Full House Spring

Chapter 122 Debt payment

Cui's body trembled slightly, and her eyes revealed uncontrollable anger. She glared at Yang Botao like a wild beast and roared:
"How dare you! You are just a lowly merchant, and my son is a scholar with a good reputation. Why do you keep biting him?"

Yang Botao often dealt with people from all walks of life. He didn't care about Cui's weak appearance. He caught a glimpse of Xia Li's indifferent look and knew what was going on. He raised his lip and said in a serious tone:
"It is only natural to pay back debts. No matter who your son is, as long as I have the IOU, he will never default on his debt. Could it be that the Second Madam of the Kuang family can't even come up with three thousand taels of silver?"

Cui pursed her lips and subconsciously looked at Xia Li. She suppressed her anger and said, "Although I am the second wife, three thousand taels of silver is too much. I can't take it out at once. I need the public to pay to solve our problem."

Xia Li's face darkened, and he said in an unhappy tone: "Second Aunt's abacus beads are about to fall on my face. You have a nice idea. Why should we pay for a useless burden like Kuang Chengming? What contribution has he made to the Kuang family besides causing trouble?"

Cui's face was filled with anger. She stared at Xia Li with her eyes and snorted coldly, "No matter what, our second branch has not yet separated from the family and lived alone. Since you are the head of the family, you have the responsibility to settle this matter."

After that, she looked at Yang Botao again and said shamelessly: "You can ask our grandmother for the money. Our second house has a share of the public money."

Cui could afford the three thousand taels of silver, but it hurt to take so much at once. Since there was someone in the family who was in charge, she would naturally make a fuss.

Xia Li walked to the head and sat down. She sat in a dignified manner with a strong aura. She looked at Yang Botao with a half-smile and said, "This person who owes money has nothing to do with me. This is not how the public money should be used. Every grievance has its perpetrator and every debt has its creditor. Boss Yang should find whoever he should find. Just don't bother me."

Xia Li picked up the teacup and looked at Cui calmly. Yang Botao didn't dare to confront Xia Li, so he turned around and shouted at Cui: "Second Madam Cui really intends to ignore her son for that little bit of money? If so, I will take people to see the officials."

Kuang Chengming had been beaten by Yang Botao once, and fearing that he would be beaten again, he grabbed Cui's arm and begged, "Mom, I won't go with them. Please say something to save me."

Cui pretended to be tough and said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here and I don't think anyone would dare to take you away."

She looked at Xia Li fiercely and gnashed her teeth and said, "Chengrui's wife, we are a family after all. Are you really going to watch someone die without helping? Aren't you afraid that I will complain to the old man?"

Xia Li said slowly, "Look at what Second Aunt said. The old man is so angry at your good son. You are not afraid that the Chengrui brothers will come back to settle accounts with you, but you are still thinking about filing a complaint. It's really ridiculous."

Cui said fiercely in her heart: "I can't care about that. If you don't give me the money today, I will never let you go."

Shi Mi took a step forward and immediately shouted outside the house: "Everyone waiting outside, come in, someone wants to be disrespectful to the master."

Before she finished her words, several strong guards came in. Nanny Zhou stood beside Xia Li and said coldly:
"Second Madam may have forgotten that we have many girls who accompany us. It all depends on whether you are capable of getting close to them."

Cui's pupils shrank when she heard this, and she said fiercely, "Chengrui's wife, what do you want to do to me?"

Xia Li put the teacup heavily on the table and said expressionlessly, "I should be the one asking Second Aunt this. I want to know why you won't let me go."

The situation was stronger than the person. Cui slowly lowered her eyes, a self-deprecating smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She seemed to have taken off all her disguises, and there was a hint of imperceptible compromise in her tone.

"Okay, I was wrong about what I said, and I apologize to you, but you really can't just stand by and watch this happen."

Xia Li raised her eyebrows and said softly, "The money in the public treasury was earned by the bloody battles of the Kuang family. It was not used to pay off your son's debt. There is no such thing as sitting back and enjoying the fruits of others' labor. Considering that Kuang Chengming and my husband are related by blood, it is not impossible for me to ask for a favor for you."

After that, she turned to look at Yang Botao, raised her chin and said, "I wonder if Boss Yang can be flexible and return the money to you two days later. After all, three thousand taels is not a small amount, and Second Aunt will have to spend time to prepare it."

Yang Botao raised his eyebrows slightly, and a malicious smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. His eyes flickered and he said, "This matter is not without room for negotiation. I heard that the eldest daughter of the Kuang family is the second wife's daughter. If she doesn't have enough money, I can give her up, but she must marry me. Once we become a family, everything will be easy to discuss."

