Volume 1, Chapter 9: The Chu Family is a Bottomless Pit

Xiao Yichen had left.

The members of the Chu family breathed a collective sigh of relief. They were fortunate to have sent that plague away, even if they still owed one hundred thousand taels in betrothal gifts. At the very least, they had cleared today's hurdle; had Xiao Yichen gone to the Empress to report their defiance of an imperial decree, they would have been truly ruined.

Chu Weiming forced a smile onto his face. "Aoshuang, what are you still standing there for? Hurry and invite General Fu inside."

With another one hundred thousand taels still outstanding, the Chu family certainly could not scrape that amount together in three days. They would have to rely on Fu Chenxing, their timely benefactor.

At that moment, Fu Chenxing’s head was spinning. What had he done? He had handed over the betrothal gifts to his beloved, only for them to end up in the hands of her ex-husband! Worse, Xiao Yichen was his sworn enemy. The Fu family was not exactly wealthy; losing one hundred thousand taels of silver would cause them significant pain. His father had originally advised him to offer only fifty thousand, but Fu Chenxing felt that as a distinguished general, offering only fifty thousand would be too shabby. He had his own calculations, too—he figured he could find a way to reclaim whatever money he gave to the Chu family, which was why he had insisted on the full one hundred thousand.

Now, it had all gone straight into Xiao Yichen’s pockets.

As he was pulled into the main hall by Chu Aoshuang, the more Fu Chenxing thought about it, the angrier he became. He felt cheated. The Chu family had accepted such a massive sum from the Xiao family without a word, and now they expected him to foot the bill for their repayment? He regretted arriving so early; he should have waited until the accounts between the Chu and Xiao families were settled before coming to propose. But it was too late now.

"General Fu, thank you for coming to the Chu family's rescue this time. That good-for-nothing Xiao Yichen is truly despicable. To demand back the betrothal gifts he gave my family, and to go so far as to beg the Empress for a decree—what a wretch," Chu Weiming said, his heart filled with indignation. "In all my years, I have never seen such a shameless person. Fortunately, you used your military merits to win Aoshuang’s hand, allowing her to break free from the Xiao family; otherwise, my daughter’s life would have been miserable."

"It is only what I should have done, Uncle. There is no need for such formalities," Fu Chenxing replied. Though he was annoyed, he knew he had to keep up appearances. He took a sip of the tea a servant had brought, finding it rather bitter.

Then, he heard Chu Weiming continue: "Now, we are still short one hundred thousand taels for the remaining debt. My family cannot produce it, so I must ask General Fu to find a way."

*Pfft—!*

Fu Chenxing spat out his tea. He stared at Chu Weiming in shock. "I have to pay the remaining one hundred thousand as well?"

Chu Aoshuang interjected from the side, "Fu-lang, since you intend to marry me, you must naturally show your sincerity. The Xiao family gave two hundred thousand taels in gifts; as a distinguished general, surely you don't want to be outdone by that good-for-nothing Xiao Yichen?"

Fu Chenxing’s expression darkened. "I’ve already given one hundred thousand—is that not enough sincerity? Surely your family can contribute something?"

Chu Weiming sighed. "To be honest, before you arrived, our family’s entire savings and land deeds were given to Xiao Yichen to settle the debt. We have nothing left. If we were forced to pay, we would have to sell this house. Where would the whole family live then? We couldn't possibly move in with you."

Fu Chenxing’s face turned green at the thought of them moving in with him. He was on the verge of cursing out loud, feeling a pang of regret—the Chu family was a bottomless pit.

Seeing Fu Chenxing’s silence, Chu Aoshuang took his hand and said softly, "Fu-lang, one hundred thousand taels is nothing to you. After we marry, we can head to the front lines, slay the enemy, and earn more military honors. Becoming a marquis or a minister will be well within our reach."

Fu Chenxing’s eyelids twitched. *Nothing to me?* That was easy for her to say. It was one hundred thousand taels, not ten thousand.

Chu Aoshuang traced circles on his palm. "As long as you produce this one hundred thousand, we can be married immediately." She then leaned into his ear, whispering seductively, "Didn't you want to possess me back when you were in the military camp? After we are married, I will do whatever you wish."

Fu Chenxing felt an itch in his palm, and under her provocation, his blood began to boil. He realized that since the Empress had already issued the decree, he had no choice but to marry her. If he refused to pay the one hundred thousand, it would be an act of defiance against the imperial order. Once he and Chu Aoshuang became one family, he would be implicated as well. He had no choice but to pay.

*Fine,* he thought. *Consider it a loss of wealth to avoid disaster.*

Taking a deep breath, Fu Chenxing looked at her intensely. "Three days is too short. Have someone tell Xiao Yichen fifteen days. We will marry in fifteen days, and he can come to attend. I will give him the one hundred thousand then."

"Very well." Chu Aoshuang’s thin lips curled into a smile. She understood Fu Chenxing’s intent—he wanted to flaunt to Xiao Yichen that he had won her, a Fifth-Rank General. She was more than happy to indulge in this display. She wanted Xiao Yichen to see just how fortunate Fu Chenxing was to have her. The Xiao family had demanded she return the money and the gifts—she wanted Xiao Yichen to know that such despicable tactics would never win her back. Furthermore, she was curious to see the look on Xiao Yichen’s face when he watched the woman he loved marry another man.

***

At the Xiao residence, "Grandmother, Mother, I’m home!" Xiao Yichen called out as soon as he stepped through the door. Today had been truly satisfying; seeing the mournful faces of the Chu family had brought him immense joy.

In the main hall, Liu Fu gave a vivid account of their debt collection, even mimicking Chu Weiming’s distressed expressions, which sent the women of the household into fits of laughter. Previously, when Chu Aoshuang had ridden to their gates to humiliate the Tenth Young Master and the Xiao family, they had all been filled with rage. Now, they had finally vented their frustration. The gloom and oppression that had hung over the Xiao household seemed to dissipate within their laughter.

The Old Matriarch smiled. "Jin'e, since the Tenth Young Master has brought the money back, send word to the families of our soldiers. Tell them to come to the estate to collect their stipends, and tell them to come every month from now on. They were loyal souls who followed our Xiao family; now that their providers are gone, our family must take responsibility to the end."

Liu Jin'e nodded. Seeing that no one raised an objection, Xiao Yichen felt a sense of awe at the righteousness of these women. Even if they only distributed one tael per household, it was a massive sum every month. Given the current state of the Xiao family, they might struggle to feed themselves, yet not a single person had a complaint.

The two hundred thousand taels they had retrieved would not last long at this rate. He needed to find more ways to make money. Xiao Yichen felt the pressure mounting; relying solely on spinning and weaving would not be enough to support so many people. He had to think of other methods.

"Mother, take the silver. Leave the Chu family’s shops to me," he said.

"What do you need the shops for?"

"Don't worry about that," Xiao Yichen said, turning to leave.

Liu Jin'e followed him out, pulling him aside to whisper, "You aren't planning to sell the shops and take the money to go live a life of debauchery, are you?"

Xiao Yichen was speechless. "Mother, what kind of person do you take me for? I may have been reckless in the past, but I won't be anymore. Don't worry."

Only then did Liu Jin'e let him go.

The next day, Xiao Yichen took his maid, Qiaoyun, and headed out, intending to visit the Chu family’s shops to survey the market.