56 Sisterly Affection, Part Thirty-Three

Yu Shanmeng had practically exhausted everything he had to marry her.

With so many problems piling up recently, he hadn't even thought of giving up yet, and this woman actually wanted to leave?

He finally realized that the woman he had longed for half his life was not as wonderful as he had imagined. She was snobbish, weak, and quick to give up... Come to think of it, she lacked the resilience of Zhang Qingxue.

Yet she was the woman he had dreamed of marrying. Now that they were finally together, he had no intention of parting ways with her.

"No way!" Yu Shanmeng flatly refused. "We just finished holding our wedding, and everyone in the city knows I married you. People were already gossiping, and if we break apart now, we'll just become the talk of the town again. Qingya, this is my most difficult moment. Let's just hold on a little longer, and we're bound to see the end of our hardships. I promise you, I won't let you live a hard life for much longer."

Zhang Qingya looked somewhat dazed. "A-Liang is gone."

Yu Shanmeng already knew about this. He fell silent for a moment before offering comfort: "Children grow up, and when they grow up, they leave our side. It's just like how my three children turned against me because I wanted to marry you—it hurts me inside, too."

In other words, he didn't care about his children in order to be with her, and she should feel the same way!

Zhang Qingya steadied her mind.

That old saying still held true: among all these men, Yu Shanmeng was the one who cared about her the most. If he could make a comeback, he certainly wouldn't treat her poorly. Besides, having gone through hardships together forged a different kind of bond. They were late-in-life partners anyway and couldn't have children together. If they could weather this storm, they should be able to grow old side by side.

Zhang Qingya lowered her gaze as tears streamed down faster and faster. Finally, she threw herself into Yu Shanmeng's arms and wept uncontrollably.

Since the two children had already left, there was naturally no question of adding their names to the ancestral genealogy, so Yu Shanmeng turned his attention back to business. Those shops could not be reclaimed, and since he didn't want a complete falling out with his wife and children, his only option was to open new ones.

Starting from scratch was difficult, but Zhang Qingxue had managed to open a bustling teahouse all by herself; there was no reason he couldn't do the same.

For the next few days, Yu Shanmeng was constantly out and about, busy looking for people to back him financially.

However, nobody's money fell from the sky. Now that he was empty-handed, nowhere near as many people believed in him as he had imagined. Those willing to give him money offered only a tiny fraction—far from enough to fund a shop.

Zhang Qingya was in a bad mood and stayed behind closed doors all day. Zhang Huiniang was also deeply depressed; failing to get any news from Liu Linfeng made her increasingly irritable and more resentful the more she thought about it.

To put it bluntly, if she hadn't handed over her entire dowry to Liu Linfeng, she and her daughter wouldn't have fallen into their current predicament.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she went to confront him once again.

Perhaps the heavens had eyes, for her luck was quite good this time. Just as she arrived outside the Liu family courtyard, she ran into Liu Linfeng coming out.

Upon seeing her, Liu Linfeng wanted to turn tail and run. But seeing that she was all alone, he managed to suppress the urge to bolt, squeezed out a forced smile, and asked, "Huiniang, why have you come?"

Master Zhang had already been thrown into prison, so even if Zhang Huiniang possessed the IOUs he had personally written, she could no longer return to her maiden family. Still, she felt it necessary to remind this man just how much money he owed her.

"Write me an IOU."

Liu Linfeng looked awkward and asked softly, "What happened to you? You don't look well—are you feeling unwell?"

Hearing this tone from him caused Zhang Huiniang's heart to soften. She clenched her teeth and said, "I've had so many things happen, how could I look well? I came looking for you today specifically to get that IOU." She couldn't remember how many favors she had bestowed upon this man, but she knew precisely how large her dowry had been. She immediately held out her hand and declared, "My dowry totaled over fifty thousand silver taels. Given all our years of affection, I won't nitpick, but you are going to write an IOU for fifty thousand taels."

Liu Linfeng roughly calculated in his mind and guessed that he had indeed taken around that much. But taking it was one thing; he had never once intended to pay it back.

"Huiniang, don't joke around. Big Brother has already entered the big prison; he won't be asking you for an IOU. As for the relationship between the two of us..."

The mere thought of his cold indifference made Zhang Huiniang feel as though all her sincere devotion had been fed to the dogs. It was as if she had been blind, repeatedly scraping together silver to give to someone else. In the past, she truly couldn't bear to use even decent hairpins or fine fabrics, always scheming to have the father of her children buy things for her instead, saving every penny purely to give to this man.

And what had she gotten in return?

"Don't bring up the past. I'm still living under someone else's roof as a dependent," Zhang Huiniang said earnestly. "Write the IOU, and I won't make a scene out of this. Otherwise, I'll take you to court."

Shocked, Liu Linfeng hurriedly said, "Don't be impulsive." He tried to persuade her further: "Even if you take this to court, the magistrate has no way of knowing how much silver I took from you."

Both of them had been married to other people; whenever they met, they sneaked around in fear of being discovered, and when the silver changed hands, only the heavens and the two of them knew. Not even Zhang Huiniang's senior maidservant had been privy to it.

With this thought, Liu Linfeng's panicked heart gradually calmed down.

Hearing him say this left Zhang Huiniang's heart ice-cold. "Then you can explain to the magistrate where the silver came from when your business went under all those years ago. If it wasn't given by me, just where did it come from?"

Liu Linfeng was left speechless.

Indeed, the silver had to come from somewhere, or at least he had to offer a plausible explanation. Aside from taking silver from Zhang Huiniang over the years, he had never acquired large sums of money through any legitimate channel.

Seeing him stay silent, Zhang Huiniang urged, "Are you going to write it or not?"

Liu Linfeng looked around and said, "This isn't a proper place to talk."

