The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

When the magistrate's niece announced the astronomical figure of three hundred taels, Old Master Su was so frightened that he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Good heavens! I've only gone out once in all these years, and as soon as I got out, I ran into big trouble.

Tang Yuerao didn't care whether you vomited blood or not. She ordered the servants to continue beating Old Man Su and the others. She wanted Su Qianqian to see her relatives being beaten in front of her, to make Su Qianqian feel bad, and to let Su Qianqian know the consequences of offending her, the magistrate's niece.

After the beating, they forced Old Man Su to press his fingerprint on the three hundred taels of debt.

Tang Yuerao held the IOU with a satisfied look on her face and threatened Old Man Su, saying, "If you don't pay back the money, I'll ransack your house and feed your bones to the dogs."

The eldest son's family was terrified. Faced with such a major incident, they no longer dared to dream of working as accountants at Gu's Restaurant. They quickly helped Old Man Su away.

We must hurry back to the village to ask the old lady for the money, and return as much as we can, otherwise Miss Tang will tear us apart and feed us to her dogs.

After Old Man Su and his group left, Tang Yuerao came to Su Qianqian with the IOU in her hand, looking very smug, feeling that she had finally won back the score.

"Su Qianqian, you run such a big restaurant, surely you can afford to pay back this money?"

Su Qianqian smiled and said, "Miss Tang, our third branch has already separated from the old family mansion. There is a separation document. Each family is responsible for its own debts. The old Su family mansion owes you money, so you should go to the old Su family mansion to ask for it."

"Miss Tang, you don't think I'm very sad, do you? Let me tell you a secret: my uncle's family actually came to cause me trouble today, so I should thank you for helping me drive them away."

Tang Yuerao was so angry that her face turned black. It turned out that she had worked hard for nothing all day, only to be tricked by this brat again.

In a bad mood, she pinched the maid Hongliu's hand hard, drawing blood.

Tang Yuerao was burning with rage, wishing she could set fire to Gu's house and burn it to the ground, but now was not the time.

Hongliu's hand was pinched painfully, and she asked in a low voice, "Miss, your clothes have a hole burned in them. Should we go home to change, or go to a tailor shop to buy a new one?"

Another maid, Green Willow, said, "I heard that the Guose Tianxiang Clothing Shop has been very popular lately, and even merchants from the capital are going there to buy goods." She hadn't gone with them last time, so she didn't know what had happened at Guose Tianxiang.

Tang Yuerao was terrified of hearing the phrase "a beauty of unparalleled grace," and she nearly went crazy. Grabbing Green Willow by the neck, she cried, "No, no, no—"

That Guose Tianxiang clothing store was where she was nailed to the pillar of shame, where she was deeply humiliated by Su Qianqian.

So I wore this outfit today on purpose, thinking I could wash away my previous humiliation on the spot, but I failed again.

Green Willow was terrified, but thankfully she was still alive when Tang Yuerao released her grip.

When Tang Yuerao changed her clothes and met Fang Cheng, her face was still ashen.

Fang Cheng gently advised, "Yuerao, you were too reckless. You acted on your own without even asking me. You've targeted the wrong person. Su Qianqian doesn't get along with the people at the Su family's old house."

Tang Yuerao felt extremely resentful, knowing that she had been used by Su Qianqian and that Su Qianqian was the culprit behind everything. She vowed to skin Su Qianqian alive and tear her tendons apart once the inspector returned to the capital to vent her hatred.

Since the IOU was useless, Tang Yuerao decided to tear it up and stop pursuing the people at the Su family's old house.

Fang Cheng quickly snatched the IOU, saying, "How can you let it go? Give me the IOU; I have a use for it."

Even if we don't get three hundred taels of silver, we can still get more than a hundred taels of silver by looting the Su family's old house. Why not take it?

In Lotus Village, the second son's wife kept a close eye on the movements in the yard.

When the eldest son's family returned, covered in dust and dirt, carrying Old Man Su back, the second son's wife immediately pinched his ear to make him see clearly.

"See? I told you, anyone who messes with Qian will not have a good ending. You must take this as a warning."

The second son could see clearly that the old man and the eldest son's family were all injured, especially the old man, who looked to be seriously hurt.

My wife was right. I'm so glad I didn't go with her today, otherwise I probably wouldn't have fared well.

"Wife, you're amazing."

"It's not that I'm better, it's clearly that Qian from the third wife's side who's better."

When Grandma Su saw that the old man had been carried back with blood on his face, she hated Su Qianqian to the core.

