A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

Chen Tianfang ran very fast.

The wind whistled past his ears, and he had only one thought in his mind: These bastards! Once he gets Tianwei back, he'll beat them to a pulp.

There was only one road leading to the old locust tree at the village entrance. Chen Tianfang took a shortcut and saw the mule cart that was preparing to pick people up halfway there.

Wu Laosan was sitting on the cart shaft smoking, while Chen Shuyan stood beside the cart, holding a rope in his hand. At the other end of the rope, Chen Tianwei was tightly bound, her mouth stuffed with a rag, struggling desperately, her face turning purple. Liu Yiyi was also standing nearby, urging Wu Laosan to hurry up.

"Let her go!" Chen Tian shouted. Chen Shuyan was startled and turned around. Seeing it was Chen Tian, ​​her legs went weak. "B-Big Brother..."

Seeing that things were going wrong, Wu Laosan immediately put down his pipe and stood up: "What? This person was given to me voluntarily by your Chen family. It's clearly written in black and white, and a deposit was received!"

"Go find who the hell took the deposit!" Chen Tianfang rushed forward and shoved Chen Shuyan aside. Chen Shuyan, this useless scholar, couldn't withstand the push and fell to the ground, crying out "Ouch!"

Liu Yiyi screamed in fright and hid behind the mule cart.

Chen Tianfang quickly pulled the rag out of Chen Tianwei's mouth and untied the ropes binding her. Chen Tianwei burst into tears, clinging tightly to Chen Tianfang's waist: "Big brother! Big brother, I thought I'd never see you again!"

Chen Tianfang gently patted his sister's back: "It's alright, your big brother is here, it's alright."

At this moment, Wang Jinzhu arrived with Chen Shi and Chen Yuxiang. Following behind were village chief Chen Defu and a large group of villagers who had come to watch the commotion.

"Tianwei!" Chen Yuxiang rushed over and hugged her daughter, crying uncontrollably.

When Chen Shi saw the red marks on Chen Tianwei's wrist from the rope, and then saw Chen Shuyan lying on the ground groaning, this honest man who had been a coward all his life, his eyes instantly turned red.

He turned his head and stared intently at his younger brother, Chen Yang, who had just rushed over from the other side.

Chen Yang was originally guarding Chen Tianrun at the entrance of the woodshed when he heard the commotion at the village entrance and ran over, only to be met with his older brother's murderous gaze.

"Big brother... what... what are you going to do?" Chen Yang stammered. His older brother was usually like a taciturn person, so why did he look so scary today?

"You locked up Tianrun! And you even let them kidnap Tianwei!" Chen Shi roared, like a cornered ox, and lunged at Chen Yang.

Before Chen Yang could react, Chen Shi had him pinned to the ground. Chen Shi's fists rained down on Chen Yang's face and body. "I'll teach you to harm my daughter! I'll teach you to lock up my son! I'll beat you to death, you heartless bastard!"

Chen Shi usually did heavy work and had great strength in his hands. He beat Chen Yang black and blue in just a few moves, making him scream and howl.

Upon seeing her husband being beaten, Chen Xiufen immediately screamed and lunged forward to scratch Chen Shi. Wang Jinzhu reacted swiftly, grabbing Chen Xiufen's hair and pulling her sharply backward. Chen Xiufen fell to the ground with a thud, seeing stars.

"You dare hit my man? I'll fight you to the death!" Chen Xiufen got up and continued to make a scene.

"Try moving again?" Wang Jinzhu looked at her coldly. "Your man locked up my brother-in-law, and your son kidnapped my sister-in-law. Even if I beat you both to death right now, I'll still be in the right in court!"

Chen Shuyan got up from the ground, wanting to say something: "Big brother, you are also a member of the Chen family. It's only right and proper for Grandpa and Grandma to make decisions about Tianwei's affairs..."

"Pah!" Chen Tianfang suddenly turned his head and stared at Chen Shuyan. That look made Chen Shuyan feel a chill run down his spine.

Chen Tianfang walked step by step towards Chen Shuyan. Chen Shuyan was so frightened that he retreated repeatedly until he had nowhere left to go and leaned against the old locust tree.

