The one hundred taels of silver notes had already been exchanged for actual silver and spent on Mo Yongxi’s engagent ceremony to show off, as well as to purchase jewelry and clothes for her. They had spent two to three ten taels, and Lao Mo’s House simply couldn’t co up with it!
Even if they could, Mo Hong’s family and others would never spit out the fat they had swallowed. That would be asking for their lives!
Perhaps feeling confident on her own turf, Mo Hong shalessly stated that the silver had already been spent. Want the silver back? Fine, go to the city and ask Tie Tou for it—it was he who refused to sign the marriage contract, and it had nothing to do with anyone else!
Since receiving the silver, Tie Tou had been released by Mo Wu and was sent to work at the rice shop the sa day. After all, each day’s delay ant a day’s wages deducted, and those wages were to end up in Mo Hong’s hands, so naturally, she was unwilling to let Tie Tou idle at ho for nothing.
"Lady Mo, it was you who borrowed the silver, and it was you who pressed your handprint on the promissory note. Had you kept your word and delivered the marriage contract within ten days, I wouldn’t have troubled you. But you took the silver without fulfilling your promise, and that’s truly disappointing! If today you can’t produce the silver, nor the marriage contract, I’ll have no choice but to take the promissory note to the Governnt!"
Liu Qingqing appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen, with delicate eyebrows and pleasing features. She seed graceful and proper, not at all like a woman of disrepute. Yet the sharpness that occasionally surfaced in her words revealed she was not one to be trifled with.
The incident of Mo Yonglu being flogged and exiled by the Governnt had left a deep trauma on Mo Hong’s family. Hearing Liu Qingqing’s words now made them tremble in fear. Seeing that Qingqing’s deanor was sincere, they knew big trouble lood that day. In an instant, they detested Tie Tou, who adamantly refused to sign the marriage book, to the bone.
"Qingqing, rest assured, when my grandson cos back tonight, I’ll make him sign the marriage contract. The roots of our Mo Family are here; we can’t run even if we wanted to. Could you perhaps give us a little more ti?"
Mo Hong’s face lost its previous arrogance. She forced a smile at Liu Qingqing, and her sagging old skin twitched along, creating a grotesque expression.
Liu Qingqing also smiled, but her eyes didn’t share the sentint, "Lady, don’t try to deceive . Your grandson simply doesn’t want to marry . The marriage contract should have been signed by now. Even if I gave you another ten days, you probably wouldn’t be able to procure it. I think you’d better just return the silver to , and considering our acquaintance, I won’t charge you any interest!"
Seeing how uncompromising Liu Qingqing was, Mo Hong’s heart also grew frantic. She had just been showing off a gold bracelet and knew that even if she asked the village for a loan now, promising high interest, people might not be willing to deal with her. Nor could she bring herself to lose face by begging so lowly.
She stamred out the truth and pleaded again with Liu Qingqing for an extension, reasoning that postponing even for a day was sothing, in hopes that one day Wood would co to his senses and be willing to sign the marriage contract—thus she wouldn’t have to return the silver!
After listening, Liu Qingqing’s smile seed even more genuine, "Lady, I see your daughter’s pair of gold bracelets are worth quite a bit of silver. Why don’t you use them to settle the debt and just pay the remaining silver? That should be enough, shouldn’t it?"
Upon hearing this, Mo Hong’s eyes widened and she reflexively refused, "Don’t even think about it! That’s the token of my daughter’s engagent; even if you took to the Governnt, I couldn’t possibly give you the bracelets!"
The smile on Liu Qingqing’s face cooled slightly as she said half-jokingly, "Although one hundred taels of silver isn’t a lot, if you were reported to the Governnt, not only would you have to return the silver, but you wouldn’t be able to escape a beating. I heard that the punishnt can be quite severe. If it hits the wrong spot and damages the muscles and bones, it could kill or paralyze soone! I just wonder if at your age, after a beating like that, you could still pull through..."
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