Chapter 123: Eliminating Future Threats

“Brother Niu, please give me a few more days. Let me finish the imperial exam, and then I’ll return the money to you.” Song Erlang, who was lying on the ground like a stray dog, quickly got up when he heard those words. His eyes were filled with fear as he trembled and said, “I’m just a poor scholar. Even if you kill me, I won’t be able to come up with 500 taels of silver within three days.”

“That’s your problem.” Brother Niu kicked Song Erlang, sending him sprawling back onto the ground. “I don’t care if you have to sell your life, sell your house, sell your land, or even sell your parents—just get the money back to me.”

Song Erlang clutched his chest in pain, and he watched Brother Niu leave with an ashen face. He felt as though all the strength in his body had been drained, leaving him lying on the ground like a puddle of mud.

Fang Youtian, seeing him in this state, couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride. Seeing Song Erlang end up like this, what right does he have to look down on him anymore?

He no longer had to repay the money he owed to the gambling house, and Brother Niu even gave him an extra five taels of silver as a reward.

Fang Youtian pretended to help Song Erlang up, saying, “Don’t lose hope. Isn’t your cousin the Crown Princess? Five hundred taels of silver is nothing to you. If she doesn’t want to help, you can always sell the house.”

“No, I can’t sell the house. If I sell it, my father will kill me.” Song Erlang, concerned with his reputation, couldn’t bring himself to sell off the family property. He pinned his hopes on passing the imperial exam.

As long as he could pass and become a recommended scholar, wealthy merchants would naturally be willing to sponsor him, and then he could repay the five hundred taels of silver.

“So, what should you do? Brother Niu is a man of his word; they wouldn’t hesitate to kill someone.”

Fang Youtian’s small, beady eyes darted around as he came up with a rotten idea: “How about this? Your widowed sister-in-law is a burden anyway. Why not sell her off? Use the money to pay off some of the debt now, and repay the rest after the provincial examination. As long as Brother Niu gets some money, he’s actually quite reasonable and might give you some leeway.”

Song Erlang wanted to refuse.

Fang Youtian continued to persuade him, “You can tell people that your widowed sister-in-law couldn’t bear the suffering and ran away. No one will suspect anything.”

Song Erlang fell into deep thought, remaining silent as he gradually regained his composure.

He still had a way out.

Song Erlang got up from the ground, brushed the dust off his clothes, and started walking towards Xinghua Village like a lifeless corpse.

Fang Youtian, not getting a clear answer, hurried after him. “Erlang… Ah!”

Song Erlang punched Fang Youtian squarely in the eye, with a dark and fierce gaze. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Fang Youtian, you better not be the one who set this trap for me. Otherwise, even if I die, I’ll drag you down to hell with me!”

Fang Youtian was terrified, frozen in place with shock.

Song Erlang’s fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked. It was clear that Fang Youtian had something to hide.

He would find out who was trying to harm him!

When he returned to the Song household, Song Erlang saw Mrs. Hu chopping pig fodder in the courtyard. The sunlight fell on her pale, thin face, and for a moment, he thought she looked somewhat attractive.

Madam Jiang came out of the kitchen and saw Song Erlang staring at Mrs. Hu. Her expression immediately darkened.

This wretched woman dared to seduce her son!

She couldn’t help but suspect that Song Erlang’s earlier pleas on behalf of Mrs. Hu were because she had bewitched him.

“Mother,” Song Erlang called Madam Jiang into the house and said to her, “I’m about to take the provincial examination. My tutor says I’m sure to pass and become a recommended scholar. We can move the entire family to the capital and prepare for the spring examination next year.

I’ve done the math, and our family is short on funds. We might as well sell Mrs. Hu to raise money for our journey to the capital. Once I pass the imperial examination and become a top scholar, I’ll marry a government official’s daughter who can take care of you.”

Madam Jiang, who was ruthless by nature, had never considered selling her daughter-in-law and was stunned by Song Erlang’s suggestion.

She instinctively refused, “No! If word of this got out, it would ruin our family’s reputation.”

Song Erlang hesitated and said, “Mother, whenever I see Mrs. Hu, I can’t focus on my studies. I’m at an age where I should be getting married.”

