A glimpse of opportunity: Start by marrying a mermaid bride.

Open the door! Open the door!

The urgent knocking startled the fisherwoman, who looked at Zheng Xuan with a mixture of panic and helplessness.

Zheng Xuan recognized the voice; the person knocking on the door was his younger brother, Zheng Jin.

Zheng Xuan got off the kang (a heated brick bed), put on his shoes, and said to the fisherwoman, "It's alright, I'll go take a look."

The door opened, and Zheng Jin rushed in with several villagers. Zheng Xuan frowned and said, "Zheng Jin, what are you doing?"

Zheng Jin arrogantly ordered, "Search them!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Xuan's gaze sharpened, and he asked Zheng Jin, "You've become a constable?"

Zheng Jin frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

"What right do you have to search my house if you're not a constable?"

Zheng Jin said, "My mother is missing!"

"Your mother is lost, go find your mother, what are you doing here?"

Zheng Xuan did not back down in the slightest.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jin angrily retorted, "Do I need to explain myself to you? Get lost!"

As he spoke, he slapped Zheng Xuan. Zheng Xuan grabbed his wrist and turned his back to prepare for an over-the-shoulder throw. Zheng Jin looked disdainful. Zheng Xuan, this bookish fellow, thought he could be dragged around. He had passed the strength test at the martial arts school.

As he was thinking, his feet suddenly left the ground, and Zheng Jin's expression changed drastically: "This, how is this possible?"

But before he could react, the next moment there was a loud bang, and Zheng Jin was thrown to the ground by Zheng Xuan over the shoulder.

Zheng Jin's mind went blank. At that moment, Zheng Xuan grabbed the iron mallet standing by the door, raised it, and was about to smash it down, shouting, "The laws of the Great Jing Dynasty stipulate that anyone who breaks into a house at night without cause shall be punished with eighty strokes of the cane, and the homeowner shall be killed without exception!"

Hearing Zheng Xuan's words and seeing him swing an iron shovel as if he had gone mad, the surrounding villagers turned pale with fright.

As the saying goes, even the most ruthless are afraid of those who have no fear of death. They broke in at night, and Zheng Xuan, while shouting about the law, was actually ready to kill. This guy was both knowledgeable about the law and insane; who would dare to mess with him?

When Zheng Jin came to his senses, he saw Zheng Xuan with a crazed expression, aiming a shovel at his head. Zheng Jin was so frightened that his crotch became wet. Just then, a voice shouted, "You unfilial son, stop!"

With a thud, the shovel slammed hard into the ground, grazing Zheng Jin's head, and snapped in two with a crack.

At this moment, Zheng Jin was trembling all over. He really felt like he was going to die. He was really scared.

At this moment, Zheng Daguo walked over with an old man. Zheng Daguo was furious and raised his hand to hit Zheng Xuan. But just then, Zheng Xuan suddenly looked up, his eyes were red, and stared at Zheng Daguo. Zheng Daguo was so frightened that he froze on the spot and could not bring his hand down.

He suspected that if he dared to hit Zheng Xuan at this moment, Zheng Xuan wouldn't care whether he was his father or not, and would really fight him to the death.

Just then, the old man suddenly spoke up: "Great power, stop."

Zheng Daguo stopped at this point, turned to the old man and said, "Sir, this... this brat almost killed his brother just now!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Xuan angrily retorted, "Zheng Jin, along with three thugs, broke into my courtyard in the middle of the night and even tried to enter the house. My wife was inside, lightly dressed. What did they want?"

"My brother brought some thugs to try and defile my sister-in-law, and he even wanted me, his older brother, to watch. If I didn't kill him, would I still be a man?"

Zheng Xuan immediately started accusing someone, and the whole room was in an uproar. Zheng Jin was terrified. This accusation was too serious. You have to know that the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues were still very important in this era. If this crime is proven, Zheng Jin's life will be over!

