Mrs. Zhang hugged her daughter and cried so hard that her head began to hurt. Before she could say a few words, there was a noise outside the courtyard gate and a group of strong men rushed in.
The noise frightened Mrs. Zhang, who had already become a frightened bird, so much that she shrank back, hugged Ah Xiu tightly in her arms and burst into tears.
Zhang Tuiguan was furious. He opened his arms to stop the group of people who came with bad intentions and shouted, "Who are you? You broke into a private house in broad daylight. Are you going to the government office?!"
"Oh!" A sturdy man glanced at him sideways, not taking him seriously at all, and sneered with disdain, "Zhang Tuiguan, you have been an official for so long, could it be that you have become tainted with official airs and don't have to abide by the law? What's wrong with us? What do you mean by breaking into a private house? Could it be that you, Mr. Zhang, have forgotten that this house is not yours!"
Tui Guan Zhang opened his eyes wide.
The sturdy man had already pulled out a land deed: "Here, do you see it?! This deed belongs to us. Now our owner wants to take it back to build a house. You should move out as soon as possible!"
This house is indeed not theirs, but the ancestral home of the Zhang family. They are just a branch of the Zhang family. When old man Zhang came back from Hunan, an elder in the family felt sorry for them and gave them a piece of land to build a house for them to live in. It was like a place to live.
After Zhang Tui Guan passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, the clan members personally promised to give them this piece of land.
But now it seems that he is clearly preparing to go back on his word.
But in the current situation, even if they want to sue the authorities, the Xu family doesn’t need to do anything. Just looking at the land deed, they cannot win. After all, verbal promises cannot be used as evidence. Since the clan member has handed over the land deed, he has obviously gone back on his word.
Zhang Tuiguan closed his eyes, looked at his sister-in-law and niece crying behind him, and asked with humiliation: "What do you want to do? "
"Simple." The visitor was quite happy. He flicked off the non-existent dust on his body and smiled maliciously: "Zhang Tuiguan, you are a smart man. You know what to do. You don't need us to teach you, right?"
Zhang Tuiguan was silent for a while, then nodded with difficulty: "I understand."
Everyone looked at each other and burst into laughter. The leading strong man said something more and more unpleasant: "It's good that Zhang Tuiguan knows. Look, you worked so hard to pass the imperial examination, but before you can bring honor to your family, you ruin your family. How unworthy is that?"
Everyone was talking at the same time, and Zhang the Tuiguan was squeezed so hard that he couldn't say a word. Then he left triumphantly.
Tui Guan Zhang stayed at home, looking at the mess and his sister-in-law and niece crying, and was speechless for a moment.
After a long while, Mrs. Zhang stopped crying, turned around and went to pack her things in silence.
Tui Guan Zhang helped to pick up the things scattered on the ground, and then went to the clinic to pick up his father and eldest brother.
When they arrived at the clinic, Old Man Zhang was struggling to hire an ox cart. His once strong body seemed to have become hunched over in just one day. He was carefully taking out copper coins from his inner pocket with a smile and saying all the nice things he could. Only after he finally hired an ox cart did he tremblingly go to the clinic to pick up Zhang's eldest brother.
The eldest brother of the Zhang family is a carpenter and usually makes a living with his hands. He used to be a man with a rough voice, but after this incident, he seemed to have become a different person. He came out with a pale face and dejected look, and his brows and eyes were covered with a layer of gloom.
Tui Guan Zhang's eyes turned red and he couldn't help but shout "Dad".
Old Man Zhang and the eldest brother of the Zhang family looked at him together. After a long while, Old Man Zhang hurriedly responded and called him over. He hesitated to speak, looked at him for a long time, and then asked him: "Are you okay?"
It was obvious that he had caused great trouble for the family, but his father still did not blame him at all, which made him feel even worse. He looked at the eldest brother of the Zhang family beside him nervously, and after a long time he called out "big brother" in a trembling voice.
Old Man Zhang was in poor health. As far as he could remember, his eldest brother had been the one who supported the family by doing carpentry work to support the whole family. Even after his eldest brother got married, he still provided him with money to support his studies.
He had not had the chance to repay this kindness, nor had the chance to let his family benefit from his achievements, but instead he brought such a terrible disaster upon his family.
Brother Zhang could only smile bitterly, but he tried his best to keep a calm tone: "It's nothing, it's just two fingers, in the future... at worst I can just follow Dad to the fields..."
These words made Zhang Tuiguan feel as if his heart was broken. It was also the first time he realized that power was really so terrible.
He didn't believe that today's incident had nothing to do with the Xu family.
But so what
Even though he was a prosecutor in the yamen, he could not give justice to his family in this matter, nor could he vent his anger on his elder brother and father.
Let’s not talk about County Magistrate Wu and Lord Fu’s attitude today. Even with their support, no one from the Xu family came forward for this matter today. Once the matter goes to the government, they can still find countless scapegoats.
Just like the corpse in Shenjia Village that cannot be seen by the public.
Big Brother Zhang had already boarded the oxcart and was sitting beside it with great effort. Old Man Zhang turned around and pulled his youngest son. He hesitated for a long time and said softly, "Second son, you should change your temper... Our family can't stand this..."
Looking at his father's old and haggard face and his brother's silence, he felt a little sad and didn't have the courage to go back with them. He watched the ox cart go away and still stood in the street in a daze.
He stood there for an unknown amount of time when someone suddenly tapped his shoulder. He was startled and turned around to see a handsome young man. He couldn't help but frowned and took a step back cautiously: "Who are you?"
The young man smiled at him kindly: "Don't worry, Master Zhang. We have no ill intentions. We are my master and would like to meet you, Master Zhang. To be honest, we all know the difficulties you are facing now. Perhaps we can help you."
Zhang Tuiguan was full of doubts, but now he himself was in a mess. After thinking it over again and again, he made a decision: "Then please lead the way."
No matter if someone had seen through the conflict between him and the Xu family and wanted to use him for something, things couldn't get any worse now.
The Xu family was so cruel that they destroyed his brother's hand and left him without a place to live. If he couldn't avenge this, how would he have the face to go back and face his family in the future
Not to mention that his future was ruined anyway, and there was nothing left for him to plan for. So what was there to be afraid of? He changed his mind and smiled.