"No matter what, we have to scrape together fifty taels to settle this debt. Otherwise, if we really marry her off, our Yin girl's life will be ruined."

Thinking about Shi Zhenxiang's appearance and the Shi family's character, Ling Laosan felt extremely annoyed.

Why did he have to run into that porcelain piece?

But he also resented his family, because Shi Lao Er placed the porcelain secretly, and he was so focused on his work that he didn't know anything about it.

He suspected that the Shi family did it on purpose.

Lingyin walked outside the courtyard without rushing in.

She went around to a small hut behind the woodshed and put down her basket.

"Little brother, you stay here and guard these things. Come in when I call you."

If she were to put so much meat and such a large jar of wine in front of her parents right now, they would surely beat her to death.

"Yes, eldest sister should go and talk to our parents first." Ling Xiao cleverly guessed.

Lingyin then entered the courtyard.

"You're back. Where's your brother?" Qiu glanced behind her.

"My younger brother went to the outhouse."

Lingyin felt a pang of heartache seeing her parents so busy and overwhelmed.

To prevent her from marrying into the Shi family, they worked tirelessly day and night, sleeping only two hours a day.

"Father, Mother, I have something to tell you."

"Speak," Ling Laosan said without looking up as he planed the wooden board.

Lingyin had already thought about how to phrase it: "I'm going to sue the officials, I'm going to sue the Shi family."

"Huh?" Both of them put down what they were doing and looked at her in surprise.

"Why did you go to the authorities to file a complaint?" Qiu asked.

"What kind of people are the Shi family? That porcelain is really valuable, would they be willing to leave it in a dangerous place without reminding Father, letting Father break it?"

"They claim it's some kind of antique, but it's definitely a lie. They're trying to trap Dad."

“They used this incident to threaten my family, forcing me to marry Shi Zhenxiang. What’s the difference between that and coercion? So I’m going to file a complaint with the authorities and ask the county magistrate to give our Ling family justice.”

"The county government will invite professional appraisers to identify whether an antique is genuine or fake, whether it has been handled by a famous kiln, and what year it was fired."

Ling Laosan and his wife had their doubts about the authenticity of the porcelain, but the Shi family insisted that it was an antique, and that it had been blessed and specially used to protect the Shi family. They demanded fifty taels of silver in compensation, so they had no choice but to accept the result.

"What if it's true? What if it really is worth fifty taels?" Ling Laosan asked, frowning.

“Even if it’s true, we’ll just pay the price. Besides, Shi Zhenxiang was crippled in the street today and lost his fertility. The county magistrate wouldn’t support me marrying him.”

"What? Shi Zhenxiang has been crippled? Is it true?" The couple were shocked to hear this, and then felt a surge of joy.

Given Shi Zhenxiang's appearance, the thought that their daughter might be forced to marry him made them want to beat him up. And now they've heard such good news?

Qiu stopped applying salt, and Ling Laosan stopped planing the wooden boards.

Coupled with what their daughter said, they felt that things were developing in a direction that was beneficial to their family.

Fearing that passersby might hear, Qiu quickly pulled her daughter into the house.

"Let's go inside and talk."