Chapter 179

Chapter 179: Demanding Payment That night, Qingshan failed to catch Song Shucheng. A few more days passed, and Song Shulan's health improved enough that he could walk on the ground. Worried about court affairs, Song Shulan hurried back to his duties without pause. Qingshan carried him to the government office on his back, and then he walked in with his crutches. However, when he encountered Gao Jingzhi, Song Shulan felt especially conflicted and deliberately kept his distance, but Gao Jingzhi kept clinging to him. Until one day, Gao Jingzhi couldn't hold it in any longer. "Brother Song, have I done something to offend you?" Song Shulan couldn't tell the truth, but he was furious inside. He could only punch Gao Jingzhi hard and say, "It's that medicinal wine you gave me—it made me fall into a ditch in the middle of the night!" "So that's what this is about. I thought it was something serious." Gao Jingzhi chuckled. "How was it? The medicinal wine I gave you was pretty good, right? You couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and fell because you were thinking about women?" Song Shulan's expression stiffened. He pushed Gao Jingzhi away. "I'm not joking around with you. I haven't been here for days, so I have plenty to do." "Oh, it's good that you're here. You know your former brother-in-law went to the Ministry of Personnel, right?" Gao Jingzhi continued to follow Song Shulan. Song Shulan found Gao Jingzhi annoying but had no reason to push him away, so he could only nod and say he knew. Gao Jingzhi seemed not to notice Song Shulan's discomfort and continued, "A couple of days ago, he brought people to the Ministry of Revenue to make arrests. That kid—he's truly a fearless newborn calf. He arrested people from the family of the Second Madam of the Rong Prince Mansion's natal household. He's offended quite a few people. Hey, let me ask you—how are things between you two now? Can you rely on him?" "It's just so-so." Song Shulan didn't want to say more, and only managed to shake off Gao Jingzhi when he said he needed to go to the latrine. He made some inquiries and learned that Cui Zeyu had arrested members of the Qian family on charges of corruption and bribery. The Ministry of Revenue was a money vault. No matter how incorruptible a person was when they came in, they couldn't leave with clean hands in the end. Song Shulan was speechless. Cui Zeyu simply wouldn't stop until he'd offended everyone. Many people were already criticizing Cui Zeyu's background, and now he was making enemies everywhere. What was he going to do in the future? Song Shulan had to reconsider his future dealings with the Duke of Dingguo's mansion. After a full day of work at the government office, Song Shulan returned home with an aching back and sore legs. Sitting for too long made that area uncomfortable. He also didn't dare drink too much water, afraid that going to the latrine would reveal his abnormality to others. Although that thing of his was still there, it wasn't the same as before. Every time he urinated, he didn't dare look, afraid of frightening himself. On the way back, Song Shulan even considered whether he should see an imperial physician. After all, he was still young and had beautiful wives and concubines—he didn't want to resign himself to fate just yet. But then he thought again—there was no wall that the wind couldn't pass through. If the imperial physician spread the word, he would become the laughingstock of all Bianjing. Song Shulan couldn't afford that risk. He was deep in thought all the way back to the Marquis Mansion. Just as he entered the gate, he saw some strangers. When he reached the front hall, he saw Shopkeeper Zhu from the gambling house, holding the promissory notes signed and fingerprinted by his second brother, demanding payment. "Marquis Song, you've finally arrived." Shopkeeper Zhu smiled and greeted him. "Your wife said she can't handle this matter, and the Old Madame said she fainted. But it's all in black and white—these bear your younger brother's own fingerprint." Song Shulan already knew about his second brother's gambling, so seeing Shopkeeper Zhu wasn't particularly surprising. Still, he was very angry and asked the servants, "Where is the Second Master?" "Reporting to the Marquis, the... the Second Master is not in the residence." "Go find him and bring him back—tie him up if you have to!" Song Shulan looked at the stack of promissory notes. Adding them up, they came to a total of twenty-three thousand taels of silver. The gambling house people knew Song Shucheng's identity, which was why they lent him so much money. Given the prestige of the Jiangyuan Marquis Mansion, if they didn't repay the debt, the gambling house wasn't afraid to make a scene—they had plenty of ways to get leverage over such prominent households. Song Shulan sent someone to fetch Cui Lingrong, but soon Nanny Qiu arrived from Qiushuang Zhai. "Marquis, the Eldest Madam said this is a matter she cannot handle. The Old Madame is still here—if you wish to discuss it with someone, you can go to the Old Madame. As for the household coffers, they cannot produce this sum of money." After Nanny Qiu finished speaking and curtsied, she was about to leave when the Marquis came