Indeed, Wang Youfu was right; who would know better than Madam Tian, his own pillow talk partner, where Wang Youliang was in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? Even the Old Madam didn't believe Madam Tian was unaware.

The Old Master stopped questioning Wang Youfu and looked directly at Madam Tian. "Eldest daughter-in-law, you tell us. Where is our Eldest Son off to in the dead of night?"

Madam Tian felt utterly wronged, unable to voice her distress. How could she explain? Was she supposed to tell the elderly couple that what Wang Youfu said was true? That was clearly impossible. This Second Brother was truly despicable; one sentence from him had the elders questioning her now. Moreover, she couldn't claim ignorance, yet she couldn't tell the truth either.

Madam Tian paused, deciding to shift the blame entirely onto Wang Youliang, as she genuinely had no part in this; it was all Wang Youliang's doing alone. So, she feigned ignorance. "Father, Mother, Second Uncle, how would I know where the master runs off to in the middle of the night? I just thought he went to the latrine!"

The elders considered this and found it plausible, accepting Madam Tian's explanation. However, Wang Youfu clearly wasn't ready to let Madam Tian off the hook. "Oh? I didn't realize a trip to the privy could take that long. Didn't you find it strange, Eldest Sister-in-law, that your husband was gone for so long?"

Madam Tian felt sweat beading on her forehead and could only manage a dry laugh. "I must have drifted off to sleep, you see. If Qinghua hadn't gone to the Old Residence to fetch people, I probably wouldn't have even woken up yet!"

Madam Tian's excuse still had holes, but the elders evidently believed her, as Madam Tian usually maintained a good facade.

After hearing Madam Tian, the Old Madam pondered for a moment. "So, that means none of us know what the Eldest Son was up to in the dead of night. But we can't wrongfully accuse him of being a thief, can we, Second Son? Perhaps we should send your elder brother back first, and we can discuss this tomorrow?"

Wang Youfu was furious. Discussing it tomorrow? What would be left to discuss then?

Wang Qingchen was also displeased by this. He stepped forward and said, "Grandma, the door to our main hall was opened from the outside by Eldest Uncle. There should still be marks on the latch! Normally, if Eldest Uncle came to our house, even in the middle of the night, if he knocked, no matter how sleepy we were, we would open the door and welcome him in. But Eldest Uncle somehow managed to open our door from the outside and let himself in. Is this considered a proper way to visit someone else's home? If so, I must ask Eldest Uncle for some pointers later; perhaps I can do the same when I visit the Old Residence!"

Upon hearing Wang Qingchen, the Old Master asked, "Your Eldest Uncle opened the door to your main hall from the outside himself?"

Wang Qingchen nodded. "Yes, Grandpa. You know we were robbed not long ago. When I heard noises in the middle of the night, I thought a thief had broken in. But now I won't have to worry anymore; sounds in the night might just mean Eldest Uncle has come to visit! Isn't that right, Grandpa?"

The Old Master coughed awkwardly. "Qingchen, this is a matter for adults; you don't understand yet."

"Grandpa, it's precisely because I don't understand that I'm asking you adults. If you explain it to me, won't I understand?" Wang Qingchen countered.

The Old Master didn't know how to reply. Initially, he thought it might be a misunderstanding, but once Wang Qingchen mentioned that the Eldest Son had opened the main door to the Second Son's house from the outside himself, he couldn't think of any reason other than thievery for the Eldest Son to act that way. The Old Master felt a pang of heartache over his eldest son's actions. The Second Son was his own flesh and blood; how could he stoop to stealing from his own brother's home?

Although the Old Master now believed Wang Youliang had come to Wang Youfu's house as a thief, he did not want the relationship between the brothers to sour afterward. Thus, he began scheming on how to cover up for his eldest son to preserve their fraternal bond.

The Old Madam, after hearing Wang Qingchen, also understood that the Eldest Son had intended to steal. Her thoughts aligned closely with the Old Master's. "Well, we still can't call your Eldest Uncle a thief. Let's wait until he wakes up before we ask!" The Old Madam then turned to Wang Youfu. "Second Son, go carry your elder brother back to the Old Residence. We can ask him tomorrow once he's awake, can't we?"

Wang Youfu felt deeply chilled by the elders' attempt to shield Wang Youliang and completely ignored what the Old Madam had said.

"Second Son, your mother has a point. You should send your elder brother back first. We can discuss the rest tomorrow," the Old Master said. Unable to think of a better solution, he agreed with the Old Madam's stalling tactic.

Wang Youfu's family remained silent, perhaps disappointed in the elders, or perhaps heartbroken by their actions.

Wang Qingchen was also speechless regarding the elders. What kind of situation was this? Whenever the eldest son makes a mistake, all they know is how to cover it up? Thinking this, Wang Qingchen shot a fierce glare at Wang Youliang, who was still collapsed on the floor. Yet, in that brief glance, he noticed Wang Youliang seemed to have moved slightly. Could he already be awake? Did that mean he was feigning unconsciousness to let this matter slide? He certainly wished for that.

