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Chapter 40: Our Family is Usually Very Harmonious\nThis was the Fourth Master of the Li Family!\n
According to the villagers, the Fourth Master most resembled Patriarch Li in his younger days, but nevertheless, Patriarch Li was quite strict with his Fourth son.\n
However, Patriarch Li loved this son of his the most.\n
Of course, Patriarch Li also adored his talented Eldest son, who would soon become the carp who had leaped and transformed at the mystical dragon gate into a dragon. \n
He also liked the clever second son who knew how to make money!\n
He even liked and indulged in his only daughter Li Jinyu.\n
Well, the only child he didn’t care for was his third son.\n
Seeing the Fourth Master sleepily step out, Matriarch Wang made a move to search his quarters but was stopped by Patriarch Li.\n
“Look at how you’re acting! No discipline!” Patriarch Li hissed at Matriarch Wang and she immediately stopped in her tracks.\n
But her covetous black beady eyes stared intently into the open doorway as if she was trying to see through the walls and quickly locate where the silver had been hidden.\n
“Mother, I didn’t take any money. What you saw placed in front of my door must have been purposely put there to frame me!” The Fourth Master aggrievedly declared, feeling a little guilty in his heart.\n
He had indeed used a sleeping drug to knock out his two parents and had even ransacked their room.\n
He just hadn’t found any silver.\n
‘What?” Matriarch Wang shrieked loudly, “Framed? It must have been you!”\n
Matriarch Wang’s clawed finger shook viciously at the Third Branch, “Was it this vixen who did it? I almost wronged my son because of you!”\n
Matriarch Wang naturally believed that her own son wouldn’t be capable of committing such an atrocious act, so seeing her son’s cries of innocence, she came to the conclusion that he had been schemed by the Third Branch.\n
After all, Grandmother Ciying was an old vixen.\n
Back then, she must have used scheming and subterfuge to trick Patriarch Li into marrying her. Just with this, Matriarch Wang concluded that Grandmother Ciying must have been a person with deep thoughts, conniving and manipulative. \n
After Matriarch Wang’s lashed out at the innocent Grandmother Ciying, Patriarch Li frowned at the direction of the Third Branch, disappointment clearly emanating from his eyes.\n
Although the Fourth Child looked quite airheaded, he couldn’t bear to believe that this son of his who so closely resembled his younger self was the culprit.\n
The Patriarch naturally believed that his son was innocent, after all, if he was the thief, why would scatter the money in such a conspicuous spot?\n
Could it be that someone had really framed the Fourth Master?\n
“Hehe!” Bailian grinned, “Grandfather, let’s report this matter to the officials! The officials will definitely be able to uncover who really crept into your room to steal the money!”\n
“You! How can you do this! I’m your uncle, do you want me arrested?” The Fourth Master shuddered in anger after hearing Bailian’s words, “Mother, just look at her!”\n
The Fourth Master often gambled in town and had seen how government officials handled cases, so he was very afraid of being associated with them. In addition, he had actually sneaked into Matriarch Wang and Patriarch Li’s room, so he was currently feeling very guilty, cold sweat droplets trickling down the back of his neck.\n
Regarding the government office in town, everyone agreed that the officials would definitely be able to unveil the truth. They were like Gods in the eyes of the common people, they decided people’s fates with one word, just like the Yellow Springs King of the Underworld.\n
Hearing Bailian declared her intent to report this matter to the officials, the Fourth Master was startled.\n
He had used sleeping incense, the government could easily discover this matter.\n
By that time…\n
He would definitely be beaten by the office’s hard, heavy wooden planks!\n
What’s more, the current Emperor advocated ruling with filial piety and by drugging his parents to steal their things, that would be a capital crime worthy of death!\n
“You wench!” Matriarch Wang screamed, shuffling towards Bailian, her hand raised high in the air, “I dare you to report your Uncle, then I’ll just kill you, you unfilial thing! Hurry up and take out the silver, otherwise..”\n
“Fourth Uncle is also doing this for your own good ah!” The Fourth Master sadly looked at Bailian and shook his head pitifully.\n
At the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief. With his Mother here, Bailian wouldn’t dare to report this to the officials!\n
“Stop!” The Village Head had been silently watching from the side, stunned by the outrageousness of the LI Family.\n
He had been dumbfounded by the Li Family. He had known that the Third Branch was overworked and was beaten from time to time.\n
But, he hadn’t expected them to live in such dire and extreme straits! They lived precariously, living each day uncertain whether they would make it to the next.\n
“Village Head, this matter is our own family’s private matter, everyone should just go back to their homes!” Patriarch Li gently persuaded, his face showing off a gentlemanly smile.\n
