"What nonsense are you spouting? How could our second son have done something disgraceful? I say, Mu Dabiao, having nothing to do all day and choosing to pick on my son!"

"Why, are you now fond of those few broken things from the third branch?" Old Mrs. Mu climbed off the kang and started to curse.

"I’m just asking, why are you so worked up?" Mr. Mu mumbled.

At this moment, Old Mrs. Mu realized that what her husband said actually made sense.

The second son came from her womb; she knew his character too well.

If it were any other matter, calling the second son, he might not come back.

But for something as big as the eldest son becoming a county magistrate, the second son has no reason not to return.

Could something really have happened?

Old Mrs. Mu sat up on the kang, turned to Mr. Mu, and said, "Old man, I’m going to ask Mrs. Lin, the damned woman, if she knows the second son’s whereabouts!"

"I’ll go with you!"

"What are you going for? It’s so late! Don’t forget, Mrs. Lin is your daughter-in-law. As a grown man, visiting your daughter-in-law’s room in the middle of the night, if word gets out, what about the face of our Old Mu Family?"

Old Mrs. Mu gave Mr. Mu a glare.

Though her words were harsh, Mr. Mu thought it over and realized it made sense. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

After all, she’s his daughter-in-law, no matter the matter, it’s not something he, as the father-in-law, can ask about.

"Then go and come back early!"

Old Mrs. Mu casually put on pants, threw on a coat, and headed in the direction of the second branch.

Inside the second branch’s house, Mrs. Lin was deep asleep. Not long ago, she was beaten badly by Mu Shuangshuang, which made it hard for her to sleep every night.

In recent days, her injuries healed, allowing her to finally get a good night’s sleep.

And just as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.

But she hadn’t slept long when a pig-slaughtering yell echoed in her ear, half indistinct.

"Lin Xiaozao, did you die in there? Open the door for your old mother!"

"Lin Xiaozao, you dumb pig, get up..."

Old Mrs. Mu seemed like she would tear down the house but only succeeded in waking Gou Dan, who slept with Mrs. Lin.

Gou Dan opened his mouth and began to wail, crying tearfully.

Mrs. Lin reluctantly opened her eyes, realized it was her son crying, and without saying a word, landed a slap on Gou Dan’s face.

"Why are you crying? Crying a funeral, in the middle of the night, don’t you want anyone to sleep? If you keep crying, I’ll tear your mouth apart!"

Mrs. Lin’s words to scold Gou Dan reached Old Mrs. Mu’s ears, and Old Mrs. Mu thought Mrs. Lin wanted to tear her mouth apart.

Her anger flared even more.

Initially just using her hand to knock on the door, she now kicked it directly.

The wooden door wasn’t that solid to begin with, coupled with Old Mrs. Mu using all her strength.

After dozens of kicks, the door broke open.

Mrs. Lin suddenly opened her eyes, and simultaneously, Old Mrs. Mu’s slap came mercilessly to her body.

"Ah yo..." Mrs. Lin shrieked.

"Look at you, you can do it, huh? You come to tear my mouth apart?" Old Mrs. Mu mumbled.

Recognizing her voice, Mrs. Lin quickly begged for mercy: "Mother, I wasn’t talking about you, I was just scolding Gou Dan!

He... he... I just had a dream, dreamed that elder brother became a Capital Official, and you became a noblewoman in the Capital, looking so majestic.

I was thinking of basking in your glory, but Gou Dan woke me, so I scolded him!"

The mention of being a noblewoman in the Capital lightened Old Mrs. Mu’s mood immediately.

She retracted her hand and couldn’t help asking Mrs. Lin: "Did you see what kind of clothes I was wearing? How many servants did we have?"

Mrs. Lin was stunned, not expecting Old Mrs. Mu to pursue the question.

Thankfully, her mind spun quickly, "Mother, you wore gold and silver, there were almost...a whole room of servants serving you tea and water!"

As Mrs. Lin spoke, Old Mrs. Mu imagined the scene.

Tsk tsk tsk, majestic!

"Alright, I won’t lecture you. Today I came to ask you about what’s going on with the second son? The eldest has been back so long, yet there’s no sign of him?"

"Mother, don’t say it, I also find it strange! As soon as elder brother came back, I sent someone to pass the message, logically, he should have returned early!

But up till now, there’s been no sign of him! However, thinking it over, I assume our Dazhong might be trying to make a career outside, earn money, then return to honor you and father!"

Mrs. Lin always knew how to please Old Mrs. Mu.

Though occasionally foolish, compared to Mrs. Liu and Yu Si Niang, she was the daughter-in-law who got beaten the least in this family.

"Not right! The second son isn’t that kind of person! If he were to start a career, he’d definitely seek out your elder brother!" Old Mrs. Mu asserted.

Mrs. Lin couldn’t help but curse in her heart.

Damn old woman, knowing well what your son is like, yet made me marry him back then!

If I had married elder brother back then, wouldn’t I be the official’s wife now?

Much better than seeing Mrs. Jin’s face every day now.

"Mother, how about I go to Mountain Village tomorrow?" Mrs. Lin asked.

"Alright! Wake up early, walk there, and if it’s too late at night, don’t come back!

And don’t take any dry food from home, you’re getting fatter, and since the busy farming season hasn’t started, it’s time to lose weight!" Old Mrs. Mu instructed.

Mrs. Lin’s face turned sour, but she didn’t dare say a word in front of the person.

Finally managing to send Old Mrs. Mu off, Mrs. Lin felt her whole body burning with pain.

"Old hag, so heavy-handed, serves you right to fall and break a leg someday!" Mrs. Lin cursed.

"Mu Dazhong, you bastard, tomorrow I’ll go and see why you haven’t returned. You’d better have a good reason, or else I’ll kill you!"

After cursing both Old Mrs. Mu and Mu Dazhong, Mrs. Lin finally returned to sleep.

...

In Mountain Village, Mu Dazhong had been digging underground with Mrs. Lin’s brother for several months.

He hadn’t seen a trace of the underground treasure.

If he wasn’t still thinking of getting a slice of the pie in the end, he would’ve ditched it long ago.

But recently, his brother-in-law said they were getting closer to the gold mine, that they might reach it in the coming days.

None of the people they brought along knew they were digging for gold; everyone just thought they were digging for some copper mine or something.

That day, Mrs. Lin’s brother gathered everyone, gave a small portion of the wages, and said they’d have a two-day holiday.

Actually, he figured the depth was about right, better to send these people off early, then he and Mu Dazhong would personally go down and dig out all the gold ore.

As for those on holiday, they better not think about finding him again in the future.

Not only would he not give them the remaining wages, but he also planned to skip town.

The others didn’t know Mrs. Lin’s brother’s plans, but Mu Dazhong and Wang Dali did.

After hearing this, the two of them hid away secretly...