She pounded the bed frame hard, "That brat is really lawless, how dare she hit her elders! I'm going to sue her, I'll take her to the authorities."

The eldest daughter-in-law explained, "Mother, it's no use going to the authorities. It wasn't that girl who hit her; it was the county magistrate's niece who had her beaten. Father's old pipe burned a hole in that young lady's skirt, and he has to pay three hundred taels in compensation. The county magistrate's niece said that if we don't pay, she'll tear us apart and feed us to the dogs."

The eldest son's wife didn't want to report it to the authorities. The county magistrate was the highest-ranking official in the area, and if she went to report it, she'd be lucky if she didn't get a beating.

The eldest son of the Su family stretched out his hand to the old lady, "Mother, quickly give me some silver, I'll go and ask the doctor to treat Father."

He still owes the gambling den money; the money left over after medical treatment will be his.

Although the old lady was extremely reluctant, she had no choice but to take out the money.

Money is not as important as life.

After the barefoot doctor arrived, he bandaged Old Man Su's wounds and gave him several packets of calming medicine to boil and drink.

But in the middle of the night, the old man's terrified voice still rang out from the Su family home, "No, don't hit me, I'll never dare to do it again."

The shrill voice woke up everyone in the Su family.

This is because he was beaten up during the day and is now having delirious sleep at night.

The second son's wife was also awakened and slapped Su Lao Er on the back, saying, "See what happened to the old man? You must learn from this."

"Yes, yes, don't worry, wife, I've got it."

\

Fang Cheng took advantage of his day off to return to the village and went to the Su family's old house.

He was taken aback when he saw Old Man Su.

The once energetic old man, Mr. Su, is now barely alive. He looks unwell, is delirious, and drooling – all signs of an impending stroke.

They had originally hoped to use Old Man Su to suppress the third branch of the family, but it seems that they can no longer rely on him.

Fang Cheng showed the IOU to Old Mrs. Su. He not only wanted to get the money, but also wanted the old lady to thank him.

"Well, Miss Tang originally insisted on three hundred taels, but I put in a lot of good words for her, so now it will only cost one hundred and fifty taels."

Although the old lady was illiterate, her eldest son was.

"Mother, this is the IOU. Fang Tongsheng, thank you so much. I'm so grateful that you put in a good word for me."

The eldest daughter-in-law was also very grateful to Fang Cheng: "Fang Tongsheng treats us so well. If we scrape together 150 taels, we might be able to make up the difference."

The old lady, however, couldn't bear to part with the money.

That money was her retirement savings. As she got older, her health deteriorated, and she needed to see a doctor every few days, which was very expensive.

Seeing that the old lady was not moving, Su Laoda quickly stepped forward to persuade her: "Mother, don't you have more than a hundred taels of silver? How can ordinary people like us compete with officials! Even if we have to sell everything we own, we must satisfy the county magistrate's niece."

Although the old lady was selfish, she genuinely loved her eldest son.

They had no choice but to reluctantly take out all the silver, and after counting it, they found that it was only a little over one hundred and thirty taels, still short by more than ten taels.

Remembering that the second son had taken some money when the family divided the property, the old lady said to the second son and his wife, "Second son, you are also part of the family. Now that the family is in trouble, you should also do your part."

The second son's wife directly refused: "It's not our second branch's fault. We've already divided the family property, and each family is responsible for its own debts. There's no reason to involve our family."

Seeing that the second wife was determined not to give any money, the old lady had no choice but to bring out all the gold and silver jewelry she had bought over the years.

The old woman was heartbroken as she held the willow box containing the jewelry. This jewelry had once earned her the envy and jealousy of other old women, making her the most glamorous old woman in the surrounding villages.

But now, I have to say goodbye to these pieces of jewelry.

In the past, when I had money, I always had snacks and new clothes.

Now that all the money has been handed over, I won't have money to buy snacks anymore.

I can't even wear the new clothes every season anymore.

They got sick but had no money for treatment.

When she handed the box to Fang Cheng, tears streamed down her face; she was heartbroken.

He held the box tightly, unwilling to let go.

Fang Cheng forcefully snatched the box and left.

The eldest son's family and the second son's family also left the main house.

The old woman was left sitting on the wooden bed, her eyes vacant, as if her soul had been ripped away, utterly lifeless.

The old man lay on the bed with his mouth crooked, eyes slanted, and drooling.

The second son's wife returned to the second house and sighed to her second son, "What is stolen must eventually be returned. The old lady didn't keep a single penny of the dowry money she stole from the third house, and Fang Cheng won't be able to keep it either."