Chapter 182 Rumors Spread

Ye stammered, "I... I don't have any savings. I sold most of my dowry to support my family when I was living outside, and now there's not much left."

Madam Wei stared at her unpleasant daughter-in-law and asked, "How much can you offer?"

Ye lowered her head even further: "About, about fifty taels."

Madam Wei pinched her arm hard without any politeness: "Fifty taels, how dare you say that? If you don't have the money, go back to your parents' house to borrow it. Let me tell you, if anything happens to my son, you won't have an easy time either!"

Ye covered her mouth with a handkerchief and cried, her whole body trembling. When Wei saw her like this, she became even angrier.

Yue's eyes darted around a few times. It was obvious that Ye couldn't come up with much money. Judging from the old couple's current attitude, they would definitely try to find a way to get money out of the second son. In the end, wouldn't it be the eldest branch of the family who would suffer the loss?

Since things have come to this point, it's best to minimize the losses. So he said to Madam Wei:

“Mother, doesn’t my second brother have a two-courtyard house outside? Saving people is the priority right now. I think we should sell his house.”

Without a second thought, Madam Wei said, "No way! That belongs to your second brother. The house is well-built and in a good location. We can't sell it."

Madam Yue rolled her eyes and could only try to persuade her again: "But how can we come up with such a large sum of money if we don't sell the house? The General's Mansion is clearly not going to help us. Which of our other relatives can lend us so much money all at once? Besides, this is a mess that my second brother caused himself. He should at least share some of the burden. If we don't sell the house under his name, does Mother really want to sell the public property to raise the money?"

Naturally, Madam Wei was unwilling; selling off her assets was like having her heart ripped out with a knife.

The second master made the final decision: "The eldest son's wife is right, the second son's house, sell it!"

Seeing that no one spoke, Madam Wei had no choice but to back down. She glared at Madam Ye and said:

"Alright, let's sell it. Ye, go and get the deed to the house. Oh, and the rest of your dowry, and everything of value in the house. Don't hide anything!"

Yue volunteered, "Mother, I'll go help my second sister-in-law pack her things."

After saying that, he grabbed Ye's arm and went to Lu Yunbo and Ye's courtyard.

As for Madam Qiao, she originally planned to lower herself and coax Su Cheng back to the mansion with her in Liuli Lane, but she suffered a great loss. The more she thought about it, the more she hated Su Cheng and gritted her teeth. The next day, she sent Granny Wu to Madam Qiao's mansion to ask her mother, Madam Wen, for advice.

After hearing this, Madam Wen was even more disappointed in her daughter's behavior. After scolding her a few times, she still said to Granny Wu:

"Since that bitch Su doesn't know what's good for her, then I'll make her get back to the Earl's mansion covered in filth. Tell your wife to rest assured that I've made all the arrangements. This time, Su will definitely taste the bitterness of being disgraced. Go back and advise your wife that she should refrain from doing such brainless things that invite humiliation in the future."

Granny Wu cautiously probed, "Then our mistress—"

Wen sneered, "Tell her not to get involved and just wait to watch the show."

Seeing that the old lady had already made a plan, Granny Wu was relieved and went back to report to Madam Qiao.

After nightfall, several furtive figures appeared near Liuli Lane. These figures quickly arrived at the outer wall of the Su residence, looked around, and then took advantage of the darkness to climb over and enter the house.

Unfortunately, the group did not expect that there were many guards patrolling the house at night. They were quickly discovered by the guards after entering, and with a sharp whistle, they had no choice but to quickly climb over the outer wall and flee in all directions.

The guards left at the Su residence were all carefully selected by the Earl of Nanping and were extremely vigilant. As soon as they saw the thieves escape, they immediately followed, leaping over the wall and chasing after the group.

However, these thieves were quite skilled, and having gathered some supplies beforehand, they soon shook off their pursuers and fled in all directions toward the inner city. The guards behind them were momentarily stunned when they saw the group fleeing separately and lost track of them.

The following day, a rumor quickly spread in the Liuli Lane area that someone had seen several burly men running out of the Su residence the previous night.

No one knows how these people got in; they just swaggered out of the back gate of the Su residence. It's said that some people even saw these burly men being personally escorted out by the mistress of the Su residence's personal maid.

Ordinary people love to hear gossip about women in the inner quarters having affairs. By the time the servants of the Su residence went out to buy groceries, the rumors had become so offensive that many people were peeking into the Su residence and chatting amongst themselves, their faces full of contempt and sarcasm.

As the rumors spread, some even began to speculate that the woman living in the house was probably a prostitute, someone who made her living by entertaining and sending off men and women.

After the rumor had been circulating for several days, a new version emerged: it was said that the woman in the house was actually the mistress of a powerful figure in the capital, whom he kept hidden from his wife at home.

Soon, someone else came forward to testify, pointing out that the powerful figure who kept the woman was none other than the high-ranking official, the Earl of Nanping. Thus, a male protagonist was added to this scandalous rumor.

At the Nanping Earl's residence, Granny Wu hurried back from outside.

"Madam, it's all settled. These past two days, rumors have been flying everywhere. This old servant even had our people go out and add fuel to the fire. This time, even if Madam Su jumps into the Yellow River, she won't be able to clear her name."

"Hehehe, the old lady's methods are truly brilliant. She sent a few servants over the wall to cause some trouble, and when they came out, the night watchman saw them. The rumors are already flying everywhere without us even having to spread them."

The old lady Wu was referring to was not Zhang Shi, but Qiao Shi's mother, Wen Shi.

When Qiao received the good news, she couldn't hide the smug look on her face. Her mother was indeed decisive; she only needed a few servants to make that bitch Su suffer.

This time, even the Earl has been dragged into it. I don't believe the Earl won't be angry with that bitch Su.

Granny Wu excitedly recounted the rumors circulating outside to Madam Qiao, who listened with a smug expression, but still lowered her voice to remind her:

"Don't talk nonsense. It's Su's own indiscretion that brought this controversy upon her. We didn't do anything."

Granny Wu quickly patted her face a few times: "Yes, yes, this old servant misspoke, we didn't do anything."

"Alas! I never imagined the Earl truly cared for that wretched woman, leaving so many guards in that house. Otherwise, those thieves might have actually succeeded that night and slept with her. If that had happened, all the better."

Qiao also felt a little regretful. She really didn't expect the Earl to care so much about Su, even arranging the guards properly. Thinking of this, she felt a little more resentment.

Su Chengniang, I want to see if the Earl will still protect you now that you're infamous and despised by everyone.