When Tao Wanniang got up, it was almost noon. She was refreshed and in high spirits when she walked into the hall. When she saw Ling Yunzhou, her face stiffened. Seeing someone unpleasant during the New Year made her feel quite bad.
"You're up?" Ling Yunzhou saw Tao Wanniang and composed himself. Their eyes met, and there was a slight awkwardness between them.
"Rui'er, Xiaofeng, come on, let's go see the snowman in the backyard." Wang Hongyu called to the two children to leave.
"Mother, I'll go to the kitchen and get you some pastries." Ling Dahu tactfully walked away.
In the living room, Tao Wanniang and Ling Yunzhou stared at each other, neither of them speaking for a moment.
"Um... do you know about the bastard thing the second brother did?" Ling Yunzhou finally asked.
"Weren't you in charge? How could so much trouble have arisen?" Tao Wanniang retorted. "But never mind, it's not about blaming anyone now, it's about resolving the issue. How much money does he owe?"
“Five thousand taels!” Ling Yunzhou was furious when he heard about the money. “He, a man who can’t earn much money, actually owes five thousand taels. Who gave him the guts?”
Ling Dahu mentioned it last night, but he didn't say it would cost this much! Tao Wanniang frowned; she wouldn't pay that much either.
"Do you know how you incurred the debt?" Tao Wanniang asked coldly.
"The gambling den owes three thousand taels, and the loan sharks owe two thousand taels. This is after we've already paid off the cloth in the shop and that Shishi as well," Ling Yunzhou said irritably.
"Shishi was used to pay off a debt?" Tao Wanniang asked in surprise. "Isn't she Zhang Xinlan's person?"
“She was tricked by Zhang Xinlan and the people from that gambling den,” Ling Yunzhou said. “Zhang Xinlan is a madwoman. She deceived Shishi and made her drag Dapeng into the mess, but in the end, she directly had the people from the gambling den detain Shishi.”
Tao Wanniang blinked speechlessly. What could she say? She didn't really care what happened to Shishi.
"Where is Ling Dapeng? Where did he go?" Tao Wanniang asked. She had already returned, but Ling Dapeng and Zhou Xiaoyun hadn't come to ask her for help!
Ling Yunzhou then recounted how the couple had abandoned their child at the entrance of the General's Mansion and fled to a rural village for refuge.
“Only those two servants remained at home, and the debt collectors took quite a few things from the house,” Ling Yunzhou said. “In the end, Qian Feng had to step in and drive them away. Tell me, weren’t those two incredibly dishonest?”
"All you do when you're in trouble is run away, what a coward!" Tao Wanniang spat. "Has the gambling den been investigated? Has the dealer cheated?"
Ling Yunzhou was taken aback, looked Tao Wanniang up and down, and then said, "You... don't intend to make him pay back the money, right?"
“It’s perfectly normal for casinos to cheat. Ling Dapeng is a sucker; it’s possible he was swindled out of those three thousand taels,” Tao Wanniang said. “I’ll get revenge for him. And as for the loan sharks, who lent them the money? How much interest has compounded? What was the principal? Debts must be repaid, but if it’s unreasonable, humph, don’t take a single penny from me!”
Ling Yunzhou stared blankly at Tao Wanniang. He wasn't unaware of this... saying, but he hadn't thought of it this way. Paying back debts is a matter of course. He hadn't thought that this debt... could be reasonably evaded?
"Which gambling den is it? I'll go check it out later," Tao Wanniang continued.
"The Golden Toad Gambling House only opens on the sixth day of the first lunar month," Ling Yunzhou said, then looked Tao Wanniang up and down. "Go and see? What are you looking at? Do you even know how to play?"
"Ha!" Tao Wanniang showed her disdain for Ling Yunzhou with a cold snort. When she was playing dice in other planes, Ling Yunzhou didn't even exist!
"Bring Ling Dapeng and his wife back to me. You'll handle the loan sharking; you know how to repay it. As for the gambling den, I'll go and get revenge!" Tao Wanniang said to Ling Yunzhou.
