Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 8: The Uncle's Protective Heart!

Zhang Qi was so frightened that his voice cracked.

As he dodged the sticks, he frantically grabbed Li Er, yelling, "How is it you? What are you doing here?!"

Zhang's servants dared not disobey their master, but even so, the Li family's sticks still landed quite a few blows on Zhang Qi.

On the other side, Li Er's ropes were also loosened. After being beaten so badly, one of his eyes was so swollen that he couldn't open it, and his body and legs were covered in injuries. He didn't know how to vent his anger, but when he heard Zhang Qi's words, he could no longer control himself.
Without waiting for his men to get involved, he charged forward and grabbed Zhang Qi by the neck, starting a fight.

"You bastard, surnamed Zhang! You dare to ask me? I'll fight you to the death!"

Zhang Qi was caught in a dilemma after Li Er pounced on him. He didn't know whether to fight back or not. If he fought back, wouldn't things become even more complicated?

If we don't fight, we'll suffer the consequences!
In a panic, he grabbed Li Er's hands and shouted, "It has nothing to do with me! They framed me!"

"uncle!"

No sooner had Zhang Qi finished speaking than a soft, tearful voice came from the Xie family's backyard.

Zhang Qi turned around in shock and saw Lu Jia had already walked out of the house, leaning against a pillar, looking at them with sorrow: "Tonight, thanks to my uncle's idea, I escaped this calamity. Otherwise, I, Xie Jia, would have had to throw myself into the Xiang River tonight!"
"I will always remember my uncle's protectiveness."

Zhang Qi's chin almost fell to the ground!
What do you mean by "protecting one's own offspring"? Who the hell is protecting her offspring?

What does this have to do with him?
Why say such nonsensical things? Isn't this deliberately making him take the blame?

"Shut up, Zhang Qiuniang..."

“Her uncle,” Zhang Qi had just called out when Qiu Niang came out. She walked to Lu Jia’s side and spoke softly and gratefully, “Although we usually bicker, I really didn’t realize that you’d have to be there for me in this crucial moment.”

That's why they say even if you break a bone, the tendons still connect it.

"Jia-jie, you've suffered such a great injustice this time. If it weren't for your help in coming up with ideas and supporting us, how could we have gotten revenge!"

"You've been busy with all of this, getting the truth out of this bastard that he had bad intentions towards Jia'er, deliberately luring him into a trap, and then beating this beast into this state, which has finally made us feel better."

“Her uncle, with your love for the children, it’s no wonder they always keep you in their hearts.”

Oh my god!
Zhang Qi, his face drained of color, roared, "What nonsense are you spouting? How could this be my idea? It was all your doing—"

"Madam Xie, what happened?"

Zhang Qi had barely uttered half a sentence when a large group of people arrived at the open gate. It turned out that Li Chang's father, Taoist Li, was leading a group of neighbors who came to the door carrying torches.

Seeing the scene in the courtyard, Li the Taoist priest said, "Master Zhang, why are you fighting here in the middle of the night?"

“Her uncle,” Qiu Niang stepped forward, “that bastard Li Er bullied Jia Jie’er last time and almost caused her to lose her life. Her uncle specially set up a scheme to teach this bastard a lesson and avenge us.”

"I see," said Li Daoshi and the others. "No wonder the Zhang family sent so many people; they were prepared all along!"

Finished!

This is a mess I can't clear my name even if I jump into the Yellow River!
Zhang Qi looked at this group of people, and tried to speak several times but couldn't get a word out.

How come these people arrived so timely?

They all live in Shawan County. Although he usually looks down on these poor people, he still needs their help in business. Now that almost the entire street has come, how is he supposed to explain himself?

"Zhang Qi, you still dare to say it wasn't you?!"

Li Er's hoarse voice pierced the night sky once again.

From the very beginning, the servant who came to deliver the message to Li Er, asking him to come to the Xie family at night, was dressed in the clothes of a servant from the Zhang family. Having had so many contacts with the Zhang family, how could Li Er not recognize the attire of their servants?
Once Zhang Qi appeared, he stopped thinking about it!
Upon hearing Xie's mother and daughter's words and seeing Zhang Qi speechless, he immediately attacked Zhang Qi like a mad dog.

Zhang Qi was caught off guard and punched, losing a back tooth and tasting blood.

The servants hurriedly helped him up, and he, in a fit of rage, pointed at Qiu Niang and yelled, "Who said I did it? Who said I did it? You're incredibly audacious to beat someone up and then try to pin the blame on me! Don't you want to stay in Shawan anymore?!"

Someone in the crowd said, "Master Zhang, what you're saying makes no sense. Madam Xie is your eldest sister, and Jia'er is your own niece. They're a widow and her children, and they don't rely on your Zhang family to stay in Shawan to make a living. Are you, as their younger brother and uncle, going to personally drive them away?"

