The atmosphere in front of the back room was extremely awkward.

Zhao Liben has been in the political arena for decades and has become very skilled. Naturally, he is not as naive as his children and grandchildren.

When Zhao Hao and his son left earlier, he had no hope. The old man knew that the two marriages he arranged for his children and grandchildren were for the sake of profit. Now that he was deposed and there was no possibility of recovery in his life, there was no reason for people to share the hardships with his old Zhao family. But these words really disappointed people, so Zhao Liben did not speak to stop them.

Besides, there is always a chance of something happening. Wouldn't it be great if we could get some money?

But when Zhao Liben saw that these two people, who were not familiar with each other, actually came together early in the morning, he knew that something bad was going to happen.

He had a dark face, crossed his arms, and looked at Zhou and Liu with cold eyes.

The gaze of the top three officials was naturally quite intimidating. Moreover, the two knew they were in the wrong. At this time, Mr. Liu could no longer speak, and could only hope that Zhou Jijiu could hold on.

After all, Zhou Jijiu was a Hanlin scholar and had seen the world, so he could still speak normally under Zhao Liben's scrutiny.

"Oh, old sir. To be honest, Gao Xinzheng is the emperor's teacher, and the new emperor relies on him. He can crush us to death with just a finger. Please be merciful and let us go."

"You are joking." Zhao Liben pretended to be confused, deliberately teasing Zhou Jijiu, "I am just a commoner now, how can I let you go?"

"Alas, old man, you ask even though you know the answer..." Zhou Jijiu knew that Zhao Liben was forcing him to say those two shameful words. He opened his mouth several times, but couldn't say anything.

"Of course... the engagement is cancelled." However, Mr. Liu did not have the bad habits of the Hanlin Academy, so he spoke for Zhou Jijiu.

"Break off the engagement?" Zhao Liben snorted coldly and sneered at the two of them, "I just went home and you guys are here to break off the engagement?"

"I really have no choice. I hope you can help me." Mr. Liu bowed to him, his cheeks trembling as he said, "In that case, I am willing to give Cheng Yi another 500 taels..."

Zhao Liben had been maintaining the dignity of a former senior official, but when he heard what Liu Yuanwai said, he suddenly flew into a rage and pointed at his nose and started to curse:

"Back then, you fat guy treated me to meals and gave me gifts. You tried your best to beg me, and I finally agreed to the marriage. Now that I've lost my power, you want to cancel the engagement. You are such a fickle villain! Shameful! Hateful! Detestable!"

"..." Zhao Hao also secretly rolled his eyes at Mr. Liu. He didn't expect that this fat man with a million-dollar fortune was actually such a miser.

In fact, five hundred taels of silver is not a small amount at all, it can be equivalent to hundreds of thousands of yuan in the future. Of course, compared with Mr. Liu's wealth, it is indeed a drop in the bucket.

~~

Liu Yuanwai was scolded by Zhao Liben, but he couldn't say anything back. Firstly, what Zhao Liben said was true, and secondly, he still had the evidence in his hands. It would only be bad if he annoyed him.

Anyway, getting scolded wouldn't cost him a single ounce of silver, so he lowered his head and listened silently, hoping that Zhao Liben would calm down after scolding him and throw the engagement letter fiercely in his face.

Zhou Jijiu was not so good-tempered. He was a highly praised and honest official, and he had never been scolded in front of others like this. He could not stand it even if it was a veiled criticism.

"Old Zhao, let's put things one way or the other. It was you who treated me to a meal and gave me gifts, and you tried your best to beg me, so I reluctantly agreed to our marriage." Zhou Jijiu angrily said to Zhao Liben, slamming the table.

"You can't go back on your word if you agree to it!" Zhao Liben didn't feel ashamed at all, and continued to speak confidently: "Bah, you are still a clean official! If this kind of thing gets out, who will still regard you as a clean official?"

"Alas..." Zhou Jijiu felt sore this time, and immediately sat back on the bench dejectedly and said, "Let's focus on the present first, otherwise I won't be able to pass the imperial examination..."

As he spoke, his eyes turned red and he choked up, "Old Zhao, please do me a favor and let me go. I was only 41 when I passed the imperial examination. It was not easy to be selected by luck. If I offend Prime Minister Gao, I will end my life as a fourth-rank official."

"A gentleman always keeps his word and never regrets it! Don't even think about getting the engagement letter back!" Zhao Liben refused to budge and threw the two envelopes back to the two of them without any room for negotiation.

"see a visitor out!"

"This is boring, old man..." Mr. Liu was still reluctant to get up.

"If you don't get out of here, I'll beat you out!" Zhao Liben was completely furious. He kicked over the table and yelled at his children and grandchildren standing beside him: "What are you standing there for? Go get a stick!"

"Let's go, let's go." Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhou Jijiu retreated.

Mr. Liu did not forget to pick up the two envelopes, and while chasing Zhou Jijiu, he turned back and said, "When you can't make ends meet, we can talk later."

~~

After the two left, Zhao Shouye couldn't help but complain to his father: "After all this, what's the point? Father might as well agree to cancel the engagement and get some silver."

"You know shit! This concerns the dignity and decorum of my Zhao family. You think you can get it done with just this little money?!" Zhao Liben glared at his good-for-nothing eldest son.

Zhao Shouzheng couldn't help but clapped his hands and exclaimed: "Power and might can never bend him, poverty and humbleness can never change him, my father is indeed a man of integrity!"

"They have to pay more!" Zhao Liben added quietly.

The courtyard suddenly fell silent.

After a while, Zhao Shouye came back to his senses and asked, "How much more do I need to add to make my father satisfied?"

"At least 10,000 taels." Zhao Liben said his price without hesitation. This was obviously too far from the price offered by the other party, no wonder the boss was so angry that he wanted to close the door and release the dogs.

"Dad, are you crazy because of poverty?" Zhao Shouye was shocked. He sold all the valuable things in the house and only got 20,000 taels. His father actually asked for 10,000 taels for a marriage that was obviously ruined. "Isn't this extortion?"

"I am blackmailing someone, so what?"

Zhao Liben sneered and took out two pieces of red paper from his sleeve. They were the engagement letter for their daughter that Zhou Jijiu and Liu Yuanwai had been seeking for so long.

He was leaving Beijing early tomorrow morning, and he had obviously expected those two guys to come to his door today. It turned out to be just a matter of not paying enough money...

Zhao Liben handed the two engagement letters to his second son and said calmly, "You just said that you also want to stay in Nanjing. Your father is penniless now, so I leave these two engagement letters to you for self-defense."

As he spoke, he kept looking at Zhao Hao, and it was obvious that he was speaking to his grandson. "In the future, those two families will definitely ask you for money. Remember, they will never give in until you give them enough money."

"Yes." Zhao Hao and his son hurriedly responded and accepted the instruction.

"Ah..." Zhao Liben patted their shoulders and laughed strangely, "You and your son are both old and young, so what if they don't get married for ten or eight years? They can't afford to delay. Remember, the longer you delay, the more benefits you will get."

Zhao Shouye was so excited when he heard this that he couldn't help but come up and say, "Dad, why don't I and the second brother each have one?"

"Get out!" Zhao Liben kicked him on the butt.

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