So, if he really gave them a house, that house should belong to the two of them.

The two brothers started arguing again. Li Shan claimed that he had been the one to carry the man out of the mud pit, scratching his own leg on a frozen rock in the process. He also insisted he had paid more for the gentleman’s medical treatment and had personally handled washing him. Therefore, if it was just the two of them splitting the reward, the house should be his.

Li Shi retorted that while Li Shan might have carried him out, his job was over once the man was on the oxcart. It was Li Shi who had driven the cart the entire way. The night wind had been bone-chilling, leaving his fingers and face chapped raw. He added that the clothes the gentleman was currently wearing were all his, and he’d even been the one to empty the chamber pot. He had done all the hard, grueling work; his efforts couldn’t be ignored. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

None of the three would yield to the others, and the argument went nowhere. Finally, they came to an agreement: they would simply play the victim and try to get the gentleman to give each of them a house.

After all, the man was filthy rich. When that expensive white Jade Pendant at his waist shattered, he didn’t even bat an eye. Besides, he ran a respectable business like mahogany furniture, so he had to be immensely wealthy. He definitely wasn’t short on cash.

They had saved his life. Trading that for three houses was hardly asking too much.

With their plan hatched, the three of them were ecstatic.

As Li Shan and Li Shi were about to head out to rent a carriage, Li Hua was lost in thought. ’That gentleman is overwhelmingly wealthy. He’s a bit older, old enough to be my father, but from what Wanyue said, it sounds like he has no heirs.’

’I should just go with him. If I get lucky and give him a son or a daughter, won’t all his assets become mine?’

’That way, I won’t have to compete with my brothers as a mere woman, only to see this rich merchant give his entire inheritance to their sons and nephews.’

At this thought, Li Hua struck a pose in front of the water cistern, practicing the words "My lord" in what she imagined was her most seductive voice.

She had barely gotten the words "My lord" out when Li Shan and Li Shi, who had just reached the doorway, were scared back into the room.

The two brothers stared at the menacing Government Officials, so frightened they nearly wet themselves.

"We didn’t do anything! We didn’t do anything!"

"Officer, we’re law-abiding people! What is all this? You must have the wrong place!"

When they saw Chen Song step out from behind the men, Li Shan and Li Shi looked as if they had seen their savior.

The two brothers rushed up to Chen Song. "Brother-in-law! Why are the Government Officials involved? We haven’t broken any laws! Are you here to arrest our sister? She only came back to look after our mother, and she’ll be going back in a couple of days. No, today! She’ll go back today! She just had a little spat with your third brother, she’s not planning to divorce him!"

The moment Li Hua heard that, she knew her brothers were trying to push her out of the picture to get a larger share of the reward for themselves.

’Don’t even think about it!’

’Without me, they never would have had this opportunity!’

Li Hua hitched up her skirt and ran over, shouting, "I’m not going back! I have important matters to attend to. Brother-in-law, you can go about your business. I’m done with your third brother! I’ll go back in a few days to finalize the divorce with him!"

Chen Song figured out what Li Hua was planning almost instantly, and he let out a laugh that was pure exasperation.

’Birds of a feather really do flock together!’

’Except for the foolish Li’an and Shou’an, whose character is still up in the air, the rest of the old family residence is a den of vipers. They all deserve to rot together.’

"Whether you want to stay with my third brother or divorce him is your business. As your brother-in-law, I’m not getting involved. I heard you siblings rescued two rich merchants? Where are the men? I’m looking for them."

Very few people in the entire Li Family Village knew that the three Li siblings had saved a rich merchant.

The three siblings, worried someone might try to steal their credit and hoping to privately cultivate a good relationship with the merchant for a larger reward, had kept the matter a complete secret.

To prevent Chen Lin from causing trouble, they didn’t even dare to seek treatment for the merchant in the county town. Instead, they just got some medicine from an old blind man in a neighboring village and gave it to him.

They even lied to the merchant, claiming they had begged for the medicine from a special source. They said the physician was a famous one, but he had a quirk: he refused to see strangers. The two brothers claimed they had taken a great risk just to procure the medicine for him.

They had assumed that since he was a businessman, he must be incredibly shrewd beneath his gentle and friendly demeanor, and thus difficult to fool. But who would have thought? They told him their story, and the merchant actually believed it.

Even more bizarrely, the medicine prescribed by the old blind man actually worked.

The merchant’s fever quickly subsided, and even the wounds on his head, waist, and legs began to heal.

’Wasn’t heaven itself on their side?’

Chen Song knew nothing of these schemes. He only saw Li Hua continuing to cause a fuss and grew exasperated. With a wave of his hand, he ordered the constables to go inside and apprehend the men.