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Ding Cuiying nervously glanced at Lu's father. "Old man, the Zhang family is here."
Lu's father narrowed his eyes and looked toward the front door.
The door was knocked on loudly, and Ding Cuiying tugged at Lu's father, anxiously stamping her feet. "Open the door."
"Old man, Zhang Yan is still at the police station. The Zhang family won't be happy if they can't see her."
Lu's father turned to Ding Cuiying and suddenly coughed a few times, his voice hoarse as he said, "Open the door."
Ding Cuiying trembled as she approached the door. Just as she opened it, someone pushed it from the outside, causing her to stumble aside and nearly fall.
A group of people entered from outside. Leading them were Zhang Yan's parents and several sisters-in-law, followed by a few brothers.
Zhang's father looked displeased as he stared at Lu's father sitting on the stool. "Old man, I just came to see my daughter and grandchildren. Why are you taking so long to open the door?"
Zhang's eldest brother shouted from the courtyard, "Where's my sister? Hurry up and let her out!"
Zhang's parents sat opposite Lu's father, while the others stood behind them.
Ding Cuiying felt her legs go weak but still forced herself to walk over to Lu's father, stammering as she spoke. "Zhang Yan and Lu Yao aren't home."
"Oh? If they're not home, then where are they?"
Zhang's mother fixed her gaze on Ding Cuiying, noticing her growing panic.
"They... they..."
Zhang's mother suddenly stood up and glared at her. "In-law, we're all sitting here now. How long do you plan to keep this from us?"
"My daughter is in the police station, and my two grandsons have been abducted by human traffickers! Don't think you can hide this from us; do you take the Zhang family for fools?"
Ding Cuiying hurriedly explained, "In-law, we are also trying to find a solution. Look at my old man; he's so furious he nearly had a heart attack—just came back from the hospital."
"Don't try to gain sympathy in front of me! Just tell me what we’re going to do to rescue my daughter!"
"I... I..."
Ding Cuiying looked down helplessly at Lu's father, who closed his eyes briefly before speaking in a hoarse voice. "Brother Zhang, my son is also in the police station. Can we not be anxious? We're also trying to figure things out!"
"What about those two children?"
"The two children haven't been found yet; the police just told us that. If you don't believe me, you can ask at the police station."
After speaking, Father Lu coughed deeply a few times, his face turning red. Ding Cuizheng anxiously paced around, patting his back.
"Old man, old man."
Seeing him like this, the Zhang family sighed deeply. After scanning the surroundings of the courtyard, they asked in confusion, "Isn't your eldest son back? He must have a way. Where is he?"
Lu Zheng had already been pulled back into the house by Wen Qian when the Zhang family knocked on the door; she didn’t want to attract any trouble.
"Lu Zheng is inside."
Mother Zhang gave her eldest son a glance, and Brother Zhang walked towards the thatched cottage. Before he could knock, the door swung open from inside.
Lu Zheng looked at him. "You need something?"
Brother Zhang awkwardly withdrew his hand. "I need to talk to you."
Seeing Lu Zheng come out, Mother Zhang got straight to the point without beating around the bush. "Lu Zheng, your aunt wants to know if you have a way to get your brother and sister-in-law out of the police station."
"I do, but I have conditions."
Mother Zhang grew anxious. "What conditions?"
"I already discussed it with Lu Yao's father."
"Lu Yao's father?" The people in the courtyard felt a jolt; this sounded like a disavowal of kinship. Would they still be able to benefit from him in the future?
Father Lu glared at Lu Zheng furiously, gritting his teeth. "You wish!"
"Then there’s nothing more to discuss."
Lu Zheng turned and walked away, and the Zhang family couldn’t stop him even if they tried.
Sometimes, one could only deal with a rogue by being just as rogue.
Back inside the house, Wen Qian looked at him with admiration. "Smart move! You know that stubborn old man won’t budge easily; you deliberately let the Zhang family come to negotiate."
As the door closed, Wen Qian said lightly, "The Zhang family was sent by you, right?"
"Yes!"
He continued, "I had Zhuzi briefly explain things to them."
Wen Qian smiled. "I knew it! Zhang Family Village is quite a distance from here; this news only spread last night. It’s impossible for it to reach them immediately unless someone did it on purpose."
Lu's father and Ding Cuiying were both overwhelmed with worry over Lu Yao and Zhang Yan's situation, hardly able to think of anything else. Outside, the noise was deafening.
"Brother, what more do you want? The urgent matter is to rescue the two kids quickly! That place is no place for anyone to stay. If you don’t care about your son, I care about my daughter!" Zhang's father shouted almost into Lu's father's ear, while Ding Cuiying was being pulled along by Zhang's mother, who wouldn’t stop talking.
Ding Cuiying was no match for the Zhang family women; soon she found herself squatting on the ground, wailing loudly. "I can’t go on like this! I’ll go to the police station in their place. Don’t think I don’t want to save them! You’re all forcing me; I can’t take it anymore!"
The Zhang women looked at her in disbelief, their anger boiling over. "How can you act like this?"
"I can't go on! My son, I'm coming to the police station for you! My son!" she cried.
"You—how could you!"
"Brother, you must give me an explanation! My daughter married into your family and even gave you two grandsons. I’ve put in effort if not labor; how can you not save them now?"
Lu's father looked at Zhang's father and said, "They will definitely come back. Don’t worry!"
"How can I not worry? In this situation, how can you expect me to be at ease? My granddaughter is gone, my daughter is gone—how can I relax?"
With that, Zhang's father’s face darkened, and he slammed the things in his hands onto the ground. "Hmph! Brother, I’ve been giving you face here; don’t push it too far. If you don’t give our family an explanation, we won’t let this go. Don’t think you can easily brush this off with me; my Zhang family is not to be trifled with."
Lu's father hunched over, his head bowed as if he had aged twenty years in an instant, looking utterly defeated.
Inside the house, Wen Qian listened and couldn’t help but find it amusing; she felt a sense of irony regarding Lu's father's predicament. He had initially only wanted to marry into a prominent family, but did he ever consider that offending them could lead to unimaginable consequences?
Since Zhang Yan married into their family, Lu's father and Ding Cuiying had indeed treated her well—much better than how most villagers treated their daughters-in-law. However, this goodwill was built upon her suffering and torment.
"Yes, we won’t let this go! If my daughter doesn’t come back, I’ll tear down your Lu family!" Zhang’s family declared.
Seeing the two of them—one looking as if he might collapse from illness and the other lying on the ground throwing a tantrum—Zhang’s family felt truly unlucky.
"I’ll give you one more day. If we don’t see my daughter by tomorrow afternoon, I’ll dismantle your Lu family!"
The Zhang family arrived quickly and left just as fast, each face flushed with anger.
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