Zhang Wenxue saw the rat poison in his third brother's hand and the teapot behind him, and disbelief flashed in his eyes. "Third brother, you want to poison our entire family?"
Yu Xiaohua heard the commotion and rushed over, catching this remark. She immediately cried out, "You good-for-nothing Zhang Wenjun, coming to our house in the middle of the night just to poison us?
What have we done to you to make you want to harm us like this, you scoundrel..."
Yu Xiaohua, while blabbering, also rained blows upon Zhang Wenjun, leaving him no room to retort.
"Big brother, big sister, you've misunderstood, completely misunderstood," Zhang Wenjun said, raising his hands to shield his head and finding an opportunity to explain.
However, the situation itself was unexplainable, and any attempt to clarify would only make things worse.
"We misunderstood? Then why were you at our house with rat poison, and what were you doing in the dead of night? Explain yourself!" Zhang Wenxue sat with his arms crossed, waiting to see how his third brother would explain this situation.
He had thought about it for a long time and was certain that the only possibility was that his brother had come to poison them. Otherwise, why would he be in their house with poison?
Sleepwalking? Impossible. Their front door, because his eldest son hadn't returned, wasn't locked, but it was propped with a stool. If he were sleepwalking, he couldn't have entered the house without making a sound.
Moreover, why was he standing by the teapot with the lid in his hand? This was clearly an attempt to kill them!
It was too terrifying, too terrifying.
Before, he had only thought his third brother was selfish and jealous of their family's good life. Now, it seemed it wasn't just jealousy, but a desire to see them dead!
No, he couldn't let his third brother continue to live in the village, by his side.
Otherwise, if they decided to harm them again, his family might not even know how they died.
Therefore, he planned to send him to the police station tomorrow and have him locked up.
"I just came to check on the Liushui couple, and when I saw this medicine, I picked it up out of curiosity, and then you saw me.
This is truly a misunderstanding. How could I possibly come here to poison you! Big brother, you must believe me! We are brothers, flesh and blood, I wouldn't harm you."
Zhang Wenjun truly wanted to curse his ancestors at this moment. He had only come to retrieve the medicine, but he was caught red-handed by his own elder brother. Not only that, but his elder brother thought he was there to poison them. His luck was truly unparalleled.
Zhang Wenxue looked at his third brother's expression, which didn't seem like a lie, but he didn't believe him. He trusted his own eyes more.
The moment he had turned on the light, he had seen it clearly: his third brother was holding the teapot lid and the poison, his expression extremely flustered, clearly about to do something bad.
"To check on Liushui? Third uncle, your words are too funny. Not to mention that you've never cared about Liushui, even if you did, why would you barge in in the middle of the night to show your concern? And you say the medicine was on the table, that's impossible. I cleaned this table, and there was nothing on it except the teapot," Yu Xiaohua didn't believe Zhang Wenjun's words at all and spat at him.
"Third brother, I just have one thing I don't understand. Why would you want to harm us? What have I done to you to make you have such thoughts?" Zhang Wenxue was convinced that Zhang Wenjun had come to harm them, so he was very curious about what had made his own brother harbor such terrible thoughts.
Seeing that his elder brother and sister-in-law didn't believe him, Zhang Wenjun's eyes welled up with tears. "Big brother, big sister, I really didn't want to harm you!"
But Zhang Wenxue and his wife did not believe him. They had already decided that he intended to harm them.
Therefore, even though Zhang Wenxue saw his younger brother cry, he showed no mercy. "Third brother, you don't need to say anything more. Wait until dawn and come to the police station with big brother. I can't tolerate you any longer."
If this third brother was going to poison them, what reason did he have to let him go free? Letting him go free would be harming his own family.
Zhang Wenjun became anxious upon hearing this. "Big brother, I really didn't! I can bet my life on it, I really didn't come to poison you, I didn't want to harm you."
"You can tell that to the police. I don't believe you," Zhang Wenxue said, then looked at Yu Xiaohua.
The latter immediately understood her husband's gaze. He meant to tie up Zhang Wenjun to prevent him from escaping.
Yu Xiaohua understood, and Zhang Wenjun also saw their intentions. So, he decided to go all out and turned to run out the door.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaohua and her husband immediately chased after him.
The three of them were of similar age, and none were significantly stronger than the others. One ran, and the other two pursued. Before long, Zhang Wenjun was caught up to by the couple and pinned to the ground.
"Let me go, let me go! I didn't do it, you're framing me!" Zhang Wenjun lay on the ground, struggling continuously, trying to break free from their restraints. But no matter how he struggled, he was no match for his elder brother and sister-in-law.
In the end, Zhang Wenjun was tied up securely by Zhang Wenxue and his wife.
"Big brother? You're back?" Zhang Liunian arrived at his elder brother's house and found the front door ajar. He entered and saw that the three nephews were nowhere to be found. Turning to leave the room, he saw his elder brother returning.
But seeing Zhang Liushui's limping gait, his expression instantly froze. "Were you beaten by the Wu family? I'll take care of them tomorrow."
Zhang Liushui smiled dismissively, but the movement tugged at the wound on his face, making him wince. "No need. Big brother and Xiao Li already beat them up."
If his third brother hadn't called Zhang Li, he might not have been able to return home.
The Wu family was truly too much. As soon as they heard he was there to divorce Wu Gudi and send her back to her maiden home, they immediately called over a dozen people to beat them.
Fortunately, Zhang Li helped him, otherwise, the outcome would have been uncertain.
"By the way, why are you looking for me so late? It's almost nine o'clock, and third brother coming at this hour must be for something important," he asked.
Zhang Liunian nodded and whispered into his ear, "I learned that Third Uncle's family and Wu Gudi have colluded to poison Daming Lake tomorrow. But now Wu Gudi has suddenly returned to her maiden home, and they are planning to act on their own.
I came to remind you about this."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Liushui was stunned. "How dare Third Uncle do such a thing? Poisoning Daming Lake, isn't he afraid of going to jail?"
And Wu Gudi even wanted to help them poison it. No wonder Third Uncle had interceded for Wu Gudi in the afternoon, not wanting her to return to her maiden home. It turned out this was what they were waiting for.
How hateful, Wu Gudi actually wanted to help Third Uncle's family deal with Third Brother. This woman is truly wicked.
He would never want this woman again, even if he remained a bachelor.
"Eldest brother, third brother?" Just as Zhang Liushui was in shock, Zhang Wenxue and his wife returned, dragging Zhang Wenjun with them.
Upon seeing their two sons standing at the entrance of the main hall, they couldn't help but ask in confusion.
Zhang Liunian and his brother heard the voices, turned around, and saw their third uncle tied up by their parents. They both rushed forward to ask what had happened.