Of course, for him, seeing Jian Xiu beat her own mother and second brother like this—it was exactly what they deserved in his eyes.

Besides, when it came to their mother, Jian Xiu had actually held back.

As for her second brother, things weren’t looking great, but at least he was better off than their fourth brother.

If he had come back any later, he couldn’t even imagine whether he would have ever had the chance to see his fourth brother again in this lifetime.

“Zi Fu, Zi Fu, wait! Don’t act impulsively!” Wang Xiuying hurriedly said.

Hearing Zhang Zifu’s words, Jian Xiu felt a bit helpless.

If she had initially been testing Zhang Zifu in her heart, then after hearing his words now, she slowly made a decision.

It seemed her efforts to secure him a job as a waiter in the county were not in vain.

With that thought, Jian Xiu spoke lightly, “Third Brother, I have my own plan for this. Just pretend you didn’t see anything.”

Those who understood Jian Xiu knew that the calmer she appeared, the more turbulent the storm brewing inside her.

And that meant an even bigger storm was coming.

Zhang Zifu turned his head and looked at Jian Xiu. “Fourth Sister-in-law, don’t worry—”

“I know what I’m doing!” Jian Xiu cut him off again.

Her tone was firm, allowing no argument, rendering Zhang Zifu speechless.

However, Jian Xiu acted as if she didn’t notice at all.

At this moment, she had no time to consider Zhang Zifu’s feelings.

Because she saw Feixuan and Feiyi returning.

She hadn’t expected them to take so long.

Looking at her daughter, Zhang Feilan, she had cried herself to exhaustion and had fallen asleep beside the straw pile.

Tears still stained her little face.

The two boys were drenched in sweat. When they overheard Jian Xiu speaking on the way, they had already begun to worry.

But Jian Xiu had gone ahead of them, and they had followed behind.

Even so, they were still half an hour late.

Because on the way, they were once again bullied by some children nearby.

If not for the middle-aged man who claimed to be the county magistrate’s son, they might not have escaped.

“Mother, is Father alright? Why is there so much blood?” Zhang Feixuan was the first to speak.

As he asked, his tears welled up but he forced himself not to cry out loud.

“Don’t worry, your father is fine. Now that you’re back, stay here and take good care of him. I’m going to clean up the house.”

Zhang Zixuan was still lying on the ground.

Jian Xiu didn’t dare move him just yet.

Wang Xiuying had already set up the bed inside and called out, “Jian Xiu, quick, help move your fourth brother over here! The floor is too damp!”

Jian Xiu thought for a moment. It made sense.

Earlier, Doctor Zhang hadn’t warned them against moving him.

And they couldn’t just leave him lying on the ground forever.

So, with Zhang Zifu’s help, they carefully lifted Zhang Zixuan onto the wooden bed.

At this point, the house was practically empty—there was nothing left.

“This wall…” Zhang Zifu sighed, looking at the holes in the wall.

But Jian Xiu merely let out a cold laugh without saying a word.

It seemed they had intended to take her silver too.

Too bad for them—she had taken all the money with her today.

She had planned to use it for Zhang Fei Xuan and Zhang Fei Yi’s school fees, unsure of how much it would cost.

Had she left the money at home, it would surely have been stolen.

It seemed even heaven was unknowingly helping her.

A bunch of useless, yet incredibly greedy people.

Jian Xiu didn’t know if heaven could tolerate them, but she certainly couldn’t.

And now, they had made the mistake of provoking her.

With Zhang Zixuan being watched over, it was time to deal with the dogs that needed to be beaten.

She couldn’t wait. Not for a single moment.

“Mother, where are you going?”

“I’m going to take care of some trash.” Jian Xiu smiled.

She hadn’t forgotten—the mother and son in the courtyard were still lying there.

Coincidentally, the pigsty that housed two wild boars a few days ago was now empty.

Today, after moving the wild boars to the outer pen, it just so happened to be free for that mother and son.

Hearing this, Zhang Fei Xuan immediately recalled the mother and son outside.

Before, he had been terrified of Old Liu, but after seeing his father’s state, he forced himself to be brave.

Mother had once told him: the more afraid you are, the more courage you must find to face it.

That day, before the scar-faced man came, Mother had bravely dealt with him and even sought justice for Uncle.

Not to mention, she had beaten the scar-faced man so badly.

He wanted to be like Mother—to stand up for his family.

Thinking of this, Zhang Fei Yi quickly ran to Jian Xiu’s side. “Mother, I want to go too!”

“I know you both want to avenge your father, but trust me—I have a plan. Your job now is to take care of him, understand?”

Hearing this, the two brothers felt a little disappointed but obediently nodded. “We understand, Mother.”

Satisfied, Jian Xiu nodded.

Then she glanced at Zhang Zifu and Wang Xiuying. Seeing that the sky was dark, she figured they hadn’t eaten yet.

So she took out the food she had bought from Manager Wu of Yuexiang Restaurant.

“Eat first. As for the rest, don’t worry—I have my own plans.”

“In this situation, how can we eat? Besides, you should know what the people at the old house are like. The worst ones are from the second branch, but as for the first branch, well…”

Wang Xiuying hesitated, seeing Jian Xiu’s expression darken.

She swallowed the rest of her words.

She wasn’t wrong—the most vicious ones in the old house were from the second branch.

Zhang Zirong from the first branch was the type to have bad intentions but lacked the guts to act on them.

Meanwhile, Fang Miaojun was more scheming, unwilling to suffer losses, but she wasn’t the mastermind behind the second branch and Old Liu.

She was just lucky to have given birth to the eldest grandson, which secured her position in the old house.

“Are you trying to plead for them?” Jian Xiu asked Wang Xiuying in a low voice.