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  Hou Shi didnt dare to offend the crowd, let alone what that Liu fellow said. These hired workers were all good people, how could they steal and do bad things, ruining their reputation would be a big loss for a small gain.

  Who else could it be? She suddenly thought of the three little brats who had been beaten into the cold palace, and scolded: "The sun is about to set in the west, why havent you gone to work yet, what are you doing standing there?"

  "My belly is empty, where can I get the strength to carry on?" The crowd replied with a careless and lazy tone.

  "You deserve to be poor all your life, you muddy-footed rascal!" Madam Hou scolded: "Get going and eat, get going and work, otherwise there wont be lunch to eat!"

  "Search the whole village, no one is more unreasonable than Chens wife!" The crowd dispersed with complaints: "After this period, see who will still help your family with chores!"

  "Waiting for me to work at home, from Shiwan Village to Xialipo!" Hous family was not spared on her mouth, and she went to the northwest corner of the nest with a momentum.

  Chen Sanlang was awakened early by Madame Hous scolding, and upon hearing footsteps, he knew she had come to search. He whispered to his two younger brothers, telling them to keep their mouths tightly shut.

  Just as Xiao Liu had finished dressing, Madame Hou burst in through the door, her face twisted with rage, and shouted: "You little beasts! Did you steal my chicken?"

  "Who is this little beast scolding?" Chen Sanlang suppressed his anger and bent down to help Xiao Liu wear his shoes.

  "You little beast, how dare you scold me!" Madame Hou said, her face, which was heavily made up with powder and rouge, turned bright red with rage: "How dare you take advantage of me!" She had a tall and sturdy frame, bigger than that of most men, and she pounced on him with her teeth bared and her claws out, instantly sending Little Liu into tears.

  "Whats wrong with you, hitting people?" Chen Sanlang hugged Xiao Liu and dodged past her, retreating to the doorway: "Where did my nephew offend you?"

  Hou Shi ate a loss in silence, hard to speak out, so she had to ask the master to punish: "Tell me, where did you hide my chicken?"

  "What chicken?" Chen Sanlang looked bewildered and said: "The old ladys chicken, how could it run to our place!"

  "It was you who stole it! Look, Ive found the evidence, and I wont let you get away with this thievery!" Madame Hou then began to search high and low, but where could she find any clues? However, she saw that there were still embers on the stove in the back of the house, and the pot had been used for cooking. It was as if she had grasped ironclad evidence: "Speak up, didnt you cook my chicken?"

  "Take a look in the pot, is there even half a drop of oil?" Chen Sanlang said coldly.

  He reminded Hou that the pot was built into the stove, and to take it down, they would have to dismantle the stove. So if they had cooked chicken, they should be able to find some oil stains. But Hou looked around inside and outside the pot with wide eyes, but couldnt find a single drop of oil. He couldnt help but ask suspiciously: "Then what was the point of lighting the fire?"

  "I was seriously ill yesterday, had to drink hot water, and my stepmother wouldnt give me food, I had to cook for my younger brother." Chen Sanlang said coldly: "I know that my stepmother resents us father and son eating free meals and being a big expense, shes had the idea of dividing the family for a long time, so she doesnt welcome us anywhere. And taking advantage of my father being away studying, she cruelly mistreats me and my two brothers." After a pause, he emphasized: "Why must my stepmother be like this? This is the year of the big exam, maybe my father will pass with high honors, I wonder how youll face us then!"

  He did this to shift Hous attention and prevent the two children from being exposed, while also teaching her a lesson.

  The Hou family originally thought they could deceive them because of their young age and inexperience, but now hearing him speak so reasonably, she couldnt help but feel a shock in her heart, thinking to herself: How did he suddenly say something like that?! Could it be that this child can actually see through me?!

  Her thoughts were hit by Chen Sanlang. For many years, because her own husband was not a scholar, her mother-in-law had placed her hopes on her younger brother, and naturally, she couldnt help but lean towards her younger brothers family in words and deeds. Chen Shi, who had always been dissatisfied with her narrow-mindedness, had long been harboring resentment.

  But at that time, her mother-in-law was in the main hall, and she was also worried that her younger brother-in-law would really become an official, so she had to pretend to be harmonious. However, this kind of distortion made her accumulate anger and resentment in her heart, and eventually regarded her younger brother-in-laws family as a thorn in her eye and a stab in the flesh.

  What made her even more delighted was that her younger brother-in-law had been idle for over a decade, and not only did he not pass the imperial examination, but he also didnt even take it... This made her certain that her younger brother-in-law, just like her own husband, big brother, and second brother, were all not destined to be officials. As a result, she could no longer tolerate her younger brother-in-laws family of five eating idle meals, let alone bear the expenses of their education!

  Then we can only divide the family! She had long been determined to do so, and it was not that she did not have the heart to do so, but rather that she did not dare. What she feared was the law being ruthless!

  In the Song Dynasty, family division was not just a family matter.

  This morning, the imperial court repeatedly promoted the virtues of large families living together for generations, advocating for brotherly harmony without division. Of course, very few could truly achieve this, but the "Song Penal Code" still explicitly stipulated: All ancestors and parents who are alive while their children and grandchildren have separate households and property shall be punished with three years of servitude. Those who give birth to children or have separate households and property during the mourning period for their parents shall be punished with one year of servitude. Separate household refers to having a separate household registration. Different property means dividing up family assets.

  That is, when grandparents and parents are alive, whoever dares to divide the family property will be sentenced to three years. Even if the parents have passed away, they must wait until the mourning period is over before dividing the family property; otherwise, they will be sentenced to one year... This is to avoid the ugly situation where brothers do not take care of their parents funeral affairs after their death and only fight for family property.

