Chapter 194: Gambling Debts
A hint of surprise flashed across Liu's face; she hadn't expected that what Xu had said was actually true.
She was smiling and about to speak when she saw a nanny come out of the house.
The old woman, holding a wooden box, said respectfully, "Madam, the Second Master instructed me to deliver three hundred taels of silver for medicinal pills to Miss Jing."
When Liu heard this, she could hardly believe it. Her second brother had never had much money, and getting him to part with it was harder than killing him.
Why did you take out the money so readily this time?
Jingwu didn't care who paid, as long as it was the two of them, husband and wife.
She nodded, took the box, and accepted it.
"Please thank your matriarch for me."
As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished from the spot.
The old woman was shocked by what she saw; it was the first time she had ever witnessed a living person disappear before her very eyes.
However, this girl is really clever; she could tell at a glance that the money was forced upon the second master by the old lady.
As Liu looked at the spot where they had disappeared, she was thinking to herself that she should find time to visit the Shao family more often, so that she could ask for their help in the future.
As she was thinking this, she lifted her leg to walk back into the house, when she saw her husband hurriedly walking back from outside, not even having time to change out of his official robes.
"My husband..."
Liu was interrupted as soon as she opened her mouth.
"Madam, how is Mother?" Lord Chen was extremely anxious and rushed back as soon as he heard the news.
"Don't worry, my husband, Mother is much better now." Liu patted his hand, personally comforting him, and recounted the events.
After hearing this, Lord Chen's face turned ashen, and he was furious. He stormed inside.
Seeing his second brother still crying, he went up and kicked him, knocking him to the ground.
"What has your mother ever done to you? How dare you two harm her! I'm going to send you both to the authorities!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Er instantly forgot all about the pain in his body, grabbed his older brother's leg, and cried and wailed.
"Brother, please don't! Brother, this has nothing to do with me! It was all done by that wicked woman, brother!"
Chen Er cried and wailed, wiping his tears and snot all over his legs: "It was this wicked woman who was unhappy that Mother gave her dowry to the maids of the eldest son's family, so she came up with this evil idea to invite evil spirits into the house and harm Mother. Brother, if you want to kill someone, just kill her, please don't kill me! I'm your own brother!"
"Mmm!" Upon hearing this, Xu's face turned bright red. She struggled to curse back, but her mouth was stuffed with a rag, and she could only make muffled noises.
She never expected that her husband would push all the blame onto her. The idea was something they both came up with together, so how come it's now hers alone?
Seeing this, Liu felt a pang of pity and took the rag away.
When Xu realized that her mouth was loosened and that she could speak again, she immediately began to confront the authorities in court.
"If you hadn't owed several thousand taels of gambling debts, would I have even set my sights on the old lady's dowry? It was you, it was you... Ah!"
Before Xu could finish speaking, she was kicked to the ground. She clutched her chest and coughed up blood.
She looked up at the person in front of her in disbelief, her eyes red and stubbornly refusing to shed tears.
"Press down the second daughter and let her speak!" The old lady closed her eyes and instructed the people beside her.
Upon hearing this, the people nearby immediately pressed the person down.
"Xu, continue!" The old lady's face was grave as she stared directly at the person in front of her. "Tell the truth!"
Xu glanced at her husband, whose face was filled with murderous intent, and, in a fit of despair, said, "He owes five thousand taels of silver at the gambling den and wants my dowry to pay off the debt. He sold my dowry, but still couldn't raise enough money. The gambling den manager threatened to cut off his hands, and he was terrified. He heard from somewhere that there was a statue of a god in the local temple, and that if he brought him home and worshipped him, his wishes would come true."
She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and choked back a sob.
“I didn’t believe it at first, but he told me that as long as I got my hands on the old lady’s dowry, he would give me half, and I…”
At this point, Madam Xu stopped talking. She quietly raised her head and glanced at the old lady sitting on the bed. Seeing that her eyes were cold, she subconsciously shrank back.
The old lady closed her eyes and weakly said to the people around her, "Send the two of them to the government office."
"Mother, Mother, you can't do this to me! You promised my aunt you would treat me well, Mother, I'll die if I go to see the gatekeeper!" Chen Er cried even harder when he heard this, struggling to crawl forward.
He was large and strong, and several times he broke free from the old women who were holding him down, but because of his large size and limited mobility, he was pushed back down.
The old lady didn't want to waste any more words with him, so she waved her hand and ordered someone to take him away.
She had promised his mother to treat him well, but she never expected to raise such an ungrateful wretch who actually wanted her dead!
Seeing this scene, Lord Chen felt very heavy-hearted, after all, he and this younger brother had grown up together since childhood and had a deep bond.
However, his biggest mistake was killing his mother because he was after her dowry.
Lord Chen walked out of the old lady's courtyard, took a deep breath, and headed out of the mansion.
He had to go to the government office in person to make sure the matter was resolved quickly.
After Jingwu returned home, he took out the statue of the deity.
She ripped off the red cloth, looked at it from left to right, but couldn't detect a trace of life from it.
She smirked, realizing he was worthless, and then slammed him heavily to the ground.
As the crackling sound rang out, a wisp of incense smoke wafted out from the shattered statue.
Jingwu watched this scene and a smirk appeared on his lips. He thought to himself, "Don't even think about getting any more offerings from the people!"
Just as she was about to get up and pack up the things again, she saw a stream of merit energy drift in from outside the window, land still on her shoulder, and merge into her body.
Jingwu was pleasantly surprised, after all, she hadn't expected to gain merit this time.
With a smile on her face, she swept the floor clean, then sat down in a chair, picked up a map, and began to check what temples were in the southwest.
Jingwu was inspecting the place when he heard a maid come to report.
“Miss, a maid from the Chen family says she has something to discuss with you.”
Jingwu found this strange. He didn't seem to know anyone with the surname Chen. Oh, right.
The family I just visited was surnamed Chen.
Didn't she just get back? Why is she suddenly sending someone to look for her?
Could it be that something has happened to the old lady again?
With that thought in mind, Jingwu quickly left the room and walked to the front door.
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