Gu Nanjiao sneered: "I was just passing by to watch the show, why are you pushing all the blame onto me?"
Li spat fiercely: "You're so quick to deny it all, but you dare say you didn't pull any strings with Qingqing and Yanping's divorce?"
Gu Nanjiao suddenly laughed, her tone sarcastic: "Hey, you're so strange. It was clearly your son who couldn't change his ways, and Qingqing couldn't stand living with a dog that eats shit, so she got a divorce. Why don't you blame yourself for raising such a good-for-nothing dog?"
Lu Yanping looked listless, but his eyes lit up when he heard Huang Qingqing's name. He stood up, his expression somewhat agitated: "How is Qingqing? I've gone to look for her several times, but I've been kicked out by the Huang family. Do you know where she is?"
Lu Yanping's pretentious and affected words almost made Gu Nanjiao vomit.
I thought he disliked Huang Qingqing because he was bewitched by Yang Meiqin, but it turns out he's a complete scumbag at heart.
Gu Nanjiao took several steps back, looking disgusted, and said, "Alright, stop pretending to be so affectionate and disgusting. Your acting is terrible. Your old flame has probably been sold to some brothel. You should be thinking about how to redeem Yang Meiqin with money."
Lu Yanping paused upon hearing this. Yes, the most important thing right now is Yang Meiqin. She said she is pregnant with his child, and he cannot let her and her child wander outside.
He had given Huang Qingqing's twenty taels of dowry to Yang Meiqin, who hid it in the cracks between the bricks under the cabinet.
Without further hesitation, Lu Yanping turned and went into the house.
Li, grumbling and cursing, followed Lu Yanping inside.
She needed to find some money in the room; she couldn't let her son redeem that prostitute.
Gu Nanjiao didn't linger and turned to leave.
He utterly despised Lu Yanping the whole way. See? Such a disgusting person, but the moment Yang Meiqin is mentioned, he's completely smitten. He even put on a show of deep affection and asked, "Where is Qingqing?"
vomit--
...
Inside the room, Madam Li stretched out her hand towards Lu Yanping and said sternly, "Give it to me!"
Lu Yanping clutched the twenty taels of silver tightly to his chest and shook his head at Li Shi: "Mother, I can't give this to you. This is your grandson's life-saving money."
"Pah!" Li was furious. She spat twice into her palm and raised her hand to slap Lu Yanping, but he nimbly dodged it.
Li was furious. She jumped up and pointed at Lu Yanping, yelling, "You believe what that whore spouts? A whore who's been played with so much can't possibly get pregnant. She can only fool a naive kid like you."
"Mother, I don't care. This time I will never listen to you. I will definitely save them, mother and child." This time, Lu Yanping was tough and dared to directly confront Li Shi.
Suddenly, Li grabbed Lu Yanping's leg and said, "You can't go. If you dare to go, I'll kill myself right here."
“Mother, why do you always force me? It was the same when I married Qingqing. I didn’t want a divorce, but you forced me to write a letter of divorce. It was the same with Yang Meiqin. If you hadn’t stopped me from marrying Yang Meiqin in the first place, I wouldn’t have let Huang Qingqing down.” Lu Yanping’s eyes were red, and his hands trembled as he accused Li Shi.
Madam Li snorted coldly: "Son, you are my son, and I know you best. When I said you and your father are the same kind of person, I was not wronging you. You are both weak and cold-hearted by nature. You are the one who did something to wrong them, but you insist on blaming your mother."
Lu Yanzhao's breath hitched, then he became furious and hysterical, as if his thoughts had been exposed: "It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be such a failure. Today, I'm going to find a way to save Yang Meiqin no matter what. If you want to die, then go ahead and die."
Lu Yanping shoved Li Shi aside and rushed out the door.
Li's words had a huge impact on him. Lu Yanping's face was contorted, and the words "inherently cowardly and cold-hearted" kept repeating in his mind. Without paying attention, he bumped into Bai Su, who was coming towards him. The silver in his hand clattered to the ground.
"Are you blind? Why are you running so fast, rushing to be reincarnated?!"
Lu Yanping, who was picking up silver coins, heard the familiar scolding voice and looked up to meet Bai Su's gaze.
Bai Su was very strict at the nitrate mine, like a fierce and ruthless manager. He would deduct wages at the drop of a hat, and everyone was afraid of him, including Lu Yanping.
"I'm...I'm sorry..." Lu Yanping stammered, grabbed the silver and ran.
