Bai Su frowned and said to Huang Qingqing, "You really are foolish. He treated you like that, so why did you pay twenty taels of silver to get a divorce?"
Huang Qingqing was a little down: "My father is a scholar who values his reputation the most. I was already being gossiped about for not being able to get married. Lu Yanping was unwilling to divorce me and insisted on a divorce letter. Otherwise, Li would make a big fuss and make it known to everyone. I didn't want to make a big fuss and trouble my parents, so I simply paid twenty taels to get a divorce letter."
Bai Su usually disliked gossip, but because Huang Qingqing had given him the hairpin, he asked a few more questions about it. After hearing Huang Qingqing's story, he asked with a hint of exasperation, "So what if you gave him twenty taels for the divorce papers? He still ruined your reputation. You can go back and see for yourself; most of your neighbors probably already know you've been divorced!"
"I want a divorce, not to be divorced!"
"Tch, being divorced and being separated are the same thing in other people's mouths."
Bai Su's casual remark made Huang Qingqing's heart pound.
So you really can't be soft-hearted when dealing with scumbags?
Gu Nanjiao stood up and went to Huang Qingqing, feeling somewhat guilty. "I also bear some responsibility. It was really reckless of me to drag you to catch him in the act without saying a word. You were angry at the time and just wanted to get away from this scumbag. I understand how you felt then. However, we can't let Yang Meiqin get away with these twenty taels for nothing."
"Do you have any good ideas?" Bai Su quickly came over, and Huang Qingqing also looked up at Gu Nanjiao.
Gu Nanjiao awkwardly touched her nose: "I don't have any for now." She looked at Bai Su: "You have a lot of ideas, can you give me some suggestions? Let's find a way to get those twenty taels back."
Bai Su took a few steps back to keep her distance: "Why should I give you ideas? It has nothing to do with me!"
Gu Nanjiao rolled her eyes at Bai Su: "Then what are you doing here? A grown man gossiping about us women, and even commenting on Qingqing."
Bai Su glanced at Huang Qingqing subconsciously, and stammered, "I...I was just standing up for her, what do you mean by criticizing? You used the wrong words."
Before Gu Nanjiao could refute, Bai Su continued, "By the way, I'm here to pass on a message from my young master. He said that you need to teach everyone how to harvest and process kudzu root, otherwise we'll be like blind men, not knowing how to harvest it or how to make it into powder."
Gu Nanjiao remembered that last time she only told Bai Luochen to give 20% of the profits to him so that he could find someone to mine and process them, but she didn't tell him the method.
"Tell Bai Luochen that I will return to Toad Village tomorrow and give the method to the workers."
"Alright!!" Bai Luochen finished explaining and turned to leave. At the door, he stopped and said to Huang Qingqing, "To deal with your scumbag husband—no, your scumbag ex-husband—you have to use scumbag methods. Being soft-hearted won't work, and being ruthless and beating him up isn't an option either. You have to use underhanded tactics!"
After Bai Luo left, Huang Qingqing seemed to be deep in thought.
Gu Nanjiao, however, was thinking that Yang Meiqin was really capable, managing to get Lu Yanping to marry her.
Madam Wang is so slow; she hasn't dealt with Yang Meiqin yet.
It seems we need to find someone to leak the news of Yang Meiqin's marriage to Madam Wang.
The next day, someone mentioned Yang Meiqin to Madam Wang. Upon hearing the news that Yang Meiqin had married, Madam Wang nearly ground her back teeth to powder.
Her daughter's body was barely cold, and this wretched woman was already getting married.
On what grounds?
She's been incredibly busy lately, while that bitch Yang Meiqin is living the high life.
As a concubine of the Wang family, how could I be qualified to marry!
...
Gu Nanjiao returned to Hama Village, where Bai Su and a group of workers were already waiting for her on the back mountain.
Kudzu root is a precious medicinal herb. Its root system is very complex, so harvesting it is quite difficult.
When digging, if you find that its roots are thick and burrowing into the soil, dig as deep as possible to avoid damaging the roots. Don't use too much force, or you might smash it with a single hoe. If you find long, vertical kudzu roots that are difficult to dig, break the kudzu stem to save energy.