Kuang Chengming's eyes lit up, and he said with great joy: "Mom, please agree to it. Boss Yang's idea is very good. Now that Yulin has found a reliable man, we don't have to pay back the money. This is really a happy thing for everyone."

Xia Li was shocked by his shameless remarks, his face full of disbelief. Cui's body trembled slightly, as if struck by lightning. She couldn't believe that her son, whom she had high hopes for, would say such a thing.

She opened her mouth several times before she uttered, "She is your sister from the same mother. How dare you push her into the fire pit? Where is your conscience?"

Kuang Chengming said insincerely: "How can you say that, mother? Boss Yang has a big family and a big business. If my sister follows him, she will wear gold and silver and enjoy endless wealth and splendor. What's wrong with that?"

Cui slapped her son on the face and said bitterly, "How can you be so careless about the relationship between brothers? It was obviously your fault. Why should your sister clean up the mess for you?"

Kuang Chengming shouted anxiously, "What can I do? That's three thousand taels of silver, not a small sum. Anyway, my sister will get married sooner or later. At least the Yang family has servants and no worries about food and clothing, so she won't be wronged."

Cui closed her eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "You can easily abandon your sister now, but when I am old and useless in the future, will you be able to easily abandon me?"

Kuang Chengming panted and said, "Mom, this is not the same thing. You are my mother, and I should be filial to you. This is different from my sister's situation."

Cui was too lazy to listen to his nonsense. She turned to look at Xia Li, her face pale as she said, "Daughter-in-law Chengrui, please ask for mercy on my behalf. We will pay off the debt in a few more days."

Cui's attitude was clear. She did not intend to use her daughter to pay off the debt. This made Xia Li look at her with a higher opinion. She nodded slightly and said to Yang Botao:

"Boss Yang, you've heard it too. My second aunt has no intention of selling her daughter. You should just give up on it. We won't delve into how this IOU came about, but we can't just say whatever you say. We can discuss the money, but we need a few days' grace. If you can't agree, I'll have to let my husband talk to you in person."

Others may not know Kuang Chengrui's ability, but Yang Botao knows it. He wants to get close to Kuang Chengrui by targeting Kuang Yulin. Yang Botao narrowed his eyes, weighed the pros and cons, and said generously:

"Since Grandma Kuang has spoken, I will give him another three days. I hope that Master Kuang will return the money to me in three days, so that I don't have to go to his house to ask for it and cause trouble." Kuang Chengming shamelessly said, "Boss Yang, please rest assured that my mother will prepare the money. We in the Kuang family have always kept our promises."

Yang Botao gave him a disdainful look, bowed to Xia Li, then turned and left. Cui collapsed to the ground powerlessly, and Kuang Chengming hurried over to support her. Xia Li did not intend to get involved in the affairs of the mother and son, as she had to go see the old man.

When Xia Li arrived, Yu, Kuang Yuru and Kuang Chengzhi were all in the old man's room. Kuang Chengzhi was carefully helping him drink medicine. He was so angry that he fainted. After seeing the doctor, he was found to be fine.

Yu walked up to her daughter-in-law and said with a gloomy face, "It's really unfortunate for our family that you have to suffer as well. How did you resolve this matter in the end? You can't use the public account to pay back the money you owe."

Xia Li saw that the old man was also staring at her, as if he wanted to know the result quickly, so she said calmly:

"At first, Second Aunt was unwilling to pay the debt and wanted me to settle the matter, but I ignored her. Then Boss Yang wanted to eat swan meat and proposed that my eldest sister marry him to pay off the debt."

The old man's breathing became heavy, and he was furious and said, "You little bastard, you are wishful thinking! Even if my daughter from the Kuang family doesn't want to marry, she will never give herself to such a lowly person!"

Xia Li hurriedly spoke to comfort him, "Grandfather, don't be angry. Second Aunt is kind-hearted and rejected the proposal immediately. I mediated and asked Boss Yang to give her three days' grace. By then, Second Aunt should be able to collect the money."

The old man's expression eased a little, and he said in a deep voice:

"Didn't Cui embezzle a lot of money? She shouldn't be unable to come up with even three thousand taels of silver. Let them solve this matter themselves. She will take care of the aftermath of the good son she raised."

Upon hearing this, Yu's lips curled up slightly. She had seen through everything now. Whether she could live comfortably in the second half of her life would depend on whether her son could live up to her expectations. She turned to Xia Li and said, "You've heard what your grandfather said. Next time you encounter something like this, you must not bother with it."

