“Get in the carriage, stop talking, get in quickly!” The officer waved his hand toward the carriage and shouted loudly.

They had already wasted enough time and needed to head back as soon as possible.

At this moment, Chen Sixi was completely stunned.

Just a moment ago, she had been talking with her father-in-law, saying that once Jian Xiu, that vile woman, paid the compensation, their second branch would take a 30% share.

That way, they could finally justify the suffering Zhang Zihua had endured at the village’s end.

Chen Sixi could guess that her husband, who had fallen into Jian Xiu’s hands, would not come out unscathed.

However, she never dared to think she would be in such a situation.

As long as he could return alive, everything would be fine.

But now…

They never imagined that Jian Xiu’s trip to the county city was not for a doctor, but to the yamen.

She was going to report them…

She was sending them all to prison…

As this thought struck her, Chen Sixi instantly became afraid.

She raised her head, wanting to say something, but before she could speak, one of the officers shoved her roughly from behind.

“What are you standing there for? Stop wasting time and hurry up.”

“Officers, officers, it’s a misunderstanding… it’s a misunderstanding…” Chen Sixi quickly said, realizing the situation.

At this point, Fang Miaojuan was also in shock.

If this matter reached the yamen, the main branch would be okay, it shouldn’t cause much trouble.

After all, Zhang Zixuan wasn’t the one they had hurt, but their son Tianyi, who was in Hua Heng Academy, would be in trouble.

Thinking of this, Fang Miaojuan quickly elbowed Zhang Zhirong, signaling him to ask the two officers for mercy.

However, Zhang Zhirong was completely oblivious.

His mind was entirely occupied with how to distance himself from the second branch, to sever all ties with them.

Seeing her husband’s reaction, Fang Miaojuan realized she couldn’t rely on him anymore.

She turned to the officers and said, “Gentlemen, please investigate carefully. We’ve done nothing wrong. It’s just that…”

“Whether you did anything wrong is not for us to decide. We’re just following orders. You’ll have the chance to explain everything to the magistrate later,” one officer interrupted her, cutting her off.

The officers didn’t want to waste time with a large group, so they had prepared two carriages.

One officer got into his own carriage, while the other took the relatively quiet Old Zhang.

The reason Old Zhang was so quiet was that he knew this had nothing to do with him.

Not only was he not involved, but he hadn’t said a word when he found out they were going.

These matters were always handled by Old Liu, not him.

Even if there was a problem, it would be hers, not his.

So, as long as he explained the situation properly, he believed he’d be fine.

Thus, he was the quietest among them.

The other three, the two officers decided to put them in the same carriage as Zhang Zihua and the others, as they were too noisy.

Once in the carriage, the strong smell of pig dung hit their noses.

Although the two had changed clothes, the visible pig dung on their heads was enough to make them sick.

Luckily, they weren’t so delicate that they couldn’t endure it.

“Mother, Second Brother, are you all okay?” Zhang Zhirong asked, pretending to be concerned.

Fang Miaojuan, too, acted concerned, looking at the two with worry.

But Chen Sixi wasn’t as good at acting as they were. Her eyes were only on her husband, Zhang Zihua.

He was the pillar of their second branch.

If something happened to him, how could they handle it?

Thinking of this, Chen Sixi quickly asked Zhang Zihua, “Zihua, are you okay?”

“You tell me, do I look okay?” Zhang Zihua replied angrily.

In his mind, if it weren’t for his wife’s greed, perhaps his older brother would have stayed and lived freely.

“That vile woman, Jian Xiu, I didn’t expect her to report us,” Zhang Zihua muttered, unable to hold back any longer.

At this moment, his whole body was in pain. He had thought something good would happen to him.

But instead?

Great, now she had gone to the authorities. Did she think that by reporting them, she wouldn’t have to compensate?

“Zihua, what do you mean by that?” Chen Sixi couldn’t help but ask.

Now that he was injured, she didn’t want to argue with him over small matters.

Old Madam Liu, hearing her son’s words, probably understood he had something on his mind.

Among all her sons, this one was most like her in temperament.

So, she hurriedly asked, “Zihua, did you think of something?”

“Mother, you know, it’s always the mother-in-law who sues the daughter-in-law, but when has it ever been the other way around? What’s this? It’s unfilial, do you know what that means?” Zhang Zihua said excitedly to the others.

Although his body hurt terribly, he forced himself to endure it.

However, he would not hold back when they got to the court.

At this point, he turned to Old Madam Liu and asked, “Mother, does it still hurt?”

“Of course it hurts, what do you think?” Old Liu replied impatiently.

“Well, when we get to the court, just scream in pain. I don’t believe Jian Xiu can really get away with this. The magistrate isn’t a fool, right? Look at us, we’ve been beaten up like this—how can they do anything to us?”

“Besides, when we went to the village’s end, we only went to get some food. How did that become stealing?”

At this point, Zhang Zihua looked at Old Madam Liu and said, “Mother, don’t forget, you are her elder. With that alone, you can control her.”

“She thinks that just because she went to the yamen, she’s right? As an elder, eating some wild boar meat—so what? Even if we went and took it, as her son and daughter-in-law, they should have brought it to us.”

“They didn’t bring it to us, and now they dare to make a fuss at the yamen. Wherever we go, we’re in the right.”

The more Zhang Zihua spoke, the more agitated he became.

It was as if he could already see Jian Xiu handing over those things to them.

At this moment, he even felt his injuries weren’t as painful anymore.

Upon hearing Zhang Zihua’s words, Old Madam Liu’s eyes instantly lit up.