I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 168 Raising Money to Redeem the Person
"Forced?" The man lifted Lady You's chin.

"You slut! What nonsense are you spouting? You were the one who seduced me!" An Shangbin cursed, but the other men picked up his underpants from the ground, crumpled them up, and stuffed them into his mouth.

"My husband has been gone for so many years. How can a woman like me survive? I can only earn a little money by washing and mending clothes for others," Madam You said, her eyes filled with tears. "Half a year ago, I took on the job of washing clothes for Young Master An. When I delivered the clothes to Young Master An, he... he..."

Lady You cried with tears streaming down her face. "I originally wanted to end my life, but Young Master An threatened me, saying that if I dared to seek death, he would find my husband no matter where he went, and kill him so that we could become a pair of ghost lovers on the road to the underworld."

"I am but a frail woman; I may die, but if I were to implicate my husband, I would die with my eyes wide open in disgrace!"

The man seemed to be touched by Lady You's words, feeling pity for her misfortune and anger at her lack of self-respect, and said, "You believe him when he says he wants to kill me? Is there no justice in this world?"

"My lord, the common people can't fight against the officials!" Madam You cried, sobbing uncontrollably. "Young Master An is the eldest grandson of the Vice Minister of Rites, a young master from an official family, and a student at the Imperial Academy! How can we commoners afford to offend him!"

"So what if he's a young master of an official's family? How dare he humiliate a common woman? Heaven and the law will not tolerate him!" The man tenderly helped You Niangzi up and held her in his arms, then turned to glare angrily at An Shangbin, whose eyes were practically spitting fire. "You lecherous scoundrel, how dare you study the classics? I'm going to the Imperial Academy right now and ask those officials how they managed to hand over this stuff!"

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" An Shangbin struggled violently.

"Boss, this scoundrel seems to have something to say."

"Let him say it!"

"One hundred taels!" An Shangbin forced a calm expression, but his eyes were filled with panic. "I'll give you one hundred taels, let's settle this privately!"

*Slap!* The man slapped An Shangbin hard across the face. "Trying to fob me off like a beggar! You slept with my woman for half a year, and you think you can get away with just a hundred taels?"

An Shangbin was dizzy from the beating, but he heard the man's words clearly. Realizing that the group of men were just trying to extort money, he immediately raised the price, "Five hundred taels!"

Slap, slap, two more slaps landed, and An Shangbin's face was swollen like a pig's head.

"Three thousand taels! If you're short even a penny, I'll arrest you and take you to the Imperial Academy right now."

“Three thousand taels it is,” An Shangbin readily agreed, wanting to protect his reputation and future. “But I don’t have that much money with me right now, so you’ll have to give me some time.”

"You, a son of an official, have no money? You're trying to fool a fool."

The other men chimed in.

“It’s true. My family lost a lot of assets two years ago,” An Shangbin said with difficulty. “Not to mention what I have on hand, even the mansion doesn’t have that much cash right now.”

Those with quick minds immediately realized, "Oh, so your family is the An family, the maternal family of the Duke of Wei's second wife, the family that embezzled the dowry of the Duke of Wei's eldest daughter's birth mother, and whose property was later forcibly taken back by the government!"

"Pah!" the man spat fiercely. "He really is no good!"

"Boss, what should I do?"

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; let him go back and raise the money!

"But what if he hides at home and denies everything?"

"Then let that servant go back, and leave this lecherous thief as a hostage!"

The man picked up the jade pendant from the ground and said to the servant who had just been dragged in, "Go back and tell your master that by 5 a.m. the day after tomorrow, when he has gathered three thousand taels of silver, he should send it to the wild forest fifty miles west of the city. We will have someone to meet him then. If he dares to have any other ideas, I will make sure that the whole city knows what your young master has done!" The servant nodded in terror, took the jade pendant, and ran away as fast as he could.

Inside the An residence, Madam Sun, the eldest daughter-in-law of the An family, was reviewing the month's account books. "Why are the expenses so high this month?"

"Reporting to Madam, the young master received three hundred taels from the accounting office upon returning from his ten-day leave. The master also spent two hundred taels on a banquet for his colleagues. In addition, the master instructed that Aunt Qiu should receive an extra ten taels per month for her pregnancy due to her hard work. This does not include her daily meals and supplements."

Sun looked at the forty-five taels of silver below Qiu Tong's courtyard and sneered, "She's just pregnant, and she acts like she has an imperial sword. What concubine can use so much silver a month?"

The butler kept his head down and remained silent.

“Starting next month, Aunt Qiu’s allowance will be halved. Just say it’s my decision,” Madam Sun said, standing up. “If Aunt Qiu dares to cause trouble, tell her to come find me directly!”

The steward made a note of it.

After the steward left, Granny Sun advised, "Madam, Master added to Aunt Qiu's allowance, why are you so upset?"

"Am I trying to be stubborn?" Madam Sun stood up angrily. "What kind of state is our household in now? Last month, the servants' autumn clothes were delayed, the accountant had no money, and I had to use my dowry money to make up the difference. We still haven't been able to get it back from the public funds!"

"Ever since that bitch got pregnant, she's been causing all sorts of trouble. One day she says she has a stomachache and needs to call a doctor, the next she wants to eat bird's nest and shark fin soup. Doesn't she need money for everything?"

"The master only ever draws money from the public treasury; he's never asked where that money comes from!"

Granny Sun sighed. Ever since the An family was forced to donate all their property and shops to the Luoyang government, the An family's income has been greatly reduced, and the lady of the house has had to cut back on household expenses.

But the masters and servants of the entire household were used to a life of luxury, how could they endure hardship? After the lady reduced the household expenses, everyone complained about her harshness, especially the master, who repeatedly lost his temper with her over matters of managing the household.

Granny Sun sighed, "It must have been so hard for Madam."

“It doesn’t matter if I suffer a little, but I can’t let Bin’er suffer. He’s studying at the Imperial Academy, and he can’t do without writing materials. He also needs to entertain his classmates. All of this requires money.”

Madam An wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. “Brother Bin is so promising. He always ranks at the top of his class in the exams. He will surely pass the imperial examinations soon. Once he enters officialdom, he will need to spend even more money. I must make plans for Brother Bin in advance.”

Granny Sun sighed at Madam Sun's long-term planning. If the young master really passed the imperial examination, then Madam would have hope for the rest of her life.

The two were chatting happily about their bright future when the servant boy who had run back to the An residence to deliver the news broke free from the maids' attempts to stop him, knelt down with a thud, and shouted:
"lady!"

Startled by the shout, Madam Sun jumped up. Just as she was about to erupt in anger, she recognized the servant's face and exclaimed, "Peng Mo?!"

"It is indeed I," the servant kowtowed repeatedly, "Please dismiss everyone else, Madam, I have important news to report."

Pengmo was a pageboy she had personally assigned to her son. Everything he talked about was related to her son, so Madam Sun dared not be negligent. After dismissing everyone else, she anxiously asked, "Has the young master encountered any trouble?"

"Young Master was caught red-handed having an affair with a married woman," the servant said, his head bowed to the ground. "That man demanded that I deliver a message to the manor, ordering three thousand taels of silver to ransom him, or he would spread the news of Young Master's affair with a married woman throughout Luoyang!"

"What?!" The servant's words struck Sun like a thunderbolt, causing her vision to go black and her body to fall backward.

(End of this chapter)