Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 163: Losing Money

Mrs. Chen was so delighted today she nearly floated away, unable to resist saying after being scolded by Third Grandma: "Now that the Lu Family has suffered, they can no longer harm our families. We can relax quite a bit."

"Truly, God has opened his eyes, using this incident to deal with Lu Laosan, letting him be arrogant no more. You, be arrogant now, stand up if you can and show your arrogance, you paralyzed man, never think of standing up to harm anyone again in your life!"

Mrs. Chen ridiculed Lu Laosan and the Lu Family extensively before happily taking her money and heading home.

The matter of the Lu Family did indeed cause quite a stir for a while. Doctor Zhou stayed at the Lu Family for three days, applying silver needles to Lu Laosan for three days and combining it with feeding medicine and massages, finally waking Lu Laosan.

After awaking, Lu Laosan’s eyes were crooked and his mouth askew, unable to speak, only able to make moaning sounds.

Seeing he could not speak, Lu Laosan was terribly frightened, and upon knowing he was paralyzed, he fainted again, waking up later to find his condition worsened than before.

Doctor Zhou said, "You cannot faint again, if you do, I cannot guarantee you will wake up again."

Hearing this, Lu Laosan, with his eyes wide open and looking at Doctor Zhou, started crying and moaning, wanting to ask Doctor Zhou if he could ever recover.

Doctor Zhou repeated to him what he had told Lu Laoer, and upon hearing this, Lu Laosan rolled his eyes back but managed to stay conscious without fainting.

Lu Laosan was full of regret, thinking of Widow Qiu, he wished he could chop her to pieces with a knife. Hearing that Widow Qiu had been sold to Hongfang Building, his hatred diminished slightly.

Ms. Wu’s maternal family and County Magistrate Zou had already learned about Lu Laosan and Widow Qiu’s affair, and that he was suddenly paralyzed.

Driven mad with anger when she heard the news, Ms. Wu’s mother rushed to County Magistrate Zou’s house the next day, causing a huge scene, demanding that County Magistrate Zou seek justice for her daughter.

Ms. Wu’s mother was a favored daughter of County Magistrate Zou’s grandfather, a few years younger than County Magistrate Zou, spoiled since childhood and extremely fierce; even County Magistrate Zou couldn’t handle her, leaving him no choice but to promise to avenge Ms. Wu.

Lately, County Magistrate Zou also harbored intense resentment towards the Lu Family; the matter regarding Lu Dezhu wasn’t dealt with properly, and now another scandal occurred. If not for Lu Laosan being paralyzed, he would’ve had someone finish him off.

To teach the Lu Family a lesson, the day after Lu Laosan woke up, County Magistrate Zou sent his steward to the Lu Family, throwing at Lu Laosan a set of divorce papers and a compensation document that the Lu Family was supposed to give to Ms. Wu.

The divorce papers were a minor issue, as usually, it is the women who suffer from gossip, and the men do not lose anything. But the compensation document was practically a death sentence for the Lu Family.

Old Master Lu, holding the compensation document, jumped up and cursed: "To compensate Ms. Wu with sixty acres of land, thirty acres of paddy fields, two shops, and also to give Sister Yi and Sister Shu fifty taels of silver every year. Fifty taels of silver each year, Sister Yi and Sister Shu would be overfed, a year’s grain doesn’t cost fifty taels of silver, the Wu Family is clearly extorting us."

Seated in the main seat of the house, Steward Shao sipped his tea and said, "Old Master Lu, this has nothing to do with the Wu Family, it’s the County Governor’s idea."

Recently, the Lu Family had been messing up a lot, causing County Magistrate Zou a great deal of trouble, and he wanted to use the affair involving Ms. Wu to teach the Lu Family a lesson.

Today, those who came to deliver the divorce papers and demand compensation were not from the Wu Family, but only County Governor Zou sent him along with ten Protectors from Zou Mansion, clearly having the upper hand over the Lu Family. If the Lu Family dared not to follow the instructions written in the compensation document, these ten Protectors would demolish the Lu Family.

Lu Laoda also returned today, hearing Steward Shao’s words, he quickly tried to appease with a smile, "Brother Shao, please calm down, my father is a countryman, ignorant of the proper etiquette and accustomed to frugal living. Hearing that Sister Yi and Sister Shu would spend fifty taels of silver a year, it pained his heart, fearing the children would develop a habit of wastefulness."

