Favoring the concubine and killing the wife? She divorced the concubine and lived with her concubine

The north of the city was now in chaos. Three of the bamboo racks had collapsed, with three to five craftsmen on each rack. Now more than a dozen of them lay in a pool of blood, with wailing sounds coming one after another.

After receiving the notification, Su Ze immediately arrived at the scene of the incident. The yamen runners cordoned off an area and prevented anyone from approaching.

Three people from the Xiao family stood on one side, and next to them was Foreman Li, who was the one who hired the craftsmen and was also the supervisor this time.

Xiao Zongshan had seen the world, and while such incidents rarely occurred, they were not unheard of. The Xiao family's cargo ship had encountered a storm, and only five of the dozens of people on board returned, their bodies strewn across the dock. The crew had signed a contract for their journey, and no one could guarantee against such an accident. If anyone died, they were not responsible, and paying the promised wages as agreed was the most they could do. While the craftsmen who came out to work didn't sign a contract, it was an unwritten rule. At most, they'd give some money for medical treatment out of fear of negative consequences.

Xiao Zongshan was thinking the same thing now, so he wasn't panicking. Furthermore, those people were still talking, so they didn't look like they were in danger of losing their lives. But Xiao Lan's heart was in her throat. She had just witnessed those people falling from above, their bodies tumbling horribly. The bloody scene was simply too much to bear.

Su Zeying's brows knitted together, his face stern. He glanced at the three people from the Xiao family and saw Xiao Lan clinging to Xiao Xuan with a pale face. His eyes darkened even more. He turned his gaze and fell on Xiao Zongshan.

"what happened!"

Just as Xiao Zongshan was about to speak, he saw a woman suddenly rush out from the crowd nearby. She used her brute force to push away the guarding yamen runners and knelt down in front of Su Ze to kowtow.

"My Lord, please make the decision for my son! My Lord..."

Su Ze's brows knitted tighter, and he glanced at the yamen runner, suppressing his displeasure. Master Cui saw the clue first and whispered in her ear, "Do you remember He Xiaoniang from the Sun family? This man seems to be her mother."

When dealing with this kind of thing, the biggest fear is that someone at home might cause trouble. It was an accident, and saving the person was paramount, but there are always people who are afraid of being wronged, and they make a fuss and cause a big uproar.

"I will..." Before Su Ze could finish his words, He's mother suddenly stood up again and pushed Su Ze away. The yamen runners behind her hurried to protect her, and Mr. Cui was so scared that he hid aside.

"It's all because of this bitch!"

The bailiff was only concerned with protecting Su Ze, but who would have thought that the mother of the He family would turn around and rush towards the three people from the Xiao family.

He's mother, having worked hard for years, was very strong. She grabbed Xiao Lan's clothes and started scratching her. Xiao Xuan was a weak scholar with no strength and was unable to resist. Xiao Zongshan and Foreman Li instinctively dodged, but it was too late to recover.

Xiao Lan's neck was instantly scratched with several cuts. Her skin was delicate, and even with just this one scratch, it was already swollen, looking extremely hideous. Two of the scratches even connected to her lower lip. Everyone exclaimed, "Madam Sun is going to be disfigured!"

Fortunately, Constable Zhao wasn't paying attention to Su Ze. Seeing He's mother rushing towards Xiao Lan, he rushed over. However, he had been standing too far away, and by the time he arrived, Xiao Lan was already injured. He reached out and grabbed He's mother, twisting her to Su Ze, using force that made her grimace in pain. Constable Zhao looked back at the bloodstain on Xiao Lan's neck. Fortunately, it wasn't deep, but even so, Xue Wu would definitely cause trouble for him if he returned.

"Are you okay..." Xiao Xuan hurriedly took out his handkerchief and wanted to wipe the blood off Xiao Lan's wound.

Su Ze was surrounded by the yamen runners and was instantly upset. He saw that Xiao Lan actually raised his head and allowed Xiao Xuan to come so close to wipe his wound.

Su Ze waved his sleeves to clear away the yamen runners around him. He could have clearly passed by, but a group of yamen runners blocked his way and pushed him back.

Although he didn't want to show his concern for her in public, he still unconsciously kept his eyes on the two people who were too close. Master Cui silently reminded him from behind, "Sir... there's something fishy about this..."

"Sir... Sir, my daughter was killed by her, and now my son has also died in the Xiao family! You have to make the decision for me!"

Su Ze withdrew his gaze, his fists clenched so tightly that the knuckles turned white, his face gloomy, and he still ignored the crying mother of the He family.

