Otherwise, none of this would have happened today.

“Father, are you okay?” Liu Tou quickly walked to Zhang Zixuan’s side and asked with concern.

“Mother, how could you be so ruthless to Fourth Brother?” Zhang Zifu couldn’t help but speak up.

As he spoke, he subconsciously stepped closer to Zhang Zixuan, looking as if he was afraid their mother would kick him again.

“You ungrateful child! Why do you think I did this? It was all for you! Are you planning to stay here overnight instead of leaving?” Old Madam Liu snapped impatiently.

If he weren’t her biological son, she wouldn’t have even wasted her breath on him.

“Father is fine. You don’t need to worry.” Zhang Zixuan reassured his three children.

At the same time, he lowered his head to examine the wheelchair beneath him, trying to figure out why it had stopped moving.

Just as he looked down, he noticed bloodstains on Qitou’s knee.

“Qitou, what happened? Why are you bleeding?”

“Father, it’s nothing, just a small wound,” Qitou replied sensibly.

He knew that his father was already struggling to protect himself, so there was no point in worrying about a minor injury.

Back when they lived at the old house, injuries like this happened every few days.

He had almost gotten used to it.

It had been several days since his last injury, and he had started to believe that their suffering was finally over.

But in just a few days, their brief happiness had been shattered.

Thinking of this, Qitou couldn’t hold back his tears anymore.

“What’s wrong, Qitou? Does it hurt a lot?” Zhang Zixuan asked anxiously.

“Father, it doesn’t hurt. I just don’t want to see them anymore. I don’t want them to take away our things… Waaaah…”

At this point, Qitou could no longer hold it in and started crying loudly.

Seeing this, Er Ya, who had been trying to hold back her tears, also burst into sobs.

Only Liu Tou was still holding back, but his expression—on the verge of crying—made Zhang Zixuan’s heart ache even more.

“This is just too cruel. What kind of situation is this? Didn’t they already sever ties? Now they’re even resorting to robbery.”

“Exactly. Just look at these poor children, crying their hearts out.”

“She probably doesn’t even see them as her grandchildren. That’s why she doesn’t care.”

The voices of the villagers grew louder.

To Old Madam Liu, it sounded like they were deliberately stirring up trouble.

With her hands on her hips, she pointed at Qitou and Er Ya, who were still crying, and scolded, “You little brats! If you keep crying, I’ll beat your mouths until they bleed!”

At these words, Qitou and Er Ya immediately shut their mouths.

They forced themselves to hold back their cries, but tears continued to stream down their faces.

Their pitiful appearance tugged at everyone’s heartstrings.

Even Lin Xia couldn’t bear it anymore and picked up Er Ya.

“Er Ya, don’t cry. It’s okay, Auntie is here. Don’t cry anymore.”

“Auntie, my mother worked so hard to buy those things. Why did they take them away? If they take everything, what will we eat?”

Er Ya sobbed as she spoke, her tears still falling nonstop.

“You little wench! Stop acting pitiful! Just like your wretched mother, pretending to be weak and dumb. Just wait and see—I’ll beat you to death!”

With that, Old Madam Liu rolled up her sleeves and charged toward Er Ya.

Terrified, Er Ya quickly dodged to the side and cried even louder.

“Aunt Liu, you can’t hit Er Ya! You have no right anymore. You’ve already cut ties with her, so hitting her now would be completely unreasonable,” Huang Chunzhi quickly stepped in to stop Old Madam Liu.

“What do you mean I have no right? Everyone in Zhangjia Village knows I’m her grandmother! Why shouldn’t I be able to discipline her? This little bastard!”

With that, she grabbed Er Ya, who was hiding behind Huang Chunzhi, and raised her hand to slap her—

Just then, Jian Xiu pushed through the crowd and, upon seeing what was happening in her own yard, immediately spotted Er Ya in Old Madam Liu’s grasp.

Fury surged through her, and her hands trembled with rage.

Without thinking, she threw a rock she had been holding straight at Old Madam Liu.

“Ow!”

Old Madam Liu yelped in pain, bending over and clutching her hand.

“Who did that? Who dares to hit me?” she shouted angrily into the crowd.

“I did,” Jian Xiu said coldly.

As she spoke, she stepped forward, pushing through the crowd.

“Mother! Mother, you’re finally back! If you didn’t come back soon, I— I—”

Before finishing her sentence, Er Ya ran straight into Jian Xiu’s arms, clutching her leg and crying loudly.

“Shh, it’s okay. Mother is here. Don’t cry, Er Ya. I won’t let anyone bully you anymore.”

Jian Xiu then looked toward Liu Tou and Qitou.

Sure enough, their eyes were red, clearly from crying.

Upon closer inspection, she realized they weren’t just crying—they also looked disheveled.

“Xiu’er, quickly look! Qitou’s knee seems to be injured,” Zhang Zixuan said.

When Jian Xiu saw that Qitou was hurt, her heart clenched.

If she hadn’t gone hunting today, would things have turned out differently?

Would her children have been spared from this fear?

Would Qitou have avoided getting hurt?

“Does it hurt, Qitou? I’m sorry, I came back too late,” Jian Xiu said, heartbroken.

“Not anymore. It doesn’t hurt anymore,” Qitou answered obediently.

“Who hurt you?” Jian Xiu asked softly.

At her question, Qitou instinctively glanced at Chen Sixi.

But then, frightened, he quickly shrank back and shook his head. “Mother, I’m fine now. It doesn’t hurt anymore…”

“Don’t be afraid, Qitou. Mother is back. I won’t let anyone bully you again.”

After comforting her children, Jian Xiu stood up and turned toward Chen Sixi.

Sensing danger, Chen Sixi instinctively moved closer to Zhang Zihua.

For some reason, seeing Jian Xiu like this gave her an ominous feeling.

“Was it you who hit Qitou?” Jian Xiu asked calmly.

“I— I just—”

Before she could finish her sentence—

Slap!

Jian Xiu’s right hand swung through the air and landed sharply on her face.