Since Madam Shen was not in charge of the household, she naturally did not understand the situation of the Marquis's mansion. She was unaware that the Marquis's mansion was no longer what it used to be.
Fifty-five thousand taels was a considerable sum for them, not to mention the terrible interest.
As soon as she finished speaking, the guests watching the play immediately chimed in.
"That's right, surely the dignified Marquis of Chengen's mansion can't afford fifty-five thousand taels? Why would they covet their own daughter's money?"
"Everyone knows that the Marquis of Chengen's mansion has several shops that make a fortune every day. Fifty-five thousand taels is just a drop in the ocean for Lord Shen."
They had witnessed the glory days of the Marquis of Chengen's mansion, and even though it was not as prosperous as before, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse, so they were not unable to come up with this amount of silver.
*
Shen Feng was caught in a dilemma, unable to lend the money or not.
If he doesn't lend it, he simply won't be able to come up with more than 50,000 taels of silver in a short period of time.
If this gets out, where will he put his old face?
But if he lends the money, it's tantamount to agreeing to pay interest, making his already difficult days even worse.
But then he thought again, Song Zhiyu is from the Chengen Marquis's mansion, so her money should rightfully belong to the mansion.
It's already unreasonable for a father to ask his daughter for a written IOU when he borrows money. He can easily find an excuse not to repay the money and drag it out, and Song Zhiyu probably won't be able to do anything about it.
Having considered the pros and cons, Shen Feng immediately made a decision, "Borrow! I'll give you an IOU."
Song Zhiyu borrowed a pen and ink from the Treasure Pavilion, sat upright at the table, lowered his eyes, held the wolf-hair brush, and wrote down the IOU stroke by stroke, waiting for Shen Feng to sign and stamp it.
Shen Feng took the IOU and glanced at it, stunned by Song Zhiyu's flowing calligraphy.
He thought Song Zhiyu was talentless and immoral, so his handwriting would naturally be terrible, but he never expected that his skill would be even better than Shen Jinshu's.
Shen Feng accepted the brush with a complicated expression and signed his name, completely disregarding the interest rate set by the authorities.
After all, he never intended to pay back this money.
Song Zhiyu carefully put away the IOU, her smile deepening. "Lu Bai, pay up."
*
The Marquis of Chengen's Residence.
No sooner had Song Zhiyu stepped through the gate than Shen Feng and his entourage arrived at the residence.
As soon as Ye Rou stepped off the carriage, she curtsied to Shen Feng, her eyes brimming with tears, looking incredibly charming. "Thank you so much for saving me, Your Excellency. If it weren't for you today, I'm afraid I would have been humiliated."
"It's alright. You are Rushan's mother, so you are practically part of the Marquis's household. It's only right that we help you. From now on, you can stay here in the Marquis's household without worry."
"To be honest, it's partly because of that rebellious daughter; the Marquis's mansion has wronged you first." Shen Feng reached out to help her up, and seeing Ye Rou's pitiful appearance, his anger subsided considerably.
Ye Rou shrugged and glanced cautiously in the direction of Madam Chen. "I hope Madam won't mind."
“I’ll listen to the Marquis. You can stay here without worry. You’ve even sold your house to pay off your debts, so you’ll have nowhere to go in the future. You can keep me company at my place.” Madam Shen didn’t notice anything amiss and was unusually warm towards Ye Rou.
The vast Marquis's mansion was not so small as to be unable to accommodate a weak woman, and Shen's mother had no objection to Shen Feng's suggestion.
In addition, Shen Rushan already had his own courtyard in the Marquis's mansion, and he stayed there for eight out of ten days, which made it convenient for him to discuss matters with Shen Feng.
She had initially thought that she had stolen someone else's son, but now that Ye Rou was moving in, it was naturally the best thing ever.
With just a few words, Madam Shen arranged everything. "Qiuyue, have someone tidy up the Begonia Courtyard. From now on, Sister Ye Rou can live in the Begonia Courtyard. It's closer to the Qingxi Courtyard near Rushan."
"Thank you, Madam." Ye Rou wiped away her tears again, and a hint of triumph flashed in her eyes as she lowered her eyelids.
Shen Feng was clearly in a good mood. "Steward Lin, please invite the young masters and Rushan to the main courtyard so that the whole family can have a meal together."
"Reporting to the Marquis, the Third Young Master is not in the manor." Since Shen Mingyi hurriedly left the manor a few days ago, Steward Lin has not seen him again.
Shen Feng frowned. "What happened? Where did he go?"
Butler Lin hesitated before speaking, "It seems to be because of the clothing store."
The Shen family clothing workshop was the brainchild of the third young master, so of course he had to go there personally to resolve the issue when something happened to it.
I wonder how things are going?
*
Meanwhile, Shen Mingyi, whom the others were thinking about, was no longer at the clothing store.
Before the troublemakers could be dealt with, the Jiangnan merchants who had signed contracts with Shen's Clothing Shop suddenly disappeared, causing huge losses to the shop.
If this loss cannot be recovered, Shen's Clothing Shop will face the predicament of closing down and may even be burdened with huge debts.
Unable to swallow his anger, Shen Mingyi hurriedly boarded a carriage and chased after the Jiangnan merchants after learning of their whereabouts.
"Hurry, we must find them." Sitting inside the carriage, Shen Mingyi looked anxious and kept urging them on, wishing they could hurry.
Shen's Clothing Shop is his life's work; it must not be ruined in his hands.
"Yes," the coachman replied loudly, and drove the carriage even faster.
The carriage sped through the woods like an arrow, leaving only a blurry afterimage and the rapid sound of hooves.
Suddenly, the rolling wheels rolled over several hidden pebbles. In an instant, the horses' hooves flew, the carriage jolted violently, and it instantly lost its balance.
Shen Mingyi was also thrown out violently, crashing heavily to the ground. His entire body landed on his injured hand, causing the wound to reopen and contorting his face in pain.
He struggled to get up, but a large foot stomped hard on his back, rendering him immobile.
"Who are you?" Shen Mingyi asked, enduring the excruciating pain, word by word.
Jiang Huai casually picked up Shen Mingyi and, under his terrified gaze, threw him into a nearby snake pit. "You've offended someone you shouldn't have. This hand is no longer needed."
Shen Mingyi looked at the hole full of snakes, fear showing in his eyes, but he was powerless to escape and could only let the snakes climb and bite him.
Ultimately, he couldn't withstand the shock and fainted.
Above the cave, two imposing men coldly watched Shen Mingyi's miserable state.
“Your Highness, although these snakes are not poisonous, spending a night inside them would be enough to break him. Moreover, I'm afraid his hand will never heal.”
"Get him out after dawn." Zhou Xingzhi stood with his hands behind his back, his deep eyes devoid of warmth, his aura terrifyingly fierce.
"Understood, sir." Jiang Huai replied respectfully, secretly sweating for Shen Mingyi.
Spending a night in the snake pit will be a nightmare for him.
However, this time His Highness showed leniency and did not directly kill Shen Mingyi.
Zhou Xingzhi turned and left after saying this, and Jiang Huai hurriedly followed, keeping a distance that was neither too close nor too far from him.
Judging from the direction His Highness walked, he must be going to find Miss Song.
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