After marrying the fierce god, her handsome young husband was pampered to the extreme.

Ma Er the Cripple had already taken advantage of the chaos to run home. Before he left, he had been careful not to show his face in front of the people of Douzi Village.

Even after the bandits leave, no one will hold him accountable, since no one knows he brought the bandits with him.

When he got home, his true nature was completely revealed. He changed his previous cowardly attitude and found fault with his ugly husband in every way.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and cook! Do you want me to starve to death?"

"You slut, you're asking for a beating."

After his outburst of bullying at home, he lay comfortably on the recliner under the eaves, cursing his ugly husband for being unlucky, while secretly thinking about where he could get some money to drink and eat meat.

His gaze darted to his ugly husband. Although the man was ugly, he had a decent figure. If he covered his face at night, it wasn't impossible for them to do *that*...

He was thinking to himself, maybe he could find an opportunity to sell the person to a brothel and make a fortune, which wouldn't be a loss.

Ugly Husband walked into the kitchen without saying a word. He was determined to get revenge on Ma Er the Cripple for the humiliation he suffered at Longhu Village.

It's nothing more than getting beaten up; just bear with it and it'll pass.

The ugly husband had long, wispy bangs on his forehead, which he usually used to cover the red mark on his face. But now, the light from the stove shone on his face, making it impossible to see his expression.

When will this kind of life ever end?

"Knock knock".

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Ma Er, the cripple, suddenly sat up in his recliner, staring intently at the courtyard gate, and cautiously asked, "Who is it?"

He was met with a loud bang.

Yin Cheng kicked open the courtyard gate with all his might, causing the already flimsy wooden gate to collapse to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Lin Nian took two steps back while holding Pearl, and only stepped into the courtyard after the dust had settled.

"It's...it's you!" After recognizing the person, Ma Er the Cripple tried to run away, dragging his lame leg.

Yin Cheng took a peanut out of the pearl's small purse and threw it, hitting Ma Er Quezi's knee accurately. Ma Er Quezi staggered and knelt down.

Lin Nian asked, "Is this the same Ma Er the Cripple?"

Yin Cheng nodded, stepped forward and stepped on Ma Er Quezi's back, immobilizing him. "We still have a score to settle with him. Pearl, come here."

Pearl got down from her father's arms and ran towards him with her short legs. "Pearl's here!"

"How did he manage to steal you away before?"

Lin Nian's eyes widened; he had no idea about this!

Pearl complained, "When I bought candied hawthorns, he grabbed me and pinched my flesh."

Yin Cheng was heartbroken. "Where did you pinch him?"

Pearl pointed to her arm. "My flesh hurts."

Yin Cheng gently rubbed her arms, which were as soft and white as lotus roots.

"and then?"

Pearl racked her brains for an adjective, "Use big." She swung her chubby little arm in a circle, "Fill me up."

Yin Cheng nodded. "I understand. When you two were buying candied hawthorns, he used a sack to kidnap you when the adults weren't looking, right?"

Pearl paused for a moment, as if his mind hadn't quite caught up, but that didn't stop him from nodding, "Mhm!"

"Pearl, cover your eyes."

Pearl obediently covered her eyes.

Just as Yin Cheng was about to make a move, he remembered something and said, "Cover your ears too."

This kept Pearl very busy, covering her eyes one moment and her ears the next.

Lin Nian couldn't stand it anymore. Holding Pearl, he took a few steps back. Suddenly, he saw the ugly husband in the kitchen and simply went in.

The kitchen, though called a kitchen, was really just a makeshift stove set up inside the cowshed.

The food in the pot was even more meager; on the steamer were only two shriveled cornbreads and a piece of black cake whose contents were unidentifiable.

The ugly husband was already insecure about his appearance, and now that he saw Lin Nian, he felt even more inferior and wished he could hide away.

He and Lin Nian were worlds apart.

Lin Nian said gently, "Don't be afraid, I know you're a good person."

In the courtyard, Yin Cheng dragged Ma Er Quezi out to the vegetable garden like a dead dog.

It was supposed to be a vegetable garden, but it was rather desolate, with only a few half-dead Chinese cabbages scattered around.

Upon seeing the pearl, Ma Er the Cripple understood immediately and kept begging for mercy.

Yin Cheng turned a deaf ear.

He clenched his fist and punched Ma Er, the cripple, in the back of the head.

Ma Erquezi's head was mostly buried in the mud, and his pleas for mercy came to an abrupt halt.

"Human traffickers, right?"

Another punch.

"Steal my son?"

Ma Er, the cripple, was now completely immobile.

Yin Cheng whistled, and a moment later, Hai Twelve quietly appeared.

"master."

"Dig a hole and bury him."

"Yes."

At that moment, Lin Nian suddenly appeared, asking anxiously, "He's not dead, is he?"

Yin Cheng said indifferently, "Human traffickers, they're dead, so be it."

"Oh no!" Lin Nian stamped her foot. "He can't die!"

Yin Cheng asked, puzzled, "Why?"

"According to the customs of Huzhou, a boy whose husband has died must return to his father's family. But Zhu Ge'er's father's family are not good people, and they will sell him again."

"Why don't he just go to the government office and register a separate household himself?" Yin Cheng said. "But the local government won't allow it?"

Although the new policy allowing young men to establish their own households has been implemented for several years, it has not been truly put into practice in many places.

Especially in rural areas, people are unaware of this new policy.

"If it were that easy, how could Brother Zhu have been tormented by Cripple Ma for so long?" Lin Nian said anxiously. "You have to think of something! What will happen to Brother Zhu in the future?"

"Uh..." Yin Cheng said, "He went to the yamen by himself and they wouldn't let him register his household. Why don't we take him to register his household?"

"Even if he registers his household, how will he, a young man, live in the future...?"

"Why can't a young man survive? He has hands and feet; he won't starve to death."

Lin Nian also understood this principle, but he felt sorry for Zhu Ge'er and sympathized with his plight.

Yin Cheng knew, of course, that his wife was thoughtful and kind-hearted. "Wife, no matter how difficult things are for him on his own, it's still better than being abused by Ma Er the Cripple every day like this."

"What is domestic violence?" Lin Nian asked.

"Domestic violence is when one spouse physically assaults the other in a marriage."

Lin Nian said, "I understand, but although Ma Er Quezi abused Zhu Ge'er, he also gave him a... home..."

But what kind of home is this... this is Zhu Ge'er's hell!

The more he spoke, the less confident he felt.

From a young age, he received the concept of respecting his husband, adhering to the three obediences and four virtues, and never complaining or regretting it.

But then he met Yin Cheng.

His views were influenced by men, and he began to have... a sense of self.

At that moment, he met the man's gaze, and it seemed as if his confidence had returned.

Lin Nian said, "Alright, let's take Zhu Ge'er to the yamen to register his household. It just so happens that Magistrate Zhang Huai has brought the Golden Guards. If the yamen refuses to register, we'll beat him until the registrar signs the seal!"

Yin Cheng laughed, then suddenly asked, "Where are our pearls?"

Lin Nian sighed and rubbed her forehead when she thought of pearls.

He saw someone steaming cornbread in a pot and was really craving it.

In the kitchen, Pearl gazed longingly at Zhu Ge'er.

That little look in her eyes seemed to say: Can't I really have one?

Zhu Ge'er's heart softened for a moment. Seeing the pleading look in Pearl's eyes, he hardened his heart and said, "Your little father just told you not to eat it."

Pearl's eyes dimmed instantly, and she huddled up, looking pitiful.

Zhu Ge'er immediately felt that he was deeply guilty.