"All that knowledge you've gained from studying the classics has gone to waste!" Chen Tianfang grabbed Chen Shuyan by the collar and half-lifted him up. "You'd sell your sister just to live a better life for yourself? I'm telling you right now! Anyone who dares to lay a finger on Tianwei again, my hunting hands won't hesitate to see blood!"

After saying that, he suddenly flung Chen Shuyan to the ground like a tattered sack, where he rolled several times before stopping, his mouth full of dirt.

Liu Yiyi trembled with fear, not daring to utter a single word. Seeing this, Wu Laosan knew he wouldn't be able to take her away today, and cursing, he led the mule cart away: "What kind of mess is this! Quickly refund my deposit, and pay double the amount!"

Village chief Chen Defu stood to the side, looking at the chaotic scene, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Enough! Stop it, all of you!" Chen Defu roared.

The crowd finally quieted down. Chen Shi, panting heavily, stood up from Chen Yang and glared at him fiercely. Chen Yang lay on the ground groaning, unable to speak.

Old Man Chen and Old Woman Chen rushed over, followed by Chen Tianrun who had already run out. Chen Tianrun limped into Chen Yuxiang's arms, crying, "Mother, my stomach hurts so much..."

Chen Yuxiang was heartbroken and held her two children, tears streaming down her face.

Old Chen, seeing his second wife's utterly humiliated state, was so angry his beard trembled. He pointed at Chen Tianfang and Chen Shi and cursed, "You've gone too far! You've really gone too far! I'm still here, and this family isn't your place to be in charge!"

Wang Jinzhu stepped forward, blocking Chen Shi and Chen Tianfang, and sneered, "Make the decision? Sir, is it your decision to sell your own granddaughter?"

Old Chen wanted to acknowledge the child for his own grandson's sake, but looking at the villagers gathered around, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Village Chief, you saw everything." Wang Jinzhu turned to Chen Defu. "If Erniu hadn't run away quickly, Tianwei would have been taken away by now. Our eldest branch of the family can't survive in the Chen family. Since the elders are unkind and the brothers are at odds, I don't think we can live like this anymore."

Chen Tianfang continued Wang Jinzhu's words, saying firmly, "We must separate the family. We must separate the family today."

"You bastards! I'm not dead yet, what are you talking about dividing the family property!" Old Chen slammed his pipe down.

Chen Shi spoke up at this moment, his voice hoarse: "Father, there's no room for discussion. Either we divide the family property, or we go to the authorities together. Second Brother has locked up Tianrun, and Shuyan has tied up Tianwei. Let's see if Shuyan still wants to continue taking the imperial examinations after we go to the authorities."

Upon hearing this, Old Man Chen and Old Woman Chen panicked completely. Chen Shuyan was their family's hope for changing their fortunes; if he were to be tarnished, would all their years of hard work be in vain?

Old Chen glanced at Chen Yang, whose face was covered in blood, then at Chen Shuyan, who was covered in soot, and finally his gaze settled on the eldest son's family members, who were determined to divide the family property. He knew that the eldest son's family was serious today.

Old Chen sighed deeply, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant. "I'm not involved in the eldest son's affairs anymore! As long as you don't touch the books and inkstones, you can do whatever you want with them!"

These words signified a complete compromise. Although a formal division of the family wasn't mentioned, it was clear from this attitude that the eldest son's family was no longer under control. From now on, everyone would have to rely on their own abilities.

Wang Jinzhu sneered, not surprised by the outcome. "Fine, as long as I say so."

Chen Tianfang escorted his family back to the Chen family courtyard in a grand procession.

After this farce, the atmosphere in the Chen family plummeted to freezing point. The second son's attempt to steal the chicken backfired spectacularly; not only did he fail to earn Wu Laosan's money, but he also had to pay back double the deposit, and he lost face in front of the entire village.

Chen Shuyan dared not stay at home any longer, fearing that Chen Tianfang might take a dislike to him and attack him again. He packed his bags overnight and, on the morning of the next day, used the excuse of being busy with his studies to slink back to the town academy.

Although Chen Xiufen and Chen Yang felt sorry for their son, they dared not say anything. They could only tighten their belts and quickly scrape together the money to pay back Wu Laosan.

Liu Yiyi also used the excuse of returning to her parents' home, fearing that Chen Xiufen and Chen Yang wouldn't be able to save any money and would ask her for more.