The Hidden Beauty

Chapter 25: Running for Debt

"Madam! Madam!" Seeing the servant stumbling in, Madam Shen's face darkened: "What's the matter with all the panic?"

"There's someone outside! He wants to ask me for money! He says I owe the gambling house a lot of money."

Upon hearing this, Madam Shen's expression changed: "What?"

"The people outside specifically wanted to see me, and said they either wanted the money back or the release of my body."

Old Madam Shen knew that her son had owed a lot of gambling debts some time ago, and that even her own private money could not make up for the shortfall. She wanted to use the warehouse to make up for it, but the Duke was angry recently and no one dared to offend him.

When Old Madam Shen led her people out, she saw that Shen Bian and Shen Zihe had been surrounded together, and everything went dark before her eyes.

Shen Bian had never been surrounded by people like this before. Looking at the passers-by gathering one after another, he felt extremely embarrassed.

Shen Zihe watched his father's face grow increasingly darker, and he lowered his head, not daring to speak.

Shen Bian didn't want to say more, he just wanted to get into the mansion as soon as possible: "The money my son owes will naturally be returned in full by our mansion, and I won't be short of your little money."

"The Duke's reputation spreads far and wide, so we naturally believe in him."

The scarred man who led the group handed the IOU signed by Shen Zihe to Shen Bian, "It is because Mr. Shen has been defaulting on his payments that we have no choice but to block the Duke's Mansion."

Even though Shen Bian was prepared to bleed heavily, he still looked at Shen Zihe in disbelief when he saw the amount on the IOU, and then kicked Shen Zihe in the thigh: "You wasteful waste!"

The scarred man clasped his fists and said, "For the Duke's sake, we will give you another three days. I believe that Master Shen will pay the full amount by then."

Passersby around him began to point and say, "Oh my God, I didn't expect Mr. Shen to be such a gambler."

"People have been blocking the door to our house."

"The Duke has a great reputation throughout his life..."

Shen Bian almost staggered into the door of his house.

"Your Majesty!"

Shen Zihe knelt down with a plop and burst into tears: "Father, I was wrong..."

Shen Bian took the whip and slammed it hard on his back: "The son of a dignified Duke is addicted to gambling and owes so much debt. I think even your life is not enough to pay off the debt!"

With one whip after another, Shen Zihe's clothes were torn and his face was covered in blood.

Old Madam Shen couldn't help but stepped forward, grabbed the whip in Shen Bian's hand, and knelt down to beg.

"Master! Zi He owes gambling debts. At worst, we can open the warehouse and find a way to get through this difficult time. Now that things have come to this, your health is the most important thing."

Anger was boiling in his chest, and Shen Bian pointed at Shen Zihe: "Do you know how much money he owes? I'm afraid he'll have to use up the entire Duke's Mansion to barely make up for it."

Madam Shen widened her eyes in horror: "Really?"

"Father, I really didn't know I would owe so much money. They said they could sign for credit, but I..."

Shen Zihe knew that he had caused a terrible disaster and regretted it, "I really don't know why I owed so much money..."

Shen Bian was indifferent to his son begging for mercy, but his years of immersion in officialdom made him think clearly: "Which gambling house did you go to?"

He wanted to rely on his prestige, and at worst he would have to lower himself to ask for help from others.

"Yes... it was Lu Zheng who opened this gambling game. His gambling game is very secretive and only receives high-ranking officials and dignitaries. Outsiders don't know about it..."

When he heard that it was Lu Zheng, Shen Bian immediately understood what was going on and slapped him in the face: "Waste!" "Don't think I don't know what you are up to! Do you think that people will show mercy to you just because they are so eager to marry Lu Jin into the Duke's Mansion as Qi'er's second wife?"

"You're trying to extort money from Lu Zheng before he even enters the door?"

Shen Zihe slapped himself and said, "It's all because of my own evil thinking. I won't dare to do it again."

"Father, I have been busy dealing with my gambling debts these past few days and discovered something unexpectedly."

Seeing that Shen Bian ignored him, Shen Zihe looked at him eagerly: "Lu Zheng and Meng Tingzhou are very close."

Shen Bian glanced at him quickly: "What did you say?"

Shen Zihe raised his hand and swore: "What I said is absolutely true."

Shen Bian paced back and forth, sorting out all the seemingly messy things. After a while, he smiled coldly: "Okay, so you all came for the Duke's Mansion! Lu Zheng! Meng Tingzhou! Jiang Shiwan! You are all fine!"

When Shen Bian brought Shen Yunqi to visit the Governor's Mansion, Meng Tingzhou met them personally.

He seemed not to notice the expressions of the father and son beside him, and said, "Thanks to the Duke's presence, my Governor's Mansion has become a little more lively these days."

Shen Bian didn't want to waste time talking to him: "Is niece Shi Wan here? I have something to discuss with her."

Meng Tingzhou sighed, as if helpless: "I'm afraid that the Duke will laugh at me if I tell you. A few days ago, I drank a few more cups, and my wife got angry and ignored me for several days."

He took the cup and drank it himself, smiling: "Maybe pregnant women are more irritable, so I try not to provoke her these days."

"Your Majesty, it's the same if you tell me what you want to say."

Seeing him openly showing off their daily interactions, Shen Yunqi felt humiliated.

Seeing that Jiang Shiwan had no intention of showing up, Shen Bian spoke directly.

"I'm going to ask the governor a question, you and Lu Zheng are deliberately using my son to deal with the governor's office, is it because of the Jiang family's military book?"

"It's true that I know Lu Zheng, but how is he related to Master Shen? I don't understand what the Duke said, please tell me."

"Lu Zheng privately set up a gambling game and lured my son into it. He gradually accumulated a huge debt. Now he wants our government to repay the debt. There are two situations. One is that our government will use all its strength to repay the debt. The other is to force me to hand over the military book. Perhaps the governor will mediate between them?"

Meng Tingzhou neither explained nor denied it, and personally handed a cup of tea to Shen Bian: "Duke, have a cup of tea."

"The Duke's Mansion has only gained its current reputation after three generations of succession. If all the debts are used to pay for gambling, it will be difficult for future sons."

Seeing Shen Bian's expression getting darker and darker, he sneered in his heart: "But what the Duke just said did remind me."

"Since my wife got pregnant, she has always thought of her father and grandfather, so she wants to keep something with her as a comfort. If the Duke is willing to return the military books of the Jiang family, I will not hesitate to help Mr. Shen pay off his gambling debts."

"After all, I will satisfy whatever my woman wants."

Shen Bian finally verified his guess: "It is indeed so!"

Shen Yunqi, who had been standing by, spoke up: "There is one more thing I would like to ask the governor to tell Lu Zheng."

"Ok?"

"I would like to marry Lu Jin as my wife, my legal wife."

Meng Tingzhou almost spit out the tea in his mouth and looked at Shen Yunqi jokingly: "Mr. Shen, do you think you are worth a lot? Do you think Lu Jin is angry because of her status as a co-wife?"

People just look down on the family background of your Duke's Mansion!