Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 548 Sister-in-law, please have some self-respect!
Drink the wine as soon as it's in your mouth.

Eat the food as soon as it's in your mouth.

A whole bunch of nice words go in one ear and out the other.

The moment the topic of borrowing money came up, he immediately wiped his mouth and was about to leave.

Wang Xifeng was so angry she felt like she was itching to get rid of something.

In order to get through the crisis, she did not hesitate to give Lin Dao some advantages.

This outfit has never been shown to Jia Lian before.

But Lin Dao only glanced at it a few times and then stopped paying attention, focusing on eating and drinking with his head down.

Even someone like Wang Xifeng couldn't compare to the food and wine on the table.

For the proud and arrogant Sister Feng, this was an unbearable disrespect.

Wang Xifeng pressed Lin Dao back into his chair and sat down, then leaned close to him, arm in arm, and served him food and wine again.

Gentle words and sweet talk, wine, women, wealth and power.

Someone else might be so captivated by the slightly strong aroma that they might just hand over their money.

Unfortunately, Wang Xifeng was facing Lin Dao, a veteran of countless battles.

Her methods were indeed somewhat useful before the internet age.

But Lin Dao is a man of great experience and knowledge; how could he possibly fall for this?

"Sister-in-law."

"I'll say it again."

"With collateral, any amount of silver is negotiable."

"Don't even mention 30,000 taels, even 300,000 taels would be fine."

"But if there is no collateral, then please refrain from asking, lest it damage our relationship."

"I'm really not Boiling Sheep~"

An annoyed Wang Xifeng asked curiously, "Who is Fei Yangyang?"

"It's just a stray dog, don't worry about it."

Lin Dao waved his hand, "It's getting late. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

"If we eat at the same table, it won't be good if Brother Lian comes back and sees us."

The mere mention of Jia Lian caused Wang Xifeng to completely forget about the movie "Boy in the Big Blue House," her heart filled only with endless resentment.

"Don't mention that heartless bastard!"

Seeing that Lin Dao was completely unresponsive, she thought of Jia Lian, that disgusting bastard.

Wang Xifeng took a deep breath, and the mountains rose and fell.

She turned her head and instructed Ping'er, "Go to the small kitchen and keep an eye on the soup-making process."

When Wang Xifeng married into the Rongguo Mansion, she had several maids who accompanied her as part of her dowry.

At that time, Jia Lian had quite a few maids and concubines in his room.

But now, only Ping'er is left.

As the sole survivor, Ping'er's keen observation and shrewdness are undoubtedly exceptional.

Second Grandma understands perfectly.

They said they wanted her to watch over the soup-making process, but in reality, it was just a way to get her out of the way.

Without a doubt, Wang Xifeng was trying to pull off a big move by offering a taste of sweetness.

The quick-witted Ping'er subconsciously said something.

"Second Grandma~"

Some things, once you take that step, you can't take it back!
Wang Xifeng narrowed her phoenix eyes and swept her sharp gaze across the crowd.

"Ok?"

Helpless, Ping'er could only lower her head and retreat.

However, she still left a loophole for Wang Xifeng by leaving a crack in the door.

After Ping'er left, Wang Xifeng raised her fair arm and placed it on Lin Dao's shoulder.

With seductive eyes, she leaned closer and said, "Good brother, your sister-in-law has truly been driven to the brink of despair."

"You can't just stand by and watch your sister-in-law be driven to her death, can you?"

"What about Brother Lian?" Lin Dao frowned seriously. "He took a lot of money, why didn't he help you?"

Wang Xifeng gets angry whenever Jia Lian is mentioned.

"Don't mention that heartless bastard!" Wang Xifeng gritted her teeth. "He wishes I were dead!"

"correct."

Wang Xifeng then asked, "How much silver did that bastard take from you?"

"I haven't calculated it. We're all brothers, I never care about such things." Lin Dao shook his head. "Over so many times, it must be twenty or thirty thousand taels."

