Quickly wear salted fish, she won by lying down

The families who had been killed by Madam Song naturally couldn't cause her any trouble before. Firstly, they had no idea that Madam Song was the mastermind behind their loans; secondly, even if they knew that Madam Song lived in the Chengen Duke's Mansion, they still couldn't cause her any trouble.

But things are different now. After the fall of the Chengen Duke's Mansion, the government came to them and let them know that the mastermind behind the loan shark who killed their family members was Madam Song of the Chengen Duke's Mansion. Now that the Chengen Duke's Mansion has fallen, they want to find them and beat them up, and the Song family really can't do anything about it.

The reason they didn't look for the Song family before was because they didn't know the location. Now that they do, some people are guarding the Song family's estate. When they saw Madam Song come out, some people rushed up and beat her.

Before, Madam Song was a noble lady, and they dared not hit her. Now that Madam Song is a commoner, and the murderer who killed their family, what is there for them not to dare to do?

Even if they didn't dare, wouldn't they at least have a few thugs beat up Madam Song?
Of course, Linlang specifically chose these families. She picked those that used to be somewhat wealthy, but whose members were gamblers who borrowed money from Madam Song at exorbitant interest rates, causing their families to become even more destitute. These families knew a bit about the situation in the capital and knew that the Song family had fallen from power. Linlang didn't bother to notify those families that even the yamen runners in the past dared not look her in the eye, because she knew that even if the Song family fell from power, they wouldn't dare to make a move.

Those families with some means of livelihood had their money depleted because of people like Madam Song who lent money at exorbitant interest rates. They even had to sell their children and wives to pay off their debts. Since these families were well-off, they must have had relatives, friends, brothers, and sisters who hated Madam Song for ruining their lives. Now that they knew Madam Song's address, how could they not send someone to beat her up?

They had wanted to beat up Madam Song before, but after the Song family's eldest branch was driven out of the Cheng'en Duke's Mansion by the Three Departments, they quickly disappeared from the capital, and they couldn't find them.

Now that they know they are at their estate in the suburbs of Beijing, they naturally send people there to beat up Madam Song.

They hit her pretty hard, breaking Madam Song's leg. Even if it heals, she'll probably be lame.

Not only was Madam Song beaten, but Master Song, Liu Si Niang, the former heir of the Duke of Cheng'en (now Song Da Lang), and others were also beaten. They were so badly beaten that they dared not leave the manor, fearing that someone would beat them if they went out.

In the past, they would have reported it to the authorities long ago and asked them to investigate. But now, they naturally dare not report it to the authorities because they know that they are powerless and have no influence. If they don't bribe the authorities, they may not pay any attention to them.

It would be helpful to have Liu Siniang's family help them resolve this matter. After all, Liu Siniang was also beaten, and logically, she is the daughter of the Liu family, so they should stand up for her.

However, the Liu family only told them not to leave the estate, and there was no need for so much nonsense. Right now, the struggle for the throne in the palace was in full swing, and the Liu family thought it was better to avoid trouble. If they stood up for the eldest son of the Song family and sent a petition to the yamen, asking the yamen to find the people who beat up the eldest son of the Song family, what would happen then? Would they punish them? Those who beat them up were cursing the Song family for usury and taking on lawsuits, causing their families to be ruined. Clearly, the people who beat them up were the victims.

In the past, the Emperor had already shown leniency by not executing or imprisoning Master Song and Madam Song, considering they were his uncle and aunt. Now that the victim had struck them a few times, they, as in-laws of the Song family, were going to have the authorities arrest and punish the victim. If this got out and the forces behind the other princes found out, they would fan the flames, saying that Empress Liu's family was aiding and abetting evil, and that while the Emperor hadn't imprisoned the eldest branch of the Song family, they had harmed the victim's remaining family members. How could such a reputation be respected?
The emperor was already furious with the trouble the Duke of Cheng'en's family had caused. If they were to help the eldest branch of the Song family deal with the aggrieved party, wouldn't it be awkward for the emperor to punish his own uncle and aunt, let alone the Liu family? What if they were targeted by the emperor's anger? Therefore, the Liu family naturally didn't want to help them. They only told the eldest branch of the Song family to behave themselves and stop causing trouble. They had many things to do themselves and didn't have time to help them with this and that. Giving them money was already a favor.

Since the Liu family wouldn't help, the eldest branch of the Song family had no choice but to give up. Beating them would have been pointless anyway, so they could only try to go out less in the future to avoid being beaten up.

Madam Song was frustrated when she saw that her leg had been broken, and that she hadn't been able to get money from Shen Linlang, nor had Liu Si Niang's attempts to spread rumors back home had succeeded. She felt that nothing was going right. She couldn't believe how glorious the Song family had been when Empress Dowager Song was alive; how could they have fallen to such a state in the blink of an eye?

She firmly denied what the people in the main branch of the family had said, claiming that it was caused by her loan sharking and taking on lawsuits. She said that if she hadn't done these things and harmed many people, leading to her being sued in the government, the emperor wouldn't have been so furious as to punish the Cheng'en Duke's Mansion.

Madam Song believed that it was because Master Song and his ilk spent money so extravagantly that the household ran out of money, and she wouldn't have to do these things to make money.

If they are to blame her for these things, then they are the ones to blame.

However, now that her leg has been broken and she is lying in bed, she doesn't dare to argue with Master Song and the others when they complain about her, for fear of being beaten by them.

Yes, a beating.

In the past, when his family was well-off and had a high social standing, Master Song lived a carefree life and naturally would never hit anyone.

But now, having lost his title and with no money to spend, Master Song is furious. Whenever he thinks of the old days and gets angry, he beats Madam Song.

He always felt that the title of nobility was lost by Madam Song, which was why he hit Madam Song.

Because Master Song's temperament has changed drastically and he is now capable of hitting people, Madam Song, even if she wanted to argue, naturally dared not speak out for fear of being beaten by Master Song.

Even when she was in good health, she couldn't beat Master Song. Now that her leg is broken and she's bedridden, she can't even avoid him, so she's even less likely to anger him, lest he come and beat her.

Although Madam Song was the most unfortunate, as her legs were broken, while the other members of the Song family were only beaten and their legs were not broken, Liu Si Niang was the one who could not bear it the most.

Even though the Song family had stripped her of her title and confiscated her property, she still lived a comfortable life thanks to the money she received from her maternal family. She had never suffered any hardship, so naturally, she couldn't bear being beaten like this. (End of Chapter)