Madam Jiang’s expression changed drastically, and she gritted her teeth, “Has that wretched woman really seduced you?”

Song Erlang remained silent.

Madam Jiang took his silence as confirmation, and she was so furious that she felt like steam was coming out of her ears, filled with rage, wishing she could take a knife and chop up Mrs. Hu!

“That wretched woman is like a cat in heat, always needing a man around. I’ll put an end to her!” Madam Jiang decided viciously, “Sell her! Tonight, we’ll take her to the brothel and sell her off!”

—

At the Gu household…

Gu Baozhu sat in the courtyard while Su Wan held a wooden comb, braiding her hair.

“Big Sister-in-law, when I came back from town today, I saw Aunt Hu cutting pig fodder. She looked so pitiful, with a hole in her head, and she still had to work. I helped her pull out some pigweed and heard her stomach growling, so I gave her a biscuit.” Gu Baozhu stared at the shadow on the ground, unable to resist starting a conversation with Su Wan.

Su Wan paused her hand for a moment and then praised, “Zhuzhu is really amazing.”

Gu Baozhu smiled sweetly.

Su Wan twisted the braid into a bun, tied it with a pink silk ribbon, added two pearl hairpins, and tidied the soft fine hair on Gu Baozhu’s forehead. She then lifted Gu Baozhu’s pointed little chin and said, “My third sister-in-law is truly beautiful.”

Gu Baozhu blushed, shyly wriggling her hips as she tried to hug Su Wan and act spoiled.

“Eldest Sister-in-law is the prettiest,” Gu Jingyun chimed in, and pinched Gu Baozhu’s cheek as he said, “You’re dark and ugly.”

Gu Baozhu pouted angrily, “You’re just jealous that Eldest Sister-in-law likes me the most.”

“Not at all!” Gu Jingyun made a face at her, “Eldest Sister-in-law likes Big Brother the most!”

“Gu Jingyun!” Gu Baozhu, embarrassed and angry, chased after Gu Jingyun to hit him.

Su Wan noticed that Gu Jingyun had accidentally knocked the pearl hairpin off Gu Baozhu’s head. Gu Baozhu picked it up, and seeing that it seemed to be broken, her eyes reddened as if she was about to cry.

Gu Jingyun panicked and clumsily rolled up his sleeves and began wiping her tears, trying to comfort her in a soft voice, “Don’t cry.”

“This was given to me by Eldest Sister-in-law. If you don’t fix it, I’ll never talk to you again!” Gu Baozhu placed the pearl hairpin in Gu Jingyun’s hand, turned her head, and ran back into the house.

Gu Jingyun was utterly distressed, his eyebrows furrowed like caterpillars.

Su Wan walked over and said, “I have a similar pair of pearl hairpins in my room. You can take them to cheer up Zhuzhu.”

“Eldest Sister-in-law, no need. I can fix it!” Gu Jingyun replied, and then dashed off quickly.

Su Wan couldn’t help but laugh, feeling that Gu Jingyun’s determination showed a sense of responsibility.

She looked in the direction of the Song family, with her face full of worry. A whole day had passed, and she still hadn’t heard any news about how Qi Guang had handled the matter.

If there was no news today, she would go inquire about the situation tomorrow.

That night, just as Su Wan was about to lie down, a stone was thrown through the window, landing on the floor with a loud thud.

Su Wan immediately sat up and lit the oil lamp. She saw a piece of paper wrapped around the stone on the floor.

She picked it up and unfolded the paper, revealing a single line of writing.

“Young lady, the matter has been taken care of. How should we proceed with Mrs. Hu?”

The heavy burden in Su Wan’s heart finally lifted as she began to plan Mrs. Hu’s fate. If she kept Mrs. Hu nearby and Madam Jiang found out, it would be clear who was behind it, and Madam Jiang would surely retaliate with a vengeance.

The safest course of action was to eliminate any future threats.

Su Wan wrote a letter back to Qi Guang, instructing him to continue digging the pit to bury the Song family completely.

“Bang, bang, bang!”

The door was knocked upon.

Mo Yuan’s voice came from outside, “Mrs. Gu, the bracelet has been found.”