“Brother Ma, my mother is just a woman and doesn’t know any better. Please forgive her. The journey has been peaceful because of you brothers by my side. No villains dared to mess with us. You brothers have risked your lives for me. I have never thought that you brothers are not worth fifty taels. On the contrary, I think I have paid too little. It’s just that I am currently short of money and cannot afford to pay more. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will definitely double your wages.”
Lin Shikang spoke very politely and didn't act like a county magistrate; he was very approachable. This made the Ma brothers, his subordinates, feel very comfortable.
However, Lin Shikang had an unreasonable mother.
They also have dignity.
Upon hearing that the wages had been doubled, Madam Fan immediately flew into a rage: "Fifty taels already, and you're doubling it! That's a hundred taels a month! I won't agree to this. If you let them go, those four will eat our Lin family out of house and home. If you let them go, then you can write a letter to the princess and ask her to send us a few more powerful guards!"
At this moment, the guards had only one thought in their minds about Fan Shi: How shameless!
"Lord Lin, you are a good host. We were ungrateful. Let's take our leave now."
The Ma brothers were fed up with this. Fan treated the guards sent by Princess Xilan with great politeness, but she never gave them a kind look. She said that they were just sucking the blood of the Lin family for taking fifty taels of silver and eating for free every day. She had said such things countless times.
"Brother Ma..."
"Lord Lin, there's no need to say anything more. We brothers have made up our minds!" After saying that, the Ma brothers went to fetch their horses.
Madam Fan then said, "My son bought these horses. You can ride them if you want. Each horse costs fifty taels of silver."
They followed Lin Shikang all the way from Wan'an County, leaving their homes behind. They haven't even reached their destination yet, and nobody knows what dangers might lie ahead. Is fifty taels of silver a lot?
Besides, which wealthy person wouldn't pay their caregiver several dozen taels a month? Moreover, they've left their hometown.
Now that the roads are safe, they don't want to pay anymore, so they're trying to find ways to get their money back. What kind of logic is that?
"Damn it!" Ma Quan cursed angrily.
"You bastard, how dare you insult this old lady!" Madam Fan was furious. She, the mother of the dignified county magistrate, had been insulted. She would not let him get away with it!
Madam Fan immediately ordered the four guards sent by Princess Xilan: "Go and teach him a lesson, beat his mouth until it's rotten!"
"Shut up!" Lin Shikang's eyes turned red with anger. Fan Shi's commotion had upset the Ma brothers. Keeping them around wouldn't win them over, and might even cause more trouble.
Seeing her son's outburst, Madam Fan burst into tears: "He insulted me because he disrespects you, the county magistrate, and you even yelled at me! My life is so miserable, sob sob sob..."
Everyone was stunned to see this. How could the county magistrate have such a mother!
Lin Shikang felt extremely ashamed and wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.
The Ma brothers returned the two hundred taels of silver that Lin Shikang had given them earlier: "Lord Lin, it was my brother's fault for cursing. Here's the money, we'll ride the horse away!"
"You can ride the horse, forget about the money." Lin Shikang returned the money to them, and Fan Shi snatched it away and stuffed it into her sleeve in a very quick motion.
The Ma brothers chuckled, said nothing, and rode their horses back home.
As Lin Shikang watched the Ma brothers ride away, a bad feeling crept into his heart.
Seeing Fan's smug expression, Lin Shikang didn't want to say anything more.
He made up his mind: once Gan Ning settled down, he had to find a sensible wife to manage the household affairs. If that wasn't possible, he would bring Ruyan in first and entrust the household affairs to her.
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