Ling Yunzhou looked Tao Wanniang up and down in disbelief, but wisely did not reject the idea.
"Um, what's the deal with the Tatar prince?" Ling Yunzhou then asked.
"Didn't Ling Feng and Chen Yan tell you?" Tao Wanniang retorted, she didn't believe Ling Yunzhou wouldn't ask.
“You did say that, but you didn’t go into details. How did you find out about the Tatar prince’s weakness?” Ling Yunzhou said. “I also helped with getting the princess to marry into the Tatars.”
Tao Wanniang then smiled, but instead of speaking directly, she praised Ling Yunzhou in a way that was more of a veiled criticism: "General Ling is indeed a pillar of the nation, knowing how to ensure the stability of the country."
"Stop spouting such sarcastic remarks. Now that you're back in the capital, be careful. The Princess is mentally unstable. She went to the General's Mansion a while ago and beat Hailan up badly," Ling Yunzhou warned. "She... is somewhat deranged."
It's all because of Lingyunzhou! Tao Wanniang didn't say it outright, but that little girl...
“Since that young girl suffered because of you, you should make it up to her,” Tao Wanniang said. “She’s your savior, that’s a great favor!”
"Heh, stop trying to match us up. Hailan is so young. Even if I had a daughter, she'd be older than her." Ling Yunzhou frowned slightly, feeling annoyed as he thought about what Hailan had said.
"What did I say?" Tao Wanniang retorted. "I only told you to make it up to the young girl. Why are you telling me about her age? Come on, Ling Yunzhou, you... you're such a pervert!"
Ling Yunzhou frowned at Tao Wanniang's teasing, but said seriously, "Don't talk nonsense. I will reiterate my stance before the Emperor: I will never marry again in this life."
"Oh!" Tao Wanniang replied nonchalantly. Ling Yunzhou had said the same thing before, but at her age, it didn't matter whether she got married or not.
Just then, Wang Fugui and his wife from next door came to pay their New Year's respects. They were quite surprised to see Ling Yunzhou, as they had met him before and knew he was the Great General.
"It seems we've come at the wrong time. We're sorry to have bothered you!" Wang Fugui said apologetically, his eyes darting between Tao Wanniang and Ling Yunzhou.
This general, who had a long-standing and deep affection for the princess, seemed to be closer to his first wife!
"Don't disturb us. General Ling is about to leave. Master Wang, Madam Wang, please come in and have a seat. It's been a long time!" Tao Wanniang winked at Ling Yunzhou.
Ling Yunzhou was annoyed. Had he said he was leaving? But he didn't want to embarrass Tao Wanniang, so he got up to take his leave.
"Zhang Liang, see the guests out!" Tao Wanniang called out, then warmly invited Mr. and Mrs. Wang Fugui to sit down.
"Manager Tao, it's been a long time! You've been on a long trip!" Madam Wang greeted Tao Wanniang, while Wang Fugui looked at Ling Yunzhou, who was being seen off.
"Yes, it's quite far, but you've finally returned during the New Year. How are Master Wang and Madam Wang doing lately?"
"I'm fine. I just came to ask if you're still planning to buy land?" Wang Fugui asked. "I heard that a high-ranking official in the court is retiring and going back to his hometown, and he's going to sell his land in the suburbs of Beijing!"
"Oh, where is it? I can go take a look." Tao Wanniang thought of the thousand taels of gold she was about to get. She wanted to buy it, and she also needed to grow a lot of food!
"Manager Tao, if I may ask, what do you need so much land for?" Madam Wang couldn't help but ask. "For my children?"
Tao Wanniang smiled and didn't hide anything. She first denied it directly, saying, "That's not true. All my fields are mine. I bought a lot of seeds from other tribes when I went out this time, and I need to find places to plant them. In the future, our Zhaixing Tower will have many delicacies that you've never seen before. Please try them then!"
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