At this moment, Zheng Jin was so frightened that his face turned deathly pale. He said, "Father, village head, I didn't! I was just anxious to find my mother..."

At this moment, the three villagers next to them were also frightened and waved their hands repeatedly. The hat was too big and could suffocate them!

Upon hearing this, Zheng Daguo's expression changed, and he glared at Zheng Xuan, saying angrily, "How could you do this to your brother?"

Zheng Xuan looked at Zheng Daguo and said, "Father, you're still favoring my brother! He... he's about to defile my sister-in-law!"

"Father, I didn't!"

Seeing this, the villagers began to whisper among themselves. Cao Baozheng then cleared his throat and said, "Alright, Ah Xuan, there's a misunderstanding. Sister-in-law Zheng has gone missing. Zheng Jin was just anxious to save his mother, which is why he acted rashly."

"Zheng Jin, if you dare to do this again, you'll be punished according to village rules."

Zheng Jin looked aggrieved, while Zheng Xuan's expression changed drastically as he said, "Ah, my mother is missing, Jin-di! Why didn't you say so sooner? I thought you were lusting after your sister-in-law and came to snatch her in the middle of the night..."

"Oh dear... It's all your fault for being so domineering. I misunderstood you. Get up, get up!"

With a beaming smile, Zheng Xuan helped Zheng Jin up, then, ignoring Zheng Jin's ugly expression, asked the village head, "Village Head Cao, have we not found my mother yet? Is she...is she alright?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Baozheng said, "The village is sending people to search. As long as they haven't left the village, there shouldn't be a big problem."

Zheng Xuan said, "That's good, that's good. My stepmother treats me better than her own son. Please, everyone, find my mother. I bow to you all!"

Zheng Xuan then bowed to the villagers. Seeing this, some villagers said, "Look at Zheng Xuan. His stepmother treated him so badly, yet he was so anxious when he heard that something had happened to her. He is truly a filial son."

"Yes, what a filial son!"

The chatter was deafening, and Zheng Jin's eyes turned red. Could he really be a filial son? He would rather my mother be dead.

Zheng Xuan glanced at Zheng Jin and thought to himself, "From today onwards, who in the entire Nanhe Village doesn't know that I, Zheng Xuan, am the most obedient, kind, and filial son?"

Cao Baozheng glanced at Zheng Xuan, somewhat surprised. He had a good relationship with Zheng Xuan's grandfather and had watched Zheng Xuan grow up. This boy was usually dull and simple-minded, completely controlled by his stepmother and younger brother. Why did he seem to have changed his personality today, like a different person?

"Zheng Xuan, we'd like to go inside your room to take a look. Is that a problem?"

Cao Baozheng looked at Zheng Xuan and asked.

Zheng Xuan said, "No problem, no problem. Come on, get dressed. I'll bring the village head and the others in to see if Mother is in our room."

As he spoke, Zheng Xuan led a group of people into the house. The aroma of stewed fish still wafted from the house. After searching the house for a while without finding anyone, Cao Baozheng led his men out, glanced at the fish pot, and said, "Xuan, you're living a good life. You're even eating fish now."

Zheng Xuan then said, "I found it in Dawang this evening. By the way, Uncle Wu and the others saw it."

Zheng Xuan pointed into the crowd, and at that moment, Uncle Wu, who had greeted him that afternoon, stepped forward and said, "Yes, I saw it. He caught fish from Da Wa."

Hearing this, Cao Baozheng nodded slightly, then led his men out. At this moment, Zheng Xuan said to the fisherwoman, "You stay at home and lock the door. I'm going out with Baozheng and the others to look for my mother. Make sure nothing bad happens to her."

I can't afford to lose the filial son persona I just established.

Zheng Xuan thought about it and then followed the village head and the others out, looking very concerned. They hadn't been outside for long when they heard someone shout, "Quick, someone come quick! We've found Sister-in-law Feng! She's in the woods by the stream!"