Liu Ji said with grievance: "Wife, you always say I’m useless, a waste. I just want to earn silver for you to spend and make you happy. Is that wrong?"

"Besides, didn’t you also take Wang Jin’s silver to do his bidding? Why is it allowed for government officials to set fires but not for commoners to light lamps?"

Qin Yao sneered. If she hadn’t been with Liu Ji for years, anyone else might have been fooled by his aggrieved expression and overlooked the essence of the matter.

"I take money to get things done. Can you handle it?"

"No, I can’t."

Liu Ji admitted without any psychological burden. Seeing her gaze soften, he grew bolder and said with a grin, "So I gave all the silver to you, wife. With your connection to County Magistrate Song, handling these small matters should be easy..."

Before he finished speaking, her gaze suddenly darkened, full of murderous intent.

Liu Ji immediately shut up and cautiously took a step back.

He swallowed nervously, weakly offering, "Then, if you’re unwilling, I can return the silver to them and get the painting back?"

Qin Yao remained silent.

Liu Ji waited for a moment. Seeing her not speak, he thought she was reluctant too, and felt a joy rising in his heart.

However, just as the joy surfaced within him, he met her dark eyes and heard a thunderous shout:

"Why aren’t you going?!"

"Ah~~" Liu Ji was so startled by the sudden yell that his heart trembled, his voice changing pitch. He took a couple of breaths before finding his voice again, hurriedly replying:

"I’ll go now, right away! Wife, please calm down, don’t hurt yourself with anger!"

He then shouted into the courtyard with fear and urgency: "Ah Wang, quickly bring the horse!"

He flipped the entire tablecloth, bundling up all the broken silver pieces from the table, turned around, and ran off.

All this happened in the blink of an eye, and soon the sound of galloping hooves could be heard from outside the courtyard.

Inside the study, there was no sound for a long time.

Ah Wang peeked inside and directly met Qin Yao’s cold eyes, instantly stopping his breath.

She narrowed her eyes dangerously and asked, "If you don’t follow, how will I know if Liu Ji is truly returning the silver or faking it?"

Ah Wang almost suffocated, but admired his own quick thinking, even in such a situation: Madam, you’re overthinking. I’d bet ten mu of vegetable land, even lending the master a hundred guts, he wouldn’t dare pull any trick today!

His body, however, was very cautious, accepting the order with clasped hands, then exerting all his strength to move his stiff body, turning around, leaping over the rooftop, and chasing after the master who was riding swiftly away.

...

The atmosphere at home was tense.

Da Lang Brothers and Sisters returned home from school and felt it immediately upon seeing the quiet courtyard and their mother sitting alone in the main room, staring east.

"Shh~" Mrs. Li emerged from the kitchen and gestured for Yin Le and the siblings to be quiet, waving them off to their rooms.

The five of them glanced at Mrs. Li, then at the woman in the main room with a face as dark as ink, raised their hands to cover their mouths, and tiptoed back to their rooms.

Dinner was brought directly to their rooms by Mrs. Li.

Only then did Da Lang Brothers and Sisters have the chance to learn from Aunt Li what had happened at home earlier in the day.

Learning about their father’s sale of the pecking chicks painting, the siblings all felt a chill in their hearts.

"How could father think of such a trick to accept bribes?" Second Lang was shocked, slightly admiring his father’s brains.

Da Lang silently murmured a disastrous thought, wondering how could father have dared to do such a thing!

The Dragon and Phoenix Twins exchanged worried glances and whispered softly, "Will father survive the night?"

Mrs. Li gasped. Will he not live through the night?

She hadn’t been in Liu Family Village for long, and hadn’t spent much time with Liu Ji, so she didn’t quite understand how the couple interacted.

But she roughly knew that the master greatly feared the wife.

The reason for such fear, she assumed, was due to the wife’s extraordinary martial skills.

However, judging by the tone of the young master and miss, things seemed even more serious... like life-threatening?

Seeing Mrs. Li’s frightened expression, the siblings patted her forearm in reassurance.

Da Lang earnestly consoled her: "Don’t worry, Aunt Li. Considering father’s current status and the benefits it brings, mother won’t take his life for now."

"Although..." The young man shifted his tone, frowning, "If father acts recklessly himself, then it’s hard to say."

"But Aunt Li, you shouldn’t worry too much. Go back to your room to rest. Little Lai Fu is still waiting for you to make dinner for him," Da Lang smiled and said.

The young boy looked so strong amidst it all.

Mrs. Li: "..."

"Aunt Li, see you tomorrow morning." The Dragon and Phoenix Twins waved politely.

Second Lang personally escorted her out, then shut the door with a bang, to avoid further troubles.

Mrs. Li returned to the backyard, still bewildered and anxious, and coincidentally Song Yu came back from work, so she wanted to share the scary news she heard from Da Lang Brothers and Sisters with him.

But before she could speak, Song Yu quickly covered her mouth.

"Ah Wang and the master are back," Song Yu indicated for her to say nothing more, knowing better than her how formidable the wife was.

After all, she had single-handedly beheaded thirty people.

The family of three huddled in their room, closed the doors and windows, stuffed cotton in their ears, hastily ate a few bites, and lay down to sleep.

Little Lai Fu didn’t understand what was happening at home, only finding his parents’ actions curious and that having his ears plugged was fun.

That night, Old Liu and Liu Fei at the old residence were suddenly awakened by a loud scream from their sleep, but when they strained to listen, they heard nothing else.

Nonetheless, when they tried to sleep again, they felt restless and couldn’t fall asleep no matter what.

Meanwhile, at the Lotus Courtyard, Shi Tou truly heard a familiar scream from the North Slope, causing his heart to tremble.

The master and disciple, who were playing chess inside, frowned at the same time. Qi Xian asked Shi Tou whose scream it was.

Shi Tou replied, "It’s Mr. Ji."

Qi Xian didn’t think much. Instinctively, he felt Liu Ji must have put the pecking chicks tale into practice.

Feeling uneasy, he got up, ready to go check.

But Gongliang Liao stopped him.

The old man gloated, "That lad’s been brazen all the way, even growing insolent with me. Let Yao Niang humble him a bit, so he knows his limits and doesn’t get carried away."

"But won’t there be any casualties?" Qi Xian was deeply worried, glancing repeatedly toward the North Slope.

"There won’t be," Gongliang Liao assured.

As soon as he finished his sentence, the screams suddenly vanished, and the whole village went quiet, with only the sounds of insects and birds from the hills.

Qi Xian secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Only two screams, it should mean the junior is alright... right?