Wealthy beyond measure, yet you call me a sister-supporting-brother demon?

Ma Xiangqin grabbed Zhou Changlin's sleeve. "Brother, only you can save Changshui now. Changshui is waiting for sixty taels of silver to save his life, and you are the only one who can afford it."

Zhou Changlin shook off Ma Xiangqin, already having a guess in his mind.

“Speak. Zhou Changshui couldn’t have broken his leg for no reason and been beaten thirty times. Tell us the truth.”

Ma Xiangqin knew she couldn't tell the truth, and just as she was about to speak, Wang Chunxiang spoke up, "Changshui took this gong to Zhang's Grain Shop and said that Yuansheng and Wang from Zhang's Grain Shop were having an affair. The young master of Zhang's Grain Shop broke his leg. When the county magistrate came, he also gave Changshui thirty lashes for spreading rumors."

"Changlin, Changshui knows he was wrong, but no matter what, he's still your brother. You can't just stand by and watch him die!"

Ma Xiangqin was speechless at the sight of this foolish mother-in-law. She decided to just brush her off for now and get the money back.

Sure enough, Zhou Changlin said, "It's because of this! Zhou Changshui threatened me before he left. I warned him not to try to harm people with these crooked methods, but he didn't listen. He wanted to harm my Yuanbao, and now he has a broken leg. He deserves to be beaten to death!"

Ma Xiangqin knelt on the ground, "Big brother, if you don't care about Changshui, please save Changshui for the sake of the child in my belly. Think about how much you loved Changshui when he was little. No matter who hit him, you would fight back and stand up for him."

"Heh." Zhou Changlin sneered, "You still know how much I took care of Zhou Changshui before, and how much I doted on him since he was a child? Then why were you so vicious when you made us leave with nothing and cut off all ties with us? I thought you had forgotten, but it turns out you're just selectively forgetting!"

"You want me to pay to save him? Don't even dream about it!"

Wang Chunxiang said, "Changlin, how have you become like this? How can you be so heartless? I don't even recognize you anymore!" Wang Chunxiang thought of Zhou Changlin, who was filial to his parents, loved his two younger brothers, and rushed to the front in times of trouble. Looking at the person in front of her now, who was so indifferent to the life and death of his younger brothers, she felt completely unfamiliar with him.

Zhou Changlin scoffed, "I've changed? The selfless Zhou Changlin of the past would have been killed by you long ago! He was killed the day you decided to sever ties with my family! If Yuanbao hadn't had the money to treat my injuries, if Yuanbao hadn't had the money to settle my family, not only would I have died, but my whole family would have been torn apart and forced to live a life of hardship!"

"You treat me like this, yet you expect me to be the same as before? You're dreaming!"

Wang Chunxiang saw her son looking at her with a mocking expression and was heartbroken. "Eldest son, why are you so vengeful? We are mother and son, and you and Changshui are brothers. We have been trying to appease you and smooth things over. Why can't you just calm down?"

She stepped forward, trying to grab Zhou Changlin's hand. "Son, Changshui is lying in the clinic right now. His life or death is in your hands. Now that you have money, sixty taels of silver is just a small amount of money to you. Why can't you use it to save your brother?"

Ma Xiangqin pleaded, "Brother, sixty taels of silver is a small amount of money to you, but it is Changshui's life! I beg you, please give me the money."

When Yuan Pan'er heard that Yuan Sheng was mentioned, she also came out.

Yuan Pan'er then realized that Zhou Changshui had always harbored malicious intentions towards her younger brother.

Yuan Pan'er put her hands on her hips and said, "You two have no shame! Zhou Changshui wanted to kill my brother Yuanbao! In the end, he shot himself in the foot and got himself killed. And you actually came to my house to ask for medical expenses. How can you be so shameless!"

Ma Xiangqin knelt down in front of Yuan Pan'er with a thud. "Sister-in-law, please, save Changshui. Changshui knows he was wrong, and Yuansheng is fine and has not been hurt. Please, you and my brother, do us a favor and save Changshui."

“I’ve done a lot of wrong things in the past. I’ve bullied you a lot because my family is better than yours. Sister-in-law, I was wrong. I’ll kowtow to you. Please forgive me!”

Ma Xiangqin immediately knelt on the ground and started kowtowing, her forehead turning red from the effort.

Yuan Pan'er said, "That's not how you put it. Even if my brother is alright, it doesn't change the fact that Zhou Changshui wanted to kill my Yuanbao. How vicious you all are! My brother is our only son. If Zhou Changshui wants to do this, you all support him, right?"

Wang Chunxiang said, "Pan'er, I objected to this when I found out, but they wouldn't listen to me!"

Ma Xiangqin wished she could shut her mother-in-law's mouth. If you can't talk, then don't talk! Doesn't this just confirm that they all knew about Zhou Changshui's plan to harm Yuansheng?

Zhou Changlin said, "You two don't need to waste your energy! We've already severed ties, and I won't give Zhou Changshui a single penny! Don't think I'm heartless; compared to Zhou Changshui on the day we severed ties, I'm merciful."

"You two should leave. Instead of wasting your energy here, Ma Xiangqin, why don't you go back to your family and borrow some money? Didn't you always say how good your family was and how successful your brother was? My brother-in-law paid for my treatment, and you should ask Ma Laixi and the others to pay for Zhou Changshui's treatment too!"

Yuan Pan'er chimed in, "That's right! The Zhou family is rich too. If they don't have enough money, they sell land. They want money from us? No way! You'd better get out of here!"

Ma Xiangqin got up from the ground. She hadn't expected that all her humble efforts would be in vain, as Zhou Changlin and Yuan Pan'er wouldn't contribute a single penny.

She was saying that Zhou Changshui needed money to save his life, but Zhou Changlin remained unmoved!

Ma Xiangqin had realized that Zhou Changlin had completely changed! She no longer harbored any illusions.

Ma Xiangqin stood up and pointed at Zhou Changlin, "What do you think you are! When Changshui came to find you, did you tell him clearly that Yuansheng's money came from doing business with Donglaishun? Would Changshui have gone to Zhang's Grain Shop with gongs and drums and said that Yuansheng and Wang were having an affair?"

"You're just deliberately keeping quiet, hoping Changshui will get punished!"

Ma Xiangqin feigned sudden realization, "Oh, I see! You held a grudge against us when we broke off our ties, and you've been waiting for a chance to get revenge. Now that you've found your opportunity, you've been hiding it all, refusing to say a word! You've been waiting for Changshui to get beaten up!"

"Zhou Changlin! You're so vicious! You seem honest, but you're actually the most ruthless! I've realized that of the three Zhou brothers, you're the most like your father-in-law." Ma Xiangqin's words were full of hidden meaning.

Zhou Changlin didn't bother with the old woman. He hadn't said anything explicitly because the matter of Yuanbao's collaboration with Donglaishun on braised meat was meant to be kept secret. If he had told Zhou Changshui about the collaboration with Donglaishun, Zhou Changshui would definitely have pressed for details and might have come up with some bad ideas.

Besides, he had already done more than enough by issuing a warning at the time.