Wang Qingchen's eyes darted around, and then he smiled. "Grandpa, Grandma, since you wish to personally question Eldest Uncle about why he came, we don't need to wait for tomorrow; we can do it right now."

Madam Tian had noticed Wang Youliang waking up moments earlier. Hearing Wang Qingchen say this, she quickly interjected, "But your Eldest Uncle isn't awake yet?"

Wang Qingchen smiled. "Eldest Aunt, you don't need to worry. I learned a technique from Physician Li on how to wake up an unconscious person quickly."

"Qingchen, you have a way? This isn't a game," the Old Madam truly hoped Wang Qingchen was just joking and didn't actually know how.

"Grandma, don't worry, I really do know how," Wang Qingchen said. He stepped out briefly and returned a moment later.

Wang Qingchen held something in his hand as he approached Wang Youliang lying on the ground. He then theatrically flipped open Wang Youliang's eyes, looked briefly, and quickly stepped aside. "Eldest Uncle will wake up soon."

As expected, after a short while, Wang Youliang sprang up. "You little brat, you actually put chili peppers in my eyes! Oh, Mother of mine, it burns so much!"

Wang Qingchen secretly smirked. Serve you right for trying to steal, for pretending to be unconscious here. If we don't show you some color, you'll really think we're easy targets.

Madam Tian saw Wang Youliang writhing in pain and grew anxious. "Qingchen, how could you treat your Eldest Uncle like that? What if something serious happened to your Eldest Uncle?"

"Yes, Qingchen, is this how you treat your elders?" the Old Madam exclaimed in alarm.

"Grandma, if I hadn't done this, Eldest Uncle wouldn't have woken up. I did it for his own good. Look, isn't Eldest Uncle awake now?" Wang Qingchen said calmly.

The Old Master sighed, realizing their plan to delay was futile. He could only turn to Wang Youfu. "Second Son, your father knows your elder brother was wrong this time. But look, he was already knocked out by a blow here, and now he's in this state from the chili peppers—he has suffered his punishment. Perhaps we can let this matter..."

Wang Youfu waved his hand dismissively. "Father, if you are asking me to overlook this, then don't say another word. You can call me disrespectful to my elders or say I disregard brotherly affection—I don't care. I must thoroughly settle this matter today."

Wang Youfu said, somewhat hurt, "Father, you always tell me to look out for brotherly affection and to help Eldest Brother's family. But have you seen how Eldest Brother treats me, his younger brother? Has the world ever known a brother who goes to his younger brother's house to steal? Have you ever heard of such a thing? Since he disregards our brotherly bond like this, please, Father, do not ask me to consider brotherly affection anymore in the future. Furthermore, our home will not welcome Eldest Brother in the future."

"Second Son..." The Old Master clearly wanted to say more, but Wang Youfu gave him no chance.

"Father, please don't say anything more. This is the last time. If anything happens again, I will not let it go as easily as I have today. Take your Eldest Brother and go home!" Wang Youfu was practically ushering them out.

Wang Youliang, despite the pain, had been paying attention to the conversation. After all, if word of today's incident spread, he wouldn't be able to hold his head up in the village again. Hearing that Wang Youfu did not intend to pursue the matter further, he breathed a genuine sigh of relief. As for whether the Second Son's family would help him or welcome him in the future, he didn't care. Once he secured the patronage of Boss Xue, he would make plenty of money himself; who would care about visiting the Second Son's house then?

Seeing he couldn't persuade Wang Youfu, and with Wang Youliang hopping around in pain, the Old Master had no choice but to lead the group back, hoping to find a chance to persuade the Second Son later.

As the people from the Old Residence departed, no one in the family could sleep.

Yang Shi sighed. "Eldest Uncle is really something else. He's gotten addicted to being a thief at our place, coming again and again."

Wang Qingchen thought for a moment, feeling something was amiss. The body shape of the thief last time didn't seem as stout as Wang Youliang's, and the previous thief had moved quite nimbly, something Wang Youliang was surely incapable of.

"Mother, in my opinion, the thieves from these two times were not the same person. It seems there is more than one person eyeing the money in our home," Wang Qingchen stated.

"What? Not the same person? Are you sure?" Wang Youfu said, thinking back carefully to the last thief. He had fought that last one up close for quite a while, and the build seemed quite different from Wang Youliang's—much thinner and shorter than Wang Youliang. "It seems they really weren't the same person."

Hearing this, Yang Shi grew even more worried. Being targeted was an unsettling feeling. "Then what should we do!"

When it came to guarding against thieves, Wang Youfu genuinely didn't know what to do. He could only say, "We'll just have to live in the new house from now on. And maybe things will improve when our dog grows up!"

Wang Qingchen also couldn't come up with a good solution, as he didn't even know who the previous thief was. This feeling of uncertainty was truly unsettling.

The family couldn't discuss any better solutions and eventually went back to sleep, as there were many things to do the next day.