You expect me to serve your mistress? The mistress is driving this scumbag and his entire family cra

Chapter 23 I used the house deed as collateral
Fucheng Prefecture is only a tiny place, so if anything happens to someone, the news will spread like wildfire.

Rumors of Fang Chengxu divorcing his wife and remarrying swept through the streets and alleys of Fucheng like a tornado.

Many people know that a relative of the Fang family is living in the Fang residence to prepare for childbirth, and the identity of this relative has naturally become the subject of everyone's speculation.

Several daughters of local gentry gathered together and couldn't help but make sarcastic and provocative remarks towards Fang Yuan.

The young girl spoke without thinking, without any restraint, which inevitably offended some. After a while, Fang Yuan couldn't stand it anymore and started a fight.

She came from a family of military generals, and although she hadn't focused on martial arts, she was still stronger than these defenseless girls.

After a fierce fight, a little girl's face was scratched, and someone was kicked in the stomach, leaving him curled up on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

A group of people grabbed Fang Yuan's sleeves and marched to the Fang family to settle scores with Old Madam Fang.

Grandma Fang was quite unreasonable. Faced with a group of people questioning her, she not only showed no remorse but also took the initiative to strike first.

"Several people ganged up on my Fang Yuan and then accused me first, demanding an explanation from me. If my Fang Yuan hadn't known some martial arts skills, she would have suffered even more bullying today."

"It was your daughter who hit you first!"

Fang Yuan complained bitterly, "They gossiped about my older brother, saying he was ungrateful, fickle, and a heartless man!"

The other party retorted without backing down: "Are the children wrong? They secretly had illegitimate children and immediately forced the legal wife to leave. Is this the kind of despicable thing a respectable family would do? Today you've hurt my child like this. You either apologize or go to court!"

Grandma Fang was so angry that her face turned ashen, and she decided not to hold back anymore:
"This is outrageous! Do you think the Fang family is easy to bully? Our Chengxu is about to become a general! The bride-to-be is the eldest daughter of the mighty general's family."

If anyone gossips behind our backs in the future, we villagers will be easy to talk to, but what if General Tong finds out…”

The threatening intent in his words was quite obvious.

The group that had been making a fuss about settling scores immediately fell silent. No wonder the Fang family was so eager to divorce their first wife; it turned out they had managed to climb up to the powerful general's mansion!

He coughed lightly and said awkwardly:

“We’re not being unreasonable, but it’s a fact that Fang Yuan hit someone. It’s not good for a young lady to be so unreasonable and rude if word gets out.”

These words struck a chord with the elderly Chinese woman.

Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. Fang Yuan has come of age and is discussing marriage; at this time, her reputation cannot be tarnished.

"Isn't it just about money? We're the ones who beat him up, so we'll pay for his medical expenses."

After a heated argument, Old Madam Fang reluctantly agreed to pay the beaten girls a total of five hundred taels of silver.

"The money is in my son's hands. He'll send someone to deliver it to you when he gets back in a bit."

Some people questioned: "Isn't this just an excuse? I heard that your Fang family is now penniless and used to rely entirely on your former daughter-in-law's family for financial support."

Fang Yuan retorted defiantly, "Nonsense! Five hundred taels of silver is nothing, not even enough for my new sister-in-law to buy a box of cosmetics."

"Since that's the case, then give us the money now. We'll wait here. Don't think you can just dismiss us with a few words."

A group of people waited from afternoon until dusk, but Fang Chengxu still hadn't returned.

So they all became impatient and started saying all sorts of nasty and sarcastic things.

The fact that the prestigious Fang family couldn't even come up with five hundred taels of silver shows that some of the rumors weren't unfounded.

Old Mrs. Fang was concerned about her reputation, and having no money in her pocket, she had no choice but to beg Tong Zhao'er.

Tong Zhao'er resented her daughter's coldness and stinginess yesterday, and now that her daughter was in trouble, she was too busy gloating.

She flatly refused, saying, "I was kicked out of the General's Mansion penniless because of Fang Chengxu. Where would I get the money to give you? Does the Fang family have to ask others for even this little bit of money?" Old Madam Fang was furious, but she didn't lash out. "I'm just borrowing it temporarily. I'll return it to you in full when Chengxu comes back."

