Chapter 167
He nodded quickly, a fawning smile spreading across his face: "Yes, yes, you're right."
"Thinking back carefully, a young lady named Tu Miaoling did come to me to borrow money, and she still hasn't paid it back. Could it be that this young lady also came to you to borrow money?"
Just then, the stall owner brought over the wontons and said with a smile, "Please enjoy your meal, sir."
Tao Tao was quite hungry. She scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, and put it directly into her mouth. After chewing and swallowing, she continued to ask, "How much money do I owe you?"
Wan Guirong chuckled and said with a hint of pride, "Not much, just two hundred taels of silver."
Not much? Two hundred taels?
That bastard is quite good at compounding interest; it was only ten taels of silver at first, but it ballooned to two hundred taels.
Her face was a little cold, and anger welled up inside her, but she was able to control herself well in the next second and continued, "Do you know the owner of the Five Fortunes Casino?"
"Of course we know each other; we've been good brothers for many years."
Seeing that she was only asking some trivial questions, he immediately relaxed, glanced at the seat, and even thought about sitting down.
Tao Tao took a bite, glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and said irritably, "Did I let you sit down?"
Upon hearing this, Wan Guirong stood up with a grin, "Is there anything else? Otherwise, I'll just get lost?"
"Let me ask you again, do you know Qing Lin from Chu Feng Pavilion?"
Upon hearing this question, he immediately looked puzzled. After thinking about it carefully, he suddenly realized, "Isn't that the top courtesan of Chu Feng Pavilion? How could someone like us possibly know those people?"
“Those pretty boys are in contact with royalty and nobility every day, how could we possibly have such contact?”
His behavior was crude, and his words revealed his disdain and disgust for those people, along with a hint of jealousy that was not easily noticed.
"In my opinion, those prostitutes don't earn as much money as I do. Although I'm a loan shark, I never do business by forcing people to buy or sell. If you need it, I'll lend it to you."
"It's just that the interest rate is a little higher, but we brothers still need to eat!"
Tao Tao raised her hand and said impatiently, "Alright, alright! Your interest rate is way too high, you know that yourself."
Wan Guirong touched his head guiltily and chuckled.
"According to the laws of the Celestial Empire, the interest rate for private lending cannot exceed 30%. Otherwise, you will not only be punished with whipping, but also imprisoned. Aren't you afraid?"
Torture? And imprisonment?
His face instantly turned green. "Oh, my dear lady, just tell me what you want me to do? As long as it's within my power, I'll do it perfectly for you."
"Wan Guirong! Tell me the truth, did you team up with Xie Ming of Wufu Gambling House to set a trap for Tu Miaoling?"
"Make her take out a large loan, then lure her to gamble at the Five Fortune Casino! Take advantage of her ignorance of your tricks, lure her in, and then you can reap the benefits."
Faced with her stern questioning, Wan Guirong's face changed drastically. "Grandma, I have never done such a thing. How could I, Wan Guirong, do something so heartless?"
"You still want to argue? Xie Ming has already admitted it. Let me tell you, Tu Miaoling will never pay the interest. She owes you ten taels of silver in principal, and she will only pay back these ten taels."
She went to the gambling den, but Xie Ming wasn't there; she was just saying all this to scare him.
"No way! Grandma, you can't do this! The interest rate is a customary agreement among everyone. If you break the rules like this, how are we supposed to survive?!"
Tao Tao sneered, stood up, and suddenly grabbed his neck, saying, "I don't care about your rules. Why should I pay interest that doesn't conform to the norm?"
"If I'm not mistaken, you must have used such methods to bankrupt quite a few people, right?!"
Wan Guirong's face changed drastically in an instant. His eyes widened in terror as he was being choked until his eyes rolled back. He couldn't muster any strength in his hands, and his henchmen all ran away, leaving no one to take the beating for him.
"Spare me...spare me...auntie...it was my fault..."
Tao Tao looked him straight in the eye and said, "Tu Miaoling doesn't need to pay interest, do you understand? If you still don't understand, then you don't need to understand."
"...I...understand, Grandma...spare me..."
He nodded hurriedly, breathless, still struggling to utter each word, his will to survive at its peak.
"I'll ask you one more time, do you know Qing Lin from Chu Feng Pavilion?"
Wan Guirong hurriedly shook her head even more vigorously, repeatedly saying that she didn't know her, as if afraid that she wouldn't believe her. Her throat made a hoarse sound, and she felt like she was about to pass out at any moment.
The onlookers laughed and pointed, feeling a surge of satisfaction at seeing the once-ruthless thugs being taught a lesson.
Tao Tao finally let go, and he suddenly fell to the ground, panting heavily, his face flushed, snot and saliva flying everywhere, looking utterly disheveled.
It was an utter disgrace for a grown man to be beaten like this by a young woman, but he still dared not retaliate.
Leng Qiao was already enough for him to handle, but he never expected that this seemingly weak young lady would also know martial arts.
He wouldn't lie in a life-or-death situation unless he was truly suicidal.
Tao Tao gave him a cold stare, shook her hand, turned around and walked away, heading towards Chu Feng Pavilion.
This time, she didn't dress up as a woman. She went into Chu Feng Pavilion openly and confidently. She felt there was no need to pretend. Men could go to Chu Feng Pavilion and leave Chun Zhu Lou, so why should women wear men's clothing to go to these two places?
She used to think that gossip was a fearsome thing; even if you didn't care, someone would always force you to care.
Perhaps it's because of the change in identity that my mindset has changed, and I've become more confident and self-assured.
She used to appear to pay little attention to what these people said, but in reality, she still felt uncomfortable with their strange looks.
She would always have some dark thoughts about the condescending attitude of those high-ranking officials towards her. Why could they look down on her? Why could they show disgust and disdain just because of her status?
Everyone dies eventually, and it is thanks to funeral directors like them that the deceased can complete their final journey in life with dignity.
They place great importance on funeral rites, yet they show no respect for the funeral directors who prepare and groom the deceased.
She doesn't consider herself to be anything truly good or beautiful; she has the flaws and shortcomings of an ordinary person. Loving money isn't wrong, loving women isn't wrong, and having ambition isn't something to be ashamed of.
But there are always some people who stand on the moral high ground to criticize women, saying they can't do this or that, so what if they're two-faced? So what if they're hypocritical and pretentious?
Ultimately, I'm happy. Everyone has their own way of surviving. As long as it doesn't affect her, I'll ignore it if I can.
But sometimes she's willing to intervene, depending on her mood.
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