Chapter 3: The Troublesome Eldest Son

The official position wasn't secured, the man was gone, and she was left with a mountain of debt—what a stroke of bad luck.

The original owner had just come to terms with her husband’s death when the creditors arrived, demanding either repayment or the house as collateral.

To make matters worse, they held the deed to the property, which the old man had mortgaged at the money shop.

The original owner didn't want to lose the ancestral home, but she had no money to pay the debt. In the ensuing scuffle, she tripped, hit her head on the ground, and died instantly.

Bai Yunxi let out a silent sigh. The Juren and his wife had truly exhausted themselves for the sake of their children and grandchildren.

Although the Ma family’s money shop was unscrupulous, business was business; paying back debts was only right and proper. To pay for the old Juren’s medical treatment, the original owner had sold off five acres of fertile land, yet it hadn't been enough to save his life.

Now that the creditors were at the door, they truly had no means to repay them.

Looking at the three-room grey-brick tiled house behind her, flanked by three wing rooms on each side, with the kitchen and utility room in the corner connected to the main gatehouse, it was in a prime location right in the center of the village. This courtyard was even more impressive than the village head’s home.

At market value, selling it for forty guan would be an easy task.

"Juren’s wife, you need to give us a straight answer today. Are you paying the money, or are you using the house to settle the debt? If you refuse both, then we’ll have to go before the magistrate and hash it out."

*‘You old hag, I’ll scare you to death if we go to the magistrate.’*

Zhao Li stared at Bai Yunxi, a flash of contempt in his eyes. In the past, they had to be polite out of respect for the Juren, but now that the old man was dead, leaving behind a widow and a bunch of useless sons, what else could they do but obey?

When the crowd heard the mention of the magistrate, they immediately took a few steps back. The common people’s fear of officials was a deep-seated, ingrained humility.

Bai Yunxi glared at Zhao Li, grinding her teeth again. *You’re the widow, your whole family is full of widows. Let me reiterate: thirty-six is the prime of life.*

"My Juren husband did indeed borrow thirty guan from the money shop. Now that his first week of mourning has barely passed, you’ve come to collect, treating our past friendship like dirt. I have nothing to say to that."

"Fine. Morality has declined, and people are fickle. Give me three days to vacate the premises. In three days, you can come to collect the house."

"Mother, you can't..."

*‘If we have no house, is the whole family supposed to sleep on the street?’*

Before he could finish, Bai Yunxi shot a cold glare at her cheap eldest son.

"Very well. You are the eldest son of this family. Do you have any solution for this debt?"

*You scoundrel. You watched your mother bleed from a head wound and didn't lift a finger. Now you’re getting anxious and forcing me to curse.*

Seeing all eyes fixed on him, Bai Anchen’s face flushed red, and he spoke sheepishly,

"The family has suffered blow after blow; I, too, am at my wit's end..."

*‘They say that when a person dies, the debt dies with them. I thought Mother would just let it slide. Father is dead, and as the eldest son, I should be the one to keep the ancestral home. I never expected Mother to wake up and actually offer to vacate the house. Truly, things never go as one wishes.’*

Listening to her eldest son’s inner thoughts, Bai Yunxi was completely stunned. She stared at him, wondering if she was hallucinating.

"Mother... I truly have no way. To pay for Father’s treatment, I couldn't even scrape together two copper coins if I turned myself inside out."

*‘The sages say: a woman obeys her father in youth, her husband in marriage, and her son in widowhood. If Mother uses the house to pay the debt, I, as the eldest son, have the right to object.’*

Listening to his inner thoughts, Bai Yunxi just watched him quietly. The original owner’s eldest son was truly a piece of work.

To clear the debt, he was actually hoping his own mother would die.