over. "Go back and tell Lady Cui that this is no small matter. If it isn't resolved, it will also affect Yu-jie and her younger brother!" Song Shulan could only bring up his children. "The Eldest Madam also said that although the Marquis household hasn't been divided, if the Marquis is willing to be ruthless and have the Second Master leave the household, it could preserve the family's reputation. However, since the Marquis and the Second Master are brothers, she wouldn't presume to force you to abandon brotherly bonds. She trusts that you and the Old Madame will resolve this properly, as she has already discussed this matter with you." Nanny Qiu knew what the Marquis meant by summoning the Eldest Madam—he wanted her to pay the money. Pay off the Second Master's debts? Dream on! While the Marquis was stunned, Nanny Qiu hurried back. At Qiushuang Zhai, Cui Lingrong was waiting for Nanny Qiu to return. "I said exactly what you instructed, Eldest Madam. But are you truly so certain that the Old Madame and the Marquis will repay the Second Master's debts?" Nanny Qiu was still a bit worried. If the matter blew up, it would still affect Yu-jie and her younger brother to some extent. Cui Lingrong was certain. "You've forgotten—Old Madame cares most about face. She'll definitely repay Second Master's debt herself. If I go over there, they'll pressure me to hand over money. If I refuse, they'll pile all kinds of accusations on me. Let's wait first—once the gambling den's people leave, then we'll go over." Nanny Qiu acknowledged with an "all right." With the Eldest Madam here, she just needed to follow her lead. On the other side, Song Shulan had no choice but to invite Old Madame over. When Old Madame Song learned that Cui Lingrong refused to come forward, she couldn't help but curse her as a venomous woman, then said anxiously, "That much silver—how could we possibly come up with it?" Song Shulan didn't have that much money on hand. He could only look at Old Madame. "Mother, you..." "I don't have that many banknotes either!" Old Madame Song still needed to keep her burial money, and besides, she truly didn't have that many notes on hand. "That unfilial son—I gave him money to smooth things over in official circles, and he went and gambled it away, losing that much!" Old Madame Song was utterly drained. Her eldest son had become a eunuch, and her second son owed gambling debts. For a moment, it felt like the sky was about to collapse. Song Shulan said with difficulty, "But if we can't produce the money, they won't leave. Mother, we still need to figure something out—we have to pool the funds together first." "County Mistress—go to the County Mistress. She should have some money on hand." Old Madame Song grabbed her son's arm. As for Cui Lingrong, it was clear she wouldn't give a single coin. Song Shulan was somewhat reluctant. In the past, if he'd held County Princess Rongjia close and coaxed her with a few sweet words, she would certainly have helped. But now that he was in his current state, even if he and County Princess Rongjia stripped naked together, he couldn't perform in bed anyway. "Go! Unless you want to watch the Marquis's household lose all face?" Old Madame Song pressured him. "Besides, the County Princess ought to help the household too. She's done so many things—she can't just sit there with a clear conscience, thinking we won't hold her accountable for any of it." Song Shulan had no choice but to go see County Princess Rongjia. But County Princess Rongjia didn't have much money on hand either. Moreover, this matter involved Song Shucheng, and County Princess Rongjia didn't want to part with her money. For the first time, she shared the same thought as Cui Lingrong. "Master Song, Second Master is nothing but an unworthy fool who can't be helped. Why don't we split the household?" If they split the household, no matter what Song Shucheng's reputation became, it wouldn't affect the eldest branch—and they'd be rid of the burden of the other two branches. But Song Shulan immediately said that wouldn't do. "Mother is still alive—how can we split the household? The County Princess should consider the bigger picture. Splitting the household at a time like this—wouldn't that make all of Bianjing laugh at the Marquis's household?" "But that's such a huge sum of money. Even if we scrape it together now, will Second Master turn over a new leaf?" County Princess Rongjia had been thinking all these days about Song Shulan becoming a eunuch. She would be living as a widow for the rest of her life. She was already thinking of taking back her subsidies to Shouan Tang, let alone giving money to pay off Song Shucheng's debts. No matter how much Song Shulan pleaded, it was useless. He could only take a deep breath and lower his voice to coax her. "County Princess, you and I have known each other since childhood. Now that we've rekindled our bond, we should cherish each other all the more, don't you think?" "I..." "Or is it that you're disgusted with me now?" Before County Princess Rongjia could answer, Song Shulan followed up with the question. He stared intently at County Princess Rongjia. In truth, these past few days, he'd been wanting to ask this question all along. Were they disgusted with him now?