Sir Song, do you want to pledge yourself to me?

Upon receiving the news that the goods had been recovered from the government, Master Chen also learned that the Xu family and Wen Jida had been thrown into prison. Furthermore, his son relayed the information brought by Ji Nuan, prompting him to make a decisive move and deploy a series of subsequent plans overnight.

The next morning, the story of the Wen family's warehouse robbery, originally circulating only among a few well-informed individuals, spread like wildfire throughout the city. Streets and alleys, teahouses and taverns were all hot topics of discussion. Those with fertile imaginations embellished the story, making it even more outrageous.

For example, the Liu family tea stall in the East Market.

After serving tea to the guests, Old Man Liu sat down and joined their chat.

Old Wang was the first to bring up the topic, "Everyone, have you heard about what happened in the Wen family recently?"

Upon hearing this, Old Han, who was sitting at the same table, immediately chided him, "Hey, Old Wang, are you still thinking about that incident at the Wen family clothing store where they bullied customers? Hey, old buddy, that's all old shit. Why haven't you moved on yet?"

"Hey, I'm not talking about that old story today." Old Wang waved his hand, looking disapproving. "I'm talking about a strange theft that happened at the Wen family the night before last."

This statement immediately piqued the curiosity of the diners at the next table, who cast inquiring glances. "Old Wang, stop keeping us in suspense. What's the mystery? Tell us all about it!"

Seeing this, Old Wang lifted his teacup with satisfaction, took a sip, and then slowly spoke, "Just the night before last, the Wen family's storehouse, which usually stored gold, silver, and countless treasures, was suddenly robbed overnight by a master. The thieves' methods were truly astonishing. Apart from the four bare walls, there wasn't a single valuable thing left in the storehouse."

Old Man Liu's face was filled with suspicion when he heard this. "This thing sounds mysterious and doesn't seem to be true, right? The Wen family's business is booming, and they are a well-known and wealthy family in our capital. Their home is heavily guarded. How could they be easily robbed?"

Old Wang shook his head, his expression solemn. "This is absolutely true. The Wen family has already reported it to the authorities. I heard that the prosecutor personally led people to investigate, but they came back empty-handed. They didn't find a single thing. Such a large warehouse, filled with valuables, it's like it just vanished into thin air."

"Is there not even a single footprint left at the scene?" someone wondered. "How could one or two people possibly move all that stuff?"

"That's right. There must be some noise when moving things around, right? Could it be that everyone in the mansion is deaf and didn't hear anything?" another person echoed.

"If they say they drugged everyone in the mansion, how much medicine would they need? There's no way the government wouldn't find out." Old Han joined the discussion, offering his own opinion. "I reckon it's probably someone in their family colluding with the government and stealing from the inside."

At this point, Old Han nodded, seemingly quite satisfied with his own speculation. "Otherwise, how could there not be even a trace left? Someone must have helped cover up the traces."

Old Han thought about it and raised another rather realistic question: "Boss Wang, you said the Wen family was robbed so thoroughly this time, do they still have money to keep their business running?"

Old Wang curled his lips. "They have a big business, so they should have some shops that can squeeze out some money for emergencies. We're just talking about it, so we don't have to worry about it." Then he changed the subject and dropped another shocking news. "Did you know? The eldest son of the Wen family is said to be colluding with bandits and specializing in robbing wealthy families. He robbed so many people, how could he not have money?"

Upon hearing this, the person at the next table asked in surprise, "Old Wang, are you saying it was the Wen family's eldest son who colluded with the bandits? I remember it was the Tongzhifu who was arrested before, and it caused quite a stir at the time. What's going on? The Wen family is involved too?"

"Hey, the eldest son of the Wen family has been taken away by the government. How could he be wrong? It must be related to that incident." Someone continued.

"No wonder the warehouse at home was cleaned out. This is retribution!" someone sighed.

"It's hard to say. Maybe even the God of Wealth couldn't stand it anymore and just waved his hand to confiscate their property." Another person joked.

……

For a time, all kinds of speculation and discussion arose, and the topic became increasingly outrageous. Some shrewd businessmen gradually realized that something was wrong, especially when the owner of the Chen family jewelry store unashamedly took the bill to the Wen family to collect the debt. The whole situation was like a lit firecracker, and it got out of control.

The shops that had business dealings with the Wen family were worried that they would not be able to collect the debts, so they followed the Chen family's example and gathered in front of the Wen family's door with their bills. A storm was quietly brewing.

Let’s talk about the Ji family.

Ji He, who just returned to her husband's home last night, brought Zhang Qinghu to her parents' home today.

This time she didn't make a fuss like before, but instead brought an old hen.

Ji Feng knew his sister too well. As soon as he saw her behavior, he knew that something bad was going to happen. He simply didn't bother to pay attention to the couple and didn't even bother to say hello.

However, when the aunt-in-law saw the old hen, a smile instantly broke out on her face. She thought that her daughter had finally learned to be considerate of her parents' family and knew how to be filial.

She happily took the chicken, which had its wings tied and couldn't flap, and muttered, "Oh, I'll just live a good life with Qinghu when I get home. There's no need for you to come all the way here and give me a chicken."

Ji He and Zhang Qinghu exchanged glances, one feeling guilty, the other embarrassed, their smiles forced. Finally, Ji He mustered up the courage and spoke, "Mom, I came back this time to borrow some money from home."

When my aunt heard this, her face immediately darkened.

She is a person who loves to take advantage of others, so she would never lend money easily, even to her own daughter.

"What are you talking about? When you got married, your family just held a banquet for you. How could they have extra money to lend you?"

Ji He didn't believe it and retorted, "Mom, didn't we receive gifts for the banquet? How could there be no money?"

Ji Feng sat leisurely on the side and said indifferently: "Don't worry about the gifts. You will have to return them when the time comes."

When Ji He heard this, he was a little unhappy: "I didn't ask you, why are you butting in?"

Ji Feng sneered, "Oh, you came to my house to borrow money, and you won't let me speak? What kind of logic is that?"

Although Ji He was not right, he was still very angry: "So you are just going to watch your cousin get his legs broken? He has already admitted his mistakes and promised to change for the better. As long as he pays back the money he owes, we can live a stable life."

Uncle Ji has been upset these days because of Ji He's affairs, and he found his pipe that he hadn't used for a long time.

He tapped the pipe in his hand, a worried look on his face. "Qinghu, how much do you owe them?"

Zhang Qinghu lowered his head and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito, "Two...two hundred taels."

"What?" Ji Feng was immediately furious when he heard this. "My family works so hard and saves so little, but we can't even save ten taels of silver in a whole year. And you ask for two hundred taels right away? Why don't you sell yourself and see if you can get that much?"

"Supporting a scholar at home is already expensive. Oh my God, where can we get so much money?" The aunt-in-law shouted, slapping her thigh.

She was so angry that she slapped Zhang Qinghu on the back of the head. "I told you not to learn your lesson! Why are you so disappointing and causing me so much trouble? I might as well just let them break your legs to save you from getting into trouble!"

Zhang Qinghu turned pale with fear when he heard this. He knelt on the ground, tightly grasping his aunt's sleeve, and begged, "Aunt, you are my dear aunt, you can't just ignore me! If I really can't pay the money back and become a cripple with a broken leg, my life will be over!"

"Mom, just think of a way!" Ji He looked at his parents with a pleading face, "Dad, Ji Nuan is so good at making money, why don't you go to my second uncle's house and borrow some!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room fell silent in an instant. Everyone's eyes were focused on Ji He and Uncle Ji, and the atmosphere became extremely strange.