Doctor and His Glamorous Sister-in-Law

Noticing everyone's gazes fixed on her, Liu Yunxi was unafraid. She spoke out loudly and clearly, "According to the provisions of the Criminal Code, no one can act against a woman's will! Besides, the Civil Code also has very detailed explanations on this matter! You might not understand if I explain too much, so let me put it simply: no matter where this issue is taken, even if it ends up in a courtroom, Xiao Rou is in the right. I can't speak in absolutes, but her chances of winning are at least eighty percent!"

Hearing this, Er Lü blurted out, "Then what happens in the other twenty percent of cases?"

Liu Yunxi heard him and explained, "The other twenty percent is you having to pay compensation!"

As soon as she said this, Er Lü immediately shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.

What a joke. I spent 400,000 yuan and didn't even get a wife, and now I might get sued and have to pay hundreds of thousands more? I'd be completely disgraced.

Er Lü fell silent, but that didn't mean Zhang Cuifen would.

With her hair in disarray, Zhang Cuifen roared, "Bullshit! I'm Xiao Rou's mother! What I say goes! Whoever I tell her to marry, she must marry. She has to marry him even if he's a beggar! She thinks she can just refuse to marry? That's outright rebellion!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yunxi, who had always appeared gentle and mild-mannered, stopped indulging Zhang Cuifen. She retorted directly, "Why are you shouting at me? I'm just an ordinary village director! If you're so capable, go and change the law yourself! Go on, change it however you like. You can even make it a crime for me to simply exist!"

These words instantly rendered Zhang Cuifen speechless. She could only stand there, mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.

Just then, Er Lü spoke up again. "Director Liu, that's not right! I'm willing to abide by the law. But abiding by it is one thing—what about my bride price? That's a full 400,000 yuan, not four or five thousand! Zhang Cuifen took the bride price, and she adamantly refuses to return it. You can't expect me to just let that money go! Do you think my money grows on trees?!"

As he spoke, Er Lü's expression turned exceedingly grim. "Director Liu, if you tell me I can't get my 400,000 yuan back, then don't blame me for what happens next! Whatever happens then… well, who knows!"

As he finished speaking, Er Lü's cold gaze fell upon Xiao Rou, frightening her so much that she scrambled to hide behind Liu Ergou. Liu Ergou gently patted her back, comforting her and telling her not to be afraid.

Although he and Er Lü had a long-standing feud—and not a small one at that—one had to be reasonable about things. That 400,000 yuan didn't grow on trees; even he would have had to work incredibly hard to earn that much. For that reason, Liu Ergou didn't contradict Er Lü this time.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense. At this point, the elder who had been on the video call with Liu Yunxi finally spoke up.

"Excuse me, please quiet down a bit. Regarding this gentleman's concern, I can provide an answer."

As soon as the elder began to speak, the room immediately quieted down.

The elder continued, "Forcing a woman against her will is explicitly forbidden by law. No one can violate this! However, the bride price can be reclaimed. It must be returned in full—not a single cent less! In other words, while the marriage is off, there's no issue with you getting your bride price back. After all, nobody's money grows on trees!"

Having said this, the elder picked up the teacup from his desk and took a sip of water. He then continued, "Of course, if you do as you threatened and decide not to be reasonable, then the nature of this matter changes entirely. I believe you all understand what it would become. I don't need to spell it out. At that point, someone might just end up eating a bullet."

After finishing his statement, the old man quieted down and said no more. The elder had lived for the better part of a century and had seen all sorts of people. He had met countless men just like Er Lü. Dealing with someone like him was child's play.

Just a few words were enough to scare Er Lü into silence. He could only sit on his chair, sulking. Now that things had been laid out so clearly, Er Lü knew what was what. He wasn't an idiot.

He knew the marriage was definitely off. It would be useless even if the police showed up now, since he was the one in the wrong. But one thing was certain: he absolutely could not let his money go down the drain. He had earned every single yuan through blood, sweat, and tears!

So, Er Lü immediately turned his aim on Zhang Cuifen.

"Zhang Cuifen, you're not deaf. You heard what the lawyer said! I, Er Lü, am a reasonable man. Give me the 400,000 yuan, and I'll pretend none of this ever happened. We'll just let the matter drop. But it can't be a single yuan less than 400,000, you hear me?!"

Before Zhang Cuifen could even react to his words, Xiao Rou began to panic. She cried out, "Four hundred thousand? You could kill me, and I still wouldn't be able to produce that much money! Even if everyone here was willing to help me, all of us put together couldn't come up with 400,000 yuan!"

As she spoke, Xiao Rou looked at Zhang Cuifen. "Mom, please just give the 400,000 yuan back to Er Lü!"

However, upon hearing Xiao Rou's plea, Zhang Cuifen's expression remained grim, and she said nothing.

Seeing that the situation had stalled again, the elder on the phone spoke up once more. "Legally speaking, whoever received the money is responsible for repaying it. Those who were unaware of these matters don't need to concern themselves with it."

The moment he said this, Zhang Cuifen, whose face had been a dark mask of anger, was utterly dumbfounded. She froze on the spot. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that she alone would be left to bear this debt.

Four hundred thousand yuan! For a village woman like her, it was an astronomical sum.

Zhang Cuifen immediately panicked and began to wail. "I... I don't have any money! I don't have a single cent on me! Even if you killed me, I couldn't come up with that much money!"

At this moment, however, Liu Ergou suddenly spoke up. "Auntie, I happened to pass by your house the other day and overheard you say something. You said that out of the 400,000 yuan, 100,000 was untouchable because it was for your son's wedding. Why don't you return that 100,000 first? We can talk through the remaining 300,000 and take our time. Er Lü isn't a good person, but he should at least show some consideration for everyone here!"

The moment he said this, however, Zhang Cuifen froze. She shot Liu Ergou a guilty look before lowering her head.

Seeing this, Liu Ergou instantly understood. Fuck! That damned gambling addict, Zhang Cuifen! She must have taken that 100,000 yuan and gambled it all away again!