Chapter 322: No arguing! Otherwise I'll knock each of your heads!

「...... Tear it up, rewrite! 」

「No! 」

「...... Tear it up, rewrite! 」

「No! 」

「I've said it all, our family being poor is true, but it's not to the extent of letting you sell yourself! Moreover, you're already this old; even if it's not for your future reputation, you should think about your own old bones...... 」

「...... Don't keep calling me an old bone! Even if I, Chen Weifang, die at seventy or eighty, I'm still a blossom renowned across the land! You think only you have peerless looks? You just haven't seen how many have shown interest in me these years! 」

「I meant it when I said your looks aren't good? My point is that your purity is more important! Hand over the letter! Otherwise I'll give you two cuts and four holes! 」

「No! Don't say it's just giving me two cuts and four holes today; even if you tore me apart today, I could never give you the letter! 」

Noise noise noise.

Noise noise noise.

When Du Shanü was woken from her sleep by the noise, the night watchman's clapper had sounded only three times, and the sky remained dark as ink.

At first she didn't hear what the noisy conversation was saying, so she only muttered:

「No wonder Afang said I and the obedient slave are extremely noisy at night; maybe it's always been like this...... 」

After muttering, she turned over, preparing to continue sleeping.

As it turned out, not turning over would have been fine; but once she did, she realized that Chinu, who usually never left her side, was mysteriously absent.

Before Du Shanü could recover from her surprise, the voices outside grew even more intense, carrying far in the quiet night, making anyone who heard them feel uneasy.

Those two voices were unmistakably familiar.

Du Shanü vaguely sensed something wrong, propped herself up and crawled forward, following the lingering embers of the long night that hadn't yet settled......

Sure enough, she finally found Chinu and Chen Weifang arguing.

Each occupied a corner of the desk, Chinu trying to grab, Chen Weifang trying to flee, and they ran around the desk in circles.

Du Shanü peered through the crack in the door for a few breaths, and finally her gaze fell on the note Chen Weifang was pinching in her hand.

And the noisy clamor inside continued——

「You used to tell me 'how long can pleasing others with looks last,' urging me to follow the rules and temper my temper...... but now that I've changed, you want to go and please others with your looks?! 」

「Don't make me sound so pitiful; nowadays even a famed courtesan might not earn five thousand taels in a night—if I could get that price, I'd be overjoyed. 」

「Unpitiful? Unpitiful? Don't you forget how my mother died?! She was desperate and sold into prostitution; we're not destitute now, so why sell ourselves—and to such an ugly man at that?! 」

Du Shanü had intended to stand outside the door and listen to a few details, but hearing this, her head buzzed and she couldn't take in anything else afterward.

【Five thousand taels】【selling oneself】【man】......

If she were any denser, even recalling the scene before she left when Chen Weifang solemnly promised to get her five thousand taels would tell her exactly what happened.

Moreover, she didn't consider herself a fool.

Du Shanü took a deep breath, then pushed open the half-closed door before her.

A slight bumping sound instantly drew the attention of those inside.

Chen Weifang was running to the back of the desk when she saw Du Shanü push the door open; her steps halted just as Chinu caught her red-handed.

Chinu had her back to Du Shanü, and with her mind in turmoil today, she didn't even notice anyone entering the room, only continuing to scold Chen Weifang:

「...... Nothing is too ugly; just look at Chunri Jian's face—whoever sees it loses their appetite! 」

「If you dare trade yourself for those five thousand taels, tomorrow I'll dare jump into a river! I want to see who your paste‑brained self will spend the money on! 」

Chen Weifang, obviously unaccustomed to such a scene, was at a loss, her wrist twitching as she waved her hands slightly, signaling Chinu to stop speaking further.

Chinu didn't care about anything else, she lunged to snatch the letter:

「...... In short, you're not allowed to ask Chunri Jian for money anymore! 」

On one side was Chinu's 'scolding'; on the other, Du Shanü's probing gaze from not far away.

Chen Weifang's whole body had already stiffened, yet she still hadn't loosened the hand gripping the letter:

「...... Actually, it's not as terrible as you imagine. 」

「I've also asked him for money before, and nothing ever happened; even if I'm urgently asking this time, the amount isn't small...... 」

The more she said it, the softer her voice became.

Until she could no longer deceive herself.

He had managed governmental affairs for years, and no one knew better than him how formidable money could be.

Five thousand taels might seem insignificant to high officials and nobles.

However, in the eyes of ordinary families—no, not just ordinary families, even a typical gentry clan would see this sum as requiring great effort.

One must know that in Dun Cheng, with its tin mines, three months of output yields only about six thousand taels; although transportation and sales difficulties play a role, the amount of money is concrete and not deceitful.

Earning five thousand taels and being able to save five thousand taels are worlds apart.

Last year's end, when everything went awry, to dredge the waterways and prevent winter water backflow, he borrowed a sum of silver from Chunri Jian.

When Chinu led troops to attack Zhoufu, he had earlier promised pre‑battle stipend to stabilize the soldiers, and thus borrowed another sum of silver from Chunri Jian.

These two loans were one thousand and over two thousand three hundred taels respectively.

The first loan Chunri Jian produced readily, but when the second came due, gathering the money took several days.

It's obvious that although Chunri Jian's family engages in trade and is well‑off, they are far from being able to throw money around casually.

Moreover, Chunri Jian came seeking fame; her household's original circumstances were merely 'rich but not noble,' like meat on a chopping block—anyone could slice a piece, and though she earned silver, over the years it has been mostly divided up.

Therefore, Chen Weifang always guessed that Chunri Jian's household silver reserves were roughly around ten thousand taels; any more might force them to sell land, shops, or stock.

However, even being able to estimate that doesn't mean Chunri Jian and her father would necessarily come up with that much money.

Five thousand taels is no small sum; who would risk long‑term strain and hardship, with barely any breathing room, to pour half their fortune into a venture whose returns are uncertain?

That simply makes no sense.

Therefore, to obtain that silver, one must naturally offer plenty of 'sweetener'.

He can only gamble.

He bets that on a spring day, the one who has admired him for so many years will be willing, to fulfill a youthful dream, to have a change of temperament.

Otherwise, otherwise...

He truly does not know how to raise this sum of silver for the Wise Lord and Chinu.

Chen Weifang rubbed the oiled paper of the letter in his hand with his fingertip, and after a long while, he laughed and said:

"Wise Lord...... no need to pity me."

"Don't say it's for you and Saner; even if it's to raise funds for the future yellow intestine cause, Afang must also try."

Adding flowers to brocade is easy; giving charcoal in the snow is hard.

Such a ruthless person...

To achieve his goal, he has always been unwilling to spare his body.

Chen Weifang lowered his eyes, while Chinu suddenly raised his, realizing something——

Wise Lord?

Wise Lord?

Wife Master!

Chinu suddenly turned back, while Du Shanü remained calm, pressing down on the restless shoulder of her obedient slave.

In this situation, Du Shanü already understood almost everything.

She and Chinu shared the same longing; however, compared to Chinu's angry scolding, Du Shanü killed all of Chen Weifang's thoughts with just a sentence.

She said:

"Afang, if you do such a thing, from now on I cannot entrust the child to your care."

"Those who associate with vermilion become red; those who associate with ink become black. I fear that Ruier will also learn your trick in the future."

?? coming to provoke, the next chapter may be a bit late, half an hour~