Xia Li nodded and agreed without hesitation. Who wants to care about their trivial matters? Yu walked up to the old man and said meaningfully:
"Father, the West Courtyard is getting more and more out of order. If they continue like this, I'm afraid Chengming and Yulin will get into big trouble sooner or later and implicate Chengrui and the others. If our family wants to move up, we can't continue to act on our emotions."

Yu's desire to divide the family property became more and more urgent, and she didn't care what Kuang Chengzhi would think when he heard it. Xia Li took small steps to stand behind her mother-in-law. Although she didn't speak out to support her, her attitude was very obvious.

The old man seemed to have aged a lot after this incident. After he pondered for a moment, he said seriously, "It's only a matter of time before the family is divided. Let's wait until Chengming and Yulin get married. Chengzhi still needs to stay with me. He's not close to the West Courtyard. Can you tolerate him?"

This was the first time that the old man had given in on the matter of dividing the family. Yu was very happy. She said calmly:
"Chengzhi is good at martial arts, and he will serve in the garrison in the future. He and his elder brother and third brother can take care of each other, so it is appropriate for him to continue to stay at home. We will arrange his marriage in the future, and father does not need to worry."

The old man patted Chengzhi's shoulder gently and whispered, "You have also heard what your aunt said. Your sister-in-law has no objection. You will be the eldest son of the eldest house in the future. Don't interfere in the affairs of the West Courtyard. Just take care of yourself, just like before."

Kuang Chengzhi's eyes were slightly red, he pursed his lips, and finally couldn't resist the helplessness of reality, and said in a hoarse voice: "Grandfather, don't worry, I know what is important and what is not, and I will live my life steadily in the future."

The old man loves Kuang Chengrui and him the most. He has high hopes for his eldest grandson and Chengzhi is really the one he has brought up with great care. In this family, he is the one who worries about him the most.

After returning from the front yard, Xia Li leaned against the Luohan bed. Du Ruo massaged her legs and whispered softly, "Master, do you think the Second Madam will ask you for money again?"

Xia Li took a candied fruit and stuffed it into his mouth, then said slowly, "She doesn't dare to come again. The old man is ruthless and doesn't care about this matter. She can only solve it herself. I don't know how Kuang Yulin will react when she knows that her brother wants to use her to pay off his debts."

Shi Mi smiled and said, "It's easy. I can just let someone tell the young lady about this. She will be more careful when she knows about it, so that she won't be sold and have to help count the money in the future."

Since Xia Li wanted to separate the West Courtyard, she naturally didn't want to see the brothers and sisters get along as one. She waved her hand to call Shi Mi to her side and whispered something in her ear. Shi Mi's eyes rolled and she said with a smile, "I'll do it right away. Master, just wait and see."

Kuang Yulin was detained in the house to copy books and could not go anywhere. She had almost finished copying a chapter, but because of her big movements, a drop of ink fell on the paper. She was so angry that she wanted to overturn the desk to vent her anger.

Just then, Qingque came back from outside. Kuang Yulin said angrily, "Where have you been slacking off again? I think you are itching for a lesson, right?"

Qingque shrank her neck and said hesitantly, "Miss, calm down. I went out to get information. Something happened to the Second Master..."

Kuang Yulin's attention was immediately drawn, and he quickly asked, "What happened to my second brother? Isn't he studying hard at Master Zeng's house? What else could have happened to him?"

Qingque said cautiously, "I don't know from whom the Second Master learned the bad habit of gambling. He owed more than three thousand taels of silver to the gambling house. The gambling house owner brought people to the mansion to collect the debt..."

Kuang Yulin said with an unpleasant expression: "How is it possible? How could my second brother owe so much gambling debt? How can my mother have so much money to pay off the debt? Could it be that he needs to pay it back from the public treasury?"

Qingque shook her head and said hesitantly, "The eldest madam is adamant that the public treasury will not pay, and our wife is reluctant to pay the money. The second master actually said... that he would marry the girl to Yang Botao to pay off the debt."

Kuang Yulin's face turned pale with anger, her eyes flashing with rage, and she said in shock and anger: "What did my mother say? Could it be that she also had this intention?"

Qingque took a step back in fear and said timidly, "The Second Madam objected immediately, but the Second Master said that if the girl married the gambling house owner, she would have servants to call and food to wear, and there would be nothing wrong with that."

Kuang Yulin's chest rose and fell violently, and it was obvious that she was greatly stimulated. She said angrily: "Kuang Chengming wants to sell me to pay off his debts, but he won't have an easy time. I will scratch his face."

Kuang Yulin, filled with rage, rushed into Kuang Chengming's room regardless of anything. Seeing Kuang Chengming making a fuss, he started scratching his face. Kuang Chengming was just a weak scholar, so how could he resist? Soon his face was scratched.

(End of this chapter)