My elder sister forced me to become a concubine; I was reborn and remarried into the emperor's

The scene before them was far different from what Wang had imagined. Even if it wasn't a bloodbath, the two sides should have been locked in a fierce confrontation.

Why did Geng Laosan kneel down to Wei Rongde so readily?

She let go of the hand that was supporting Old Madam Wei and stepped over in disbelief.

Geng Laosan had been personally helped up by Wei Rongde. He held the other man's hand tightly and said excitedly, "My benefactor, I, Geng Laosan, have finally met you."

Such a burly man actually shed tears in public.

"What, what's going on? Didn't you come here to seek revenge on the second brother? How did you become his benefactors? Are you confused and have mistaken him for someone else?"

Upon hearing Wang's words, before Wei Rongde could even speak, Geng Laosan roared at her, "Where did this old hag come from, spreading rumors like this? When did I say I came here for revenge?"

Wang had never been treated so rudely before, especially being called "old woman" in public.

The thought of those pointing fingers made her face turn pale and then red.

She wanted to send men to arrest this rude man, but when she saw the gleaming knife at his waist, she immediately shrank back.

“But, but you carry a knife every day and shout outside the door. You don’t look like you’ve come to find your benefactor at all.”

Old Geng waved his hand, wiping away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and spat fiercely on the ground: "I carry a knife with me every day when I travel the world, just to protect myself from some villains."

"I was hoping to greet you amicably, but as soon as I got to the door, your men started shoving and pushing me, preventing me from coming in. If it weren't for my benefactor, I would have chopped their hands off long ago."

"You blame me for having a loud voice? If I didn't have this voice, would my benefactor have been able to hear me?"

Wang had been keeping a distance, but now that she was closer, the deafening sound made her ears hurt.

Adding to the problem was the spittle flying everywhere, much of it landing on her face, which made her so angry that she almost lost all sense of decorum and started swearing.

She was too lazy to talk to this brute, and only looked at Wei Rongde and said, "Second brother, if there is no grudge, why didn't you say anything when Mother asked you earlier, instead causing such a big misunderstanding?"

Wei Rongde said helplessly, "Sister-in-law, I said there was a misunderstanding, it's not what you think, but you and Mother don't believe me."

"Pah! You damned old woman, did you bully my benefactor? You still have the nerve to call yourselves family? Who in this world would immediately label their own brother as a sworn enemy? Is this what you Beijingers call good manners?"

His voice was so loud that everyone around him could hear him.

The gazes directed at Wang were filled with scrutiny, and some even pointed at her and whispered among themselves.

After being verbally abused and pointed at, Wang was so angry that she trembled and her face turned ashen.

“Since we are family, there should be no misunderstandings that cannot be discussed openly. Could it be that my second brother is deliberately trying to deceive my mother and me?”

"Why don't you just tell us now what this unspeakable misunderstanding is!"

Wei Rongde seemed hesitant, stammering and unable to speak.

Just when Wang thought she had won back a point and wanted to continue to embarrass Wei Rongde, Geng Laosan spoke up again.

"Since my benefactor is unwilling to speak, I, a rough man, will speak for him."

“A few days ago, when our people were transporting goods northward, they were ambushed by pirates, and all the people and goods on board were wiped out.”

That's exactly what Wei Rongde said. Wang sneered, "He caused you to lose both people and goods, and you're acknowledging him as your benefactor?"

"Wife, didn't anyone teach you not to interrupt when others are speaking?"

Wang was speechless with annoyance at his retort and shut her mouth, only to hear what kind of nonsense he could come up with.

"That's how it should be, but just before we set off, our benefactor found us and told us that the waterways were not safe recently, and that we should be careful. He also sent several skilled men to protect us."

“We who travel by water have been oppressed by those bandits for far too long. So many of our relatives have died at their hands, and we have lost both our lives and our money.”

"Our benefactor then gave us a plan: to have the skilled guards disguise themselves as boatmen and deliberately be kidnapped by the bandits, so that we could find their hideout and wipe them out from the inside."

"We couldn't say it before because we were afraid that if our plan hadn't succeeded yet and the news leaked out, everyone who stayed there would be doomed."

"My benefactor is speaking of morality, how come it becomes so despicable in your mouth?"

As if to prove something, he waved his hand, and the people around him brought out several boxes from somewhere.

He opened the boxes one by one, and they were filled with dazzling jewels.

Boxes upon boxes of valuable items, including not only gold, silver, and jade, but also cloth and silk—anything of value was included.

Even Wang, who was used to seeing money, was instantly dazzled.

"How...how can there be so many..."

"Of course, it was obtained through our bandit suppression efforts. The government took away most of the bandits' ill-gotten gains, and the rest was used to compensate us victims. It was our benefactor who provided both manpower and ideas, saving us from a calamity. We are willing to give all the spoils to our benefactor."

Who would complain about having too much money? Even a young lady like Wang, who was once a lady from a prominent family and didn't know the smell of money, couldn't escape the troubles of daily necessities after becoming the head of the household.

All these things are enough for her to make several new headscarves and buy several new outfits for the whole family.

She was fantasizing about using these things to prepare gifts for various places during the year-end when she heard Wei Rongde say righteously, "Brother Geng, this is the money you were robbed of, I, Wei, cannot accept it!"

"The kindness we owe our benefactor cannot be measured by money."

"That's right, second brother, this is a token of their appreciation for the Wei family. You should accept it quickly. Hurry up and move the things inside."

Just as Wang was happily counting her treasures, Geng Laosan kicked one of the boxes open.

"Wait a minute, are you deaf? Who said it was for the Wei family? It's for my benefactor!"

Wei Nanxun, who had been watching from the sidelines without participating, said slowly upon hearing this, "That's right, Aunt. It's written clearly in black and white. The Wei family has just split up, and Father has already established his own residence. Even if it's given to the Wei family, there will be a big difference."

Split up?

Not only Geng Laosan and his group, but everyone else present also showed expressions of surprise.

With parents still alive, how can there be a reason to divide the family property? Could it be that the Wei family is deliberately taking this opportunity to divide the family property because they see that Wei Rongde has made enemies?

While there's nothing wrong with Ming Zhe protecting himself, it's quite disgraceful of the Wei family, a family of such standing, to not lend a hand to their relatives in times of crisis and instead kick them out.

As the murmurs arose, Wang suddenly realized that she had been tricked.

Did Wei Rongde already know there would be so much stuff, and that he didn't want to divide the main branch of the family, so he deliberately pretended to be enemies to trick her into mentioning dividing the family property?

Now not only will they not get a share of the wealth, but they will also be stigmatized.

It's so deceiving!

"You, you guys are really good at scheming."

“You wicked woman, you wanted to divide the family property yourself, but now that you’ve seen the treasure, you refuse to share it. I, Geng Laosan, have been traveling the world for many years and have only ever seen country bumpkins and scoundrels like this. I never imagined that the nobles in the capital are no different from street scoundrels.”

The onlookers outside could faintly hear similar sounds.

This made Wang feel so ashamed that she couldn't lift her head. Her face burned with pain, and her gaze towards Wei Nanxun and her daughter was as if it were poisoned.

"You, you all, fine. You're nothing but worldly things. Our Wei family doesn't care about you at all. We just hope that some people won't be unable to walk without the Wei family's support."

She spoke sarcastically, but before she could finish, people from the outer edge of the crowd pushed their way through.

The newcomer, dressed as a eunuch, announced in a shrill voice, "The Empress Dowager's decree has arrived."