"Hehe, if you had left even a single pill for my daughter, I wouldn't have batted an eye at these five hundred taels of silver."

These words left Old Mrs. Fang speechless. Knowing that she was still holding a grudge against what she had said yesterday, she turned and left.

But after leaving Yixiang Garden, Old Madam Fang was in a dilemma. If she couldn't even come up with five hundred taels of silver, the Fang family would truly lose all reputation in Fucheng.

With a determined effort, he went to Liangjiang's courtyard and hesitantly explained his purpose.

Standing to the side, Aunt Yu was panting heavily with anger. How could the Fang family be so shameless? How dare they come to our door and ask for money?
Liang Jiang remained calm as she looked at Old Madam Fang: "Of course I have the money, but the several thousand taels that your Fang family owes me are still unresolved. I'm not that stupid to add new debts to old ones."

"Chengxu has been in the capital and hasn't returned yet. Those people are getting impatient and insist on dragging Fang Yuan to see the officials. Wouldn't that ruin her reputation?"

"You borrowed five hundred taels from me; I'll return it in full when Chengxu returns in a little while."

"But what if you can't pay it back? I heard that you've mortgaged almost all of the Fang family's assets."

"How could we possibly not be able to pay it back?" Old Mrs. Fang said confidently. "Even if things don't go well, my Fang family still has this house, which is more than enough to pay off your debt."

"A woman obeys her father at home, her husband after marriage, and her son after marriage. Do your words carry any weight?"

"Whoever holds the property deed has the final say."

“Words are meaningless; please forgive me for not trusting you,” Liang Jiang said casually.

In her haste, Old Mrs. Fang realized that five hundred taels of silver wasn't a large sum, and she had absolute faith in the nitroglycerin pills.

"I'll leave the deed to the Fang family's house with you as collateral. I'll come back to redeem it when Chengxu returns! Are you at ease now?"

Liang Jiang readily agreed: "Deal."

Grandma Fang immediately turned around and went back to get the house deed.

Aunt Yu said indignantly, "The Fang family's house deed is a red deed, which has been registered and filed with the government office. It is completely different from the white deed. It's useless for you to have it. You'll just end up wasting five hundred taels of silver. Why bother?"

Liang Jiang smiled faintly: "Think about it, Fang Chengxu's trip will surely end in vain. If the Fang family wants to marry Tong Zhao'er, what other way is there besides mortgaging and selling their property? The deed is in the hands of the Fang family. Once it is secretly sold, wouldn't my several thousand taels of silver also go down the drain?"

Upon reflection, Yu Ma realized that this was indeed the case.

“Miss, you are very thoughtful. In that case, the Fang family will repay the five hundred taels of silver even if they have to sell everything they own.”

"If you want to take, you must first give. We must turn the passive into the active and not be led by the nose by those who owe us money."

Yu Ma was immediately relieved. A moment later, Old Madam Fang brought out the Fang family's house deed and promptly handed over five hundred taels of silver to her.

Grandma Fang watched as Yu Ma casually pulled out a banknote from a stack of banknotes and handed it to her as if she were giving it to a beggar. Her eyes widened in astonishment.

I thought Liang Jiang's dowry money had been almost entirely squandered, but now I realize it was just a drop in the ocean.

How could I have been so foolish as to kick this god of wealth out the door? I would have been better off keeping him as a concubine.

However, one cannot have both fish and bear's paw. Tong Zhao'er's family is powerful and influential. As long as her son is successful, she will not have to worry about not having money to spend in the future.
He consoled himself, went to the front courtyard, and gave the other party five hundred taels of silver, not forgetting to put on a brave face even though he was short of money:

"Only a bunch of country bumpkins like you would be so stingy and aggressive with such a small amount of silver. Our General's Mansion doesn't even consider it a threat."

Feeling resentful, the group took the money and, not wanting to argue with her, turned and left.

Just as they turned past the screen wall and reached the gate, Fang Chengxu returned.

(End of this chapter)