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

Chen Xiufen was also stunned. She had only received ten taels before and thought the remaining ten taels would be given after the marriage. She never expected that Yang Laosan would give them to Shujie in front of everyone.

"Go, get the money back. That was the betrothal gift, it was for our family," Chen Shuyan said in a low voice.

Chen Xiufen hesitated for a moment, gritted her teeth, squeezed forward, and grabbed the sedan curtain.

"Shujie! That money is the betrothal gift; it must be given to Mother to keep!"

Inside the sedan chair, Chen Shujie gripped the silver even tighter, remaining silent.

Chen Xiufen reached out and snatched it from her hand: "You brat, you think you're all grown up now!"

The mother and daughter started pulling at each other inside the sedan chair, causing the chair to sway violently and the sedan bearers to almost lose their balance.

The villagers who were watching were all dumbfounded.

Chen Shuyan was so anxious that his face turned red and his neck bulged, but he couldn't shout it out. He was a scholar, and he couldn't personally get involved in such a situation.

He turned his head and his gaze fell on Liu Yiyi.

"Yiyi, go help your mother."

Liu Yiyi quickly squeezed to the side of the bridal sedan chair and reached out to pry Chen Shujie's fingers off.

"Shujie, listen to me. This is the betrothal gift; it needs to be given to the family. What kind of behavior is it for a young girl like you to carry so much money?"

Chen Shujie remained silent, clutching the red cloth bundle tightly to her chest with both hands, shrinking into the corner of the sedan chair like a cat protecting its cubs.

Chen Xiufen grabbed her arm from the other side, her nails digging into her flesh, muttering, "You brat, embarrassing yourself in front of so many people! Give the money to your mother, I'll keep it for you!"

The sedan chair shook violently, and the four sedan bearers looked at each other, not daring to let go or lift it.

The villagers who had been watching went from making a fuss to whispering among themselves.

"This mother stole her daughter's betrothal gifts?"

"Boss Yang gave it to the girl in public, and they're trying to steal it?"

"Tsk tsk, I heard that Boss Yang has already given ten taels to Chen Yang and his wife."

Liu Yiyi pried open two fingers on Chen Shujie's right hand. Chen Shujie winced in pain, but gritted her teeth and refused to let go. She pressed the red cloth bundle under her body, using her entire body weight to protect it.

"Sister-in-law, this is the money I received for selling myself." Chen Shujie's voice came from under the veil, not loud, but everyone in the courtyard heard it.

"You sold me out of my body and didn't even leave me any money. Are you even human?"

The courtyard fell silent.

Chen Xiufen's hand froze in mid-air. Liu Yiyi's movements also paused for a moment, but she quickly reached out again—she didn't care about the money for selling herself; what mattered was how many taels she could get from the ten taels of silver.

"Lift the sedan chair! Lift the sedan chair!" Chen Shujie was no match for the four hands, so she could only urge the sedan chair bearers to leave quickly.

Just as the sedan bearers were about to bend down, Liu Yiyi grabbed the curtain, preventing it from falling: "No one's leaving until the money is handed over!"

Yang Laosan leaned against the carriage, arms crossed, watching the scene unfold.

He smiled slightly, neither stopping her nor helping her. This little girl was interesting; thirteen years old, but with a strong backbone. But strong as she was, he needed to make her see clearly—none of her so-called relatives were trustworthy. Only when she was completely disillusioned and entered the Yang family would she settle down.

He, Yang Laosan, isn't as scary as the rumors make him out to be. He's just a bit more adventurous in bed. His first wife was too weak, and he didn't do it on purpose. As for the second one, she was too unromantic; she ran away when she couldn't handle it. Whose fault is that?

He glanced at the little girl huddled up in the sedan chair and licked his lips.

Thirteen years old, still very young.

On the outskirts of the crowd, Chen Tianwei stood beside Wang Jinzhu, clutching the hem of her clothes, her knuckles turning white.

She stared at the movements inside the sedan chair, tears streaming down her face.

That position should have been hers.

If it weren't for her sister-in-law, it would have been Chen Tianwei who was shoved into the sedan chair. She would have been the one having her arm grabbed and money stolen.

She turned to look at Wang Jinzhu.

"Sister-in-law..." Chen Tianwei's lips trembled.

"Go if you want, if you're not afraid." Although Chen Shujie hadn't done anything wrong, Wang Jinzhu was too lazy to meddle in the affairs of the second wife's family.

Chen Tianwei turned to look at the bridal sedan chair again. Chen Xiufen had already half her body inside the sedan chair, and Liu Yiyi was pulling Chen Shujie's sleeve to drag her out. The shoulder of the red wedding dress tore open with a "hiss".