He looked around at the crowd of onlookers, and there were two spectators who seemed out of place. When He's mother said this, the people were whispering and speculating about her identity. But those two people just stared at Xiao Lan...

The last time he saw He's mother, it was someone's fault, and now he didn't believe that He's mother would suddenly appear again. Her son was not a bricklayer and lived not far from the city. Last time, Xiao Lan gave her a sum of money, saying that she would marry her son. At that time, they had reached a consensus to give her ten taels of silver every month, which was a huge income for them.

Xiao Lan chatted with him about these things as gossip, saying that this little brother of the He family was idle and had no skills, and could only "live off his parents". At that time, Xiao Lan also explained to him what "live off his parents" meant, and Su Ze felt that the description was very appropriate.

"Sir!" An old doctor staggered over, his hands covered in blood.

Su Ze nodded, allowing him to speak, but his eyes seemed to follow the two people inadvertently.

"There are twelve craftsmen in total. One has died, and the remaining eleven have broken bones. We need the government to send someone to help take them to the hospital."

"Okay, Master Cui, arrange for them." Su Ze said, and finally glanced at He's mother who was still being held captive. "Twelve people, only one died. You rushed in and knew without even a glance that it was your own son who died?"

When Su Ze first arrived, he saw that there was only one motionless body with no one around it. Because every wailing person was surrounded by busy doctors and worried relatives, the body was too conspicuous.

He's mother's eyes were red and full of grief, she really looked like she had lost her son. But she froze at Su Ze's question, and it was too late to cover it up, she had already been discovered.

Many of the yamen runners in the surrounding area had already gone to carry the injured, and several of the injured's family members who had recovered from their shock also came over.

Bricklayers are prone to injuries while working, and if they're not well-off, they might even get injured and not even get paid. The doctor just said these workers aren't in danger of dying, most of them have just suffered bone injuries, so the families just want to take advantage of the county magistrate's presence. If they can get their wages and medicine, that would be the best outcome.

Seeing that Xiao Lan had only suffered minor injuries, Xiao Zongshan thought it best to quickly resolve the issue at hand. He didn't want the matter to reach the government office. Building the city wall was a good thing, but this had gone awry, and he felt a bit unhappy.

He stepped forward and stopped the approaching families of the injured. "I will pay you the wages for the past few days as promised, and I will also pay for the medicine. Please don't make trouble. If you can continue working, you can come back and work again."

When the families of the injured heard this, they looked at each other and thought that the Xiao family was quite open-minded. Just as they were about to nod, a person who was being supported by someone beside them shouted.

"Is it enough to just pay the wages? You asked us to come out and work! If I get injured and you don't compensate me, what will I do if I can't work anymore? You have to be responsible!"

"..." Xiao Zongshan glanced at the screaming injured person. That person was the least injured. His forehead was wrapped in gauze, and his hands and feet looked uninjured. He was supported by a waiter from the clinic and was standing. His triangular eyes flashed with shrewd cunning, and he was not a good person.

The other families of the injured heard him say this and thought it made some sense. Someone took the lead and the others followed suit.

"Yes, Master Xiao, if my man breaks his leg and becomes lame in the future, who will ask him to work? You can't just ignore him!"

"Yes, yes, my old man broke his arm, and I don't know when it will recover. There is no one to take care of him!"

"Master Su, you have to make the decision for us! How are we going to live in the future?" Triangle Eyes cried to Su Ze again.

Xiao Zongshan glanced back at Foreman Li, motioning him to come over and sort it out. Foreman Li nodded hurriedly, bowed, and came over, cursing at the man, "It's like this no matter where you work! What's the point of making such a fuss? We agreed on this before we started working. We're only responsible for the wages. You guys are responsible for this. What does it have to do with us?"

Triangle Eyes knelt down and grabbed the corner of Su Ze's clothes, crying and shouting, "Sir! The Xiao family has cut off our livelihood and won't let us live! It's almost the New Year... We are building the wall for the South City, you can't just ignore it!"

Mr. Cui stepped forward and pulled the man away. "If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you using your hands? Go back and take care of it first. If you have anything else, you can go to the government office and tell them."

The man with the triangular eyes was pulled aside and actually grabbed Master Cui's hand and slammed it into his face, then fell backwards. "Help! The government is beating people! The government and the Xiao family are colluding with each other and don't care about people's lives! We are going to suffer like hell!"

The confused onlookers were instantly in an uproar. The family members didn't see clearly what happened, but they also felt that Triangle Eyes was bullied, and they all started shouting.