Never would I expect Mrs. Ouyang to be so heartless, not even sparing her own son.
And Ouyang Xiao, his skin torn and flesh exposed from the beatings, wailed bitterly, insisting he didn’t spend the silver and that he didn’t put any sundries in the box.
"How dare you argue back! I’ll beat you to death! You’ve been spoiled rotten over the years, so undisciplined. Tomorrow, I’ll throw you into the mines to toil away!"
"Hmph, it’s one thing for you to squander money on wine and won, but to even lay a finger on the treasury silver, you must be sick of living." Mrs. Ouyang was disappointed as iron not turning into steel, and whipped him fiercely several more tis.
Sitting in the middle, Ouyang Fu looked at his precious son being disciplined and felt a stab of pain in his heart, though he really wanted to ask his wife to stop, he held back.
In the end, it was Lord Huo of Wushan City sitting to the side, although holding the sa generation status as Ouyang Fu, Lord Huo looked a decade younger, suave and debonair.
No wonder Ouyang Fu was so eager to bring his wife back, he was well aware of his old love rival’s formidable strength.
Seeing Ouyang Xiao close to collapsing, Lord Huo slowly rose and said, "Ling Shuang, that’s enough, the boy is just a bit naughty by nature, not wicked, don’t be too harsh on him."
"You?"
Ouyang Fu stood up in anger, his own wife was still alive, yet Lord Huo dared to call her by her na, clearly not taking him seriously.
But when Ouyang Fu was about to beco incensed, he caught the warning look in his wife’s eyes, and he could only let it go in the end.
"Soone, lock this unfilial son away, and without my orders, do not let him out." Mrs. Ouyang dropped the whip, her tone still full of rage.
Ouyang Qian quickly brought a chair for her mother to sit down, then tenderly massaged her shoulders.
It must be said, Ouyang Qian was indeed a little padded jacket that did not let through any wind.
This scene made Lord Huo quite envious, as he began to assert his presence once more.
"Qian’er has grown up so quickly, turning into such a fine young lady."
Who knew Ouyang Qian would not appreciate it, retorting coldly, "Yes, I have grown up, yet Lord Huo is still without a wife and children; are you waiting to celebrate my wedding?"
Such explosive news, even Lin Yi couldn’t help but take a second look at Lord Huo, who would have thought Lord Huo was such a faithful lover.
One would think Ouyang Fu was devoted enough for not taking concubines, a true diamond among loyal lovers, but next to a king of faithful lovers like Lord Huo, he was hardly worth ntioning.
Hearing there was a wedding to celebrate, Lord Huo imdiately perked up, quickly asking.
"Which family’s young master has caught Qian’er’s eye? He must be an exceptional talent."
Hearing this, Ouyang Fu quickly changed the subject, and sighed, "Ah, don’t worry about my daughter’s affairs."
"Let’s talk about how to resolve today’s matter."
The matter was this: Lingyun City wanted to purchase thirty mines from Wushan City, needing to pay 100,000 taels of silver.
Since it was a straightforward deal of money exchanged for signing an agreent, the issue should have been simple. But upon checking the silver, it was discovered that the silver brought by Mrs. Ouyang was only 30,000 taels.
Clearly not adhering to trading rules, according to the laws of Nan Zhao, one must pay ten tis the fine.
That is to say, the Ouyang Family must compensate Lord Huo with 1 million taels of silver.
million taels of silver was not a small amount; if they really had to dish out 1 million taels, it would an mortgaging half of their family fortune.
Mrs. Ouyang Ling Shuang’s relationship with Lord Huo was not ordinary, hence she personally visited, wishing for a private settlent.
The situation clearly favored Lord Huo, so Mrs. Ouyang had to cooperate as much as possible.
Thinking of Ouyang Xiao, who was beaten until his skin ripped open, Lin Yi felt guilty. Quietly having ddled with the silver, not even spent, it had brewed such trouble, truly regrettable.
’Since it began because of , then let be the one to solve it.’
Lin Yi listened carefully from the side, looking for the right mont.
Regarding compensation, Ouyang Fu did not wish to be looked down upon by his rival and waved his hand, agreeing to the million taels compensation.
But as soon as he spoke, Mrs. Ouyang stopped him, saying that 1 million taels was too much, and she couldn’t bear it.
"No, there’s a reason behind this incident. Our Lingyun City didn’t an to fool you, and don’t we still have 30,000 taels?"
Even for the wealthy Ouyang Family, it was too much to lose 1 million taels at every turn.
Seeing Mrs. Ouyang’s anxious appearance, Lord Huo quickly stood up to comfort her.
"Ling Shuang, it’s strange for us to speak like this between old friends. Actually, we can pretend this incident never happened, just make up the full 100,000 taels and it’s fine."
