Divorce with three kids? I'll build a house and eat meat, driving my in-laws crazy.

Chapter 275 Days of Nightly Revelry

Chu Xiu quickly dodged, and Xiao Wu kicked out, striking Manager Qian hard in the face.

bang——

Manager Qian fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The constables quickly drew their swords and arrested him.

Chu Xiu touched his chest. "How terrifying!"

Fortunately, he had learned a few tricks from Xiao Wu. Although his skills were only rudimentary, it was still quite an achievement for him to dodge Manager Qian's sneak attack.

Magistrate Chu was nearly scared to death. He hugged Chu Xiu with lingering fear, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Xiu'er, I'm so glad you're alright. From now on, I... I'll never force you to study again."

Children can do whatever they want, as long as they don't do anything wrong and grow up healthy.

What do fame and fortune matter compared to peace and health?

Although his salary wasn't much, it was certainly enough for his son to live on.

The magistrate of Chu County suddenly understood many things that he had previously struggled with.

Chu Xiu touched his nose, embarrassed, and said, "But Father, I've already taken on a master and promised Aunt Li that I would pass the imperial examination and bring back some honors."

Magistrate Chu's eyes were filled with tears. He had told his son so many times to study hard, but his son just wouldn't listen. How come his son took it to heart after Li Shi only said it once?

Feeling both sad and happy, she simply said, "As long as you're happy, it's okay if you don't pass the exam. The Li family won't blame you. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Chu Xiu's eyes widened, feeling as if the person in front of him had been replaced.

My dad actually told me not to put pressure on myself and that I should just do my best.

These were words that Aunt Li had only ever said to him before. His father... seemed to have changed.

The changes came too quickly for Chu Xiu to accept, and he could only nod slightly, "Father, I know."

The constable stepped forward and said to Xiao Yishan, who was still clinging to the tiger-skin chair, "Young man, this is evidence."

It was a huge tiger skin, with the words "Hu Family" embroidered on it.

Xiao Yishan wiped away his tears and reluctantly let go of her hand.

Three days later, Manager Qian was executed, and all his property was confiscated.

The magistrate of Chu County specifically set aside a portion to comfort the victims' families—Xiao Yishan.

Chu Xiu and Xiao Wu handed the tiger skin they had taken off the chair to Xiao Yishan.

Chu Xiu took out a stack of silver notes and a land deed from his pocket and handed them over.

“This is what my father left for you, it is… take it.”

Xiao Yishan didn't want anything from Manager Qian; he just wanted him dead.

Now that he's dead, the fog on Xiao Yishan's brow has gradually dissipated.

“I don’t want it. I have plenty of food and clothing at my godmother’s house. What would I need this for?”

Li Ruru patted his arm and said, "Sure, why not? We'll save it for you to buy land, get married, and have children later."

Peipei teased, "Brother Yishan, you can't expect Sister Bailu to suffer with you and have nowhere to stay, can you?"

Upon hearing Bai Lu's name, Xiao Yishan immediately accepted the money and land deed without hesitation.

"So many?" He couldn't believe it.

“This is already very little. You have no idea how much wealth Manager Qian has,” Xiao Wu said.

The magistrate of Chu County gave Xiao Yishan 2000 taels of silver and a large house.

It wasn't that he gave a lot; it was just that Manager Qian had so much wealth that this was only a small part of it.

Xiao Yishan was the key figure in Magistrate Chu's solving of the case; this is a gift of thanks to him.

Li Ruru was very satisfied and said to Chu Xiu, "Look how good your father is. Don't say bad things about him in the future."

Chu Xiu smiled and said, "I was just venting to you guys."

He can certainly criticize his own father as much as he wants.

Shen Kuo was also very satisfied, "Magistrate Chu is indeed a good local official."

Chu Xiu whispered, "You're not bad either."

Upon hearing this, Shen Kuo hurriedly said, "What...what did you say? I...I don't understand."

Li Ruru interrupted the two of them, saying, "Alright, it's time to eat."

If Shen Kuo wants to hide his identity, then let him continue pretending.

