"The gambling den said they'd give Shishi to them in exchange for two hundred taels of silver. Father, I really have no money left!" Ling Dapeng cried, tears streaming down his face.
To open a cloth shop, he borrowed three hundred taels of silver, which turned into two thousand taels in just three months. Shishi told him that he could recoup his losses by gambling, so he went there and ended up losing all the money in his family's pocket.
Shishi helped him pay off some of the debt, but he was out of money. He refused to believe in bad luck and went back to gambling, eventually losing even more.
"Dad, you really have to help me. I've already lost Shishi, I can't lose Xiaoyun and the child too." Ling Dapeng said haltingly, and finally hugged Ling Yunzhou's leg tightly.
Ling Yunzhou felt a throbbing in his head. When Tao Wanniang left, she told him to teach her second son a lesson, but he never expected that he would actually have the guts to gamble, lose the bet, and then sell his woman.
“Ling Dapeng, you…” Ling Yunzhou took a deep breath, “Do you think the General’s Mansion’s money just falls from the sky?”
"But Dad, only you can save me! If you don't save me, Xiaoyun, the child, and I will really be doomed!" Ling Dapeng said in terror. The cloth shop had already been smashed up, and the goods had been taken to pay off debts. Now, all he had left was the house deed. If that was taken too, his whole family would be homeless!
"Go back first. I can't come up with the money right now," Ling Yunzhou said with a stern face. "How can you be at ease leaving your wife and children at home?"
Ling Dapeng shuddered; how could he feel at ease!
"Dad, please give me something, I... I'll write an IOU, I'll work like a slave for you, I... I really don't dare to go back."
Looking at his son's behavior, Ling Yunzhou saw that he had no sense of responsibility, yet he dared to gamble. Now that he was broke, he came to him for help. Was he a sucker?
"Get back here first. If you still don't listen to me, believe me, I'll just throw you out and pretend we never existed!" Ling Yunzhou said through gritted teeth. He was somewhat skeptical that Shishi had actually entered the gambling den.
Ling Dapeng shivered again; in this freezing weather, his heart felt ice-cold.
"Dad, if you really don't want to take care of me and Xiaoyun, then... child, please help us raise the child. My husband and I... have no face to live on!"
"Get out! Get out!" Ling Yunzhou shook off Ling Dapeng and then had his troublesome son thrown out.
"Qian Feng, come here!" Ling Yunzhou roared after Ling Dapeng was kicked out.
"Which gambling den did Ling Dapeng sell Shishi to? Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on it?"
Qian Feng chuckled; he had been watching closely. "General, that woman gradually lured the Second Young Master into the gambling den, giving him her own money as gambling funds. The debt has snowballed; I've seen it all!"
"And then?" Ling Yunzhou asked again, "Was that woman really given to the gambling den by Ling Dapeng?"
"This brings us back to Zhang Xinlan. That woman used Shishi, then conspired with the people at the gambling den to sell Shishi out." Qian Feng remained neutral, as Ling Yunzhou had instructed him to do so earlier.
"Then... let's wait a little longer." Ling Yunzhou thought for a moment, and finally said. He wanted to push Ling Dapeng to the brink, let him realize how many mistakes he had made, and then he would see if he was still worth saving!
"Keep an eye on things. If the gambling dens and loan sharks go too far and hurt women and children, then you can take action," Ling Yunzhou said after thinking for a moment.
"Yes, General, is the General's Mansion going to be closed to visitors for the next few days?" Qian Feng replied, and then asked.
"Yes, we're closing the door to visitors. If you want to go out, go through the back door!" Ling Yunzhou said with a displeased expression, looking up at the gray sky, his mood was terrible.
When Ling Dapeng got home, he saw Zhou Xiaoyun's anxious expression, sighed heavily, and lowered his head.
"Xiaoyun, Dad says there's no money."
"How could this be!" Zhou Xiaoyun screamed. "We're already like this, how could Dad abandon us?"
"Five thousand taels of silver, Xiaoyun, we're finished!" Ling Dapeng said dejectedly. "I'm really useless. I can't even sell any cloth in the shop, and I only lose when I gamble. Shishi has already been taken away. Xiaoyun, what should we do? What should we do?"
"Where's Mom? Doesn't she care?" Zhou Xiaoyun asked anxiously, like an ant on a hot pan.
"Mother isn't in the capital at all. Where did she go? Has she abandoned us?" Ling Dapeng seemed lost and disoriented.
"Then... what about my elder brother and sister-in-law?" Zhou Xiaoyun herself was a little unsure of herself; five thousand taels of silver was simply beyond her elder brother and sister-in-law's means. "Dapeng, what are we going to do? Dazhuang is still so young. Are we going to have to sleep on the streets?"
"Why don't we send Dazhuang there, or send him to my parents' house? At least there will be someone to take care of him there." Zhou Xiaoyun paced anxiously around the room. "Why did this happen? Why did it turn out like this?"
"Bang bang bang!" The door was knocked loudly again. Liu Ma and Cao'er looked panicked, but they still held the door firmly.
"Paying back debts is a matter of course. You have the ability to gamble, but not the ability to pay back your debts?" Outside the door, people from the gambling den were urging the debtor to pay back the money. They were banging on the door and shouting Ling Dapeng's name, which attracted the neighbors to peek out.
“Ling Dapeng of this family owes our Fugui Gambling House three thousand taels of silver. Everyone come and see, he has the nerve to not pay back his debts. This man has already given his concubine to our boss, but he still has a wife at home.”
"Wasn't this family supposed to have a rich mother and a powerful father? Why isn't anyone paying back the money?"
"Three thousand taels? Good heavens! Who could possibly come up with that? They're incredibly audacious to gamble when they have no money."
"Exactly, he's a real scoundrel. He lost money and tried to pay it off with a woman."
"People like this deserve to be struck by lightning."
The neighbors were all talking about Ling Dapeng's family, practically pointing at Ling Dapeng himself.
The people at the gambling den were still stirring things up, and Ling Dapeng's family inside could hear everything. In the eyes of those outside, Ling Dapeng was a heartless, useless good-for-nothing who couldn't do anything right and whose parents didn't care about him.
When Zhou Xiaoyun saw Ling Dapeng's pale face, she felt bitter and scared. What if... what if she was the next one?
The child in his arms was also frightened and burst into tears. Instantly, the noise outside and the crying inside felt like huge stones pounding on Ling Dapeng's heart.
Ling Dapeng collapsed to the ground with a thud, his face contorted in grief, tears streaming down his face.
"Mother, where are you? Please come back and help your son!"
Seeing Ling Dapeng like this, Zhou Xiaoyun was overcome with grief. She still had to comfort her crying child. She was both angry and scared. Looking up at the gray sky, Zhou Xiaoyun gritted her teeth to keep herself from bursting into tears. She couldn't go on like this!
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