Chapter 102 Ancient World: Stepmother (19)
"Brother, they must hate you to death."
On the way back, her younger sister, Li Huanxi, looked worried.
"That's good."
Changqing was in a good mood. He had no feelings for that family, nor did he dare to. Otherwise, they would really think he could be taken advantage of and would shamelessly try to take advantage of him.
Besides, he wasn't afraid of being resented.
Li Qingyue caused such a big problem, and the clan chief didn't help to smooth things over for nothing.
The Wang family's son has a broken leg; can it really be let off so easily?
Heavy bleeding is unavoidable.
Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth. In the story, the original owner had to take the blame for something that could have been solved in other ways. Wasn't this bullying? It seemed that in that family's eyes, the original owner's reputation, or even his life, was probably not as important as money.
"Hehe, let's see if they can still afford to support Li Qingyue's studies and examinations after this massive hemorrhage."
Changqing gave a cold laugh.
In fact, the cost of Li Jiaping's actions was greater than he had imagined.
The officials had just left.
Li Fusheng started arranging to sell his land. You should know that he also had more than ten acres of land, and he was selling half of it at once.
It goes without saying how important land is to farmers.
That land was like their lifeline; selling five or six acres at once was a huge deal.
Of course, the price wasn't cheap either, at twenty taels of silver per mu. Selling six mu of land would cost one hundred and twenty taels of silver. In a market where a dozen taels of silver was enough for a family to eat for a year, this was undoubtedly a huge sum of money, and not something any single family could afford.
Changqing was somewhat tempted.
After all, land is basically passed down from ancestors and belongs to the family property. Under normal circumstances, no one would sell it, because no one wants to be scolded as a spendthrift descendant.
Now, Li Fusheng is forced to become a spendthrift grandson.
Unfortunately, Changqing didn't have much silver.
He couldn't just take the silver directly from his spatial storage; it was difficult to explain.
In the end, the land that Li Fusheng sold was bought by several families in the village, but he showed no sign of happiness.
The reason is simple.
The money from selling the land needs to be used for bribery.
Changqing kept a close eye on things and often heard the system talk about those upsetting things.
Li Fusheng's house was in complete disarray.
Li Qingyue was afraid of retaliation, so he dared not go to school and hid at home. Li Fusheng sold the land and spent the money, so he was naturally in a bad mood and had no patience for his family. He often lost his temper at home.
"You're all causing trouble for me! Why can't you just study properly? Why do you have to hang out with those scoundrels! Now look what's happened, you've squandered all the inheritance left by our ancestors!"
Li Qingyue kept his head down and remained silent; he dared not provoke his father, who was in a fit of anger.
Li Fusheng glared at his daughter again.
"You good-for-nothing girl, you can't even do any work properly, all you do is eat at home and be a freeloader. What's the use of raising you?"
Li Xiangling muttered to herself, "At least I didn't cause any trouble outside..."
"You're still arguing back!"
Li Fusheng kicked over a chair, startling Li Xiangling so much that she trembled and ran away.
Zhao Lianhua hesitated for a moment before trying to persuade him, "Father, the child didn't do it on purpose..."
"Shut up too!"
Li Fu was furious.
"You can't even control your own children, how could I have married such a useless piece of trash like you? The Li family's misfortune is mainly your good son, Li Changqing!"
Thinking back to his good reputation in the village, compared to now, where people even call him "Li the Skinflint," he realized he was now a nobody.
He was so angry that his face trembled.
The look in his eyes as he looked at Zhao Lianhua turned hostile.
"Tell me, aren't you the nemesis of our family? Ever since you married into our family, nothing good has ever happened... I shouldn't have married you!"
Li Fusheng's voice was like a thunderclap in her ears. Zhao Lianhua's heart trembled, and tears streamed down her face.
"Stop crying! Get up and cook!"
Li Fusheng had no time to coax people; he was already a spendthrift, so why should he care about anything else?
Just then, a figure appeared at the door, and he quickly went to greet him.
"Chieftain!"
The family members hurriedly put down what they were doing and gathered around.
The old clan chief took the hot water Zhao Lianhua brought, took a sip, and sighed.
"The other party has agreed to a settlement."
Everyone's expressions relaxed.
"It's good that we can reconcile, that's good. It won't delay Qingyue's next imperial examination..."
Li Fusheng expressed his gratitude repeatedly.
Li Qingyue also breathed a sigh of relief, straightening his back slightly. Scientific expeditions were a lifesaver; they were really useful.
Zhao Lianhua secretly wiped away her tears, a huge weight finally lifted from her heart. Only Li Xiangling pursed her lips, her heart unmoved. This had nothing to do with her in the first place; she had been scolded a lot these past few days, and she was in a bad mood.
However, the old patriarch was not finished speaking. He glanced at Li Xiangling and hesitated for a moment.
"However, they have one condition."
The Li family members were all taken aback and quickly asked what the conditions were.
The clan chief sighed softly, "The Wang family boy broke his leg. Although it's healed, the doctor said he'll still have a slight limp. Even with compensation, it won't be easy for him to find a wife in the future, so..."
"So they said, why don't the two families turn their enmity into marriage and become in-laws? That young man from the Wang family had met Xiangling in town and had a good impression of her."
Upon hearing this, the Li family members were stunned.
To become in-laws?
"I won't marry him!"
Li Xiangling immediately jumped up and down.
Her brother broke someone's leg; how could she possibly have a good life after marrying him?
Besides, she didn't want to marry a disabled man. It sounded so bad. She was studying embroidery in town and had met many of her brother's classmates, some of whom were quite successful in their studies and came from good families. If she were to marry, she should marry someone like that—someone who would become an official's wife. How could she marry a disabled man, especially someone she had a grudge against?
"You have no right to speak!"
Li Fusheng glared at his daughter, then looked at the clan chief and asked cautiously, "So, how much dowry is the Wang family prepared to offer?"
Li Xiangling felt a chill in her heart. Did her father mean he was planning to sell her?
The clan chief shook his head. "The Wang family's idea is that the marriage is considered an apology, and a small sedan chair will be carried into the house. Nothing else will be done."
Li Fusheng's face turned ugly.
Isn't this an insult? But he glanced at his son, who looked flustered, and didn't immediately refuse.
"Chief, we need to consider this matter."
The clan chief nodded. "Reply as soon as possible. I have done my best. Moreover, the Wang family has already declared that if we do not agree to their demands, they will cause a scene outside the examination hall and let the examiners know about it."
The Li family members' expressions changed.
"We will consider it carefully."
Li Fusheng's expression was extremely solemn.
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