He Swore Revenge

He swore that one day, he would make him pay a heavy price.

Thinking this, his eyes once again revealed a look of defiance.

This look was caught by Zhang Zihua.

Immediately, he broke free from Zhang Zirong’s grip and charged toward Zhang Zixuan once again.

Raising the stick in his hand, he prepared to strike it down on Zhang Zixuan’s head.

This time, he truly intended to kill him.

Just as he had thought earlier—if he died, they could simply bury him underground. If his own family didn’t say anything, who would ever know?

No one would ever find out.

Fang Miaojun, standing to the side, seemed to see through Zhang Zihua’s intentions, and her heart skipped a beat.

Without thinking, she rushed forward to stop him.

“Second son’s wife, are you trying to get yourself killed? If you want to die, go ahead, but don’t drag us down with you!”

As she spoke, she took advantage of Zhang Zihua’s distraction and swiftly snatched the stick from his hand.

She gripped it tightly, afraid that Zhang Zihua might lose control and try to snatch it back.

Fang Miaojun had not expected things to escalate to this point.

The reason they had followed them here today was simply to take advantage and get some benefits.

When she found out that their family had caught a group of wild boars, she was envious.

Later, when she heard that Jian Xiu had given half a pig to Jianjia Village, how could she not be furious?

But even though they had come here, she never thought things would go as far as taking Zhang Zixuan’s life.

“What are you all still standing outside for? Get in here and carry things out!”

Just as Zhang Zihua was about to say something, Old Madam Liu’s voice came from inside the house.

Of course, Old Madam Liu wasn’t yelling out of concern that Zhang Zihua might commit murder.

She simply saw many valuable things inside and couldn’t carry them all by herself.

Hearing this, Fang Miaojun, worried that she wouldn’t be able to hold Zhang Zihua back much longer, quickly said:

“Hurry, hurry, Mother is calling us. If we don’t go in now, she’ll scold us again. Don’t forget why we came here today.”

Sure enough, as soon as she said this, Zhang Zihua and Chen Shi quickly rushed into the house.

They certainly hadn’t forgotten their main purpose for coming.

Once they were inside, Fang Miaojun finally squatted down and cautiously checked Zhang Zixuan’s breathing.

Noticing that he was still breathing, she sighed in relief.

As long as he wasn’t completely dead, that was enough.

Behind her, Zhang Zirong was also stunned and hadn’t recovered from the shock.

Like Fang Miaojun, he never expected the second household to be so ruthless toward Zhang Zixuan.

Last time, even though Jian Xiu had taught them a lesson, it was just superficial wounds—nothing life-threatening.

He never imagined the second brother would go this far.

He had always hated the fourth household, but he thought Zhang Zihua was just venting his anger through words…

“H-He’s okay, right?” Zhang Zirong hesitated but couldn’t stop himself from asking when he saw Fang Miaojun stand up.

“For now, yes, but I don’t know if he will be in a while. Look, he’s still bleeding!”

Fang Miaojun pointed to a spot on Zhang Zixuan’s head.

“Then we should leave quickly!” Zhang Zirong said.

“We can’t leave now! If we leave, he really will die here. Think about it—if we’re not here to stop them, once they finish looting the house, won’t they beat him to death?”

Fang Miaojun wasn’t worried about Zhang Zixuan dying.

She was worried that if he died, the blame would fall on the first household, affecting her son, Zhang Tianyi.

Her son had been studying diligently at the academy.

He knew how difficult it was for the family to support his education, so he had always worked hard.

She couldn’t let the second household’s actions ruin his future.

Thinking of this, Fang Miaojun turned to Zhang Zirong and said, “You stay here and watch him. Don’t touch him, but also don’t let the second household touch him again, understand?”

“I understand, I understand! But what about you? Where are you going?” Zhang Zirong asked hurriedly.

Although Zhang Zirong was the eldest son, he had no opinions of his own.

He had always just done whatever he was told.

Before marriage, he listened to his parents.

After marriage, Fang Miaojun’s influence gradually took over.

And why not?

Fang Miaojun was a major contributor to the family—she had given birth to two sons for the Zhang family.

And their eldest son was the first grandson. If he passed the imperial exams and became an official one day, who knew how far he could go?

How could he not listen to her?

If she wasn’t smart, how could their son have gotten into the prestigious Huaheng Academy?

Besides, Zhang Zirong never thought Fang Miaojun would harm him.

So, when she told him to watch over Zhang Zixuan, he obediently complied, standing guard without moving.

Even though Fang Miaojun found her husband useless and weak-willed, she held back her frustration at this moment and said impatiently:

“Of course, I’m going inside to help! Otherwise, who knows how long they’ll take?”

Looking at Zhang Zixuan’s condition, if they delayed any longer, he really might die here.

Inside the House

Old Madam Liu’s hands were already full.

“Mother, Mother! There are two brand-new sets of clothes here! They must belong to those two little brats!”

Chen Shi pointed to the new outfits that Jian Xiu had bought for Zhang Feixuan and Zhang Feiyi.

“Then what are you waiting for? Are you dead? Pick them up!” Old Liu snapped.

Chen Shi had no intention of refusing—she had been eyeing those clothes herself.

They would fit her sons perfectly.

“Oh, look! There’s a bag of fine wheat flour here! It must weigh at least ten pounds!” Zhang Zihua grinned.

As he spoke, he lifted the bag of flour.

“Mother, we didn’t find any silver. Do you think that wretched woman is carrying it with her?”

Chen Shi knocked on the walls and floor while she spoke.

It wasn’t an unreasonable suspicion.

In these parts, people often hid their silver inside the walls.

If you tapped carefully, you could tell which part was hollow—meaning there might be valuables hidden inside.

“Check under the bed! Knock on the floorboards!” Old Liu ordered.

She had plenty of experience hiding silver.

After all, she controlled all the money in the Zhang family, and she knew all the best hiding spots.

Their hands were already full, but without finding any silver, she wasn’t satisfied.