Chapter 334

After delivering the harsh words, Du Ruo and Lao Tietou left gracefully under the almost worshipful gazes of the onlookers.

They didn't take a single cloud with them.

Of course, they also didn't take the five thousand taels of silver that Su Jin Xiu had promised.

Du Ruo knew exactly what kind of devious scheme Su Jin Xiu was plotting; trying to scam her?

Not a chance!

As for Du Ruo's talk of reporting them to the officials, it wasn't entirely a threat; she really did plan to do it.

How could a dignified Prince Ji Mansion not be able to come up with thirty thousand taels? Besides, only a very small portion of people had bet on Jiang Zhan to win; the vast majority had bet on Duan Xiu, and that money added up to at least ten or twenty thousand taels, all of which now belonged to Shen Jing Bin.

In the end, they just didn't want to pay.

They had to pay whether they wanted to or not. Who told them to force Jiang Zhan to accept the bet in the first place? They even played dirty by finding someone to splash ink on Jiang Zhan, almost ruining the child's future.

Du Ruo kept a record of all these new and old grudges in her little notebook.

Whether for the money or to vent her anger, she had to get those thirty thousand taels!

No sooner had Du Ruo left than the gate of the Prince Ji Mansion slammed shut.

Su Jin Xiu stood up abruptly, her features twisted in a terrifying way, and she squeezed the words out through her teeth: "Ungrateful wretch."

The servants all lowered their heads, silent as cicadas in winter.

"Exactly, giving them face and they don't want it." Su Jin Xiu's trusted nanny, Shang Chun, echoed. "And she even threatened us with reporting to the officials. Does that cheap slut know that Magistrate Su is our uncle? A death-seeking thing!"

Hearing this, Su Jin Xiu wasn't comforted at all; instead, her expression grew even uglier.

Uncle? Hah.

She feared that her good brother wouldn't just refuse to stand on her side, but would instead choose to destroy his relatives for the sake of justice.

It wasn't as if he hadn't done such things before.

Except for that bitch Su Qing Ci, no one in this world could make Su Qingyao break his principles.

Su Jin Xiu suppressed the jealousy and hatred in her heart and took a deep breath. "Let's go, Bin'er, come back to the room with Mother to discuss a countermeasure."

After saying this, she lifted her feet and walked toward the main courtyard.

After a few steps, she suddenly sensed something was wrong and turned back in confusion. "What's wrong, Bin'er?"

Shen Jing Bin, who had been in a daze, came back to his senses. "Son just feels that woman looks a bit familiar, as if I've seen her somewhere, but I just can't remember..."

Shang Chun let out a snort of laughter.

"Oh my Heir Apparent, give it a rest. That cheap woman is as black as a coal ball; how could you have possibly seen her?"

Shen Jing Bin had a unique penchant for married women; this wasn't a secret, and there wasn't a servant in the mansion who didn't know it.

But like his father, the Prince of Ji, Shen Jing Bin's taste was also very picky; he liked women with fair skin, especially the kind that glowed white.

He wouldn't even spare a glance for someone as dark as this.

Su Jin Xiu also felt it was unlikely. "Is it just that people look alike, so you remembered wrong?"

Shen Jing Bin scratched his head. "Perhaps."

At this moment, his page, Wen Liu, spoke up timidly: "That... Heir Apparent, this servant also feels she looks quite familiar. She looks a bit like the woman who was with Jiang Zhan at the Zhuangyuan Tower that day; it seems to be Jiang Zhan's sister-in-law."

Jiang Zhan's sister-in-law?

Shen Jing Bin had no impression of her.

That day at the Zhuangyuan Tower, his attention had been entirely on Jiang Zhan; as for the few people beside Jiang Zhan, he hadn't paid any attention at all.

However, it was possible he had caught a glimpse of her inadvertently, which was why he felt she looked familiar.

If it were true, that meant Jiang Zhan's sister-in-law had also come to place a bet, and had even bet five thousand taels on her own brother-in-law?

How dare she!

Who on earth gave her the courage to be so confident in Jiang Zhan's strength?

"Damn it!" Shen Jing Bin grew angrier the more he thought about it. "That Jiang Zhan was clearly playing the pig to eat the tiger. When the bet was made, he acted all reluctant, as if he couldn't win the exam, but in the end, he came in first in every subject, causing me to lose so much silver."

Su Jin Xiu sighed. "Forget it, Bin'er, what's the use of saying all this now? Just consider it a lesson learned; just don't fall for such tricks in the future."

The mother and son talked as they returned to Tianxiang Garden.

After entering the room, they sat face-to-face to think of a solution.

Today, a total of over eighteen thousand nine hundred taels of silver had been paid out, which just happened to offset the portion of bets placed on Duan Xiu; the difference was only a few hundred taels, which could be ignored.

The most critical thing now was the thirty thousand taels to be paid to that dark-faced little bitch.

