He remembered clearly—back then, Zhang Zixuan’s gaze was exactly the same as it was now.

“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and get inside!”

Old Madam Liu saw Zhang Zirong standing motionless and immediately scolded him.

Hearing this, Zhang Zirong snapped back to his senses.

That’s right—Zhang Zixuan was nothing but a cripple now.

With his own size and strength, how could he not handle a cripple?

Thinking this, he quickly lifted the iron pot again.

“Mother, look at this! This iron pot is so heavy—it must be worth at least a few taels of silver. Even if she really sold the recipe, how could she be so generous as to buy such a heavy iron pot? If she didn’t stash away some private money, who would believe it?”

As he spoke, Zhang Zirong deliberately raised his voice so that the villagers outside could hear him.

Sure enough, after hearing Zhang Zirong’s words, the villagers’ discussions grew louder, even to the point of being unrestrained.

When the people of the third household entered, they saw their mother and brother seemingly fighting over something.

Without thinking, Zhang Zifu hurried in and blocked them, saying, “Big Brother, Second Brother, you can’t do this! Mother knows that the third household definitely didn’t hide any private money!”

“Third Brother, what do you mean? Are you saying that our mother is being unreasonable?” Zhang Zirong retorted, his neck stiff with defiance.

As soon as he finished speaking, he gave Zhang Zifu a hard push.

Fortunately, Zhang Zifu was prepared; otherwise, he really would have been knocked over.

“Mother, you can’t do this. You know how much money Fourth Brother earns from the escort agency each time he goes out. Haven’t you always asked about it yourself? You always check with the agency owner—don’t you know exactly how much he makes?”

Seeing that he couldn’t persuade his elder brother, Zhang Zifu turned to Old Madam Liu.

Others might not know, but Zhang Zifu was well aware.

Back when Zhang Zixuan was still working as an escort, every time he returned home and handed over his earnings, their mother would double-check to see if he had hidden any money.

She never took his word for it.

She would always go to the escort agency to verify it with the boss.

Only after hearing from the agency owner would she truly believe it.

But now, their mother was putting on this act—clearly trying to seize all the things Fourth Brother had bought.

Thinking about the rice balls Fourth Brother had given them that day, and recalling the conversations he’d had with his wife lately, Zhang Zifu couldn’t hold back anymore and rushed over.

He just hoped he wasn’t too late.

“Third Brother, what are you talking about?” Zhang Zixuan, sitting in his wheelchair, asked indifferently.

He had worked as an escort for so many years, yet he never knew his mother did such things behind his back.

Hearing Zhang Zifu’s words, Old Madam Liu suddenly felt a bit guilty.

But she quickly collected herself—if she simply refused to admit it, what could they do?

Thinking this, she turned to Zhang Zifu and said, “Third Son, just because you’re on good terms with this cripple doesn’t mean you can talk nonsense! Don’t forget who your real mother is! Or do you want to end up like them and be cast out of the family?”

“Shut up!”

Before Old Madam Liu could finish speaking, Old Man Zhang scolded her.

The fourth household had been forced to separate—it was inevitable.

It was all because of Jianxiu stirring up trouble.

Besides, the fourth son wasn’t even his biological child, and now that he was crippled, driving them out was actually beneficial to the family.

But the third household was different.

Not only was Zhang Zifu his own flesh and blood, but he and his wife were hardworking and capable.

There was no way they could be separated.

Hearing Old Man Zhang’s words, Old Madam Liu instantly realized she had said the wrong thing.

She wasn’t a fool—what Old Man Zhang was thinking, she understood as well.

“So, you knew all along that I never hid any private money? Yet you’re putting on this show—are you just trying to rob us?”

“If that’s the case, fine. Tomorrow, I’ll report this to the authorities!”

Zhang Zixuan gritted his teeth as he spoke to Old Madam Liu and Old Man Zhang.

If he weren’t bound to this wheelchair, he really wouldn’t mind dealing with them himself.

“Fourth Son, is that any way to talk to your mother?” Old Man Zhang snapped.

“Is she my mother? What kind of mother treats her own son so cruelly? And besides, whether she is my mother or not—you know the answer to that.”

“You… Fourth Son, what do you mean by that?” Old Man Zhang asked, his voice wavering.

The truth that Zhang Zixuan wasn’t his biological son was a secret only he and his wife knew.

They had never told anyone.

But when they took Zhang Zixuan in all those years ago, he had valuable items on him.

If he ever found out the truth, who knew how he would come after them for payback?

Not to mention, over the years, all the wealth their family had accumulated was thanks to Zhang Zixuan.

Thinking about this, Old Man Zhang truly felt uneasy.

But while he felt guilty, Old Madam Liu did not.

“If I weren’t your mother, would I have raised you? You ungrateful wretch! Now that you’re grown and strong, you want to turn against us, is that it?”

At this moment, Huang Chunzhi, who had just entered, finally couldn’t hold back.

“Old Madam, that’s not right! We’ve all seen how Zhang Zixuan has struggled over the years. And lately, we’ve been here helping clean up—we all know where Jianxiu’s money came from. You keep saying she hid private money—do you have any proof? If not, then taking their things like this is completely unreasonable!”

Hearing this, Lin Xia also spoke up, “Exactly! Besides, even Zifu said that every time Zixuan came back from an escort job, you personally went to the agency to verify his earnings. You know full well he didn’t hide anything! So what you’re doing today is no different from outright robbery!”

Lin Xia was blunt, unlike Huang Chunzhi, but her words were spot on.

Sure enough, after hearing this, the villagers at the door sided with Zhang Zixuan.

“This Old Madam Liu has never been a good person! I wouldn’t put it past her to do something like this!”

“She wasn’t so bad a few years ago, but ever since Zixuan became crippled, she’s been horribly cruel to Jianxiu’s family. I saw it with my own eyes—five people in their household would get only one steamed bun a day. And it was a spoiled bun at that! Tell me, isn’t that pitiful?”

A villager muttered angrily.