He really wanted everyone to scram, because today’s matter was truly too shameful.\n
He was also afraid that Bailian would report this matter to the official, but he understood his fourth son the best.\n
After all, this son resembled him the most, but even if he knew that the Fourth Master was unruly in his behavior and actions, he didn’t want to expose his precious son.\n
Big deal, I’ll just punish him lightly to save my reputation!\n
But If I go to the government, I’m afraid my life will be gone instead!\n
On the inside, Patriarch Li viciously complained about the Third Branch, “Why don’t you guys even try to stop Fifth ah?!”\n
“Your own business? Is it still your own business when you almost caused a person to die?”\n
The Village Head angrily pointed towards the room Madam Zhao was currently lying in bed.\n
“Yeah, she’s still the Third Madam, your daughter-in-law who gave birth to two hardworking sons to the Li Family! How can they be so hard on others?”\n
“Ah, my son is just about to get married, you guys should learn to exercise some restraint ah!”\n
“En, if people think that all the mothers-in-law in our village are like this, what girls will want to marry over?!”\n
“In the future, my grandson will have to get married too…”\n
‘Right, right!”\n
When everyone heard the Village Head’s angry scolding, they began to discuss among themselves, fearing that the Li Family’s nasty reputation would affect their children’s future marriage prospects.\n
“Today was merely an anomaly, an accident. Our family is usually very harmonious!”\n
Patriarch Li stiffly clenched his teeth, his face exuding a gentle, kind aura as he persuasively smiled at the crowd.\n
Bailian’s lips twitched and deliberately, in a weak tone chimed in, “What about the silver? The Third Branch really doesn’t have it, let’s report this to the officials!”\n
Hearing Bailian’s soft voice, the villagers turned to look, once again seeing that pitiful image of a small girl, dressed in shabby clothes and bloodstained, looking sickly to the point she almost looked like just a bag of skin and bones.\n
Harmony…what crap!\n
“There is no place for you to speak here!” Patriarch Li coldly reprimanded Bailian.\n
“I’m afraid, afraid that we will all die if we can’t fork out the silver…” Bailian feebly revealed the truth, and weakly hid behind the Third Master after finishing.\n
“Third, just look at the good girl you taught! She actually dares to confront her elders!” Patriarch Li looked extremely upset.\n
The villagers observed this scene, the “unfilial” granddaughter going up against her grandfather, but they still felt that she was in the right.\n
Just take a look at the Third Branch’s bruised and battered bodies, if they didn’t fork out the silver, who knows what would happen to them ah!\n
“Old Madam, you’ve searched through our rooms and didn’t find anything. How can you still accuse us? You didn’t search in Fourth Uncle’s room…” Bailian’s voice trailed off meekly, an aggrieved expression on her pale face.\n
Hearing Bailian’s implications, Matriarch Wang cursed, “You damn girl, actually daring to slander your own uncle! Just watch this old lady rip you to pieces and sell you!”\n
Matriarch Wang stomped her feet and while her mouth slung out curse after curse, she walked directly into the Fourth Master’s room. When it came to silver, she would be diligent.\n
No matter whose room it was, searching through it would be the best way to declare one’s innocence.\n
Patriarch Li seeing Fourth Uncle not try to stop or speak up after Matriarch Wang, felt relieved and concluded that the Third Branch had really framed his precious son. Looking at the Third Master with a disdainful glare, thinking that the Third Branch had been disciplined poorly because of this useless son of his.\n
The Fourth Uncle confidently stood his hands behind his back in a very open matter. He didn’t steal any money, so they could search all they want!\n
“My hairpin!” Matriarch Wang’s voice roared from the room, and everyone heard the sound of something falling to the floor.\n
It seemed that Matriarch Wang had started her frenzied search again.\n
The easygoing smile on the Fourth Uncle instantly froze, his face falling. When he turned around, he saw Matriarch Wang holding up something in his room.\n
“Ah! This! This is mine too!” Matriarch Wang was holding twenty taels of silver in her hands!\n
“What is this?” Matriarch Wang had scoured through the room and come across a piece of paper. Since it wasn’t silver, she distastefully threw it to the ground with a careless wave.\n
“This, isn’t this an IOU from the casino?”\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-foreground-dark-background-color has-foreground-dark-color is-style-wide">\n Announcement: I have translated up to Chapter 40 for this novel, but do not plan on translating the rest of the work unless there is a lot of people who want it. I am having trouble getting the raws and am losing interest in the work. Just wanted to let you guys know! This will be the last chapter from me until I decide if I want to pick it up again.\n