Before the house was raided, the maidservant of the Prime Minister's residence absconded with t

"Fourth Brother, that bitch Liu Tao'er is ungrateful. Since she doesn't appreciate your kindness, what are you still worried about?"

Stop wasting time with her and report it to the authorities!

Liu Jiaojiao said impatiently, her tone full of hostility.

"Fourth Uncle, you should report this to the authorities right away. If Grandma is with me and we get beaten and imprisoned together, I won't lose out."

At least I'm still young, I can take ten lashes.

But I don't know if Grandma can withstand it.

Liu Tao'er said casually.

Liu Tianbao's eyes darkened. "Tao girl, what do you mean by that?"

What kind of jail did your grandmother go to, and what kind of beating did she receive?

"Fourth Uncle, you really are forgetful, or you're just pretending to be confused with me."

Don't forget that my grandmother, that wicked old woman, sold me to human traffickers when I was four years old, right?

If this matter goes to the authorities, what crime do you think it would be?

Will he be sentenced to life imprisonment?

And will Fourth Uncle's career continue?

"Perhaps you'll even lose your scholar's degree?"

Tao'er's casual tone sent a chill down Liu Tianbao's spine!

Yes, if he had a mother who sold her own granddaughter, would he still have a career in politics?

His reputation was completely ruined; he had nothing left.

The fourth son's wife, Wei, immediately panicked. She quickly tugged at her husband's sleeve and then said to Tao'er with a smile, "Tao'er, how could your fourth uncle really send you to the yamen? He's just bluffing."

If you don't want to apologize, then forget it.

Your fourth uncle, as an elder, is being stricter with the younger generation in the family for your own good.

After all, they came from a family of scholars, so they naturally knew more about etiquette than ordinary people.

This girl from the eldest son's family is no pushover; her husband can never get the better of her.

She's a woman of her word.

It's all that sister-in-law Liu Jiaojiao's fault; she's a good-for-nothing who's more trouble than she's worth.

And that stupid mother-in-law, Wang, almost killed her husband because of her and her daughter.

She hated the troublesome mother and daughter.

Upon hearing Wei's words, Liu Jiaojiao immediately erupted like a cannon blast, shouting, "Fourth Sister-in-law, what do you mean?"

Could it be that he was really scared by that wretched girl Liu Tao'er?

So what if my mother, her grandmother, sold her?

What law did you break?

"Liu Jiaojiao, shut up! What do you know?!"

If you ruin your fourth brother's career, I'll never forgive you.

Dad, if you don't shut up Jiaojiao's foul mouth, our whole family will be ruined by her sooner or later!

"The Liu family's good days are over; our whole family is finished."

"What's wrong with my older brother and his family moving out and my second brother and his family helping to clean up because of their brotherly bond?"

The mother-in-law and sister-in-law started nagging and cursing, no wonder Tao was angry!

The reason why Madam Wei spoke up for Tao'er was not because she was truly full of righteousness, but because she was afraid that the girl would go crazy and cause a real mess in court, which would be truly irreparable.

It's not a big deal to cause a commotion in the village now.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, have you been bribed by that brat too?"

What's so great about Liu Tao'er? Her second brother and sister-in-law have been bribed by her, and now you're speaking up for her.

Weren't you the one who loved me the most before?

And my fourth brother, isn't he the one who loves me the most?

You said you'd introduce me to a good family so I could go to the prefectural city and live a good life as an official's wife?

Liu Jiaojiao practically shouted these words.

"Aunt, it's not wrong for us sisters-in-law to love you, but we can't let you be unreasonable and bully the younger generation!"

You are Tao's aunt, an elder, how can you always instigate your mother to bully the younger generation!

If word gets out, how can I save face?

Hmph! This ugly and stupid idiot actually believed they would introduce her to a good family.

If she's pretty, she might even be introduced to a wealthy family to be their concubine.

With looks like that, no one would even want her as a maid!

After all, she has a bad temper and can't do any work well; people would even think it's a waste of food to have her.

Only a fool like Wang would cherish her so much!

"Fourth brother's wife, have you lost your mind?"

Don't talk to Jiaojiao like that!

What did she do wrong? The one who's wrong is that brat!

Jiaojiao was only doing it for your own good, to stand up for you two!

When Wang heard that her fourth son's wife had made her daughter cry, she immediately felt sorry for her and scolded Wei.

"Mother, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Liu Jiaojiao is being unreasonable, yet she's still doing it for the two of us.

We can't afford to be one.

I'm saying all this for my aunt's sake. She's supposed to be an elder, but she's always bullying Tao'er. What kind of elder is she? Doesn't she feel ashamed?

Wei's disgusted expression revealed her current mood.

"How did I talk nonsense?"

Jiaojiao was afraid that the second son's family coming to help at the haunted house would bring bad luck to the fourth son, so she came to call the second son's family back.

Don't be ungrateful and wrong Jiaojiao.

Wang was furious. How could her fourth son's wife be siding with that wretched girl?

Are they all possessed by evil spirits?

"Their second brother and sister-in-law are willing to help, why are you two getting involved!"

What bad luck? I don't believe in that.

My fourth son is a scholar and doesn't believe in these ghost and god tales.

"Liu Jiaojiao is seeking personal revenge and causing trouble for Tao Yatou. Don't use our fourth branch as an excuse."

At least Wei knew some characters from a young age, since her family owned a shop and didn't believe in ghosts or gods.

"Fourth Sister-in-law, since you say so, just consider it as me doing something good but making things worse."

You're no better than me; outsiders are always outsiders!

You can watch your fourth brother get beaten up, and while you don't feel sorry for him, I do.

You are, after all, an outsider, while I am his own sister, so naturally I genuinely care about him.

Today Liu Tao'er hit me and my brother. I won't let this go unless I get my revenge!

Liu Jiaojiao pointed at Wei Shi and cursed.

"I'm an outsider, I don't care about Silang, you're talking nonsense!"

Liu Jiaojiao, you're a fool. If you keep making trouble, you'll only ruin your fourth brother and the Liu family's future.

I will never allow you to ruin my Silang, the father of my child!

This time, Wei was reckless, her eyes blazing with fury.

Liu Laogen felt like his head was about to explode. He glared at his daughter and said, "Shut up, all of you. Does arguing solve anything?"

That's the end of it.

Jiaojiao, go home with your mother, don't stay here and cause trouble.

And don't keep your older brother's family from cleaning the house.

"Fourth brother, Peach is young and has a straightforward temper, so don't take it to heart."

Focus on your studies and don't waste time on these trivial matters.

Since the second brother's family is willing to help, then let's help them!

It's only right to treat one's own brothers.

But don't come tomorrow, I'm too busy with work at home and in the fields.

Wang wanted to argue, but seeing the old man's gaze, she reluctantly dragged Liu Jiaojiao away.

As he left, he glared at the second son and his wife.

Seeing that there was no more drama to watch, the third brother and his wife made an excuse to go back to work and slipped away, but in their hearts they cursed the fourth brother as a good-for-nothing.

The second son and his wife nodded. "Understood, Dad!"

The fourth son nodded, "Listen to your father, I'll help you back."

And so they all left, one by one.

As Liu Tianbao left, he glanced back at Liu Tao'er, his eyes dark and unreadable, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

What a formidable little girl! She actually dared to threaten him!

Once he passes the imperial examination and becomes an official, the first thing he'll do is kick out the eldest branch of the family!

We dare not act rashly for the time being.