Farm Girl's Manor

Watching the insatiable greed of Du Laizi, Mrs. Liu was in no mood to believe his nonsense. To such a greedy creature, getting one would only lead to wanting two; if she were to compromise this time, next time he would demand even more with unbounded audacity. Even if the Liu Family had wealth amounting to ten thousand pieces of silver, it wouldn’t be sufficient to fill their ravenous maws.

However, if she were to refuse, the Du Family would truly resort to such shameless acts as squatting in their home and refusing to leave, and even reporting to the authorities might not be of much use. At this point Mrs. Liu found herself in a real dilemma. She cursed her helplessness for allowing the Liu Family to be grasped firmly by the Du thugs; if only her husband hadn’t gone to the academy today, he would have surely thought of a way to get rid of them.

Seeing the difficulty her mother was in, and fearing she might compromise, Liu Tinglan stepped forward, took her mother’s hand decisively and said, "Mother, we cannot give them the silver. Let’s report to the Government Office!"

Seeing Mrs. Liu hesitate, Liu Tinglan knew well her concerns and thus advised, "Mother, if the Shen family chooses to end this marriage engagement over rumors spread by others, then we want nothing to do with such a family. These shameless people have no credibility whatsoever. If we satisfy them today, they will return tomorrow. Let us just report their extortion to the authorities and have them spend the rest of their lives in jail, so they can never trouble our family again."

Mrs. Liu had already been unwilling to use silver to silence the Du Family, and now that her daughter also disagreed and suggested reporting them, she made up her mind. If the Du Family could be prosecuted for extortion, they wouldn’t see the light of day for ten or eight years, and by that time her daughter would have married into another family. Even if they tried to spread rumors again, she wouldn’t fear them anymore.

With a heart now steadfast, Mrs. Liu turned to Mother Wei, who had been serving her diligently for many years, and said, "Go to the study and get your master’s calling card and report to the Government Office. Tell them that a villain has come to our house and ask them to come quickly to apprehend him."

Mother Wei, utterly devoted to the Liu Family and despising the Du Family, promptly responded, "This servant will go at once. The lady and young miss must be very careful. Do not confront those shameless people directly; I will be back shortly."