Zhenfubao waved his hand and the warehouse was full of grain, and the whole family regretted it

Zhao Qiaolan's mother-in-law cried loudly, "Your child deserves 500 taels of silver. How can you ask us to pay it back?"

Bai Qiaoniang and Bai Wanwan ate delicious food while watching this farce.

Bai Qiaoniang snorted softly and said, "Have you known about this for a long time? I was wondering why you suddenly dragged me over to eat!"

Bai Wanwan took a sip of seafood porridge and said, "Oh! Of course I have to come back to watch the fun. This is just the beginning! Please wait a little longer, the main force is on the way!"

"Ah? There's a large army! Tsk tsk tsk tsk..."

Bai Qiaoniang sighed and said:

"I heard before that Zhao Qiaolan married a scholar and praised him to the highest level, saying that he was a child prodigy and would definitely pass the imperial examination and become the top scholar.

I didn’t expect that this top scholar would be like this.”

Bai Wanwan shrugged and said, "I don't know whether he is the top scholar or not, but I heard that this scholar has been having a lot of fun outside."

The scholar knelt on the ground with a plop, looking at Master Bai and Madam Bai with tears in his eyes:

"Dad, Mom, I'm really desperate!

How can we afford 500 taels of silver? Please save me!

Zhao Qiaolan also quickly chimed in:

"That's right, Dad and Mom, Sun Xing got into trouble because he was confused for a moment.

If he loses his status as a scholar, how can he become an official in the future? I am still waiting to become the wife of a high-ranking official! "

Mrs. Bai glanced at Zhao Qiaolan and said coldly:

"This is a good opportunity. If you don't want to live with him, we will help you get a divorce.

Your father is now a prominent figure in the imperial court. With your conditions, what kind of good family can't you find? You have to think carefully."

Zhao Qiaolan was so anxious that she kept shaking her head:

"Dad, I've decided on Sun Xing for my whole life!

We have three children, how could I be that ungrateful?"

At this time, Zhao Qiaolan's mother-in-law also started shouting:

"How can you persuade your own daughter to divorce?

I've lived for most of my life, and I've never seen in-laws like you!"

Mrs. Bai walked up to Zhao Qiaolan, stroked her scattered hair, her eyes full of pain:

"Silly girl, we are saving your life! Look at how Sun Xing has been behaving these days. How can he look like a scholar at all?

You spend your days drunk and idle, even abandoning the dignity of a scholar, and yet you always talk about genius..."

"No! My husband had a photographic memory when he was little. The teachers in the county all praised him as a prodigy that only appears once in a century!"

Zhao Qiaolan clutched the corner of her clothes, her voice trembling:

"He was just unlucky and got tricked by those gambling den people! If you give him time, he'll definitely be able to pass the imperial examinations and achieve fame..."

"Dad, Mom, please have some pity on me and the children! 500 taels of silver is nothing to you!"

Madam Bai sighed heavily and turned to look at the setting sun outside the window:

“We can afford 500 taels of silver, but this hole can only be plugged temporarily, can it be plugged forever?

Once a gambler's hands get involved in gambling, it's like falling into a quagmire, and the more he struggles, the deeper he sinks.

If you really care about yourself and your children, you should..."

"No!" Zhao Qiaolan suddenly grabbed Madam Bai's sleeve and turned back to the scholar who was slumped on the ground, crying, "Husband, swear now! You say you will never gamble again!"

The scholar hurriedly knelt up straight, raised three trembling fingers above his head, and the veins on his forehead bulged:

"I... I, Sun Xing, swear to heaven, if I ever set foot in this gambling house again, I will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death.

Father-in-law and mother-in-law, for the sake of Qiaolan and the children, please help me this last time!"

Before he could finish his words, his knees gave way and he slammed heavily onto the blue brick floor, making a dull sound.

Mrs. Bai stared at the scholar who was kowtowing like crazy with a cold expression: "If swearing was effective, the gambling house would have closed down long ago."

Just as the situation was at a stalemate, several gambling thugs outside the door started shouting impatiently: "What are you dithering about! Are you going to pay or not? If you can't come up with 500 taels today, this scholar will leave with us!"

Zhao Qiaolan hit the ground with a thud, her forehead red.

"Dad! Mom! I am your biological daughter! The three of you are still young and cannot be without a father!

Just have pity on us mothers and daughters..."

Before he could finish his words, a dozen strong men suddenly rushed into the yard, holding shiny axes and long knives in their hands, and blocked the door tightly.

Everyone in the room was terrified. Master Bai asked in a trembling voice, "What...what do you want to do?"

The leading strong man spat and said viciously:

"What are you doing? It's only natural to pay back your debts!

Hurry up and don’t waste our time.”

Baiyin sighed, pointed at the writing brush, inkstone, and paper on the table and said to the scholar:

"Forget it, I'll lend you the money.

But let me be frank, you have to write a document stating clearly when you will pay the money back.

My money didn’t fall from the sky.”

Zhao Qiaolan widened her eyes, looking incredulous:

"Dad! I'm your own daughter! It's just 500 taels of silver, and I have to write an IOU?

Do we really need to be so distant from each other as family members?"

Baiyin stamped his feet in anger:

"500 taels? That's easy to say! Do you know how many years I have saved up these 500 taels of silver?

I am very busy every day, and every penny is hard-earned!

I helped him pay off his gambling debt today, but if he gambles again tomorrow, do I have to fill the hole?"

Before he could finish his words, there was a sudden sound of chaotic footsteps outside the yard, and dozens of ferocious-looking men kicked open the gate and rushed in.

The scarred man in the lead pointed at Sun Xing, veins popping out on his neck:

"That's him! He ordered ten tables of food and wine at Qingqinglou yesterday.

He brought a bunch of his cronies along to eat and drink for free, and then took advantage of the chaos to slip away!"

Sun Xing's face instantly turned pale as paper. He stumbled back a few steps and bumped into the screen, waving his hands wildly in the air: "No... No! I don't even know where Qing Qinglou is!"

"Stop pretending!" A thug with a thick face grabbed him by the collar, the breath of alcohol spraying in his face. "Yesterday, you were singing with the girl in your arms, saying that your father-in-law was a Beijing official, but now you're a coward when it comes to paying the bill?"

"It was really my friend who did it! I swear..." Before Sun Xing could finish his words, he was slapped by the scarred man and blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.

"You've got to pay for the people you brought here!" The man pulled out a crumpled bill and threw it on the ground. "The wine, food, and the girl's reward—three thousand taels in total! If you can't come up with it today, we'll go to the government office and sue you for free dining!"

The room fell into dead silence. Zhao Qiaolan slumped on the ground, her fingers tightly grasping the hem of her skirt.

Mrs. Bai covered her chest and gasped for breath, almost falling down.

Baiyin stared at the bill on the ground, his Adam's apple rolling up and down, and after a while he trembled and said:

“It’s not that I don’t help…

Three thousand taels, even if I sell my house I can’t even come up with that!”

Zhao Qiaolan's mother-in-law grabbed her daughter-in-law's wrist, her nails almost digging into the flesh:

"What are you still standing there for! Hurry up and ask your father to save Ah Xing!

My son is so capable, when he passes the imperial examination, he can pay back ten times the amount of money!"