"Xu Shi! Watch your mouth! Bai Sheng is my wife, and no one has the right to drive her away but me!" Lu Ye stared down Xu Shi, his eyes blazing like an erupting volcano.
Bai Sheng glanced at Lu Ye, her heart warming.
Seeing Lu Ye disrespecting his mother, Lu Yang couldn't help but interject coldly, "Lu Ye, you watch your mouth too! My mother is your elder!"
Xu Shi, seeing her eldest son defending her so fiercely, couldn't help but show a smug expression.
Lu Ye turned his gaze to Lu Yang, remaining silent, his deep eyes unreadable.
Bai Sheng smiled, "Esteemed elder brother, to be so lacking in judgment at such a young age is truly a reflection of your mother. Today, your mother, Xu Shi, colluded with your grandmother, Chen Pozi, to sell my sister-in-law, Lu Hua, to a brothel. My husband, to redeem his sister, had to sell his blood, nearly losing his life.
Your mother not only refused to admit her wrongdoing but also slandered me and my sister. It is already the utmost benevolence that my husband did not strike them dead with a single blow!
As the eldest son of the Lu family, my husband's own cousin, should you not stand on the side of justice and uphold fairness? The Great Xia kingdom educates its people in propriety, righteousness, and shame. Are you, perhaps, uncivilized barbarians?"
Lu Yang's face turned pale, then flushed red, looking extremely displeased. He was wholeheartedly focused on becoming a bailiff in the town's yamen, and being accused like this made him feel deeply humiliated.
But he wasn't one to be easily subdued. Just as he was about to retort, Lu Xing, standing beside him, tugged at his sleeve and shook his head.
Upon hearing that Lu Ye had nearly died selling his blood, Lu Dahai was first shocked, then showed a look of helplessness. He glanced at Xu Shi and Chen Pozi, and his entire body seemed to shrink like a deflating bubble, eventually becoming a quail preparing for winter.
Lu Yang flung Lu Xing's hand away and snorted, "Words are cheap. You claim my grandmother and mother sold Lu Hua, but where is the proof?"
"That's exactly what we've been waiting for you to say!" Bai Sheng narrowed her eyes with a sly smile and turned to Lu Ye, "Husband, please retrieve the deed of sale from the brothel and the promissory note for your blood sale so they can see!" Fortunately, her thrifty husband was very dependable and had obtained both items at the time, otherwise, it would have been difficult to resolve the situation today.
Lu Ye took out two pieces of paper from his pocket, spread them out, and held them up for everyone to see from a distance.
Everyone present, except Lu Yang, was illiterate, but that didn't stop them from craning their necks to look at the words on the paper with feigned seriousness.
When Chen Pozi saw the thumbprint she had pressed earlier, her heart sank. Xu Shi and Yao Shi secretly rejoiced that they hadn't pressed their fingerprints at the time.
Bai Sheng declared loudly, "Did you all see clearly? The deed of sale clearly states that Chen Pozi sold my sister-in-law, and her thumbprint is on it!
Five years ago, our second branch of the family had already separated from the Lu family, and we are two distinct families. Chen Pozi privately selling Lu Hua is considered human trafficking according to the laws of the Great Xia kingdom.
The Great Xia kingdom cherishes its populace and sentences human traffickers to death. If we were to report this to the authorities, Chen Pozi, Xu Shi, and Yao Shi, you would all escape punishment!"
Chen Pozi and the others' faces changed drastically. They all struggled to maintain their composure and not collapse.
Lu Dahe finally stepped forward, asked with visible impatience, "What exactly do you want?"
Lu Ye said, "My wife has already made it very clear. We will immediately go to the village head's house to sign the deed of severance. From now on, our second branch will have no further connection with your family. Then, Chen Pozi will return the two taels of silver she received from selling my sister."
"What if we don't comply?" Lu Dahe's face darkened.
Lu Ye gave a cold smile, "Tomorrow, I will go to the county yamen and beat the drum to appeal!"
Lu Dahai slowly stood up, looking at Lu Ye with a worried expression, "Little Ye, don't do that. If there's anything... let's discuss it properly. We are, after all... after all, family."
Lu Ye snorted, a hint of mockery playing on his lips, "I do not have such family."
"Ye ah," Lu Dahai sighed, his shoulders drooping dejectedly, and fell silent.
Xu Shi shot him a glare, "Useless!"
"Brother Xiao Ye, can... can we not sever ties?" Lu Xing, who had been silent all along, looked pleadingly at Lu Ye.
Lu Ye gave him a chilling glance, "We must."
Bai Sheng's gaze lingered on Lu Xing's face for a moment, thinking, this child might be the only normal one in this entire family.
Withdrawing her gaze, Bai Sheng scanned the faces of the people opposite them and said sternly, "We will give you the time it takes for one incense stick to burn to consider. My husband and I will wait for you on the way to the village head's house. If the time expires and you have not appeared, then do not blame us for showing no mercy tomorrow!"
With that, Bai Sheng took Lu Hua's hand, Lu Ye took Lu Yun and Lu Yu's, and they strode out of the courtyard.
"Mother, what do we do?" Yao Shi was somewhat frightened, as she had also been involved in selling Lu Hua.
Xu Shi had also intended to ask Chen Pozi, but she didn't want to take the lead.
"What's the rush?" Chen Pozi shot Yao Shi a glare, then looked at Lu Dahe, "Third brother, what do you think?"
Lu Dahe spread his hands, looking somewhat helpless, "What else can we do? They have the evidence. We can only do as they say. Besides, you all know what kind of person Lu Ye is. If he decides on something, he will do it even if it costs him his life. Are you not afraid of the death penalty?"
Chen Pozi naturally knew that Lu Ye was a wolf cub, but she was somewhat unwilling to part with the two taels of silver she had just received. She then looked at Lu Yang, "What does Yang'er think?"
Lu Yang's face darkened, and he said irritably, "Grandmother, Mother, how could you be so foolish? Our second branch already separated from us, and you still went and sold Lu Hua. Aren't you digging your own grave by doing this!"
Xu Shi glared at him, "Enough, what's the use of saying this now? Just tell your grandmother your thoughts directly."
Lu Yang said, "I agree with Third Uncle. Let's do as Lu Ye says. If they really go to the county yamen and accuse us, my prospect of becoming a bailiff in town will be ruined."
When Xu Shi heard this, she looked at Chen Pozi with a pleading expression, "Mother, Yang'er's prospect of becoming a bailiff in town cannot be affected!"
Chen Pozi glared at her, saying exasperatedly, "What are you babbling about? Do I, an old woman, not know these things? I'm just indignant and don't want that wolf cub Lu Ye and that slave concubine to have it easy! You all saw how they treated me, their elder, today!"
"Mother, don't worry," Lu Changhe said with a sinister smile, "We'll agree to their terms today and then find an opportunity to deal with them in secret later! Once they are removed from the clan, they will be on their own, and it will be difficult for them to survive in Huangsha Village!"
Hearing everyone discussing how to deal with the second branch, Lu Xing felt uncomfortable. He couldn't understand why, being a family, they had to fight to the death.
He had always admired Brother Xiao Ye since he was young. If they were no longer family, he would be truly heartbroken.
Although Lu Dahai sat to the side with a grimace, he dared not utter a word of opposition. For so many years, everything had been decided by his wife and mother, and he had grown accustomed to being an invisible person.