The next morning, Pan's father, with dark circles under his eyes, said to Wu Caiwei in a conciliatory tone, "How about you give me five taels of silver, and we'll call it even?"
Wu Caiwei closed her eyes and shook her finger, "Not a single copper coin. The enforcers will be here this afternoon. You decide."
In the end, Pan's father relented and allowed them to take Zhang Taohong away. As the three of them returned to town, they heard a shocking piece of news.
Zhang Dajiang, the youngest son of the Zhang family in Linshui Village, was originally from an official family. Thirty years ago, something happened to his family, and he ended up here. Now, his family had found him and were taking him back. The entire family was about to rise in status, enjoying great fortune.
At this, Wu Caiwei and Zhang Dahai exchanged a look, realizing they were thinking the same thing.
Especially in Zhang Dahai's memory, his mother was somewhat snobbish. She didn't love his third brother dearly; her most important person was definitely the eldest son, who would support her in her old age. She had spared no expense to ensure his son's upbringing.
As for the original host, he had always been an unwelcome presence. As a child, he had tried his best to gain his mother's praise and love, but he found that no matter what he did, he could never get what he wanted. Later, he learned to give up, suppressing all his emotions. If he guessed correctly, that so-called official family member was him.
He didn't care about this identity at first. After all, he had lived so many lives and even been an emperor. A mere title of an official family member meant nothing to him. However, given his mother's personality, she must have accepted money or gained benefits to support him for so many years. Now, she had caused his original family so much misery and still wanted to enjoy a better life? That was simply impossible.
He decided to test her. When he returned to the Zhang family with Wu Caiwei and the three siblings, upon entering, they saw several well-dressed strangers. Zhang's mother's eyes flickered with panic for a moment when she saw them.
Although it was just for a moment, sharp-eyed Wu Caiwei and Zhang Dahai saw it, further confirming their suspicions.
Fearing they might say something revealing, Zhang's mother immediately struck first. "Why are you back? I told you long ago, since you've chosen to sell yourselves, don't you dare set foot in our house again."
Zhang Dahai was a man, and it was inconvenient to argue with a woman, especially since they were ostensibly mother and son. He worried about being accused of filial impiety. Wu Caiwei, however, had no such qualms and retorted directly, "As if they sold themselves willingly. If you hadn't tormented them to the brink of despair, why would he have had to sell himself? It makes one wonder if he's truly your son. After all, what mother would drive her own son to ruin?"
Without a doubt, Zhang's mother knew the strangers were looking at her with surprise. She quickly denied it, "Who are you? This is your first time here, and you're interfering in my family affairs. How could an outsider understand our family's situation and speak so confidently, causing such misunderstanding?" Sudanyuanshu.com
Wu Caiwei knew her intentions perfectly well. She wanted to expose her. "If you don't want others to know, don't do it. Everyone in the village knows. How can you silence the gossip? They'll find out with a little inquiry. Denying it is useless."
Zhang's mother was furious. Fearing they would indeed inquire in the village, she said anxiously, "We have a clear conscience. I admit I was a bit harsh on him when he was young, but I had no choice. Our family was poor, and my eldest son was the firstborn. My eldest grandson also had a talent for studying. We couldn't remain poor forever. Someone had to make sacrifices. We had to concentrate the family's efforts on supporting him. My youngest son was my little prince; I couldn't mistreat him, so I had to wrong the second child."
Wu Caiwei saw that the expressions of the people beside her had improved considerably. If she let Zhang's mother continue her act, she might actually fool them.
At this moment, Zhang Dahai interjected, "As a son, I can deeply understand my mother's difficulties. However, there's one thing I don't agree with. You said the family was very poor. If I'm not mistaken, there should be several jade pendants in the chest in your room. I saw them some time ago. Are jade pendants more valuable than my life?"
Zhang's mother was shocked and immediately jumped up. "Our family has been poor as church mice for so many years. If we had jade pendants, don't you think I would have known how to spend them?"
Zhang Dahai looked at her with hurt in his eyes. "You raised me. Whatever you say is fine. We have repaid your kindness in raising me. From now on, we'll go our separate ways and have nothing more to do with each other."
"I raised you to be this ungrateful? You want to sever ties with me over a little grievance? How could I have raised such a wicked son?" In the past, Zhang's mother would have been happy to get rid of him. But times had changed. She feared her actions would be exposed and that she would need him to turn things around. No matter what, she had to cling to him.
Wu Caiwei directly cut in, "If you want to have a relationship with them, it's simple. Pay me two thousand taels of silver to buy them back. After all, their entire family has signed a lifelong contract with me. They are my people now."
"You're robbing me! Didn't you say before that their family only sold themselves to you for two hundred taels? Why are you suddenly asking for two thousand taels?" Zhang's mother was speechless and somewhat exasperated.
"I can sell what I bought for whatever price I want," Wu Caiwei said triumphantly, enjoying Zhang's mother's expression of helplessness and inability to do anything about it.
"If you don't have this much money, I'll take them away?" With that, Wu Caiwei tugged at Zhang Dahai's sleeve, and he followed her away.
Zhang's mother stood there with a dark expression, wanting to curse them out but refraining due to the presence of others. She felt incredibly stifled.
The few people in the courtyard had heard the conversation between the two. They exchanged glances and quickly found an excuse, "Old Madam, your matters will likely take some time to resolve. We have other business to attend to. We'll visit you again in a few days."
"No, no, we're all ready. Let's go with you," Zhang's mother said, afraid of any further complications. She quickly stepped forward and grabbed the arm of the leading person.
"There's no hurry. Madam said you are not to return from now on. She has already bought a small courtyard and some businesses for you in the capital. You should sell off your land and houses here." The leading nanny slowly removed her hand, her attitude still respectful. After all, no one knew if what that young lady said was true. Before things were confirmed, she didn't mind being polite.
Zhang's mother could only watch them leave helplessly. She knew that Zhang Dahai and his group's commotion had made the other party suspicious, and furthermore, matters could not withstand investigation. She could only curse them inwardly.