Zhang Qi's face was ashen, his teeth practically grinding to powder! Meanwhile, Li Er threw another punch: "Still dare to argue? Hit him!"

His followers were also used to being arrogant, so naturally they did whatever he said.

The Zhang family servants stepped forward to help, and managed to pull the person away.

Zhang Qi, his face bruised and swollen, crawled out from the crowd and yelled at Lu Jia and the others, "You'd better explain this to me in front of everyone! What exactly happened?"

Lu Jia wiped away her empty tears and replied, "Uncle, you know best what happened. We didn't do anything. How can we explain it? Although you always call Li Er a pig-brain behind his back, even if he's stupid, Mother made it clear enough just now. He should have understood, right?"

After saying that, she turned to Li Er and asked, "Did you understand?"

How could Li Er respond to that?

If he says he didn't understand, then that proves he's a pig-brain.

The point is, what's so hard to understand?!

Aren't these words and phrases proof of who started this whole thing?

Li Er was so angry that he trembled all over. If he hadn't been so desperate to win, he would have attacked again.

Zhang Qi gritted his teeth and glared at Lu Jia, pointing at Li Er: "Then how did he get in? Did I let him in?!"

“You’re the one who let it in,” Lu Jia blinked. “I’m just recovering from a serious illness, and my mother and Yi’er are too busy taking care of me to do this. You don’t think we have the energy to pull this stunt, do you?”
"Besides, if you hadn't let him in, how would you have ended up here by chance?"
"If it weren't for my uncle setting this up, how could he have happened to be there in the middle of the night when Li Er was being beaten up?"

"My uncle has done a good deed, so he's not going to try to shift the blame onto us afterward, is he?"

"Of course, if you insist on doing it this way, then we'll just have to accept it."

Lu Jia's constant use of "uncle" was like a series of slaps to Zhang Qi's face. Zhang Qi was furious at her listless and slow-moving manner.
That brat kept making her point, leaving everyone speechless. The key thing was that she was so sarcastic, not only putting the blame on him but also blaming him for shifting the blame.

Is she really just a fifteen-year-old girl?
He couldn't help but think that the Black Mountain Demon was nothing special!
“Master Zhang, if you’re going to protect your niece, then protect her to the end. How can you abandon her halfway and shirk responsibility? Although the Li family is rich, they’re not necessarily better than your Zhang family. Why are you so afraid of trouble?”

“If you can’t afford to offend the Li family, then you can’t afford to offend the Xie family either. Aren’t you just obviously harming them?”
"If you can't handle this, you shouldn't have pulled this stunt in the first place. Beating someone up and then shifting the blame—is that something a human being would do?!"

"You call yourself an uncle? You never take care of them, you just bully them, and now you even stir up trouble and harm them. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"

The onlookers started pointing at Zhang Qi and cursing him.

Zhang Qi's face grew increasingly pale, while Li Er looked more and more like a firecracker that had been lit.

Lu Jia tucked her hands under her sleeves and drew circles.

With Qiu Niang walking down the street and spreading the mist, it would be strange if the Zhang family didn't fall for it!
Knowing that the Xie family was up to something, it would have been impossible for Zhang Qi not to rush over and check the truth!

If Li Er could do something as outrageous as rushing onto the boat to see Lu Jia, what difficulty would it be to trick him into coming to the Xie family like this?
Now is not the time to return to the capital, and the Xie family is not capable of preventing the Zhang family from plotting another scheme. The best way to thwart the Zhang family's scheme is to let them fight like dogs and tear each other apart.

"Go and bring the sedan chair! Take the master back first!"

Lu Jia was watching the show with her hands clasped together. Li Er, unable to gain any advantage, had already ordered his servants to prepare to retreat.

He glared at Zhang Qi through gritted teeth: "You just wait, the Li family is not finished with you! I'm telling you clearly today, if you want anything from our family, I'll give it away to someone else for free in the future, but I will never give it to you!"

Are you looking for something from the Li family?
Lu Jia stopped drawing circles with her hand.

Zhang Qi hurriedly grabbed Li Er: "Second Master, let's talk this out! Let me explain later!..."

Seeing his hurried and flustered appearance, Lu Jia frowned even more. Qiu Niang, who was next to her, exchanged a glance with her and also frowned.

Zhang Qiming was clearly manipulated by Li Er's words, but when He Shi was coercing Qiu Niang, didn't she use the household registration document and the current house as blackmail?

Could it be that the Zhang family's scheming against Lu Jia and all those underhanded dealings weren't just to swindle them out of their three hundred taels of silver and the house?

(End of this chapter)