Old Madam Gu Zhao had already pulled the bloodied thumbtacks out from the sole of her shoe. When she clearly saw what had pierced her, fear flashed in her eyes, followed quickly by a ruthless glare.
“Gu Jiu, you little bitch! You actually set these kinds of traps to harm your own family!” she cursed viciously. Then she suddenly panicked when she saw her eldest son’s miserable state.
She hobbled forward on one foot. “My son! Mother’s heart is breaking! My son, how are you? Don’t move anymore…”
“Ah! My butt hurts so much! Mother, come save me!” Gu Laoda was covered in thumbtacks, especially his buttocks, which hurt so badly he didn’t dare move. He lay sideways on the ground, tears pouring out like a fountain.
“Mother, save me too! My leg is injured…” Wu Shi cried out miserably, one leg caught in a beast trap.
Gu Jiu leaned lazily against the rooftop and said lightly, “Old Madam Gu, the traps at my gate were meant for thieves. You tried to break into my house and got injured—this is your own fault.”
Old Madam Gu Zhao was furious and hateful, but she was also worried about her son.
Yet she didn’t dare step forward. Instead, she shouted at Wu Shi angrily, “First branch daughter-in-law! You’re not seriously injured—get up and help your husband!”
“Mother, I’m badly injured too! I can’t even stand…” Wu Shi cried helplessly.
Old Madam Gu Zhao shot her a disgusted look and cursed her for being useless. But she herself didn’t dare step on those traps again—the pain from earlier had nearly knocked her unconscious.
Gu Lao’er clearly understood that only he could step forward to help now, but he also didn’t want to get pricked into a sieve.
After rolling his eyes, he quickly came up with an idea. He found a thick branch and handed it to his elder brother.
“Brother, hold onto this branch. I’ll pull you over!”
Gu Laoda gritted his teeth in anger. Holding onto the branch meant dragging himself across the ground, which would only cause more injuries from the nails.
This second brother of his was truly selfish and sinister—he had no brotherly affection at all!
But there was no other choice. He could only grab the branch.
Gu Laoda screamed in agony several times as he was dragged out of the trap area. Old Madam Gu quickly rushed over to support him, helping pull the nails out.
Each nail pulled out brought a scream, and each wound left a bloody hole.
The quiet night was filled with Gu Laoda’s howls.
Old Madam Gu Zhao and Gu Lao’er worked together to remove the nails, while the second daughter-in-law Qin Shi glanced at the eldest daughter-in-law still lying on the ground and showed no urgency to help her.
Gu Lao’er examined the thumbtacks in his hand and found them strange. He had never seen such things before.
Gu Jiu, afraid that Gu Lao’er might notice something unusual, immediately jumped down from the roof.
“Rong’er, Xiaoman, grab your weapons—we’re dealing with these bandits at the gate!”
“Got it!”
Gu Rong and Gu Xiaoman had been itching to act. Hearing their sister’s command, they excitedly grabbed weapons.
Gu Jiu took a broom, opened the gate, and shouted:
“Hit them!”
She immediately swung the broom and struck Wu Shi, causing her to scream miserably.
The others in the Gu family were stunned, but none dared to rush forward.
Wu Shi had always used willow branches to whip the third branch children in the past.
Her son Gu Dali had once taken a wooden doll made by their deceased father and falsely accused Gu Xiaoman of stealing it, then whipped her until she was covered in wounds. The little girl had cried in pain for a full month before the scabs finally healed.
Now Gu Xiaoman dragged out a large wooden stick from the house and struck Wu Shi again and again, pouring all her resentment into each blow.
“Bad person! Hit you! Hit you!”
Gu Rong couldn’t find a proper weapon, so she grabbed a broken wooden board and smashed it hard onto Wu Shi as well.
She also hated this aunt-in-law for bullying them over the past two years, and she struck with full strength.
“Ah! Stop hitting! You’re going to kill me! You little bitches dare hit me—when I get up, I’ll skin you alive and make leather coats out of you!”
Wu Shi screamed miserably.
Old Madam Gu Zhao was disgusted with Wu Shi, but since she was still family, she ordered Gu Lao’er and his wife to rescue her.
They used sticks to probe the ground carefully, sweeping away thumbtacks before dragging Wu Shi away.
Seeing her sisters sweating from the fight, Gu Jiu finally stopped swinging her broom.
“Take her and get out! If you dare come again, I’ll beat you until you can’t find your teeth!”
She warned coldly and easily leapt over the traps.
She chased Gu Lao’er and Wu Shi a few steps, hitting them again with the broom while they struggled to escape.
“Second brother, don’t abandon me!” Wu Shi cried.
Gu Lao’er didn’t want to help either, but abandoning her would be immoral.
Gu Jiu never intended to actually keep them there—she was simply playing them, chasing and hitting as she pleased.
The Gu family members, old and injured, fled in panic.
Only after they were gone did Gu Jiu return and slam the gate shut.
Old Madam Gu Zhao and the others stopped to catch their breath.
Gu Laoda lay on the ground after being carried by Gu Lao’er.
“Mother! My butt hurts so much! I must take revenge for this humiliation at the hands of that little bitch Gu Jiu!” he roared in anger, then continued howling in pain.
“Shut up! Stop howling in the middle of the night!” Gu Lao’er interrupted sharply while pulling out the beast trap from his brother’s butt.
He complained while working roughly. “If it weren’t for your recklessness, we would’ve already gotten the meat!”
“Ah! My butt! Second brother, you’re just a coward who hides behind Mother, and now you’re lecturing me?” Gu Laoda shouted angrily.
Wu Shi, bleeding heavily, also refused to stay silent. “Second brother, I just wanted to get the meat earlier! We haven’t eaten meat for half a year—I just wanted to honor Mother and Father!”
Old Madam Gu Zhao was already furious about not getting the meat, and now her children were arguing nonstop, making her even angrier.
“Enough! All of you shut up! Go home!”
There will be time in the future—she would deal with those little bastards sooner or later.