Old Master Lu was not a fool, hearing Steward Shao’s words, he knew that today County Magistrate Zou was intentionally making it difficult for their family, and he quickly nodded in agreement, adding, "What the eldest said is true, I am just afraid the children might develop a habit of wastefulness due to money."

Steward Shao put his teacup down, looked at Old Master Lu, and said, "Old Master Lu, let’s not talk about these useless things. I advise you, money is a dead object, it can come and go. If you don’t provide this compensation, then what leaves next may not be known."

Steward Shao chuckled and conveyed something to Old Master Lu: "Yesterday, the County Governor took a new concubine, who is a Scholar’s daughter—definitely from a more esteemed background than some farmer girl. There seems to be a suspicion that she is pregnant. Though it’s early days and the doctor hasn’t confirmed it yet, the County Governor is incredibly pleased."

So, if the Lu Family is wise, they should realize that County Magistrate Zou doesn’t favor Concubine Lu as much as before. If not for the sake of Third Young Master and Fifth Miss, who knows how the County Governor would deal with the Lu Family.

Hearing this, Old Master Lu slumped into his chair, his hands trembling, his face pale as paper.

County Magistrate Zou has taken a new concubine, and she might even be pregnant!

So, what will become of his family’s Meihua? Has she completely fallen from favor?

If Meihua has fallen out of favor, wouldn’t that be the end of the Lu Family?

Seeing Old Master Lu’s condition, Steward Shao remarked, "Although Concubine Lu has indeed lost favor, with Third Young Master and Fifth Miss still in place, the Lu Family won’t collapse immediately."

"But," Steward Shao pointed at the compensation paper and added, "If you, sir, are too attached to these material things and stubborn against the County Governor, whether the downfall of the Lu Family can be brought forward is difficult to say."

After Steward Shao finished his speech, Old Master Lu had lost all his backbones, shivering he said, "Compensate, our Lu Family will compensate."

Lu Laoer instinctively moved forward a few steps, his mouth opened to utter a protest, but was held back by Lu Laoda and couldn’t get the words out.

Lu Laoer’s heart was bleeding. For twenty years, their Lu Family had scrimped to save up two hundred mu of land, one hundred mu of paddy fields, and four shops. Now, in the blink of an eye, nearly half was gone. But Lu Laoer knew that County Magistrate Zou could not be offended, and they had no choice but to accept. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Seeing Lu Laoer’s expression, Steward Shao smiled and commented, "The Lu Family’s wealth was gathered under the County Governor’s patronage. Returning it to the County Governor’s family is only fitting."

With these words, Lu Laoer turned pale and dared not show any more pain.

Pleased, Steward Shao handed over a box of vermilion ink to Old Master Lu: "Old Master, please press your thumbprint here."

Old Master Lu, tears streaming down his face, did so with a tremble.

Steward Shao didn’t linger; taking the compensation paper and instructing the Protector to move the dowry from the Wu Family’s courtyard, he then left the Lu Family.

After Steward Shao left, Old Master Lu collapsed on the ground, slapping his thighs in anguish and cried, "God, is this what marrying a wife means? This is a knife for ruining and wiping out my home. My Lu Family has struggled for twenty years, and just like that, half our wealth is gone!"

Old Master Lu was both crying and causing a scene, but the Lu Family did not skimp on what they owed to the Wu Family.

Listening to Old Master Lu’s crying, Lu Laoda felt utterly distraught and urgently told Lu Laoer, "Second brother, you stay and watch over Father. I must go back to the county. If I don’t, our family’s standing in Zou Mansion might plummet even further."

After speaking, he quickly ran out of the main house, only to suddenly turn back and tell Lu Laoer, "Leave the Qin and Luotian families alone for now. If we mess up, it has to be done in one blow; otherwise, our family will suffer."

It’s strangely cursed; his family’s fortunes were declining all because of rivalries with families like Qin and Luotian. Had they not tried to snatch the tofu recipe earlier, the Lu Family might not be on this downward path.

Lu Laoer, albeit reluctant, knew the Lu Family was significantly weakened and couldn’t afford more troubles, nodded and said, "Elder brother, go quickly. Any slower and you won’t catch up to Steward Shao." Steward Shao was highly favored by County Magistrate Zou and had to be curried favor with.

Upon hearing this, Lu Laoda dared not delay further and hurriedly left with one of his servants.