Chapter 60: Husband Abuses Scumbag

Zhou Ruizhen stood in place, dressed in a dark blue long robe, his expression indifferent. Just as the burly man’s blade was about to strike, he moved with lightning speed, grabbing the man’s wrist and delivering a powerful chop to his arm.

His movements were swift and precise, his strength immense.

With a loud clang, the burly man let out a pained howl as if his arm had been broken. His grip loosened, and the blade fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

“Ah! My hand! My hand!”

He clutched his limp arm, writhing in agony.

Du Wanchun watched the scene unfold before her in shock.

But Zhou Ruizhen wasn’t finished yet. Striding toward the three men, he effortlessly lifted the bearded thug as if he were a mere kitten. His voice was cold and firm. “Who sent you?”

The bearded man gritted his teeth, enduring the pain in his chest. “We were paid in silver. We won’t talk.”

Without hesitation, Zhou Ruizhen threw him onto the ground with a heavy thud. Before the man could struggle to get up, Zhou Ruizhen picked up the fallen blade and pressed it against his throat. His voice was icy. “Speak. Who sent you?”

Feeling the sharp edge of the blade against his skin, the bearded man trembled all over, his fear evident. “Please, spare me! We only meant to scare Miss Du. We weren’t going to do anything outrageous. Just let us go!”

Zhou Ruizhen’s eyes remained cold, his expression unmoved. The blade in his hand inched closer to the man’s skin. “I’ll give you one last chance. If you don’t speak, you won’t live to regret it.”

The bearded thug clenched his teeth, still refusing to answer.

Zhou Ruizhen’s gaze darkened. Tightening his grip on the handle, he pressed the blade into the man’s neck, slicing into the skin.

Bright red blood trickled down the edge of the blade.

The sharp pain sent the bearded man into a panic. He squeezed his eyes shut and shouted, “I’ll talk! I’ll talk! It was the young madam of the Li family! She ordered us to kidnap Miss Du and take her to the young master Li’s room!”

Only then did Zhou Ruizhen slowly release him, though the cold glint in his eyes remained.

Du Wanchun, standing nearby, wasn’t particularly surprised. From the moment these thugs barged in, she had already suspected Liu Lanzhi was behind it.

She just hadn’t expected Liu Lanzhi to be so bold—and so foolish—as to send people to snatch her in broad daylight.

People had always said Du Wanchun was the foolish one, but it seemed the real fool was Liu Lanzhi.

Seeing that their mission had failed, the three men turned to flee.

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Zhou Zhao returned from the vegetable field just in time to hear what had happened. Without hesitation, he and Zhou Ruizhen quickly surrounded the three thugs.

Zhou Zhao had always been ruthless in his methods. Without a word, he swung the carrying pole in his hand and mercilessly broke the legs of two of the men. Then, grabbing the third thug, he turned to Zhou Ruizhen and Madam Zhou and asked, “Mother, Big Brother, shall we send them straight to the authorities?”

Madam Zhou, her face full of fury, nodded firmly. “That’s right! Take them to the yamen! Let Magistrate Li see just how vicious his daughter-in-law is!”

With that, she grabbed Du Wanchun’s hand and strode forward. “We’re going now!”

Du Wanchun didn’t protest and followed along as they dragged the three men straight to the magistrate’s office.

When Magistrate Li saw Du Wanchun, he was momentarily stunned. This young woman was truly beautiful. But when he heard that she was the so-called ‘foolish girl’ from the Du family, a wave of unease crept into his heart.

So this was the girl he had nearly taken as a daughter-in-law?

Memories of a certain Daoist priest’s words surfaced in his mind, making him suddenly wary.

“What brings you all to my court?” he asked.

Madam Zhou, still fuming, pointed at the injured men on the ground and declared, “Your honor, these men were ordered by your own daughter-in-law to kidnap my eldest daughter-in-law!”

Magistrate Li was shocked. “Madam Zhou, could this be some kind of misunderstanding? My eldest daughter-in-law is an honest and upright woman. She would never do such a thing.”

Although he didn’t like Liu Lanzhi, he couldn’t convict her so easily. After all, this involved the reputation of the Li family.

Madam Zhou’s expression hardened. “If you don’t believe me, why not hear what these three have to say?”

At her words, Magistrate Li turned to the kneeling thugs and barked, “Speak! Who ordered you to kidnap Miss Du?”

The three thugs kowtowed in unison and replied, “Your honor, it was your daughter-in-law, the young madam of the Li family! She gave us this bracelet as payment and told us to bring Miss Du to her!”

As they spoke, one of them pulled out a bracelet from his robe and handed it over.

Magistrate Li took the bracelet and examined it. His expression darkened.

It was unmistakably the same old bracelet he had sent to Liu Lanzhi some time ago. Back then, he had thought her appearance too shabby and gave her this outdated bracelet to avoid embarrassment.

Now that both witness testimony and physical evidence were presented, there was no way he could cover for Liu Lanzhi even if he wanted to.

Internally, he cursed her stupidity. If she was going to hire thugs, why use her own personal belongings as payment?!

Yet he failed to consider that Liu Lanzhi had no other choice—she had no money, and all her jewelry had been confiscated by her husband, Young Master Li. That bracelet was the only valuable thing she had left.

Fuming with anger, Magistrate Li turned to the bailiffs and ordered, “Go! Bring the young madam and young master here immediately!