"Come back here! Where do you think you're going?" Bai Su grabbed Lu Yanping by the collar, her eyes glancing intentionally or unintentionally at the silver in his hand.
"Manager Bai, I have urgent business to attend to. I'm truly sorry."
Bai Su loosened Lu Yanping's collar, crossed her arms, and scoffed.
"You damaged my dog Wangcai and you're not going to pay for it?"
"What, Wangcai?"
Seeing Lu Yanping's bewildered expression, Bai Su picked up a cockroach from the ground and held it in her palm: "Look, this was my young master's beloved pet, bought from Yuzhou at great expense. He adored it and named it Wangcai (meaning 'prosperous wealth'). Now look what's happened, you've killed it! You're trying to cut off my young master's source of income!"
Lu Yanping said with an embarrassed look, "It's just a cockroach. You've done nothing wrong, how can you try to extort money from me!"
"Trying to extort you?" Bai Su chuckled twice and asked the mining workers beside her, "You all saw it. He was blind and bumped into me, damaging my young master's dog, Wangcai. Don't you think he should pay for it?"
The miners, now working under Bai Su, were eager to prove themselves and quickly nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, you were the one who bumped into us, you'd better pay up and settle this matter!"
"Young Master Bai's wealth symbolizes abundant fortune and prosperity. You have ruined his luck. Be careful, you might end up in jail."
Lu Yanping's face turned ashen as he gripped the silver in his hand tightly. "Manager Bai, stop abusing your power to stand up for Huang Qingqing. Do you think I don't know that Huang Qingqing gave you the hairpin because you two have been hooking up for a long time? I'm the one who's been wronged the most..." Before he could finish speaking, he was punched.
Bai Su cracked her knuckles: "So what if I'm just bullying someone? Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and pay up."
"Trying to extort me? No way."
"Oh ho, you're pretty tough. I'd like to see if your temper is tougher or my fists are tougher."
Immediately following was a cacophony of wailing and screams, with faces bruised and swollen.
...
In the Lu family courtyard, Gu Nanjiao was tasting freshly brewed kudzu root powder.
It contains hawthorn pieces, honey, and osmanthus flowers. One bite, and you're greeted with a sweet and sour fragrance. Your mouth is filled with the aroma of osmanthus and the sweetness of honey, leaving you wanting more.
I'll make some lotus root starch another day; it'll probably taste even better than kudzu root starch.
The door was opened.
Exhausted, Bai Su approached Gu Nanjiao and threw the money bag on the table: "Twenty taels of silver, I've gotten it all back."
Gu Nanjiao put down the bowl in her hand, counted the silver in her purse, and then gave Bai Su a thumbs up: "That was quick! What method did you use?"
Bai Su said irritably, "It's that Wangcai you mentioned."
"Huh?" Gu Nanjiao looked incredulous, then said embarrassedly, "I just made that up, and you actually used it! Is Lu Yanping really stupid?"
"Tch, stop pretending to be innocent. Didn't you come up with that terrible idea just to get me to go? That bastard Lu Yanping actually framed me for having an affair with Huang Qingqing. I had a short temper, so I gave him a good beating, and he obediently paid me twenty taels of silver."
Bai Su despised Gu Nanjiao. She clearly didn't want Lu Yanping to redeem Yang Meiqin, but she found ways to make him extort money from Lu Yanping. Heaven knows how tired he was. He just wanted to rest for a while, but Gu Nanjiao pushed him out to walk Wangcai.
What kind of cockroach is this? He has no idea where Gu Nanjiao caught it. If it weren't for the spicy snacks she promised, he wouldn't have done it!
Gu Nanjiao chuckled and fawned over Bai Su, giving him a couple of shoulder pats: "Brother Bai, you've worked hard. I'll have Qingqing make some more hairpins for you tomorrow. If you don't have a boyfriend, I can even play matchmaker and introduce Qingqing to you."
Bai Su suddenly stood up, her tone tinged with lingering fear: "Stop playing matchmaker! Although I'm just a servant, I have a clean record. How could I marry a divorced woman... and such a fierce one at that?" Thinking of the scene of Huang Qingqing whipping Lu Yanping, Bai Su couldn't help but shudder.
Gu Nanjiao's smile faded: "Sorry, I was just joking, don't take it seriously."
Bai Su paused, then said somewhat uneasily to Gu Nanjiao, "I didn't mean to look down on Huang Qingqing when I said that, please don't repeat it to her!"
"I can't!"
Bai Su breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving Gu Nanjiao's affirmation, but for some reason, she felt vaguely irritated.
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