Although their Prince Ji Mansion didn't have any real power, relying on the accumulation of their ancestors and Su Jin Xiu's dowry, they could scrape it together if they gritted their teeth.

But if they did that, the Prince Ji Mansion would truly be left with nothing but an empty shell.

How would they maintain appearances in the future?

Thinking of this, Su Jin Xiu had a splitting headache.

"Sell off those seductive sluts kept in the backyard; we should be able to scrape together a few thousand taels at least."

Shen Jing Bin hesitated. "Those beauties were all redeemed by Father from brothels with great effort. If we just sell them like this, what if Father comes back and is unhappy..."

"Your father is currently enjoying himself in the capital and has likely already found new lovers; he wouldn't care about them."

Su Jin Xiu snorted coldly. "Besides, you are the only heir to our Prince Ji Mansion and the only descendant of the Shen family. Are you more important, or are those sluts? Even if your father comes back, he wouldn't dare say a word against me!"

That was true.

Shen Jing Bin nodded. "Then let's sell them all; it'll also save us a dozen mouths to feed."

But this was still far from enough.

"Mother, didn't you go to see Grandmother yesterday? Did she not give us any money to tide us over?"

It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it; mentioning it filled Su Jin Xiu with rage. "She only gave one thousand taels of silver. It's a drop in the bucket; what use is that?"

That old thing Zhao Shi was becoming less and less sensible.

In the past, she would grant whatever was asked, but now she would constantly make excuses, saying her eyes were going blind and she didn't know how long she had to live, so she had to save some silver for the old servants around her.

Weren't they just useless servants? Were they worth being so concerned about?

If it were her own daughter Su Qing Ci who encountered such a thing, let alone silver, she probably wouldn't even frown if she were asked for her old life...

A look of resentment flashed in Su Jin Xiu's eyes.

"Princess Consort, Li Xiao is back." Shang Chun lifted the pearl curtain and entered to report with a face full of joy.

Li Xiao was Shang Chun's son, who had been sent by Su Jin Xiu to Wutou Xian a few days ago to inquire about the Jiang family.

He had only returned today to report.

Su Jin Xiu was currently overwhelmed, so she had no mood to care about other things, but since it concerned Su Qing Ci, she managed to pull herself together.

"Bin'er, you're tired too; go back to your own courtyard and rest." Su Jin Xiu didn't want her son to know about the things she had done back then.

Shen Jing Bin, however, refused to leave. "What is there that I can't hear? Mother, you aren't hiding anything from me, are you?"

"What could I be hiding from you? It's just that the Jiang constable snatched your credit last time, and Mother was unhappy, so I sent Li Xiao to check on that person's background."

Su Jin Xiu's eyes flickered. "Forget it, if you want to listen, then listen."

After saying this, she gave Shang Chun a look.

Shang Chun understood and quickly went out to give Li Xiao some instructions before leading him in.

Li Xiao reported the situation he had gathered to Su Jin Xiu in detail.

"The Jiang family has four siblings. The eldest is Jiang Li, who is a constable in Wutou Xian. It is said he is highly appreciated by his superiors and is doing very well. He married a woman surnamed Du, the daughter of the Wutou Xian assistant magistrate Du Ren Mei by his first wife, but the couple's relationship with Assistant Magistrate Du is not harmonious."

"The second, Jiang Zhan, is a scholar and has quite a reputation for talent in the local area."

"By the way, it seems he also came to participate in the Prefectural Examination this time, but I don't know how he did..."

"Wait!" Shen Jing Bin stood up abruptly, his eyes terrifyingly wide, filled with shock. "Say that again, what is the Jiang family's second son called?"

Su Jin Xiu and Shang Chun also stared at Li Xiao in disbelief.

Li Xiao was frightened by this scene and swallowed his saliva. "Called, called Jiang Zhan. I heard he is also the top scholar of Wutou Xian..."

*Smash! *

Shen Jing Bin grabbed the white porcelain teacup in front of him and smashed it fiercely onto the floor.

Shards splattered everywhere, and the fine Oolong tea spilled all over the ground.

"Damn it, no wonder that Jiang Zhan intentionally feigned weakness to scam me; it turns out he's Jiang Li's younger brother!"

Su Jin Xiu sneered. "These two brothers are truly interesting. One snatched your credit, Bin'er, and the other came to snatch our Prince Ji Mansion's money. Could it be they have some deep-seated hatred for our Shen family?"

"Exactly." Shang Chun spat. "A pair of heartless, despicable villains!"

Shen Jing Bin was so angry he paced back and forth in the hall, cursing as he walked.

Originally, he had already planned to grit his teeth and pay the thirty thousand taels, after all, if he didn't, he'd have to eat prison food.

But now, he had changed his mind.

They snatched the credit and now wanted to snatch the money?

Keep dreaming! Even if I throw the silver into a dung pit, I won't let you bastards have it!

As he thought, Shen Jing Bin suddenly stopped his steps.

He had it!

"I ask you, did you find out the whereabouts of the Du woman?" he asked Li Xiao urgently.