The merchant's rebirth led to the complete downfall of the Marquis's mansion.

Jiang Liu woke up three days later, and the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was people coming to collect debts.

The already small house was now packed with people. He recognized the men in the lead; they were the ones who had paid for the goods with him.

At this moment, they blocked the doorway with their men, making people move things from room to room. The Jiang family already had only a few people left, so they couldn't stop them.

After they searched the place and found nothing of value, Liu could only stand there crying and wailing, having brought out all their clothes and bedding.

Jiang Xiaoxiao hid behind Liu Shi, daring not to speak out despite her anger.

As for Xia Qiutang... Jiang Liu saw that her room was tightly closed, and someone was shouting at the door, saying that if she didn't open the door, they would break it down.

Jiang Liu first calmed down the few people who were about to break down the door before walking up to the three leaders.

"Brother Huang! Brother Liu! Brother Liang!" Jiang Liu greeted them with a cupped hand.

The man in the lead quickly waved his hand, refusing his offer of goodwill.

"No, no, no, Brother Jiang, we're not kidding. We only bought it with you because you said we'd definitely make money, and now everything we received is broken! You have to compensate us for our losses!"

Although Jiang Liu understood that this was just bullying a nobody like him, he was powerless to resist in the current situation and had no choice but to humble himself.

"My three brothers, it's all my fault. I should compensate you for your losses!"

Seeing that he had a good attitude, the three of them didn't make things difficult for him.

"Then you can move aside! The things here aren't worth much, but every little bit helps. You can add the rest later."

"Brother Huang, please hear me out!" Jiang Liu stepped forward and whispered something in his ear.

After listening, Huang Zhong looked at him in surprise, and nodded after a long while.

"Fine! I'll trust you one more time! Send the money over in a couple of days, or next time I come I'll drag everyone here out and sell them!"

Jiang Liu saw the person off with a forced smile, thus saving the bedding that Liu was fighting over.

The crying stopped abruptly, and everyone in the house left. Liu was still stunned and couldn't come to her senses.

Jiang Xiaoxiao looked at Jiang Liu with red eyes.

"It's all his fault! Mother! It's all Jiang Liu's fault! I heard it all just now! He's the one who brought these people!"

The reason Liu tolerated Jiang Liu was simply because she coveted his money, and also because the Jiang family had no one else to rely on.

But now that he's caused them so much trouble, how can he possibly tolerate it?

Liu glared at Jiang Liu with hatred.

"Hand over the silver! Get out of the Jiang family right now!"

Jiang Liu turned around without even glancing at them.

"If you want to live on the streets, I can ignore you!"

"What do you mean! This house is ours!" Liu was shocked and stared at him in confusion.

"Unfortunately, the people collecting the debts won't see it that way! I raised the money in the Jiang family's name, so naturally everyone should pay it back together!"

After hearing this, Liu slumped her shoulders and stared blankly into her eyes.

Jiang Xiaoxiao retorted, "You did all of this! We're going to the authorities to sue you!"

"Whatever! But miss, once you're gone, I won't be responsible for anything else; this debt is yours to settle!"

"You..." Jiang Xiaoxiao was speechless. How could this belong to them!

After a long pause, Liu asked:

"Do you have a way to pay it back?"

“Of course, they all left!” Jiang Liu said with certainty.

“Okay!” Liu readily agreed.

"Mother!" Jiang Xiaoxiao wanted to say something, but was glared at by Liu Shi and shut her mouth in a huff.

Jiang Liu stood at the front door, glancing uneasily at Xia Qiutang's room.

The door there remained tightly closed. Following his gaze, Liu realized that someone else was missing.

Unlike the worry in Jiang Liu's eyes, Liu was furious and completely lost.

With the place in such a mess outside, this little bitch is still staying inside and won't come out!

Liu pushed away her daughter who was still holding her hand, walked quickly to Xia Qiutang's door, and started banging on it.

"Xia Qiutang!!! You come out here!"

After knocking for a while without any response, Liu kicked him hard again.

"Xia Qiutang!"

Xia Qiutang could no longer pretend to be dead, so she had the maid open the door.

“Mother!” Xia Qiutang looked at Liu Shi with a wronged expression.

Before Liu could speak, he took the silver out from behind his back.

“Mother, this is all the money we have left. I thought that even if they take everything from here, I could keep some of it so that you wouldn’t go hungry or cold…”

Xia Qiutang cried her heart out, portraying a wronged little white lotus who was thinking of her family.

When Liu saw the silver, she was stunned and could no longer utter a word of reproach.

What they lack right now is money!

She didn't come out to protect the silver!

Liu took the silver, weighed it in her hand, and her expression softened considerably.

"Mother! Go and see if there's any more!" Jiang Xiaoxiao looked at Liu Shi's silver and then glanced at Xia Qiutang's room with ill intent.

Liu thought it made sense, so she pushed Xia Qiutang aside and went inside.

The two searched Xia Qiutang's room for a while, but found nothing, so they clapped their hands and left.

Xia Qiutang kept a smile on her face as she saw the two off.

“Madam…” Jiang Liu looked at her smile and was very worried.

"I'm fine! You need to handle things over there!" Xia Qiutang said, appearing to be bearing a heavy burden of humiliation, and then had the maid close the door.

Jiang Liu stood at the door for a while before leaving.

Xia Qiutang inside the house no longer looked sad or upset at all.

"Where are the silver notes? Are they hidden well?" Xia Qiutang sat down and asked her maid.

"Hide Miss well!" the maid replied cautiously.

From the moment that group of people entered, Xia Qiutang took out the silver notes and had her maid find a place to hide them.

The maid took the silver note and ran to a corner, where she slipped it through a small hole into the crevice next door.

Xia Qiutang kept an eye on the situation outside until those people left, at which point she took out the few taels of silver she kept close to her body.

She's already given away her dowry. If she can't even keep what she got from Qin Yao, then she'll end up just like the Jiang family, completely destitute.

She needs to have a backup plan.

Jiang Liu's so-called solution was nothing more than trying to use the hot pot restaurant as collateral, but the hot pot restaurant was rented!

When he arrived, Huang Zhong and the others were already waiting there, along with the shop owner.

Jiang Liu was in a bind. His plan to get away with it had failed, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go over to exchange pleasantries.

He had rented the shop for six months, hoping to recoup his investment and have enough rent for the next six months, maybe even enough to buy it. Now…

After a brief conversation, Huang Zhong tapped the table.

"Brother Jiang! Even with several months' rent added, your shop still isn't enough!"

Jiang Liu knows all too well!

"Don't worry, Brother Huang, I will send the rest of the money over tomorrow."

Huang Zhong nodded. He was a well-known local bully in the capital, and he feared no one except officials.

They are not afraid that a minor character like Jiang Liu might back out.

After leaving the store, Jiang Liu went to find someone to sell the house.

There was nothing he could do about it. Fortunately, he still had the deed for the house he bought, so it was easy to sell.

As for the Jiang family, we can just find a cheaper place.

Let's talk about it after we get through this difficult time!

The Liu family members, still at home, had no idea that they were about to be evicted and forced to live in one of Kyoto's notorious slums...

……