Gu Nanjiao demonstrated the method of digging kudzu roots, and the workers, all native villagers and people from neighboring villages, learned it very quickly.
He then wrote down the method for making kudzu root powder and handed it to Bai Su: "If you have any questions, you can come to me. No one lives in my house right now, so you can make it here temporarily."
The house in the countryside hadn't been lived in for a long time, and since it was just sitting there, she might as well use it to process kudzu root powder. After handing the keys to Bai Su, Gu Nanjiao left without stopping.
She wanted to go see what was going on!
I wonder if Madam Wang has arrived yet.
The Lu family's house was surrounded by people, three or four layers deep, all there to watch the spectacle.
Madam Wang stood arrogantly in the courtyard, and five or six servants carried Yang Meiqin away.
Lu Yanping shouted from behind and was kicked to the ground by one of the servants.
Yang Meiqin's hair was disheveled, and she was so frightened that she turned pale.
Madam Wang slapped Yang Meiqin across the face and angrily cursed, "Shameless slut, as a concubine of the Wang family, you actually remarried."
When her gaze fell on Yang Meiqin's scar, she was surprised to find a peach blossom painted on it. She thought to herself, "That bitch managed to bewitch someone into marrying her; apparently, she can make the most of this scar by painting a peach blossom on it to seduce people."
Someone shouted, "The mistress has the right to sell her concubines. This concubine is so unruly. Why not sell her?"
Madam Wang looked in the direction of the voice and saw a large, dark crowd, but she didn't know who had shouted it.
However, this person did remind her. Madam Wang looked at Yang Meiqin coldly and said something that sent chills down Yang Meiqin's spine.
Madam Wang said, "Take Aunt Yang away and sell her to a slave trader!"
Yang Meiqin struggled and shouted, "You can't sell me! You can't! If the master finds out, he won't let you off the hook!"
Madam Wang scoffed coldly, "Master? Bah! She doesn't even know where Wang Dafu has gone."
At Madam Wang's instruction, Yang Meiqin was tied up and put on the carriage. Yang Meiqin was unwilling and shouted at Lu Yanping: "Yanping, save me, save me, I'm pregnant with your child."
Lu Yanping's expression softened slightly, and he quickly got up to save Yang Meiqin, but was grabbed by Li Shi: "Where are you going? Who knows whose bastard is she carrying?"
She was vehemently opposed to Lu Yanping marrying Yang Meiqin, but her son brought her home without explanation and stole twenty taels of silver for her.
Left with no other choice, she let Yang Meiqin in, hoping to find an opportunity to steal the money back.
Unexpectedly, fate intervened, and her lover's wife arrived, intending to sell her off.
Li was overjoyed; now Yang Meiqin claimed to be pregnant. Bah! She didn't believe it. How could such a worthless woman be carrying Yanping's child?
Lu Yanping broke free from Li Shi and stood firmly in front of the carriage, but his legs were still trembling: "You...you can't take her away, she's my wife now."
"Oh? Is that so? She's your wife?" Madam Wang glanced at Lu Yanping with disdain, her tone full of contempt.
Yes...yes.
Madam Wang laughed loudly, a laugh that sent chills down one's spine: "You had an affair with another man's concubine, resulting in her pregnancy. According to the laws of the Great Chu, you should be drowned in a pig cage."
Lu Yanping was so frightened that he fell to the ground and almost peed himself. Luckily, he managed to hold it in.
Madam Li quickly pulled Lu Yanping back, explaining with a forced smile, "Madam, that's not true. It was this slut who seduced my son. If I hadn't discovered it in time, she would have harmed him. You are the mistress; you can sell him off however you want. How dare we interfere?"
Lu Yanping fell silent. Seeing that he was sensible, Madam Wang didn't bother to pay attention to him. She waved her hand, and the servants found a rag from somewhere and stuffed it into Yang Meiqin's mouth, holding her down tightly. No matter how much she struggled, it was to no avail.
After Madam Wang left, there was no more excitement to be seen, and Gu Nanjiao secretly slipped away with the crowd.
Unexpectedly, the sharp-eyed Li noticed and yelled, "Gu Nanjiao, you jinx, did you do this?"
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