Who understands? He traveled through time with a high-spec spatial ability.

As soon as they reached the door, they saw Madam Xu standing in the yard packing things up. Qiao Zhengguo was still the same as always, holding his pipe and smoking.

"Father, Mother!" Qiao Furong cried out, tears streaming down her face.

Upon hearing this, Madam Xu was taken aback. Why had her youngest daughter returned? Then, seeing her eldest son holding Yu'er in his arms, she had a bad feeling.

Qiao Furong threw herself into Xu Shi's arms, sobbing as she said she was wrong, "Mother, I was wrong! I shouldn't have disobeyed you and Father and been deceived by that beast's appearance. I regret it so much, sob sob sob."

Qiao Zhengguo hurriedly stood up, not even bothering to pick up his pipe, and rushed over to ask, "What happened? Did that kid bully you?"

Qiao Furong nodded, crying as she said, "He's a bastard! My daughter almost died at his hands today. If my older brother hadn't arrived in time, I wouldn't be alive today. Waaah..."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Zhengguo was instantly enraged. "That beast! How dare he treat you like this!"

Qiao Furong continued sobbing, "He not only beat me, but he also wanted to sell Yu'er. I really regret it. If I had listened to my parents, this wouldn't have happened."

Xu patted Qiao Furong's back tenderly and comforted her, "Silly girl, why didn't you say so sooner? You had to bear it all by yourself. Alright, alright, don't cry anymore. It's good that you're back."

Qiao Zhengguo's face turned ashen with rage, and he said through gritted teeth, "This matter cannot be left like this! Come on, let's go with Dad to settle accounts with that beast!"

Qiao Furong grabbed Qiao Zhengguo's arm and shook her head, saying, "Father, don't go. He knows I'm back, and he probably guessed you were going to look for him, so he's already run away. You won't find him."

Qiao Zhengguo stomped his foot angrily, "Are we just going to let him get away with this? No, I can't swallow this! Boss, go and call the second and third brothers, and also call the other guys you're close to."

Qiao Jingjing thought it might be good to make a scene; maybe if they intervened, she wouldn't have to lift a finger, so she didn't stop Qiao Wanjun from calling for reinforcements. However, before that, she still needed to go to the county to find Lu Yuan to revoke Zhu Dayou's qualification as a child scholar.

She stepped forward and said, "Grandpa, Aunt is right. I'm afraid that person will run away after we leave. Aunt has three older brothers. If he doesn't run away, does he expect us to come knocking on our door?"

Seeing that they were listening attentively, he continued:

“He has the qualifications to become a student of the Imperial Academy. No matter how outrageous he is, the village chief of Shangyang Village will protect him. Why don’t I go to the county now, find evidence of his gambling and whoring, revoke his qualifications as a student of the Imperial Academy, and then settle accounts with him?”

Qiao Zhengguo thought what she said made a lot of sense, so he nodded and told Qiao Jingjing to be careful while riding the horse and to take good care of herself.

Without delay, Qiao Jingjing immediately went home to fetch her horse and headed towards the county.

Hearing the sound of horses' hooves, Tantai Zhou guessed that Qiao Jingjing had probably gone out.

It's afternoon now; people don't usually go out at this time unless it's urgent. Let Xuan Yi go with him, carrying his token. He can lend a hand if necessary.

When Qiao Jingjing arrived in the county, she first found a secluded corner and took out two bottles of wine. However, Lu Yuan noticed the words on the box and switched to another bag to carry them. She then took out two boxes of pastries, one cream, and one bar of soap.

Upon arriving at the county government office, they easily met Lu Yuan, handed him the gifts, and explained their purpose.

Lu Yuan ordered his constables to visit several gambling dens in the county town. Sure enough, they caught Zhu Dayou red-handed while he was gambling in one of them. They also went to brothels and found the records of his patronage of prostitutes. The constables reported this to the county magistrate, Lu Qinbei, who immediately crossed Zhu Dayou's eligibility for the imperial examinations off the list.

Lu Yuan hadn't seen Qiao Jingjing for many days and had a lot to say. However, the young lady was busy, so he could only briefly mention Lü Yaozu's matter.

Because of insufficient evidence, it could not be determined that the person died in the restaurant, nor could it be proven that Lu Yaozu was responsible. Therefore, after spending money to bribe officials and negotiating, Mr. Hu paid bail to release Lin Yaozu.

After this incident, the incense burner became useless. Concubine Lü, due to her brother's repeated troubles requiring Mr. Hu to clean up her messes, finally lost his favor and was neglected by him.

Unfortunately, even though Ke Lai Xiang is no longer useful, the shop still belongs to Boss Hu, so Qiao Jingjing has no chance to get her hands on it.

Zhu Dayou was taken to the yamen and given ten strokes of the cane, a number that was quite embarrassing. It wasn't to the point of being lacerated; he could walk with difficulty, but it was still a bit painful, not to the point of needing to hire a carriage.

Moreover, he was penniless and couldn't afford to hire a car. He could only move home little by little with an awkward posture.

He finally arrived home in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat from the pain despite the freezing winter weather. Zhu Dayou was pale, thirsty, hungry, and in pain, and opened the door slowly.

Hearing the commotion inside, Zhu's mother was too frightened to come out. She was worried that the ghosts of the Zhu family would really come knocking on her door.

After a while, she heard someone enter the courtyard. She looked out through the crack in the window by the moonlight and recognized her son. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"My son, why are you only coming back now?"

Upon seeing the stool, Zhu Dayou could no longer stand and slumped down, his buttocks throbbing with pain as he hissed, "Ouch!"

"Son, what's wrong? Did you get beaten up again while gambling?"

Zhu Dayou was annoyed by her shrill voice, "Shut up! I'm asking you, after that bitch went back, did anyone from Daba Village come looking for trouble?"

Zhu's mother replied softly, "No, there's no one here."

Logically speaking, if Qiao Furong returned to her parents' home, her brothers-in-law would be furious to see her beaten and would immediately come to confront her.

They hadn't shown up even when they were at their angrier, so it could be inferred that they probably wouldn't come looking for trouble for the time being. Thinking this, Zhu Dayou finally felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders. He closed his eyes in relief and fell into a deep sleep.

Back in the afternoon, Qiao Wanjun called his two younger brothers and three friends of similar age. Qiao Wanshi harbored resentment towards his eldest brother, but upon hearing that his younger sister had been beaten, he still came over.

Not long after, the three Qiao brothers arrived at Qiao Zhengguo's place with three young men. Qiao Zhengguo told everyone what had happened, and everyone was filled with righteous indignation.

"That bastard is really going too far!"

"We can't let him get away with this!"

"Yes, we must teach him a lesson!"

Qiao Zhengguo waved his hand and said, "We'll go to his house first thing tomorrow morning. Even if he's not home, we'll smash his house to pieces!"

One of them chimed in, "Uncle Qiao is right. If we don't teach this a lesson, it'll be telling outsiders that girls from our Daba Village can't be treated like human beings after they get married."

"I agree. We have to go!"

In the inner room, Madam Xu was holding Yu'er in her arms, while Qiao Furong was applying a cool handkerchief to her eyes.

"Mother, I want a divorce. I can't live with that bastard for even a day longer."