"what?!"

Upon hearing the number, Wang Xifeng exploded, "So much?!"

If she could have those twenty or thirty thousand taels of silver, plus what Grandmother Jia gave her, and her own private savings,

That's enough to get through this difficult time.

But that bastard would rather go out and indulge in debauchery than give himself a single tael of silver. Is he trying to force me to my death?
Wang Xifeng, seething with anger, was somewhat unsure, "Are there really that many?"

"Let's not talk about what happened in Yangzhou."

Lin Dao waved his hand, "Once we arrived in the capital, Brother Lian would come to ask for it every few days."

"Sometimes it's over a thousand taels, sometimes seven or eight hundred, and the least is five hundred taels."

"You know, I treat Lian Erge as a brother, and I never care about material possessions."

Wang Xifeng carefully considered the intelligence she had gathered.

Jia Lian was very arrogant and domineering when he was away from home. Every time he hosted a dinner party, it was at one of the most prestigious restaurants in the capital.

One banquet there costs dozens of taels of silver.

Add to that the currently popular girls, and it's practically a bottomless pit.

If you go every night, you can quickly spend all the thousand or so taels of silver.

Upon questioning the servants, it was learned that Jia Lian had spent a large sum of money to promote the actor.

While others would give rewards in the form of copper coins in baskets, Master Lian would simply throw silver!
His reputation for generosity had already spread throughout the capital.

No wonder Jia She wanted to beat him up so often.

At this moment, Wang Xifeng's emotions were like a volcano about to erupt.

Envy, jealousy, and hatred intertwined.

She suddenly stood up and, under Lin Dao's astonished gaze, stepped onto his lap.

Lin Dao was shocked and quickly waved his hands and shouted.

"Sister-in-law, please take the initiative~"

"Pooh!"

"Sister-in-law, please have some self-respect!"

"I'm not that kind of person!"

"Good brother." Wang Xifeng, her pretty face as red as a sunset, stretched out her arms to embrace his neck, her breath sweet as orchids.

"You should help your sister-in-law too!"

"Sister-in-law, you mustn't!" The righteous Lin Dao shook his head repeatedly. "What if Second Brother Lian saw this?"

"Don't mention that bastard!" The more Jia Lian was mentioned, the angrier Wang Xifeng became. Originally, she only wanted to offer him a little something, but her anger emboldened her.

You're out there having a good time and then you call me a slut!

'Fine, I'll show you how shameless I can be today!'

Ping'er, carrying the soup tray in both hands, carefully returned to the outside.

She stopped in her tracks, frowned, and stamped her foot.

The noises coming from inside the house left her helpless.

"Second Grandma, there's no going back now."

Ping'er, still unwilling to give up, secretly peeked through the crack in the door after setting the soup bowl aside.

One glance was enough to frighten her quite a bit.

The Azure Dragon and White Tiger fought fiercely, and the wine and dishes on the table fell to the ground.

Ping'er went out of the courtyard and stood guard outside, stopping all the maids, servants, and those who came looking for Wang Xifeng.

The sun was setting, and dusk was approaching.

After tidying himself up, Lin Dao took out a silver note and threw it in front of Wang Xifeng.

Upon seeing the fifty taels on the silver note, Wang Xifeng's face instantly turned from rosy to pale.

"What do you mean?"

"Not enough?" Lin Dao shrugged and took out another bill, throwing it over.

"You!" Wang Xifeng roared, standing up angrily. "What do you take me for?!"

“That’s enough.” Lin Dao frowned. “Even the most skilled prostitutes at Chunhua Qiuyue Tower only charge a few dozen taels for an overnight stay.”

Wang Xifeng was furious and lunged at him, scratching him, yelling, "Do you take me for...?"

"if not?"

Lin Dao pushed her away, saying, "You were on your own the whole time, what does it have to do with me?"

"But to be honest, sister-in-law, you have really good stamina."

