Chapter 171: Trouble at the Liu Family

Chapter 171: Trouble at the Liu Family

Wei Sanniang felt like she was walking on air as she made her way back.

She never imagined things would go so smoothly.

After a few steps, Wei Sanniang suddenly became excited and grabbed Wei Pozi's hand. "Second Sister, pinch me! Is this real?"

Wei Pozi laughed but felt a twinge of sadness.

The Jiang family was a good match, but they couldn’t quite compare to the Liu family's prestige. Besides, the two children were quite compatible, making it a good marriage.

Her third sister was so nervous, as if her son, Yuanfeng, was about to marry into royalty.

It showed just how hard it was to find a good match under the Liu family’s control.

Wei Pozi patted her hand and tried to temper her excitement. "Alright, don't get too excited. Did you forget what the Jiang family said before? They thought your family situation was too complicated. You'll have to persuade Old Master Liu."

"You're right, Second Sister," Wei Sanniang said, her fighting spirit ignited. "I'll go talk to Old Master Liu right away."

Wei Pozi nodded, feeling relieved. "Once Yuanfeng's wedding is arranged, we should head back home."

Though Wei Sanniang was reluctant, she knew they couldn’t stay in Zhoucheng for long with the shop in the county needing attention.

"Once Yuanfeng is married and settled, I'll return to Mapo County to visit you and Fourth Brother," Wei Sanniang said, tightly gripping Wei Pozi's hand.

"That would be wonderful," Wei Pozi replied with a smile. "I'll wait for you."

Wei Sanniang returned to the Liu family happily and immediately sought out Old Master Liu to tell him that the Jiang family had agreed to the marriage.

However, there was a condition: the newlyweds should live on their own.

As Wei Sanniang had expected, although Old Master Liu was displeased, he eventually agreed to let Liu Yuanfeng and his wife live in the small house on the outskirts of the city.

Wei Sanniang was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly.

Old Master Liu’s mood darkened further.

After all these years, were they really that eager to move out?

Still, after her joy subsided, Wei Sanniang hesitated before asking Old Master Liu for money.

After all, the house had been uninhabited for many years, and it needed repairs before her son could move in for the wedding.

Also, by tradition, as the eldest son, he was supposed to receive fifty taels of silver for his wedding expenses.

Old Master Liu grew even more annoyed, his hand on the tiger-head armrest, his yellowish eyes glaring at Wei Sanniang. "You're the mistress of this family, and yet at your age, you're still so timid? Eldest Daughter-in-law manages the accounts. As her mother-in-law, if you ask her for money, do you think she’d refuse?"

Wei Sanniang lowered her eyes.

She thought, of course she would give it, but whether she would say something unpleasant before giving it depended on Eldest Daughter-in-law's mood.

—Her Yuanfeng was getting married. He would be starting his own branch of the family. Do you think Eldest Daughter-in-law will be pleased about that?

"Enough!" Old Master Liu turned away angrily and ordered his long-time attendant, "Accompany Madam to Eldest Daughter-in-law’s residence."

Wei Sanniang looked up in disbelief at Old Master Liu.

The attendant had served Old Master Liu for fifty years. His actions represented Old Master Liu's will.

With the head servant following her, there was no need to worry about Madam Da Lin causing any more trouble.

Wei Sanniang was over the moon.

She didn’t waste any time and headed straight to the main house with the head servant.

Although she didn’t know why Old Master Liu had suddenly changed his mind, Wei Sanniang knew she had to seize this opportunity.

Sure enough, when Madam Da Lin heard that Wei Sanniang was there to ask for money to repair the house, her face dropped. She immediately claimed that the family’s cash reserves were tight.

But when the head servant entered, Madam Da Lin’s face turned pale and flushed in turns, looking extremely uncomfortable.

Still unwilling to give up, she called out, "Cousin Ji."

The head servant said, "This is the Old Master’s wish."

Madam Da Lin protested, "...I’m not disobeying Father’s orders, it’s just that there’s not much cash in the household accounts right now. It’s a critical time when we need money for the business. Why move out after getting married? Isn’t it good for Yuanfeng to live at home? Why repair the house? Isn’t that a waste of money..."

The head servant, with a good temper, kindly said, "The shops won’t need much cash this New Year, so it’s not a critical time. Madam, if you have concerns, perhaps you should discuss this with Old Master."

Madam Da Lin’s round face was a mix of embarrassing colors.

Reluctantly, she still bit the bullet and took out twenty taels of silver for Wei Sanniang to use for the time being.

Although it wasn’t enough, it could temporarily solve the problem of lacking cash.

Wei Sanniang was very happy and, with the money, she used part of it to hire people to repair the house on the outskirts of the city, and the other part to hire a matchmaker, preparing gifts. She instructed the matchmaker to go to the Jiang family the next day to officially propose the marriage.

The next day, when the matchmaker visited the Jiang family, they were straightforward people. Upon hearing that the repairs on the house had already begun, the Jiang family knew that Wei Sanniang’s promise was real—that this branch of the family would live separately.

They immediately agreed to the marriage.

The two families exchanged their birth date records and began matching their eight characters.

At this point, the marriage was practically sealed.

Wei Sanniang could now confidently pack her belongings with Yu Sanbao and Su Rouer.

During these two days, Yu Sanbao had also been busy. While in Zhoucheng, he purchased more goods and, before leaving, found a caravan to transport the goods to Mapo County.

However, just as they were about to leave, something happened to the Liu family.

It turned out that Madam Da Lin had secretly used the family’s cash to lend money at high interest rates. Normally, this wouldn’t be a big issue, but several bad debts couldn’t be recovered. When her natal family, the Lin family, went to collect the debts, they pushed too hard and tried to sell the debtor’s daughter into a brothel to repay the debt. The daughter, being strong-willed, refused to comply and tragically took her own life by dashing her head against a wall.

A life was lost, and the matter naturally blew up.

The authorities quickly intervened and arrested the involved Lin family members and Madam Da Lin, throwing them into jail.

Old Master Liu was so enraged that he fainted.

The Liu family was in chaos.

As Wei Sanniang was about to leave, she overheard people on the street discussing the incident and was immediately shocked. She hurried back to the Liu family.

At this point, the Liu family was in such disarray that no one paid attention to whether Wei Sanniang entered or not.

Wei Sanniang went straight to Wei Sanniang’s courtyard.

Wei Sanniang wasn’t in the courtyard, and the maid Bai Cao formally said, "The Old Master has fallen ill. The Madam has gone to care for him."

Wei Sanniang had no choice but to leave and asked Yu Sanbao and the others to extend their stay at the inn for another day.