Chapter 205: The Downfall of an Eccentric Family

Chapter 205: The Downfall of an Eccentric Family

The tempting voice reached the old man's ears.

Even more tempting was the pile of money sitting right in front of him.

"Boss, I know you're due for a lucky streak. This money's a loan, and you'll definitely turn it around!"

The old man snatched the money and threw it onto the gambling table, "I'm still betting on big!"

When they saw him start borrowing, the others in the gambling den exchanged knowing looks.

A guy in the Imperial Guards uniform saw this scene, clicked his tongue, and moved closer for a better look.

The next day, Du Tai returned to his aunt's place, recounting the events of the previous night with great excitement.

"Do you know what happened last night in the southern part of the city?"

"What happened?"

"A gambling addict, in a desperate attempt to win, gambled away his own son! You should have seen it. He lost everything in the gambling den, owed hundreds of taels of gambling debt, and when he couldn't pay up, he sold his son!

"The people from the gambling den went to his house, dragged out the son and his grandmother. The grandmother was wailing and clutching her grandson tightly, but it was useless. The gambling den's thugs gave the old woman a few hard slaps, sending her spinning like a top.

"After taking the young son, the gambling addict still wanted to gamble. His mother got up from the ground and started tearing at him, calling him a beast. They fought in the street as if they were mortal enemies, not mother and son!

"The most interesting part is," Du Tai clucked his tongue, "that the gambling addict still owed money to the den! You think the gambling den would just let him walk away? They were gonna cripple him by cutting his tendons. The old mother begged for mercy, offering her two daughters to repay the debt. One daughter was at home, and the other was a servant in the Marquis's Mansion. She pleaded for the gambling den to show mercy.

"Upon hearing this, the people in the gambling den laughed. They said the servants of the Marquis's Mansion were the Marquis's people and couldn't be used to repay debts. The head thug gave the old woman a few more slaps and proceeded to cut the gambling addict's tendons.

"When I left, the old woman was still clinging to her son, sobbing and hitting him in a mix of anger and grief, screaming that the heavens were unfair and demanding her grandson back."

The people in the room listened to Du Tai's tale of this human tragedy, some frowning with sympathy, others with indignation.

"That old woman is truly pitiful."

"What's pitiful? Raising a gambling addict for a son, she deserves it!"

"The poor little grandson, if he's lucky, might become a servant in the gambling den. If not, who knows who he'll be sold to!"

"I think the real pity is for their two daughters. Didn't you hear? One is already a servant in the Marquis's Mansion and is being sold off by her family. It's ridiculous! Can you believe they even have the nerve?"

"That's true. The family probably tried to sell the daughters many times! Disgusting! A bunch of scumbags, they deserve their fate!"

At that moment, someone pushed the door open.

"What's going on here?" Du Ruo pushed the door open and asked.

"Nothing, nothing!" Du Tai immediately shut up when he saw his sister coming.

"Then why did I hear something about someone being sold, and something about the Marquis's Mansion? Did someone from the Marquis's Mansion come?" Du Ruo said.

"You must've heard wrong. Your second brother saw some guy trying to sell his kids because he was desperate. One of the daughters is a servant in the Marquis's Mansion," said Du's aunt.

Upon hearing this, Du Ruo turned to glare at her second brother, "You went gambling again!"

"I didn't gamble! I really didn't gamble!" Du Tai hurriedly defended. "I just went there to take a look; I really didn't bet any money!"

Du Ruo looked at him with suspicion.

Seeing this, Du Tai swore, "Sister, believe me, since the Crown Prince Consort helped me pay off my gambling debts, I haven't gambled again! If I'm lying, may my whole family die!"

The part about his whole family dying didn't affect Du Ruo much, but the first part, "The Crown Prince Consort helped you pay off your debts?"

"What, you didn't know? The Crown Prince Consort paid a thousand taels for me. Speaking of which, this brother-in-law of mine is really great! A'Ruo, you've married the right person."

Hearing this, Du Ruo's heart was instantly stirred with emotion.

She knew nothing about Cheng Yunshuo paying off Du Tai's thousand taels of gambling debts.

Du Ruo was a strong-willed person and didn't want any financial entanglement with Cheng Yunshuo. When her brother first got into debt, she had covered it herself, not wanting Cheng Yunshuo to get involved and think she was someone who loved money.

But unexpectedly, in private, her brother had gone to Cheng Yunshuo and asked him to pay off a thousand taels!

"How could you do this to me? How am I supposed to face him or hold my head up in the Marquis's Mansion?" Du Ruo angrily said with furrowed brows.

"A'Ruo, don't be angry, we're family. Why talk about money between family?"

"You're going to drive me crazy!" Du Ruo raised her hand to hit him.

Du Tai hurriedly urged, "You have to look at it from another perspective. This is because the Crown Prince Consort dotes on you! If he didn't dote on you enough, why would he pay a thousand taels for me?"

This single sentence immediately stopped Du Ruo in her tracks.

During her stay at her family home, all she had been thinking about was whether Cheng Yunshuo really loved her, whether he had her in his heart.

After the snuff bottle incident last time, her heart had felt like it had died. She felt that in Cheng Yunshuo's heart, she wasn't even as important as a snuff bottle, that he didn't care about her at all.

But now...

If Cheng Yunshuo really didn't love her or care about her, why would he pay a thousand taels for her sake?

That was a thousand taels!

Du Ruo's withered and aching heart suddenly felt like it was bathed in warmth and nourishment, a renewed sense of hope and excitement beginning to bloom.

Cheng Yunshuo, he, he must have her in his heart.

Maybe she hadn't handled things well last time, which led to his cold treatment of her.

Desperately craving love and validation, Du Ruo's eyes immediately lit up.

"Sister, where are you going?" Du Tai asked as he saw Du Ruo running out.

"I'm going back to the Marquis's Mansion!"

At that moment, in the Marquis's Mansion.

After hearing Captain Qian's report, Lu Lingyun said, "Captain Qian, since Shuang Hong isn't working tonight, why don't you take her out for tea?"

"Thank you, young mistress, for your kindness!"

Captain Qian, grateful for the kindness, left in high spirits.

"Don't act recklessly; this matter has to wait until your next visit, and your parents need to discuss it with me personally," Lu Lingyun said.

"I understand, ma'am!" Captain Qian nodded confidently. With that, he left Lu Lingyun's presence, grinning from ear to ear as he went to find Shuang Hong.

Lu Lingyun looked at his departing back and smiled faintly.

Meanwhile, Dong Sheng had already located Dan Hong's adoptive father, and within two days, they arrived in the imperial city.

Back with Dan Hong, her grandmother was dragging her son, whose hands and feet had been crippled, back home. Now, she was counting on Dan Hong alone.

Crying loudly and desperately, she pleaded with the injured Dan Hong, showing her weakness, begging her not to abandon them. Tears and snot ran down her face as she cried piteously.

Dan Hong watched them with a series of cold, mocking laughs. Soon enough, her adoptive father showed up. Naturally, Dan Hong left with him, weeping bitterly as she lamented how foolish and naive she had been in the past, begging for his forgiveness.

Her kind-hearted adoptive father silently took her back home, while only the decrepit old woman and the man with severed tendons remained in the stable.

These two were completely without any support, and even their precious grandson was gone. The old woman spent her days in tears, cursing her ruined son, yet she still couldn't bear to leave him behind. They dragged each other through a miserable life of begging, tormenting and cursing each other until they eventually disappeared completely.

No one knew if they were dead or alive.

Of course, that's a story for another day.

After Lu Lingyun dealt with the dysfunctional family of Shuang Hong, Du Ruo actually returned to the manor on her own.