I bring bad luck to my husband, you bring bad luck to your wife.

"Snakes have a strong fishy smell, but Dad knows how to handle them." Mingle was also in the room.

"It's been all morning. Dad's been sitting in the yard, scaling and gutting the live snake, and soaking it in pepper water. We'll roast it later, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and it'll smell so good you'll want to swallow your tongue." Mingle wasn't afraid of this stuff. During the years she was trying to have a child, she believed in folk remedies and drank a lot of snake-infused wine.

Yang Tongshan arrived home first.

"What a big day it is today! Rui came to see me and said we're having a nice lunch at home."

"Your brother did this, look." Yang's father glanced at the snake; it was almost completely dealt with.

"Just thinking about it makes my mouth water, Swallow, is the oven ready?"

"Sir, everything's ready. Where would you like to grill today?"

"Bring it into the yard, I'll grill it."

Yang Tongshan's roasted snake meat is considered the best among the Yang family.

Cut the snake meat into sections, skewer them with sharpened bamboo skewers, and slowly grill them over charcoal.

A wisp of white smoke, carrying a burnt aroma, slowly rose.

Before long, several skewers of grilled snake meat were roasted to a golden brown and crispy, filling the air with a unique aroma.

Yang Tongchuan could smell the fragrance even before he entered the house, from outside the wall.

"Big brother, is it ready yet?"

Yang Tongchuan shouted as soon as he entered the door.

"Alright, now we're adding salt."

The snake meat has a crispy, fragrant outer skin, but the inside is incredibly tender, with absolutely no fishy smell. The salty and savory flavor of the pepper and salt permeates the meat.

"Let me try it." Yang Tongchuan couldn't resist and took a bite first.

"It smells so good." It was worth waiting all these days.

"Take these inside so Mom and the others can have something hot." Yang Tongshan left two skewers for his father, then gave the rest to his younger brother.

Continue baking the rest.

Xiangxi also smelled the aroma. Yang Tongchuan picked out a skewer and placed the one that looked least like a snake in Xiangxi's hand.

"Eat it while it's hot, my brother will have another one ready soon."

Xuebao wanted to catch it too, but Yang Tongchuan wouldn't let him, holding the string in his hand very high.

"Children shouldn't eat these. Swallow, is the children's meal ready?"

"Second Master, it's all done. I'll take it over to feed it now." Yanzi coaxed Xuebao out so everyone could have a peaceful meal.

"Isn't it delicious?" Yang Tongchuan asked Xiang Xi, eager to show off his praise.

"It's quite delicious." Xiangxi felt that the texture was very special, and it did look a bit like eel.

"Why isn't your father-in-law coming in to eat yet?" Xiangxi asked, noticing that all the snakes had been killed, but her father-in-law was still sitting in the courtyard.

"He's secretly drinking outside. Mother doesn't allow him to drink too much, but snake meat doesn't taste quite right without some wine, so he eats and drinks outside at the same time. With his older brother taking care of him, there's no need to worry." Yang Tongchuan had long seen through his father's little scheme.

At this moment, Rui Ge and Xiang Ge came in carrying millet porridge and wheat cakes.

These foods can help cut through the richness, preventing everyone from feeling bloated from eating too much snake meat.

Ming Le finished eating first. She still needed to check on Yan'er and relieve the wet nurse so that she could rest and have a meal.

"Isn't it tiring to be in charge of the household yourself?" Yang's mother had almost finished eating and started chatting with Xiangxi.

"I was a little confused at first, but I've sorted everything out now."

"That's good. I was worried about the two of you living alone, but now that I see everything is fine, I'm relieved. Have you been visiting the neighbors lately?"

"There was some interaction, but not frequently. I mainly spoke with Liang's husband a few times." Xiangxi answered all of Yang's questions, telling her everything.

Seeing that everyone had finished eating, Yang Tongchuan went to the courtyard to join his father and older brother, and had a drink with them as well.

