Chapter 372: Understood Nothing, Got Beaten Up

**Chapter 372: Clueless and Catching a Beating**

Qi Sanmei, confident her son wouldn’t really hurt her, grabbed hold of Lu Yazhi and clawed at her with nails and pinches.

Lu Yazhi had been attended by maids since birth. Even after the Lu family collapsed, she never had it rough.

At first, Zuo Shangdang supported her, but when Hou Li objected, he took over Hou Li’s chores for her.

After becoming pregnant and leaving her hometown, she lived in comfort and ease, never worrying about food or drink. While others went hungry, she always ate refined flour and rice.

Even household tasks were handled by her older sister, whom she compensated with grain.

The only time she’d ever experienced hardship was during the early days raising Lu Jin’an alone—it had been a little rough then.

Later, as the child grew, they hired a live-in maid. She had lived a life of privilege—never struck a blow in her life, let alone done any housework.

Now, after Qi Sanmei’s vicious attack, she sobbed helplessly in Zuo Shangdang’s arms, trembling like a leaf.

Zuo Shangdang was heartbroken.

He had only wanted to stop the enraged Qi Sanmei and save the woman he loved.

So he raised his arm to block her swing and gave her a slight push forward—never expecting that Qi Sanmei would go sprawling backward five or six steps before landing flat on her rear.

“Oh my! My own son dares strike his mother for some no-good hussy!”

“Dear heavens, waaah, open your eyes and see! What sin have I committed to be beaten by the son I raised with my own sweat and blood?”

“Ohhh—Zuo Nanfu, you spineless coward! Are you just going to sit there and watch your son hit me? Waaah, once he’s done with me, it’ll be your turn next!”

Qi Sanmei was truly devastated. Her whole life revolved around her son Zuo Shangdang, and she had given him everything.

Yet at home he protected that wretched Hou Li, and now, for this shameless homewrecker Lu Yazhi, he dared raise a hand against his own mother.

Waaah, life wasn’t worth living anymore—if her own son could strike her, what was the point?

Lu Yazhi stopped crying and locked her wide eyes onto the old woman on the ground. She finally realized—this was Zuo Shangdang’s mother.

Though she hadn’t seen her in over twenty years, there was still a faint resemblance to the Aunt Qi from her childhood memories.

Zuo Shangdang hadn’t expected his push to send Qi Sanmei sprawling so far.

He quickly released the woman he loved and rushed to Qi Sanmei’s side. “Mom, Mom, are you okay?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I just wanted to break things up, to pull you two apart. I… I didn’t think… I didn’t expect this to happen.”

Qi Sanmei held her side, lying on the floor howling in misery.

Zuo Nanfu, who had been sitting silently with a dark expression, watching the drama unfold, could take it no longer.

He had originally let his wife test the waters to gauge where this bourgeois girl stood in their son’s heart. But now, their son had struck his own mother.

Just as his wife said—next would be him.

He had planned to scheme slowly, but now there was no time for schemes. For all he knew, to please that woman, they might poison them tomorrow.

Without another word, he swung his cane, whaling on Zuo Shangdang’s head wildly. It wasn’t like they needed him to carry on the family line—they already had a grandson.

“I’ll kill you, you godforsaken monster! You ungrateful, unfilial brute! How dare you lay hands on your parents for some worthless floozy? You disgrace! Am I next?!”

Although Zuo Nanfu was already in his sixties, he remained strong and healthy—the cane he carried was purely for show. Not long ago, when Sister Mei took a leave of absence, he had even hauled a sack of rice back from the grain station himself.

Now, driven by anger, he swung the cane through the air and struck Zuo Shangdang hard on the head, neck, shoulders, and back.

Zuo Shangdang could only cover his head and scramble away in fear.

Remembering what had happened last time, he dared not resist—he was afraid that if he wasn’t careful, he might end up knocking Zuo Nanfu down too.

Lu Yazhi felt heartache but didn’t dare step forward. She stood nearby, clutching her fancy handkerchief and weeping pitifully.

"Waaah! Dad, please stop hitting him! You'll hurt Shangdang!”

“Waaah! Mom, say something! It's all my fault, it's all on me! Please stop hitting him! Shangdang~ Waaah~ Shangdang~”

Zuo Shangdang ached all over, and hearing his wife sobbing so miserably made him even more anxious. His temper flared.

He grabbed the cane and shouted loudly: “Stop! Have you hit me enough yet?!”

The roar stunned Zuo Nanfu instantly.

Seeing the bruises on his son’s forehead, he guiltily looked away, clutching his chest as though gasping for breath.

Zuo Shangdang believed him and rushed over anxiously. “Dad, what's wrong? Are you okay?”

A calculating gleam flickered in Zuo Nanfu’s eyes. He roughly shoved away the arm offering support. “Don't touch me! Maybe I should just die and make you happy—you clearly don’t care about us old people anymore.”

“I'm just an old man now,” Zuo Nanfu said with a trembling voice, sounding like he was holding back tears.

Zuo Shangdang was startled. “Dad, how can you say that? How would I ever think that way? What kind of person do you think I am?

I just got home and don’t even know what’s going on yet, and you start hitting and cursing me. Even the police tell someone what crime they're accused of before convicting them!

They don’t just drag someone off the street and shoot them dead, right? At least let me understand why I’m being punished!”

Lately, Zuo Shangdang had been stressed to the breaking point because of Lu Jin’an, running around kissing ass and begging for favors. Now Zuo Nanfu and Qi Sanmei were pulling this crap—he’d had enough of their nonsense.

He’d been beaten for no reason, and now his parents were crying first. Who could he possibly complain to?

He didn’t even know what was going on.

Lu Yazhi sobbed loudly, dabbing at her tears with her fancy handkerchief.

Looking around the empty house, she managed between sobs, “Jiao Jiao, what happened here?”

“Oh, Mother-in-law, why are you sitting on the floor?” Seeing Lin Zhaodi slumped against the wall, Lu Yazhi tottered over on unsteady feet and helped her up.

Lin Zhaodi stared at Lu Yazhi with tear-filled eyes. She had been absolutely terrified—the way those two old people glared at her was like they wanted to kill her. She'd been too scared to move an inch. Now that her protector was back, the tears began to flow.

Su Jiao, rattled and sore from everything that had happened today, couldn’t help but cry along with everyone else now that her mother-in-law had returned.

“Mom, waaah, you’re finally back!”

“These two old folks barged in with a group of people and ransacked our house right in front of us, waaah~”

“Where else was Grandma supposed to sit? They took everything, leaving only two stools—and those were for the two old folks! Waaah, they even hit people~”

Already furious, Zuo Nanfu saw Su Jiao pouring salt into the wound and took a wild swing at her with his cane.

“It’s my damn house, I’ll do whatever I want!

I’ll beat the life out of you, you troublemaking brat! Get out! This is the Zuo family! Take that worthless old bag with you and get the hell out!!!”