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“Those people? What kind of people are they?” Mrs. Wang was still very concerned about her elder brother and immediately asked, sensing a bad premonition.

“They were from the gambling house. Your brother owes them money, and they came to collect the debt. They were fierce and menacing, saying that if your brother still couldn’t pay up next time, they would chop off his fingers— one for each time he fails to pay, until the debt is settled. Your father and I have been so worried about this that we are literally going gray. Your brother is the only male heir in our family, the pillar of our home. If something happens to him, what are we to do? It doesn’t matter if something happens to us, but your brother mustn’t be harmed. Yet those people don’t care at all about our pleas.’

Mrs. Wang was a considerable character herself and had only panicked for a moment when she first heard the troubling news. Now she quickly regained her composure, “Father, mother, how much does elder brother still owe the gambling house?”

“It seems he still owes the gambling house fifty taels of silver. We’ve already given up the livestock and other valuables in our home to pay off the debt, but we simply can’t come up with such a large sum of money.”

“Then we must borrow it. Those people from the gambling house only recognize money, not faces. They’re incredibly vicious. If we don’t show the money by the deadline, they will not spare elder brother. Let’s first borrow the silver to pay off the debt and worry about the rest later. Under no circumstances can we let anything happen to brother,” Mrs. Wang said firmly. However, Mr. and Mrs. Wang Desheng were not so optimistic.

“Daughter, it’s easy for you to say, but hard to do. With such a large sum of money to borrow, from whom shall we borrow? Your mother and I have already exhausted all possible lenders, and nobody is willing to lend us the silver. Even those who are willing can only scrape together three or four coins, not even close to enough.”

“Go to eldest uncle’s house and ask him for a loan. Eldest uncle’s family is quite well-off. Our cousin has been working as a servant girl at the Su Family for years and has saved quite a bit of silver. The money our grandparents managed themselves is also in their hands. They can definitely come up with fifty taels. The word ‘Wang’ cannot be written without two strokes; although our families split a long time ago, we are still kin. And our families have maintained good relations over the years. They won’t stand by and watch us suffer.”

“If your eldest uncle was willing to lend us the money, we wouldn’t be in such a predicament now. When we went to your eldest uncle’s house to borrow money, they wouldn’t even open the door for us and didn’t let us in,” Wang Desheng said, furious at the recollection.

“How is that possible? Eldest uncle’s family can’t be so heartless. Even if not for the sake of family ties, out of respect for grandma, they couldn’t possibly do this. Could it be some kind of misunderstanding?”

Mrs. Wang thought that although eldest uncle’s family was opportunistic, they couldn’t possibly be so cruel. In the past, they were still willing to help with small favors. Now with no other choice, they had to ask for help. Although it might be impossible to borrow the full fifty taels, they could probably borrow some portion of it. If all else failed, she would have to return to her husband’s family for help. After all, the Fourth Daughter-in-law’s family was so wealthy that fifty taels of silver should be nothing more than a trivial matter for them.

In the past, Mrs. Wang always felt aggrieved and thus disdained the small benefits Su Wenyue offered. It was not that she was truly above such things but rather more greedy. In her eyes, the benefits Su Wenyue brought to the family amounted to nothing. She had her eyes on other things long ago—Su Wenyue’s dowry surely included some fine items.

Rejected and at his wit’s end, Wang Desheng had been bitterly angry about being turned away by his own eldest brother. If such treatment came from one’s family, no wonder he was so enraged. Now he reconsidered, thinking there might indeed be a misunderstanding, as the daughter suggested:

“Perhaps it is as you say. Your eldest uncle used to not be like this.”

“Let’s go to eldest uncle’s house again. I also have something to ask,” Mrs.

Wang added. Aside from borrowing money, she had been troubled by the incident with the handkerchief and wanted to ask her cousin what really happened—how the handkerchief was switched, resulting in her being disgraced in front of the Han family members, especially since her cousin was seldom home and usually at the Su Family.

Accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Wang Desheng, Mrs. Wang went to Wang Decai’s house. After knocking for a long time, the door finally opened, but the eldest aunt, Mrs. Qian, did not greet them warmly: “What are you doing here? Haven’t you caused enough trouble for my family yet? The nerve of you to show up!”

After her outburst, Mrs. Qian left the door ajar and marched into the house, dismissively leaving the Wang Desheng family on the doorstep.

The three of them exchanged awkward glances, a little embarrassed to be left hanging like that. However, this proved that Wang Decai’s family indeed had a misunderstanding about them. Hoping that clearing up this misunderstanding would resolve the situation, they too stepped inside. They couldn’t just stand outside forever.

Inside the Main House, the entire Wang Decai family was present, including the old lady of the Wang family, Mrs. Wang Jin, who sat in the seat of honor with a stern expression. Everyone looked troubled—and even Fang Ru, the cousin who worked for the Su Family, was there with a sullen face. Seeing them, her expression darkened even more, and she snorted coldly at them.

Mrs. Wang approached with a smile, reached out, and took Fang Ru’s hand, but Fang Ru shook it off irritably. A shadow flickered across Mrs. Wang’s face, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by a smiling demeanor: “Cousin, what brings you home today? It’s so rare; I was even thinking of coming to see you.”

“Why am I home? It’s thanks to you we’re in this mess. And you have the audacity to ask! Weren’t you always envious that Fang Ru got a good job at the Su Family and was able to save quite a bit of money for our family each year? Now that Fang Ru has been dismissed from the Su Family and is in this situation, are you happy now? I always told Fang Ru not to associate with those with ill intentions. It was bound to harm her one day!” Mrs. Qian vented before Fang Ru could even reply.

Before Mrs. Wang could speak further, Mrs. Qian fired off a stream of complaints, and the Wang Desheng family began to understand a bit of the situation—Fang Ru had been dismissed by the Su Family.

Mrs. Wang endured the reprimand from Mrs. Qian. After all, they had come seeking help today and couldn’t afford to fall out with her. They would have to swallow their pride and clear up the situation first.

“Eldest aunt, what do you mean by that? Fang Ru and I are direct cousins, and we both carry the Wang family’s blood. I would be delighted to see her do well; how could I wish her ill? And how could Fang Ru have been dismissed by the Su Family? What happened?” Mrs. Wang had a suspicion that Su Wenyue might have had a hand in this. If that were the case, she was determined not to let it go.

Having vented her anger, Mrs. Qian calmed down enough for the family to explain in detail how Fang Ru had been turned away by the Su Family.

“To say she was dismissed is to put it nicely—Fang Ru was practically chased out by the Su Family. We wanted to keep it quiet, but you know how people talk.. Who knows what they will turn it into?”