"Drink less, we have to go back to the yamen this afternoon." Yang Tongshan finished grilling the remaining snake meat, and since there was still some charcoal left, he threw in two small sweet potatoes to avoid wasting the charcoal.

"Just one sip, to make it go smoothly." Yang Tongchuan was rushing back to the yamen after finishing his meal, so this small sip of wine wouldn't hurt.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Yang Tongchuan asked Xiangxi if she wanted to stay home and play a little longer, or go back to rest. If she wanted to go back, they could go together.

"Let's go back, Olaf should take a nap too."

After tidying up, Xiangxi followed Yang Tongchuan back to her home.

"I'll make dinner a little lighter tonight; I ate something a bit too rich for lunch."

This is what Yang Tongchuan told him before he left.

But when it was time to go home after his shift, Yang Tongchuan didn't return. It was dark by the time he came back, and he still hadn't been seen.

Xiangxi couldn't sit still any longer; his heart was pounding wildly. He handed Xuebao over to Xiangge to take care of and ran to the yamen gate to see what had happened.

Even if Yang Tongchuan suddenly had something to do and couldn't come back in the past, he would send someone home to let them know. But there's been no word from him today, so something must have happened.

A large crowd of onlookers had gathered at the entrance of the government office, and several carts were parked there, with many unfamiliar faces loading things onto them.

"What happened?" Xiangxi asked, grabbing a familiar face.

The constables who were dispersing the crowd recognized the man as Yang, the head constable's husband.

He secretly told Xiangxi, "Du County Magistrate's relatives are in trouble. The higher-ups came to raid their house, saying it's a case of collective punishment. Constable Yang is inside helping to inventory Du County Magistrate's personal belongings, which will all be registered and sealed."

Xiangxi did not understand the seriousness of collective punishment.

"Is Yang Tongchuan alright?" He was only concerned about his husband.

"It should be fine, it's just questioning, it'll be over in a bit."

As the two were talking, they saw Yang Tongchuan come out of the yamen.

"Why did you come here?"

"I'm worried because you haven't come back."

"It's chaotic here, you should go home first. I estimate it will be late at night before I can get back. The things confiscated from Magistrate Du's house need to be moved by hand."

"How could this have happened so suddenly? Everything was fine just a few days ago." Xiangxi felt that things had developed too suddenly.

"Family members are punished together, regardless of kinship. I'll explain it to you in detail when I get back. Right now, I need to go to County Magistrate Du's house; things are in complete chaos there." Yang Tongchuan urged Xiangxi to leave this troublesome place as soon as possible.

When he returned to the yamen in the afternoon, there was nothing to do. He thought he could just take a nap in the police station and wait until his shift ended.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside. The prefectural government's judicial officer led a group of men and stormed into the yamen, leaving the acting county magistrate's clerk and the head constable Yang Tongchuan completely bewildered.

This was the first time Yang Tongchuan had seen a Ming Dynasty imperial edict.

The document listed several major crimes committed by members of the Du family clan. Du, the county magistrate, was a direct descendant of the Du family and was implicated in the crimes of his clan. He was to be immediately dismissed from his post, his family property confiscated, and he was to be detained pending trial!

"Sir, this happened so suddenly, the yamen was completely unprepared." The clerk still wanted to buy some time.

"Stop talking nonsense. We are ordered to conduct this search and confiscate the property. Act in accordance with the law. Immediately arrange for people to inventory Du Boming's property in the yamen. No one is allowed to keep any! The others, lead the way to Du Boming's private residence. There must be no mistakes." The other party is here today to do something serious.

Yang Tongchuan had no choice but to bite the bullet and select a group of people to follow the prefectural government's soldiers to the home of County Magistrate Du.

When they broke in, County Magistrate Du was still at home drinking tea.

Several officers rushed over and subdued County Magistrate Du without explanation.

The servants in the courtyard were also driven to a corner, where they squatted and trembled.

To Yang Tongchuan's surprise, County Magistrate Du showed no struggle or surprise, as if he had known this day would come.

Unlike the swift and decisive approach taken in the front yard.

The back courtyard was already in complete chaos.