Hearing this, Zhang Cuihua's face instantly turned pale. Her gaze became evasive, and her previous arrogance vanished.

"This just shows that your daughter-in-law didn't willingly marry your son," Xia Liang continued.

Xia Liang's tone suddenly grew stern. "Then tell me, where did you get this daughter-in-law?"

Cold sweat beaded on Zhang Cuihua's forehead. She grabbed her son and tried to force her way through the crowd to escape.

"Damn, her son's wife might have been bought from human traffickers."

"Definitely. Who would willingly let their daughter marry an idiot?"

"Isn't this illegal?"

The surrounding crowd began to murmur, and some even took out their phones, ready to call the police.

Just then, her mentally handicapped son burst into tears, wailing, "Ma, they know you bought me a wife! Boo hoo hoo..."

"You idiot! Shut your mouth!"

Zhang Cuihua's eyes widened, and she slapped her son across the face without a second thought.

A bright red palm print appeared on his cheek. He immediately clamped his mouth shut, too afraid to say another word.

"I never bought a wife from any trafficker! Stop spouting such nonsense!" Zhang Cuihua shouted at the crowd.

It was a textbook case of protesting too much.

"Your own idiot son confessed! Just wait to be arrested," a bystander sneered.

With a dark expression, Zhang Cuihua insisted, "I said I didn't buy her, and that means I didn't!" She pushed her way out of the crowd and disappeared around a corner.

Xia Liang watched Zhang Cuihua's retreating figure, his gaze gradually deepening.

"Who knows Zhang Cuihua?" he shouted to the crowd.

"Master Xia, I do! That Zhang Cuihua is from the next village over, Zhang Family Village," said a man holding a hen.

"Master Xia, what should we do next?" asked a shop owner who had known Xia Liang for a long time.

"What should we do? Call the police, of course," Xia Liang said.

Zhang Cuihua definitely bought that girl from human traffickers. This kind of thing must be handed over to the Protectors.

With that, Xia Liang dialed the emergency number and truthfully reported the situation to the Protectors.

Seeing it was getting late, Xia Liang took Little Liu Lian back to the villa before driving toward Zhang Family Village.

He might have ignored it if he hadn't stumbled upon it, but now that he had, his duty as a Protector compelled him to investigate.

「Elsewhere.」

Zhang Cuihua returned to the village with her handicapped son, striding toward her home.

"Mom, my hand hurts," her son pleaded, trying to pull his hand from Zhang Cuihua's painful grip.

"Endure it," Zhang Cuihua snapped, glaring at him.

Just as she reached the entrance of her adobe house, she heard her neighbor, Old Zhao, shouting.

"Zhang Cuihua! What's the big idea, putting a bear trap by your window? My dog, Old Huang, got his leg broken by it!" Old Zhao yelled, his voice trembling with anger and distress.

"Should've killed your damn dog," Zhang Cuihua shouted back, spitting on the ground.

"Your trap crippled my dog! You're going to pay for this!" Old Zhao insisted, refusing to back down.

His dog, Old Huang, often liked to wander into Zhang Cuihua's yard to play, and he usually didn't mind. But just a few moments ago, he had heard a pitiful yelp. Rushing outside, he found Old Huang caught in the trap, unable to move.

Zhang Cuihua ignored Old Zhao and went straight into her yard.

Pushing open the main gate, Zhang Cuihua walked to a side room in the courtyard. Its door and window were locked tight. In front of them, a series of steel bear traps were laid out.

Her deceased husband had been a hunter in the mountains, which was why their family owned these kinds of traps designed for wild animals.

"Son, go stand guard at the gate," Zhang Cuihua ordered her son.

Zhang Cuihua carefully moved the traps aside, then took out a key and unlocked the wooden door. The sound of low sobbing from within made her brow furrow. Inside, sitting on the adobe kang bed, was a pale-skinned girl with round glasses.

Upon seeing Zhang Cuihua enter, the girl cried out, "Auntie, please let me go. My father is very rich; he can give you whatever you want."

"I bought you with my money, so why should I let you go? My family is relying on you to carry on our bloodline," Zhang Cuihua said scornfully.

Despair filled the round-spectacled girl's face. She had just been accepted into university and had a bright future ahead of her.

The girl prayed under her breath. Please, someone, save me.

"No one can save you," Zhang Cuihua sneered, pointing a finger at the girl, her face twisted like a Demon's. "Don't think I don't know you haven't consummated the marriage with my son. Today, even if I have to use force, I'll make my son take you!"

"Stay here and behave."

With that, Zhang Cuihua slammed the door shut again, leaving the despairing girl alone. Just then, her handicapped son ran in, frantic.

"Mom, there are a bunch of Uncle Protectors at the village entrance! Are they here to catch bad guys?" her son asked, his nose running.

"The Protectors..." Zhang Cuihua's face went white. She clenched her teeth, grabbed a nearby hoe, and ran outside.

Zhang Cuihua ran onto the street, screaming, "The Protectors are arresting innocent people! Everyone, come out and help!"

At Zhang Cuihua's call, a crowd of villagers rushed out, brandishing hoes, rakes, and brooms. They were all her relatives; in fact, half of Zhang Family Village was related to her in some way.

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