  The laws of the Great Song Dynasty, whether in terms of formulation or enforcement, are among the best in history, and almost thoroughly understand human nature. However, laws are dead, while people are alive, so it is impossible to rely on dead laws to protect everyone. Although Hou Shi was hesitant to divide the family property, she could use her status as the elder sister-in-law to bully her younger brothers family at will, slightly relieving the grievances that had been pent up in her heart for many years.

  But she used to just not give her brother-in-law a good face, not give her nephew new clothes to wear or good food to eat. It was far from being as cruel as now, pushing the three children to death... The Chen family is considered a big household, treating their own nephew like this, its embarrassing and notorious.

  The reason why the Hou family suddenly became so vicious is that this March, which is this month, the Chen familys mourning period will be over and the day of legal inheritance will arrive. She was determined to get it, wanting to divide up most of the family property, so she had her younger brother go to the county government in advance to pave the way.

  But then her brother came back and said that the government officials clerk had given his word, this matter was very tricky. Because the law of the Song Dynasty opposed dividing property among family members, considering it a destructive behavior to public order and good customs, therefore whoever proposed dividing the property first would end up with less inheritance. Moreover, because sons and daughters also have the right to inherit their grandparents property, when dividing the property, the government would refer to the number of mouths in both families... Both families had no girls at home, all were males, in other words, except for her as a daughter-in-law, everyone else had inheritance rights... The number of people with inheritance rights was three versus five, and her family was still at a disadvantage.

  Moreover, the special official appointment system of this dynasty makes it impossible for a county magistrate to ruin his own reputation for a small gain. Therefore, if they rely on the government to mediate, their family will definitely be at a disadvantage.

  Hou was completely stunned, wasnt he going to lift a stone and hit his own foot?

  Her younger brother told her that now either let Chen Lao Er propose to divide the house first, or both parties reach a private agreement and then go to the government office to divide the property... as long as it is roughly fair and reasonable, the county magistrate will also turn a blind eye.

  This became Hous lifeline, she decided to force her brother to propose a division of the family property first, and naturally intensified. Coincidentally, when Chen Lao Er was away studying, she began to brutally mistreat his three children... She wanted Chen Lao Er to realize as soon as he returned that he had to either stay at home to watch the children or immediately divide the family property.

  If one or two of them died accidentally, it would be just what she wanted. The mortality rate of children in this era was surprisingly high, even if they were from a wealthy family, giving birth to ten children and raising half of them would be a miracle. Like her, having seven children and only two surviving, so in her opinion, losing one or two underage children was not a big deal.

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  Her mind was suddenly seen through by the child, and Madame Hou couldnt help but feel a wave of panic, her mouth chattering away with curses like "Tear your mouth to shreds", while her feet began to move outward, not wanting to face those piercing eyes again.

  Chen Sanlang secretly let out a breath of relief, but his expression didnt change in the slightest.

  But Hou couldnt just leave with her tail between her legs, she scowled, her eyes darting back and forth, hoping to find an opportunity to take down this young whippersnapper.

  When her fierce gaze fell on Xiaoliu, she suddenly found that the little brat had shifted his body to the side and couldnt help but shout: "What are you hiding!" As she said this, she reached out to grab Xiaolius right hand.

  "What are you doing!" Chen Sanlang hastily blocked his little brother, but he himself was only ten years old and didnt have the strength of an adult. He was easily pushed aside by this fierce woman and stumbled. Although he quickly regained his footing, in that instant, Xiao Liu Langs sleeve was grabbed by Hou Shi.

  "Let him go!" Chen Sanlang tightly hugged the womans arm and shouted to Xiao Liu Lang: "Run quickly!"

  But the little kid was already completely scared stiff. Kurogoro came to his senses and dragged his brother outside, grabbing him tightly. Shirogoros clothes were already tattered and worn out, and with this pull, his sleeve suddenly ripped open with a large tear, and something fell out.

  Clearly seeing the thing, even Chen Sanlang was stunned, it turned out to be a yellowish-brown chicken leg...

  "Good!" Madame Hous spirits suddenly soared, she violently shook off Chen Sanlang, smoothed out her disheveled hair, and like a proud rooster, excitedly shouted: "I was right, youre just a den of thieving bastards!"

  "Its a fart!" This voice was not Chen Sanlang and Hei Wulang, but Xiao Liu Lang with a bright red face. He was so anxious that he stuttered: "My, my brother is not a thief!"

  "How dare you talk back!" Madame Hou, this shrewd woman, was not one to spare anyone when she was in the right. She raised her hand and slapped him with a loud smack, sending Xiaoliu tumbling to the ground, his mouth and nose bleeding.

  Hou still wanted to vent his anger, but heard a furious roar: "Im going to your spicy mother!"

  "You..." She hadnt even finished saying the word "you" before it turned into a miserable scream, as she was violently slammed in the ribs by Chen Sanlang who had gone mad.

  Hou was caught off guard and fell heavily to the ground. Chen Sanlang once again overestimated his own strength, failed to steady himself, and also fell to the ground.

  But at this moment, Hei Wu Lang let out a low growl and pounced on Hou Shis stomach, punching down with his fists like raindrops.

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  This book, I have decided not to engage in empty talk with everyone, so you wont see large sections of explanatory text, nor any argumentative essays. This doesnt mean that I havent carefully researched and verified the facts, although its impossible to make everything completely accurate for the time period. At least Ive done my best, and its absolutely no worse than the real thing from a first-rank official.