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It wasn't until the two adults and two children arrived home safely that Wei Pozi could finally relax.

Seeing Wei Pozi steaming bread rolls, Li Chunhua hurriedly went to wash her hands: "Ma, let me handle the cooking. You should rest."

Wei Pozi waved her hand impatiently: "Cut it out. You've been trekking all this way—go rest. But why are you back so late? Did you have trouble at the temple?"

Chapter 85: To Hell With Him!

Though Li Chunhua was straightforward, she knew what not to say.

She glanced at Su Rouer, who was gnawing on her lower lip and didn’t seem opposed, before washing her hands from the basin and explaining to Wei Pozi: "Ma, well, here's the thing..."

Li Chunhua perked up suddenly. "Ma, that temple really is a bit miraculous. The old Taoist priest told us to be careful on our way back... and sure enough, we had some trouble!"

Wei Pozi’s heart skipped a beat: "What trouble?!"

Something really happened?!

She immediately looked over at Xingxing and Ju Geer.

The two little ones, exhausted, were sitting on small stools nibbling on fruit, seemingly unharmed.

Wei Pozi breathed a little easier, only to hear her eldest daughter-in-law continue: "...Ma, we saw Cousin Feng!"

Wei Pozi froze: "Feng?"

She didn’t seem entirely surprised, nodding. "Feng visited me before, said he was trading pelts..."

She noticed Su Rouer’s discomfort.

Li Chunhua hesitated but pressed on: "Ma, Cousin Feng isn’t trading pelts anymore. He..."

Wei Pozi grew impatient with her hesitation: "Out with it. Stop beating around the bush."

Li Chunhua coughed awkwardly: "Well, Ma, Cousin Feng... he seems to be working as an enforcer for a gambling den now."

"What? A gambling den enforcer?" Wei Pozi’s brows furrowed instantly. "You must be mistaken. Feng isn’t that kind of person."

"I’m not wrong," Li Chunhua insisted, coughing again. "Ma, I even spoke to him. How could I mistake him? Besides, Xingxing recognized him first. Right, Xingxing?"

Hearing her name, Xingxing looked up, still chewing on her fruit, and nodded: "Mm! It was Uncle Wei!"

Confirming Li Chunhua’s words.

Wei Pozi was struck dumb.

The news hit her like a ton of bricks.

Her lips parted slightly, but she was speechless for a long while.

Li Chunhua didn’t press the matter. She lifted the steamer lid to check the buns and added more firewood to feed the fire.

Su Rouer stayed quiet, head down.

After a long pause, Wei Pozi finally came to her senses, still disbelieving. "No way... How could Feng become a gambling den enforcer?"

Unwilling to accept it, she pressed Li Chunhua: "...Could there be some misunderstanding?"

"There’s no misunderstanding," Li Chunhua said hesitantly, shooting another look at Su Rouer.

This wasn't the first time Li Chunhua had sneaked glances at Su Rouer.

Old Madam Wei, suspicious, also turned to look at Su Rouer.

Su Rouer kept her head down, silent.

But in the dimming twilight, it was clear that her third daughter-in-law's face was burning red.

...What were these two women scheming about?

Li Chunhua lowered her voice slightly. "...Mother, we bumped into cousin Feng in the alleyway. At the time, he was... collecting debts... gambling den style..."

Wei Pozi, having lived through plenty, had witnessed loan sharks chasing down debtors through villages with machetes.

The color drained from her face!

She never could have imagined that her own nephew would sink to doing this kind of work!

Li Chunhua kept darting looks at Su Rouer.

Wei Pozi, already on edge, was getting fed up by the way her eldest daughter-in-law kept looking at the third daughter-in-law. Barely containing her anger, she barked, "What are you two doing?! Out with it already?! Are you planning to keep secrets from this old woman?!"

Li Chunhua finally fumbled awkwardly, "...Mother, it's not that. It's just..."

She didn’t know how to explain it to Wei Pozi.

The deadbeat Wei Feng had been beating on was none other than Su Rouer’s elder brother!

Su Rouer, pale as a ghost, let out a bitter laugh. "Mother, it's not that Sister-in-law wants to hide it from you—she just doesn’t know how to tell you..."

Su Rouer's eyes brimmed with tears as she forced out the words, "...The person Feng was beating... was my elder brother, Su Chengzong."

Wei Pozi had heard from Su Rouer before about Su Chengzong’s gambling habit.

Though the news didn’t surprise her, having her own nephew be the debt collector made it all the more messed up.

Su Rouer covered her face with her hands, breaking down completely. "Mother, my brother... he lost a hundred silver taels. What... what are we going to do...?"

Even Wei Pozi, whose family had recently come into money, choked at the amount.

A hundred taels?!

Let's be real, without the blessings Xingxing had brought, the Yu family would've never scraped together a hundred taels in their entire lives!

What was Su Chengzong thinking?

How could he have gambled away a hundred taels?!

Old Madam Wei was shaking, at a loss for words.

Su Rouer sobbed her heart out.

One shocking revelation after another had Wei Pozi's mind reeling.

After a long silence, she took a deep breath.

"Third Daughter-in-law, with your brother owing such a huge sum, does your family have any plans?" Wei Pozi asked.