afraid that she would run away. The human heart was unpredictable.
She walked over to open the door, and saw Li Ce stumble into the room and fall flat on his face.
Before they could react, they heard the children greeting their grandmother and youngest aunt outside.
Chu Nanzhi knew that the Host's mother, Liu Yun, and her third sister, Chu Nanzhu, had arrived, and quickly went out to welcome them.
As soon as she reached the door, she saw a middle-aged woman hugging the children and crying.
"The heavens have condemned me. My son-in-law is so talented, smart, and capable. He finally had some prospects, but it ended in disaster. You poor things."
When she saw Chu Nanzhi, the woman immediately stopped crying and walked towards her. With an indignant expression, she slapped Chu Nanzhi's butt, then immediately covered her face and burst into tears.
"You're useless. You're really useless. I've told you many times to stay at home and take care of your husband and children, but you just had to go out and cause so much trouble. Now the entire family unhappy."
Chu Nanzhi felt a wave of sadness as she looked at the middle-aged woman who had been through so much.
Liu Yun was only in her thirties, but her hair was already white and her forehead was covered with wrinkles. Today, with her plain clothes and absence of jewelry, she looked like an old woman.
Before Chu Nanzhi could reply, Liu Yun took a heavy package from Chu Nanzhu's hand and placed it on the small stone table.
"Keep this 230 taels of silver properly. Take it and see if you can get a lighter sentence. Even if you can't save your husband's life, you have to find a way for you and your children to survive."
After a pause, she added earnestly, "Don't think about escaping anymore. The four children are your own flesh and blood. If you don't care about them, who will care about their survival?"
Chu Nanzhi glanced at the bag of silver and asked in confusion, "Where did you get so much silver?"
"Sister, don't ask anymore. Mother has been going everywhere these two days to raise money. She secretly borrowed two hundred taels of silver from Uncle and sold all her valuable jewelry and clothes. This is all our family has."
Chu Nanzhu said gloomily.
Chu Nanzhi's heart ached again.
No wonder she was dressed so plainly today.
She remembered that the Host's family was not rich. She only managed to accumulate some property because of her uncle's support. However, her uncle, Chu Wenyu, was just a son-in-law who had been forced to marry into the Qi family, an important family in Luyan Harbor.
In the past, before the Host's triplet sisters had gotten married, the Qi family turned a blind eye when Chu Wenyu occasionally helped his family.
However, in the past few years, after the Host's sisters got married, Chu Wenyu had given them more and more money. Finally, the Qi family could not stand it anymore.
Speaking of which, it was the Host's mother's fault for having such poor taste in men.
Of the sons-in-law which she had selected, Lin Jinxiao was more down-to-earth and diligent. Her second daughter, Chu Nanxiang, also married a scholar, but he was a vain man who was always striving for fame.
The husband that she had found for her third daughter, Chu Nanzhu, was a scumbag who was addicted to gambling and alcohol.
A few days ago, the Host went home to ask for money. She heard that her father, Chu Wenbi, had fallen sick from anger because of his third son-in-law, Liu Shuyang's, gambling.
Chu Nanzhi picked up the bundle on the stone table and handed it to Chu Nanzhu. She turned her gaze back to Liu Yun and said gently,
"I helped the county magistrate solve the case today. Elder Brother is fine and doesn't need this much silver. Mother, quickly return Uncle's silver and save the rest for Father's treatment."
"You helped the county magistrate solve the case?"
Liu Yun touched her bandaged forehead in disbelief. She was angry and heartbroken. "Has the injury you received yesterday addled your brain?"