She got pregnant after the swap marriage, and the scumbag's family regretted it so much they cr

Wei Shuo lowered his head guiltily.

Thinking of the IOU in his pocket, he felt a bit more confident and said defiantly, "I won't take that tattered belt! But Gao Shangzhi, you have to hand over this thousand taels of silver to me today, no matter what!"

Are you suggesting I make all my brothers make the trip again in a few days?

There was nothing Gao Dakai could do about this. He looked at Gao Shangzhi, waiting for an answer.

Gao Shangzhi then looked at Zhou Shi and said, "Old woman, aren't you... rich?"

Zhou glared back and stomped on his feet a few more times.

After venting her anger, Zhou glared around at her surroundings.

She pried the nine hundred taels she had given to Lu Huan back out of Lu Ruyi's hands.

But in reality, it was just a transfer from one hand to the other; she didn't gain much advantage.

Her gaze fell on Gao Yan, who stood calmly at the back of the crowd, and a nameless anger suddenly welled up inside her.

"Gao Yan, where the hell is your wife?! Her in-laws are being driven to their deaths, and she still has the nerve to hide in the house?"

A murderous glint flashed across Gao Yan's face. "This has nothing to do with my wife. What is she, a woman, doing in public?"

"Zhou! Shut up!" Gao Dakai chimed in, scolding, "The money was owed by my eleventh cousin, what are you doing looking for Ayan's wife?"

Zhou was well aware that Gao Yan was taking his anger out on her. But she simply loathed Gao Yan, especially the way he looked at her as if she were a madman.

An impasse fell over the courtyard; no one spoke again.

Just then, footsteps and the sound of cart tracks rolling on the ground came from outside the courtyard.

Everyone heard it.

Wow! It's quite lively here!

Manager Zheng seemed oblivious to the tense atmosphere in the courtyard, and cupped his hands in greeting to Gao Yan: "Young Master Gao, it's been a long time!"

Wei Shuo sized up the newcomer's clothes; it seemed he couldn't afford to offend him.

Could it be that this whole scheme was a waste of time?

Gao Dakai stepped forward and greeted him warmly, "Manager Zheng, it's been a long time!"

Manager Zheng simply nodded slightly as a greeting.

He waved behind him, "Bring it up!"

Two guards, dressed in dark blue cloth armor and wearing iron hats, carried in a plaque covered with a red cloth.

Wei Shuo was very familiar with the guards' clothes; they were exactly the kind of clothes that guards in the Prince of Yan's mansion could wear!

What incredible luck Gao Shangzhi had to get into the Prince of Yan's mansion!

Unexpectedly, after the two guards entered, they turned and walked towards Gao Yan.

Steward Zheng said with a smile, "Young Master Gao, His Highness, moved by the Lady's righteousness, has bestowed upon you this plaque. Please accept it on his behalf!"

Before Gao Yan could speak, Madam Zhou's eyes lit up, and she stepped forward, exclaiming, "Gao Yan! Our family hasn't split up yet, this plaque should be placed in the main hall!"

Manager Zheng's expression turned somewhat strange. He pulled down the red cloth covering the plaque and asked, "Are you sure?"

On the black-painted carved plaque were the four large characters “Compassionate Heart and Benevolent Deeds”, with a line of smaller characters on the right reading “Specially bestowed upon Lady Lu, wife of Gao Yan of Gaojia Village”, and on the left were the date and the seal of the Prince of Yan.

All the characters were painted with gold paint, making them look exceptionally rich and majestic.

Although it wasn't a reward given to Gaojia Village, Gao Dakai still smiled broadly.

"Good, good, good! Ah Yan, you've married a wonderful wife!"

Manager Zheng also smiled and praised, "Yes, Madam is kind-hearted and thinks of the poor people in the city. She specially donated a thousand taels of silver, which is a good start."

The prince had this plaque made in haste, not wanting to bury the lady's good deeds.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Gao Dakai was about to kneel down when he saw that Gao Yan only bowed and clasped his hands in thanks, without showing any intention of bending his knees, so he hesitated.

Gao Dingyi shoved the door latch in his hand into the hands of the brother next to him, and walked over to Gao Yan with a grin: "Brother Yan, let me help you carry it inside!"

Gao Dakai followed and whispered to Gao Yan, "When the Prince bestows the plaque, do we not need to kneel to receive it?"

Gao Yan looked somewhat confused. "I don't think we need to!"

Even if he wanted to kneel, I'm afraid Steward Zheng wouldn't dare to accept such a gesture!

However, the hesitation in his tone made Gao Dakai very uneasy, fearing that he might displease Steward Zheng and have them all taken away.

He remained amiable and friendly until Steward Zheng left.

Before getting into the carriage, he didn't forget to exchange a few pleasantries with Gao Yan, telling him to visit the Prince's residence often.

It's like when your wife and sisters-in-law finish chatting and you invite them to visit more often.

Gao Dakai shook his head, trying to shake off the strange thoughts in his head.

Looking back, there was still a group of people standing in the courtyard.

Zhou stood there dumbfounded at the back of the crowd, as if struck by lightning.

They were so busy attending to the stewards of the Prince's mansion that they completely forgot about the foolish things Zhou had said.

Just as Gao Dakai was about to lash out, Wei Shuo stepped forward and said, "For the sake of the Prince's residence, I'll grant you three days. If you can't retrieve it after three days, I... I'll take it to the authorities!"

After saying this, Wei Shuo led about ten of his men out of the courtyard. It seemed he intended to catch up with the Prince's carriage.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, most of the people in the courtyard had left.

Gao Dakai opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.

He waved to the villagers of Gaojia Village in the courtyard, "Go back now!"

Gao Yan also spoke up, "Thank you all for your help today, uncles and brothers. I'll treat you to drinks in a few days!"

The simple farmers all had smiles on their faces.

Gao Dingyi jumped up with joy, "Brother Yan, you said it yourself!"

Gao Yan punched him on the shoulder, "You'll get your comeuppance!"

Gao Yan saw them all out of the courtyard and then walked into the courtyard gate with Gao Dakai.

Meanwhile, Gao Shangzhi and his wife had almost slipped into the backyard.

Gao Dakai's face instantly darkened, and he shouted, "Gao Shangzhi! You still have the nerve to run away!"

Gao Shangzhi shuddered and glared at Zhou Shi reproachfully, "It's all your fault, you old woman! If we had walked faster, we wouldn't have had to listen to Ninth Brother's nagging!"

Zhou raised her head, her eyes filled with venom, which made Gao Shangzhi even more frightened.

Gao Dakai stood at the entrance of the main hall, looking down at the unreliable couple.

"If you don't come in, believe me, I'll leave right now!"

Gao Shangzhi glanced at Zhou Shi secretly and moved over there first.

Zhou lowered her head again, seemingly lost in thought, and followed Gao Shangzhi into the main hall.

Gao Dakai waited a moment, and seeing that neither of them intended to speak, asked, "Can you come up with that thousand taels?"

He wanted to ask the couple about their plans, mainly because he was worried they might sell the small estate.

Zhou did not answer, but looked at Gao Yan and asked, "Where is your wife?"

"Inside the house," Gao Yan said sullenly without even looking up.

In fact, he wasn't afraid at all.

His wife had already told him the truth: apart from the dozens of taels of silver in the money box, there was no way Zhou could find another copper coin in their room.

"Why are you asking Ayan's wife?" Gao Dakai said discontentedly. "This has nothing to do with her! You don't want your daughter-in-law to help her father-in-law pay off his gambling debts, do you?"