Confiscating property? A stunningly beautiful substitute bride empties the national treasury and is

"You dare stab me here? If you don't, then come and have some fun with us..."

Lu Haize arrogantly took two more steps closer. Just as Xuan Yuanxue gritted her teeth and made up her mind, someone behind her grabbed her hand and plunged a dagger into Lu Haize's chest.

Lu Yunqi chuckled and explained, "They all asked you to do the stabbing, Xue'er, how could you refuse their kind offer!"

"Lu Yunqi, you...you're not unconscious?"

Lu Haize clutched his chest, utterly shocked. The branches of the Lu family who had stolen the items were instantly thrown into disarray. How could this be? Lu Yunqi had drunk quite a bit of wine today!

"Thank you for your kind words, how could I possibly faint? With Chuan'er gone, I would risk my life to protect my family and belongings!"

As Lu Yunqi spoke, he pulled Xuan Yuanxue behind him and reassured her, "Don't be afraid, go back to the carriage and stay here!"

"Then be careful!"

"Ok!"

As Lu Yunqi spoke, he picked up the whip and lashed it twice at the members of the Lu family.

"Put the things down, and I can choose to let bygones be bygones!"

Lu Haofeng scoffed and said mockingly, "Lu Yunqi, you think you can stop us? You're dreaming!"

"Hey guys, let's go!"

At Lu Haofeng's call, Lu Haoyu, Lu Che, and two others surrounded Lu Yunqi and immediately began fighting.

"Stop it all!"

The old lady was helped down from the carriage by Lu Lanyue. Seeing her son beaten and their belongings scattered everywhere, she angrily pounded the ground with her cane and cursed:

"I knew you had ulterior motives, but I never imagined you were after our things. How could you be so heartless as to abandon us for a few bites of food?"

"Chuan'er and his wife haven't returned, but there are still people in our third branch. Anyone who dares to steal our things today will have to step over this old woman's dead body!"

Madam Qian spat out a mouthful of phlegm in displeasure and cursed, "You've never been hungry, so of course you don't know what it's like. You ate quite a lot of our food tonight, so it's normal for us to ask for some back. Why can't we?"

"What are you standing there for! I'd like to see if you'll just smash your head against a wall and die today, you old geezer!"

"You...you are absolutely rude!"

Lu Lanyue stomped her feet in anger.

"I'm rude? What's so great about you, you little slut? Without protection, you're no different from that concubine's daughter of the Yu family. Sooner or later, you'll become a government prostitute!"

After finishing her rant, Qian was about to run away with a bag of rice when she bumped into Huo Chong. Huo Chong snatched the rice from her hand and stuffed it into Lu Lanyue's arms.

Enraged, Madam Qian grabbed Huo Chong and started hitting him, yelling as she did so: "What right do you, an outsider, have to meddle in our family affairs? Have you taken a fancy to those two little sluts from the third branch of the family? They're not even of marriageable age yet, and they already look like vixen vixens every day."

"My affairs are none of your business, but I, Huo Chong, am determined to handle the affairs of the third branch of the Lu family today! If you don't want to get beaten up, get out of here!"

Qian was kicked and lay on the ground throwing a tantrum, but Huo Chong ignored her completely and caught up with the second master of the house, snatching the bag of flour back...

"Bullying the weak and taking advantage of others is simply outrageous!"

Wang Beimu quickly stepped forward and retrieved all the things they had stolen.

Lu Yunqi fought back desperately and was also injured, but the three members of the Lu family were not much better off, resulting in a lose-lose situation.

"Thank you... thank you!"

Seeing that the members of the Lu family's various branches hadn't gotten away with anything and were leaving in a sorry state, the old lady nodded gratefully to the two men.

"Thank you so much for what happened earlier. This is just a small token of our appreciation. We have too many people to keep the rice and flour, so we'll give you the meat instead. We hope you won't find it too much!"

After the old lady finished speaking, she instructed Lu Lanyue and Lu Xieyue to divide the meat in the carriage in half and give it to the two families.

"Grandma, we can't accept this. Helping you is just a small favor."

"We must take it!"

The old lady insisted, "You all helped pull our carriage today. I remember all the kindness you've shown us."

"It's still quite a distance to the next county town, and we're afraid we'll have to trouble you again. I really feel bad if you don't accept this old woman's help."

Bai advised, "Since my mother-in-law has said so, you can all accept it without worry. That way, she will feel more at ease."

"If you don't like the items, we can give you money. In short, we are truly grateful to you."

As Bai was about to take the silver, Wang Beimu quickly said, "No need for silver, you're being too polite. In that case, we'll accept the meat. From now on, our three families will stand together and never let anyone bully us."

"Okay, thank you, Brother Wang!"

Seeing that Wang Beimu had accepted the meat, Huo Chong didn't stand on ceremony and was about to leave with it when Lu Lanyue hurriedly stopped him, ran back to the carriage to get some ointment for his injuries, and handed it to him gratefully, saying:

"Brother Huo, thank you for what you just said. This medicine can heal your hand injury, so please take it with you."

Huo Chong glanced at his fist, chuckled, and declined, saying, "No need, it's fine. I'm tough and heal quickly, so I won't waste the medicine."

"But... what if I get infected..."

Before Lu Lanyue could finish speaking, Huo Chong waved with a smile, picked up the meat, and left.

The members of the Lu family were furious that the old lady had not only refused to give them anything, but now she had even divided the meat among two unrelated families. They were filled with resentment and looked down on their own father. They were brothers, so why was there such a big difference between them?

Lu Yunqi walked slowly to the old lady's side, bowing his head in self-reproach:

"Mother, I'm so sorry. It's my fault for being an unfilial son. I caused you to be humiliated by them, and you almost lost your things..."

The old lady sighed and shook her head. Looking at his disheveled appearance, she comforted him with heartache:

"Yun'er, I am already very satisfied with you as you are now. I don't blame you. I am proud of you. None of the men in our Lu family are bad."

"You don't need to blame yourself. If you hadn't found the antidote for us, we might still be in the dark. Yun'er, success is never achieved overnight; it takes time. You started from a different point, so let's just take it one step at a time!"

"mother…"

Lu Yunqi's eyes reddened. He was indeed far inferior. If it were the third brother tonight, none of the Lu family branches would dare to cause trouble!

"Human nature is treacherous, so it's never wrong to be cautious. It's getting late, so everyone should go back to the carriages and rest!"

After saying this, the old lady let Lu Lanyue help her into the carriage. She was indeed exhausted and old and no longer useful.

Lu Xieyue had just returned to the carriage when she realized that Xuan Yuanxue was gone. She hurriedly got off the carriage and found Lu Yunqi, anxiously saying:

"Second Brother, something terrible has happened! Sister Xue has disappeared!"

Lu Yunqi's heart skipped a beat, and he pressed, "What do you mean 'disappeared'? When did this happen?"

Lu Xieyue shook her head: "I don't know, maybe it's because of what to do when the conflict first started? What if..."

"No, no, I'll take Da Huang to look for him. You stay in the carriage and don't come out. Don't run around."

"Yes, I understand. Second brother, you should go find Sister Xue quickly, and please make sure nothing happens to her!"

Lu Xieyue was so anxious she was almost crying. There were bad people here. If Sister Xue was taken away, would she be bullied?