"Magistrate Wu got to his current position using your wife's dowry. Your wife is a member of the Bai family and Ziqian's aunt. For the sake of the Bai family's wealth, you should..."

Before he could finish speaking, Magistrate Wu interrupted him sharply: "What nonsense are you talking about! I rely on my own abilities and talents, not on my wife's dowry!"

Shui Qing was still smiling and was about to speak when Bai Ziqian, who was beside her, blurted out: "You're talking nonsense! You dare to say that the money you donated for your official position wasn't paid by my aunt?"

My aunt brought tens of thousands of taels of silver with her, more than she could ever spend in her lifetime. If it weren't for you using it, she would have to come back to my grandmother every year to ask for more silver.

A county magistrate's annual salary is only around a hundred taels of silver, but you have four concubines, five maids, a whole bunch of servants and servants in your backyard, and more than ten illegitimate sons and daughters. Including your parents, your monthly expenses are more than a hundred taels!

Every time my aunt comes back, she cries and complains that you have taken on another concubine or had another maid's face opened. There are also official social obligations and favors to attend to. Even after adding to her dowry, it's still not enough. If you give her too little money, she will complain and look down on you. Over the years, our Bai family has gradually given your Wu family at least 30,000 to 10,000 taels of silver, right?

How could my uncle not remember!

Before, when the clerk was so angry that his hands were trembling, his beard was standing on end, and he was talking incoherently, Magistrate Wu was still able to remain aloof and indifferent. But now that it was his turn, he was so angry that he couldn't speak.

Shui Qing has witnessed this mentality firsthand.

A man who rose to prominence by relying on his wife's family background, after achieving success, doesn't think about repaying his in-laws. Instead, he's eager to get rid of or even deny it, desperately trying to prove that his achievements are due to his own abilities and hard work.

There is a man who knows how to repay kindness, but he is not Magistrate Wu; he is precisely the most typical "phoenix man" (a man from a poor background who achieves success).

Regardless of the dynasty, using a wife's dowry was a shameful thing! Especially since he was a scholar who considered himself a paragon of virtue.

Each of these items was something Magistrate Wu vehemently denied, let alone having gathered two at once.

Magistrate Wu immediately forgot all his previous plans and arrangements, and ordered his advisor, "Break down the door! Don't let any of the troublemakers inside get away!"

He had originally planned to wait until dark, then have all two hundred people disperse and rush in from all sides of the wall.

He had already observed that there were many women on the opposite embankment. Although they were dressed as men, they were clearly women, proving that there weren't many men inside!

Whether it's due to injury or other reasons, as long as they're not there, it's advantageous to their side.

Meanwhile, our side consists entirely of strong men. Once we rush in under the cover of night, dealing with a bunch of old, weak, sick, disabled, and young women will be a piece of cake.

But at this moment, he couldn't care less about anything else; all he wanted was to grab the people inside immediately!

The advisor was just waiting for his master to say those words.

Upon receiving the order, he immediately shouted, "Officer Sun, hurry! Arrange for someone to break down the door!"

Officer Sun looked completely bewildered.

If you're going to argue, just argue properly. Why start a fight over the slightest disagreement?

The crucial point is that it seems they actually lost the argument?

The master and the advisor seemed more like they were looking for trouble out of anger, but if you two were looking for trouble, you could have just argued verbally, why did you have to resort to violence for no reason!

Head Constable Sun started running, ordering his men to ram the door while angrily thinking, "The master and his advisor are just scholars! Aren't scholars supposed to be the most eloquent? In the end, they couldn't win an argument with a country woman and a half-grown child."

It's true what they say, "An incompetent general can cause the death of an entire army"—he was just that errand boy.

Above the gate was a wooden roof, and the guards were men like Hu Wenhua and Wu Laoda.

When people came to break down the door, they poured out bag after bag of lime powder.