Chapter 403 Going to the He Mansion to Plead for Mercy
With a smile on her face, Du Wanchun put away the letter severing ties and said with a smile, "Alright, then please remember what I said today, Aunt Tao."
After she finished speaking, she turned around and left with her entourage.
After Du Wanchun left, Aunt Tao immediately opened the large box. Inside, there wasn't much silver, but it wasn't a small amount either, about one hundred taels of silver.
This is quite rare in the village.
Aunt Tao was overjoyed, and smiling as she held the silver inside, she said, "Great, we have silver again."
After she finished speaking, she looked up at Tao Laosan and said, "You shouldn't touch this silver. From now on, you have to listen to your mother about how to use the silver."
This time, Tao Laosan really didn't dare to do it again. He touched the back of his head and replied, "Yes, Mother."
Aunt Tao carried the silver inside with a smile, then found a large padlock to lock the red box, and finally hid it under the bed.
Tao Meiyu sat inside the house, still crying.
Tao's second son shook his head helplessly and walked into his room with his hands behind his back.
The next day, the He family came to urge them to send the concubine to their residence as soon as possible.
Aunt Tao got up early, intending to return the fifty taels of silver to the He family. However, just as she was about to open the chest to take out the silver, she found that all the silver inside was empty.
"Where is my money? Where did my money go?"
Aunt Tao was screaming wildly.
Tao Meiyu, along with the second and third sons of the Tao family and Grandpa Tao, walked in and asked her, "What silver?"
Aunt Tao pointed under the bed and said, "Where did the betrothal gifts the Zhou family gave us go?!"
Everyone looked at the empty box, their faces filled with confusion.
Aunt Tao turned her gaze to Tao Laosan, "Laosan, did you take this money again?"
Tao Laosan shook his head and said, "Mother, I really didn't take your money this time."
Aunt Tao pointed at him angrily and said, "If you didn't take it, who did?"
Tao Laosan's face immediately filled with anger, and he glared at his mother, saying fiercely, "Mother, how can you falsely accuse me? I really didn't take this money!"
Aunt Tao's face gradually turned pale.
Looking at the broken lock, Grandpa Tao said, "Wife, was our house burgled last night?"
Aunt Tao stared blankly at the broken lock. "I just received the betrothal gifts yesterday, and the thief came to my door last night?"
Grandpa Tao sighed and said, "It's all because you speak so loudly that you attracted the thief."
Yesterday, when she was receiving the betrothal gifts, she made such a loud noise that it attracted the envy of a passing thief, who stole all her silver on the very first night.
Aunt Tao collapsed to the ground and burst into tears, “That’s a whole hundred taels of silver! That heartless thief didn’t leave me a single ingot! Where am I supposed to get the silver to return to the He family!”
Grandpa Tao was so angry that he clutched his chest and cursed at her, "It's all because of you! If you hadn't provoked the He family, we wouldn't be in this situation!"
Aunt Tao was still a little resentful after being scolded by him, and said sternly, "Blame me? Why don't you blame your eldest daughter? If it weren't for her causing such a scene, she would have obediently gone to the He family, and Meiyu would have been able to marry into the Zhou family!"
Grandpa Tao, unable to bear it any longer, slapped her across the face. "Meiyu is your daughter, and Yaofang is your daughter too! Look at what you've done! You sold your own daughter to be a concubine! You deserve it!"
After he finished speaking, he waved his hand and ignored him.
Aunt Tao sat on the ground and cried.
To avoid being scolded, Tao Laosan immediately and secretly left.
Tao Meiyu went straight into the house and closed the door, no longer caring about her parents' affairs.
Only the second son of the Tao family slowly walked to Aunt Tao's side and said, "Mother, you were wrong from the beginning. If you had taken good care of my eldest sister and helped her plan her marriage, the Zhou family would have respected us as in-laws in the future. You only know that the eldest son of the Zhou family is a county magistrate, but you don't know that he will go to the capital to serve as an official in the future."
"With such in-laws, are you worried that your younger sister won't find a good husband? It's a pity that you only have your younger sister in your heart; you've ruined your own life."
The second son of the Tao family spoke, let out a long sigh, and turned to leave.
Aunt Tao sat on the ground crying, and after she finished crying, she continued to curse the thief.
After she finished crying, the He family sent someone to urge her to hurry up again.
Aunt Tao had no choice but to try to raise money at home. Unfortunately, even if her ordinary farming family dug out all the silver in the house, they would only have twenty taels left, leaving them with thirty taels.
Grandpa Tao tried to borrow money from all over the place, but he couldn't borrow a single penny.
Helpless, Aunt Tao thought of her daughter who had just severed ties with her. "I'll go find Yaofang. The Zhou family has so much silver. They only need to give us thirty taels."
Tao Meiyu stopped her, "Mother, don't forget, you and eldest sister have already severed ties. If you go now, won't you just be humiliating yourself? The severance agreement clearly states that no matter how poor we become in the future, eldest sister won't care about us. Even if we take it to the authorities, it won't do any good."
Aunt Tao immediately deflated.
Tao Meiyu thought for a moment and said, "Mother, why don't I go with you to the He residence and plead with Master He to give us a few more days? We can return the remaining thirty taels to him when we have the money later."
Aunt Tao thought about it and finally had no other choice.
That afternoon, before the He family could send anyone else to urge them, Aunt Tao brought Tao Meiyu to the He family's house.
The He family was quite polite, welcoming the two women inside with smiles.
As Mr. He walked at the very back, he looked up and happened to see Tao Meiyu, and his eyes lit up instantly.
Tao Meiyu stood behind Aunt Tao with her head down.
"Madam Tao, what brings you here?" Master He slowly sat down and had a maid pour a cup of tea for each of them.
"Madam, Miss, please have some tea." The maidservant greeted them politely and respectfully.
Tao Meiyu was flattered by being addressed like that for the first time, and she secretly raised her eyes to look at Master He.
This was her first time meeting Master He, and she was quite surprised.
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