Chen Shujie silently endured it, neither shouting nor crying out, but simply refusing to let go.

Chen Tianwei's feet were stuck to the ground, unable to move.

She was afraid—afraid that her second aunt would scold her, afraid that Liu Yiyi would hit her.

But as she looked at the torn red wedding dress, she suddenly remembered something—the last time the human traffickers came, she was dragged away in the same way, and how did her sister-in-law rush up to her?

Was your sister-in-law scared at the time? She must have been scared, but she still went ahead with it.

Chen Tianwei's clenched fist loosened for a moment, then tightened again.

She took a deep breath and rushed over.

She didn't run fast, her legs were shaking, but she rushed to the sedan chair, grabbed Liu Yiyi's wrist, and pulled her away from the curtain.

"Let go!"

Liu Yiyi was taken aback, not expecting Chen Tianwei to make a move. "What business is it of yours—"

"She's my cousin!" Chen Tianwei's voice trembled, but she managed to shout it out. "You already have ten taels of silver, isn't that enough?!"

Immediately afterward, a short figure darted over—Chen Tianrun rushed to Chen Xiufen's side, grabbed her waist, and pulled her back.

The ten-year-old boy was as thin as a bamboo pole, but he was surprisingly strong.

"Second Aunt, let go of my sister!"

He pulled Chen Xiufen, causing her to stagger back two steps, her hand slipping out of the sedan chair.

The courtyard was in complete chaos.

Old Mrs. Chen, leaning on her cane, was about to rush forward. "This is outrageous! They're all rebelling! Chen Tianwei, you come back here!"

A hand grabbed her sleeve.

Old Chen.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" Old Mrs. Chen glared at the old man.

Old Chen didn't let go. His cloudy old eyes watched the farce in the courtyard, then glanced at Chen Shuyan standing behind the crowd.

His proud second grandson was standing in the safest spot, frowning, neither moving forward nor making a sound, just deep in thought.

It was his idea to sell his own sister.

He was the one who instigated the public robbery of the silver.

He made his mother and wife do all the dirty work, and he didn't even lift a finger himself.

Old Chen suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

He watched this child grow up from a young age, supported his education, and scrimped and saved, all hoping that he would make something of himself and bring honor to the family.

But what good would it do for such a cold-blooded person to actually pass the imperial examination and become a scholar?

If they can sell their sister today, they can sell their parents tomorrow.

"Old woman, don't go." Old Chen's voice was hoarse.

"Shujie is also our granddaughter."

Grandma Chen was stunned.

Old Chen loosened her sleeve, hunched over, turned around, and slowly walked towards the main room.

Liu Yiyi was held tightly by Chen Tianwei and couldn't break free. She didn't dare to really hit her, fearing that Wang Jinzhu would settle accounts with her later.

The scene froze.

Chen Shuyan stood there, watching the old man's figure disappear into the doorway of the main room, and his lips twitched.

Old man.

Once he passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar, the first thing he'll do is divide the family property. He'll then leave you, this old hag, to be raised by the eldest son's wife, and Wang Jinzhu will have to serve you.

Taking advantage of the moment when Liu Yiyi was pulled away and Chen Xiufen was dragged back, Chen Shujie immediately shouted to the sedan bearers, "Raise the sedan chair quickly!"

Without further hesitation, the lead sedan bearer shouted, "Lift the sedan chair!" The four men pulled together, and the sedan chair steadily lifted off the ground.

Liu Yiyi tried to rush forward, but Chen Tianwei held her tightly around the waist. Chen Tianrun, like a little calf, spread his arms to block between the sedan chair and his second aunt, his face flushed red and his chest heaving violently.

The sedan curtain fell, shutting out the chaotic world outside. The sedan chair was carried and began to move, swaying precariously.

Chen Shujie sat in the sedan chair, clutching the warm red cloth bag tightly. The energy she had used to protect the silver with her life just now dissipated, and all the places on her body that had been pinched and twisted felt burning with pain. A wisp of cool air seeped through the tear in the shoulder of her wedding dress.

However, what was clearer than what was on my body was the faint warmth that had just begun to ignite in my heart.

She never expected that someone would come to help her, especially her usually timid cousins.

She peeked out and, through her veil, called out to those behind her, "Sister Tianwei, Tianrun—thank you!"

Looking at this scene, Yang Laosan couldn't help but feel annoyed, thinking, "Kids are such a nuisance. With all this fuss, how can we possibly break off the relationship cleanly?"