Huo Si’s magnanimity only intensified Ouyang Fu’s discomfort. Unable to bear the responsibility of the family but having to receive face from his love rival — wasn’t that a slap to his own face?
Ouyang Fu’s wife glanced at him, unsure of what to decide for the mont.
Just then, Lin Yi stood up.
"Wait, who said that Lingyun City hasn’t provided the full hundred thousand pieces of silver? Our Lingyun City has always kept its word."
As soon as these words were spoken, Huo Si frowned in displeasure. It had taken him over a decade to find a legitimate reason to visit Lingyun.
How could he tolerate soone unrelated intervening and yearned to stay at Ouyang Mansion for a few more days?
"And who might you be to speak here?" he asked arrogantly, as if he were the true master of the Ouyang household.
Seeing this, Ouyang Qian imdiately stepped forward, shielding Lin Yi behind her, and anxiously said, "Uncle Huo, please don’t stoop to his level; he is Lin Yi, the Divine Doctor, a distinguished guest of our Ouyang Mansion."
"Father, I wasn’t wrong, was I?"
Watching Ouyang Qian’s protective manner, Huo Si was deeply moved, rembering the ti he and Ling Shuang were childhood sweethearts and she would defend him before old Ling in the sa way.
Except Old Ling had ruthlessly torn them apart, giving the advantage to the youngster, Ouyang Fu.
Over the decades, Huo Si had looked after Ling Shuang, both openly and in secret. Although he knew they were not fated to be together in this lifeti, he still hoped to see more of her while he was alive.
Lin Yi’s appearance had clearly shifted Madam Ouyang’s attention, and Huo Si was not pleased.
"Oh, to call yourself a Divine Doctor at such a young age, you must be quite arrogant. As a distinguished guest of the Ouyang Mansion, why would you say they haven’t short-changed anyone in the amount of silver? Could both Madam Ouyang and I have seen incorrectly?"
Hearing that the old fellow, Huo Si, finally addressed her respectfully as Madam Ouyang, Ouyang Fu was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Divine Doctor Lin, this is a matter of our household. I know you are well-intended, but trust to handle this."
Ouyang Fu’s persuasion seed useless to Lin Yi. If he truly had the authority of a head of household to settle the matter properly, his daughter-in-law wouldn’t have to be involved like this.
[Ding Ding Ding, Host has successfully converted 5 million Heavenly Bead Coins into seven thousand taels of gold and placed them in Huo Si’s carriage.]
"Lord Huo, I forgot to tell you that I went to your residence early this morning with Madam Ouyang, and we put the seven thousand taels of gold together in your carriage. As it turned out, I overslept and forgot all about it."
"My apologies."
Hearing this, everyone was shocked, disbelieving as they looked at Lin Yi.
"Ouyang Fu? What’s the aning of this?" Madam Ouyang turned pale and looked at the steward, equally puzzled.
Ashad, Ouyang Fu pulled Lin Yi aside and whispered, "Divine Doctor Lin, I know you an well and I’m grateful you helped Qian’er with the mine issue."
"But this is no joke; steward, please escort Divine Doctor Lin out."
Ouyang Fu was worried that Lin Yi’s presence would darken the matter further, but Lin Yi insisted on staying and made a bold statent.
"Lord Huo, every word I, Lin Yi, have said is true. If there is any falsehood in my words, I am willing to cripple my own legs. I implore you to send soone to inspect it."
"Just a quick check will suffice. It would be a major issue to wrong Madam Ouyang otherwise."
If Huo Si lost his temper now and insisted on chasing Lin Yi away, it would appear petty and distrustful of Madam Ouyang.
"Fine then, whether or not you cripple your legs is unimportant. If you dare mock , even if you are a guest of the Ouyang Mansion, I will not let you off lightly."
Huo Si wasn’t soone easy to handle, like Ouyang Fu; he would only show restraint before the woman he deeply loved.
"Soone, go check my carriage now."
Madam Ouyang was feeling uneasy. Lin Yi’s sudden actions had disrupted her original plans, and she stepped forward to scrutinize Lin Yi carefully.
"Are you not from Nan Zhao Country?"
The sharp-eyed Madam Ouyang noticed that Lin Yi’s clothing material was not from Nan Zhao Country.
Then, Ouyang Fu once again reintroduced Lin Yi’s identity, especially Ouyang Qian ntioning that Lin Yi shared the sa na as the Great General of You Country.
Hearing this, the cunning and shrewd Huo Si straightened his back without revealing any emotion, listening intently to every word.
Just then, a guard dressed in grey armor rushed in anxiously.
"Report, Lord Huo, your carriage indeed contains seven thousand taels of gold, equivalent to seventy thousand taels of silver."
... End of the Chapter ...
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