Wang Xifeng was furious and grabbed the wine pot to smash it, but Lin Dao shattered it with a single punch.

"Sister-in-law," Lin Dao looked down at her, "you don't actually think I'd lend you thirty thousand taels just like that, do you?"

"Even the Empress wouldn't pay this price!"

"Back then, you lent money at exorbitant interest rates, driving countless people to desperation and ruin."

"Now, can you feel their despair?"

Watching Lin Dao's departing figure, Wang Xifeng collapsed to the ground and wept bitterly.

Despair, true despair.

Wang Xifeng's self-esteem was crushed and rubbed into the ground, leaving her heart ashen.

I don't know when, but Ping'er came in.

He helped Wang Xifeng to her bedside in the inner room and fetched water for her to wash up.

After finishing her work, Wang Xifeng, who had cried herself to sleep, finally fell into a deep sleep.

I slept soundly until the sun was high in the sky the next day.

With a blank expression, Wang Xifeng sat on the bed, wiping her forehead, and ate the rice porridge that Ping'er fed her, bite by bite.

"Where is that bastard?"

Upon hearing the question, Ping'er cautiously replied, "Second Master Lian hasn't returned yet."

"Heh~~~"

A disdainful sneer, brimming with a multitude of emotions.

After eating the rice porridge, Wang Xifeng's pretty face turned slightly cold, and she raised her hand to pull off the headband on her forehead.

He got up and dressed with Ping'er's help.

Second Grandma

Ping'er cautiously began, "The wives and servants from each household are all waiting for a reply."

Wang Xifeng was the official housekeeper of the Rongguo Mansion; all the staff reported to her.

However, these were all trivial matters; the real decisions were made by Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang.

"Just say I'm sick, don't care!"

She realized that she was just an open scapegoat.

Now that they are desperate and have nowhere else to turn, they have no time to care about such trivial matters in the household.

Ping'er looked at her with a puzzled expression, but Wang Xifeng strode away.

"Go find that bastard!"

When they arrived at the room where Lin Dao was staying, Ping'er suddenly realized that the "big bastard" that her second grandmother had mentioned was actually Young Master Lin.

Upon closer reflection, it does indeed live up to its name.

Her arrival was also quite opportune; Lin Dao had just finished attending the morning court session in another time and space and had just changed his clothes before coming over.

He was somewhat surprised to see Wang Xifeng at first glance.

"not enough?"

Wang Xifeng gritted her teeth and instructed, "Ping'er, Xiao Hong, you two go out."

Ping'er obediently left the room, but Xiao Hong looked at Lin Dao.

Her indenture had already been given to Lin Dao, so naturally she had to listen to him.

"It doesn't matter."

Lin Dao smiled and waved to Xiao Hong, "Sister Feng can't eat me."

The door closed, and the two sat down.

There wasn't even tea served, let alone any polite greetings.

Wang Xifeng got straight to the point from the very beginning.

"Your household has many fine things; would you like to accept them?"

"Good stuff?" Lin Dao asked with a smile. "What good stuff?"

"Crystal glass lanterns of various colors are quite valuable."

"No." Lin Dao immediately shook his head. "It's just a glass lamp, I don't want it."

“A glass kang screen, and Western clocks.”

"No, I don't want anything made of glass."

There's no shortage of glass in the forest; it's everywhere in the modern world.

Wang Xifeng frowned. "Twenty bolts of soft silk gauze?"

"This is acceptable." Lin Dao nodded. "I'll take it, half the market price."

Without a doubt, this is already a fair price; at least they didn't take advantage of the situation and reduce it to one-tenth.

Having finalized the deal, Wang Xifeng, her face as cold as ice, got up to leave.

Lin Dao called out to her and took out a silver note, waving it around.

'spit!'

Wang Xifeng spat and turned to leave.

Lin Dao, who was sitting there, burst into laughter.
They've already started selling off their assets; the Rongguo Mansion won't last much longer.

(End of this chapter)