Hua Ansu certainly wouldn't tell the truth; she was only there to get to know Meng Luo's family, especially his wife.

“Uncle, I came here because I have urgent business with Mr. Meng. He hasn’t been in the Mercenary Alliance for several days, so I came to Mr. Meng’s wife’s house to check on him.”

Without even looking up, Zhao said, "Then you've come all this way for nothing, he's not here!"

"Then, Madam Meng, do you know where Mr. Meng went?"

Madam Zhao found these words quite pleasing. She wiped her mouth and looked up, "They must have gone to deal with the mine matters."

Her tone was incredibly smug, like, "Hmph, her family is rich and powerful!"

Hua Ansu: "Oh."

She sat with the air of a well-bred lady. "Mr. Meng is truly capable. I heard from Mr. Fu that he often gives away his wealth to help others."

Zhao scoffed, "Who is Mr. Fu?" And what about spending money? Only a fool would do that, but since her father was right across from her, she didn't dare to complain.

"Lord of the city, is there anyone else in Pi City with the surname Fu besides your family?"

The meat in Zhao's mouth fell into the bowl. "Ptooey, ptooey!" She almost cursed the city lord!

"You know the city lord?"

Hua Ansu said, "Yes, today is the city lord's youngest daughter's birthday banquet. I just attended it and came here. I was wondering why Mr. Meng and Madam didn't go. It turns out that Mr. Meng had something to do and couldn't go, so Madam, you stayed home with your family. You are so filial."

Zhao, who was still angry that Meng Luo hadn't let her attend such a big birthday banquet, was speechless.

She felt quite pleased to hear this, because the only thing Meng Luo appreciated about her was her filial piety, and he often praised her for it. This was the only thing the two of them could talk about.

Feeling quite pleased with herself, Zhao glanced at Hua Ansu, stood up, and gestured for her to follow. Once they reached a secluded spot, Zhao said, "Just say what you have to say."

Hua Ansu looked at Zhao Shi, who was leaning against a tree. Although this woman was a bit vulgar, she was not stupid. She was smart where she needed to be. Hopefully, she could get some information from her.

"Madam Meng is a smart woman."

Zhao raised her chin haughtily, "Stop talking nonsense and get down to business. I'm busy going back to have dinner with my parents and family."

Hua Ansu took out the map that Meng Luo had used to repay the money, and Zhao's eyes immediately turned red. "He even said you weren't his mistress, and showed you his net worth and assets!"

Hua Ansu, “…” She was wrong; this lady was still a bit silly.

She rolled her eyes. "I used to be his creditor."

"Creditor?!!"

"Ha." Zhao put her hands on her hips. "You're here to extort money, aren't you?"

"...As I said, I used to be Mr. Meng's creditor, and he has already paid back the money he owed me."

"Oh, I knew it!" Zhao said, looking like she had no way to get the money.

After a brief encounter, Hua Ansu learned that she was a woman who was obsessed with money and valued it very much. She also had a deep distrust of her husband emotionally.

"Madam, aren't you curious about how Mr. Meng will repay his debts?"

Zhao instinctively became alert. "How is it?"

Hua Ansu said casually, "He mortgaged all the mines under his name to me."

Zhao jumped up, "He gave you the mine as collateral?!"

Zhao glared at Hua Ansu, "That's impossible!"

Hua Ansu took out a stack of contracts, but only the top few were real. However, it was enough for her to fool people. "How could it be impossible? I've almost finished mining all the mines."

Faced with the undeniable truth, Zhao could not deny the devastating news that had plunged her into despair: she had gone from a wealthy woman to a poor one!