Zhang Huiniang stepped closer to him. "Is the magistrate's office a proper place to talk, then?"

Liu Linfeng: "..."

Relentless, Zhang Huiniang pressed on: "If you don't write it, before the day is out, the magistrate will certainly be looking for you!"

Liu Linfeng regretted his arrogance from all those years ago—believing that business was bound to turn a profit, he had repeatedly taken large sums of silver from her, only to find himself completely at her mercy now. If he handled this poorly, he would end up dragging himself straight into a prison cell.

After all, that silver had been squandered away completely. A portion of what remained had been used to support his household, and his current residence had been purchased with that money. Yet even if he stripped his family of every single valuable possession to pay off the debt, it would be merely a drop in the bucket—not even ten percent of what was owed.

Seeing ZhangHuiniang turn around to leave with an utterly resolute attitude, Liu Linfeng blurted out anxiously, "I'll write it!"

Using the excuse that he lacked brush, ink, and paper, he suggested going to a nearby teahouse. Zhang Huiniang humored him and went along, during which time Liu Linfeng tried several times to back out of it to no avail.

An hour later, Zhang Huiniang held the IOU with ink that was still wet. In truth, she knew that among all the business ventures this man had tried, aside from making a tiny profit once, he had lost money on every single one. Asking him to repay this sum meant that even if he were sold off, he couldn't afford it. She gently blew on the ink to dry it and stated, "Within half a month, I want you to come to my home with betrothal gifts, and within a month, I want to see the bridal sedan chair."

Amidst Liu Linfeng's stunned gaze, she articulated every single word clearly: "I poured all my sincere devotion into you, abandoning a good life just for your sake. My two children won't even come to see me anymore—they must truly hate me. It makes no sense for me to have sacrificed so much only to end up getting nothing at all from you. I refuse to play the fool. Liu Linfeng, I want to be your wife!"

Liu Linfeng was dumbfounded. "Huiniang, I already have a wife and concubines... They've borne me children. If they were to be driven out..."

"And what about me?" Tears unknowingly flooded Zhang Huiniang's face as she shouted, "I ruined my reputation for your sake, lost my chastity before marriage, gave birth out of wedlock, and even drove my own brother into a prison cell because of it. Despite all that, I never told anyone that the man was you. I protected you to this extent—don't I deserve a formal, honorable marriage?"

Seeing her in such an agitated state, Liu Linfeng hurriedly placated her: "I dream of marrying you, but they are innocent, and my children are innocent, too..."

"I don't want to hear your sophistry, nor do I care about your dilemmas. In the past, I thought too much about your feelings, which is why I ended up despised by everyone!" Zhang Huiniang screamed, "Within half a month, if you haven't cleared out your household and come to propose, we'll see each other in court! I'll ruin you and destroy your entire family!"

Her gaze was wild and frenzied, bordering on madness.

Terrified that she might actually go crazy and disregard all consequences, Liu Linfeng spoke in a soft, soothing tone: "You've always been so good to me; you won't really ruin me."

"I was exceptionally good to you, hoping for just a fraction of it in return, and you can't even manage that?" Tears dripped continuously from Zhang Huiniang's eyes. Wiping them away with a handkerchief, she wept, "If I hadn't waited for so long until I reached absolute despair, I wouldn't want to force you either. Liu Linfeng, a person must have a conscience... If you don't come to propose marriage, just wait for my revenge!"

With those words, she brushed away her tears and swept off in a huff.

Liu Linfeng wanted to chase after her, but it was far too late.

After that day, Liu Linfeng came to seek an audience several times, only to be turned away at the door. With less than half a month left, he had no choice but to prepare for two contingencies. After discussing it with his wife and concubines at home, he had them take their silver and children back to their respective maiden families.

The family of Liu's wife was utterly disgraceful, and she refused to go back. Helplessly, Liu Linfeng bought a small courtyard in the suburbs for her, settling the mother and children there. Afterward, he hired a matchmaker and went to propose.

Settling his wife and concubines had cost a considerable amount of silver, making the betrothal gifts he brought exceptionally meager. Zhang Huiniang stood on her doorstep with her hands on her hips, pointed a finger, and shouted, "Get lost!"

Liu Linfeng had been stressed to the point of a breakdown over these past few days, and now that he had actually come to propose, she was berating him like this in front of a whole street of onlookers. Annoyed, he snapped, "You're the one who told me to come! If I leave now, you aren't allowed to hold this against me later!"

Seeing him treat her with such disdain truly broke Zhang Huiniang's heart. With a look of utter sorrow, she said, "I sacrificed so much for you, and this is all you bring as betrothal gifts? Go on then, let's both ruin each other!"

Liu Linfeng thought to himself: *What a madwoman.*

He truly regretted not cutting ties with her sooner; if he had just settled things by giving her twenty thousand taels of silver, he wouldn't have landed in this state. With no other choice, he had to go out and procure proper gifts all over again.

This time, Zhang Huiniang readily accepted the gifts, and their marriage was officially settled.

Such a bizarre affair quickly spread all over the city. Hearing the news, Chu Yunli eagerly paid a visit.

Unwilling to see her, Yu Shanmeng hid away in the outer study.

Zhang Qingya had no choice but to step out and receive the guest.

Upon entering and glancing around the austere Yu family courtyard, Chu Yunli smiled brightly and remarked, "Quite impoverished. Still, those pawned items were handled privately—you'll have to pay them back eventually, you know."

Looking somewhat embarrassed, Zhang Qingya replied, "We're biological sisters; why quibble over such details?"

"We are not sisters," Chu Yunli corrected her with a straight face. "Besides, you're the one taking advantage of me right now, so of course you'd say that. If our positions were reversed, you certainly wouldn't be as magnanimous as I am."