Whether we confront them or not, it won't have a significant impact.

The Chen family was quite lively today, as Chen Jinbang, who hadn't been home for a long time, finally made an appearance.

Seeing a large group of people in the house, some missing teeth, some losing hair, some lame, it was a truly miserable sight.

He asked, bewildered, "What happened while I was gone? Who beat you up like this? Where is King Kong?"

Wang Shuixia said wearily, "Don't talk about these unhappy things. How are your studies going? Will you pass the exam this year?"

She's so exhausted from working in the workshop every day that she has no time to think about anything else.

He just wanted his eldest son to pass the imperial examination and become a high-ranking official.

Only when their son achieves great success can they save their entire family from this dire situation.

Only then would they have the money to redeem Vajra from the White Mansion.

Upon hearing his mother ask about his studies again, Chen Jinbang became very unhappy. "Study, study, study? What a load of crap! You don't give me any, you just want me to get rich and famous, you're dreaming!"

He had been hanging out with Chu Yu for the past month, and had no time to study at all, only busy being a groom every night.

He knew exactly which girl at Chunfeng Tower was the most beautiful, which girl wore the thickest makeup, and which girl screamed the loudest in bed.

He was having such a great time, partying every night, that he didn't want to go home.

If the Chu family hadn't suddenly donated all their assets overnight, leaving no money for Chu Yu to continue his extravagant lifestyle, Chen Jinbang wouldn't have taken the initiative to return home.

Snapped--

As soon as he finished speaking, he received a slap across the face.

Chen Dagang said angrily, "How dare you talk like that? She's your mother."

Wang Shuixia glanced gratefully at Chen Dagang.

He didn't know that Chen Dagang's slap was more for his own benefit.

Wang Shuixia was Jinbang's mother; she treated him so well, yet he still dared to scold her.

He hadn't contributed anything to the Golden List at all; in fact, Li Ruru had paid for his tuition in the past.

In the months since Li Ruru left, he hasn't given his son a single penny.

If a son treats his own mother this way now, will he even remember his father when he becomes successful in the future?!
Chen Dagang was somewhat flustered.

Chen Jinbang covered his face and remained silent, his arrogance subsiding.

Zhao rushed over and started to complain to him in a long, drawn-out manner.

She blamed Li Ruru for the Chen family's tragic fate.

“That bitch, she wouldn’t give us the cow and the horse, so your father and grandfather had to steal them and got their legs crippled.”

"That damned bastard opened two workshops, but he won't hire us."

We finally managed to get in, and seeing that we weren't making any money, we wanted to terminate our contracts.

She disagreed and even made the village head spank me. Oh my, he took my pants off and spanked me! I was so ashamed I couldn't face anyone.

I'm working like a slave for her every day now, oh dear, I don't want to live anymore.

Through Zhao's tearful narration, Chen Jinbang understood.

Putting aside any possible embellishments, the conclusion is that all the misfortunes of the Chen family were caused by Li Ruru.

Chen Jinbang asked, "What about Jingang? Where did he go?"

Could his brother have been killed by Li Ruru? I haven't seen him all day.

Chen Bingxiao exhaled a puff of smoke and sighed, "Him? He should be fine. He went to Master Bai's house, where he has no worries about food and drink."

"What's he doing at Master Bai's house? Could he be selling himself into slavery?" Chen Jinbang, being a scholar, had a sharp mind and guessed it immediately.

Wang Shuixia sighed, "I hope he can eat his fill and stay warm, unlike us."

Unlike them, who often don't know where their next meal is coming from and live each day barely hanging on to survive.

Chen Jinbang looked at the family's lifeless demeanor, as if they had resigned themselves to their fate, and felt inexplicably angry.

How could Li Ruru, a single woman, manage to control such a large family?

He squinted and said, "Do you think Li's two workshops would still be as glamorous as before?"

"Not here? Such a big workshop, how can it just disappear like that?" Zhao was too slow-witted to understand.

Chen Huaidi, who had been silent until now, chimed in, "It's that simple, a fire will do the trick."